Indoor dog park. Would you use it?

Question

My fiance and I are thinking about opening an indoor dog park in our area in the near future. We live in an apt. so we take our puppy to the outdoor dog parks as much as we can but none of them have lights and with our schedules in the winter it makes it harder to take our puppy for a good long trip. So we have been thinking about opening an indoor dog park/doggie day care but are unsure if people would use it due to the amount of free parks that are around. It is in the beginning stages so we don't have a price set or anything but would most likely offer month and year memberships and session prices as well. How much would you pay to take your dog to a nice indoor dog park?

Some more notes that I didn't think about adding. I would hope to find a location that had a decent size outdoor area also for a doggie bathroom. For flooring I would use the same flooring that they use for dog agility courses. I would hope to have a small agility section for the dogs and a small and large dog area. There would be water for the dogs and humans and probally a pop machine for the humans as well. Any employees that would be there would clean up any messes that did not get caught by the dog's owners. There would be Ooops stations through out the park for clean up. I would like eventually to include training classes, a small store and other things of that nature. There is an indoor dogpark/doggie day care in Cananda that I would love to use as a guide, http://www.doggiecentral.ca/.

More notes. As far as "aggressive dogs" go. There would NO BREED RESTRICTIONS but if a dog is being aggressive then it would be asked to leave. Proof of shots and most likely neutering would be a must your first time. I would hope to have all the animals in a database so for future visits you would give your name and your dogs name and in you go. Thanks for all the feedback thus far. Keep the answeres coming.

Answer 1

It sounds like either a VERY good or VERY bad idea. If you are going to be cleaning like crazy constantly it sounds like a great idea, but if not it could be stinky and covered in bacteria. Having said that...I think a CLEAN indoor park sounds great. I get home from work and it is too dark and cold in the winter to take my dog to an outdoor park and sadly my yard isn't fenced in. I'd pay $5/day to visit or would buy a monthly/year;y membership if it was reasonable (50/mo or $500/year). Obviously the fees would be greater for daycare.
Also...it would be awesome if you had an indoor track for someone who wants to jog with their dog but doesn't want to do it outside in the slippery cold.

Answer 2

Indoor Dog Park Near Me

Answer 3

Indoor Dog Park Mn

Answer 4

My husband and I have owned and run a private dog park (indoor and outdoor) for the last 3 years. For indoor only, you will need a pretty good sized area to use, think indoor agility center or something similar. Our place has 12 acres outdoors and our indoor play area is about 1500 sf, we also have a covered outdoor area that is another 1100 sf. If I was doing an indoor only park I would think 6000sf would be a minimum. Depending on your membership fees, it is hard to make ends meet on dog park fees alone. I'm assuming you will be renting somewhere, if it is a place you already own, it will make a difference in your budget. Oh, and the person who suggested $5 per month, LOL. That won't even cover the cost of poo bags, much less the facility, staff to supervise, insurance, water (there is LOTS of cleanup), heat/air and lights. Do a search on private dog parks and indoor dog parks to get an idea of fees and costs. Good luck, Annette

Answer 5

I'd pay to use an indoor dog park where:

There was a small per use fee for use per dog ($5 or maybe a coupon book of 10 visits for $40). Yeah.. a membership would be cool.

All dogs needed to show proof of rabies vaccination

Any dog with diarrhea was immediately excused and the area cleaned with disinfectant.

Training onsite was encouraged.

Growly dogs and trouble makers were given a "shape up or you're out of here" warning... and then excused if the issue persisted. Three excusals = banned.

Edit: I liked the idea until you required the dogs be neutered. I have show dogs, cannot neuter... and I can guarantee not a temperament issue at all (Which would have been covered by the "no aggressive dogs" rule ANYHOW). You'll be limiting you business drastically.

Answer 6

I think it's a good idea. I don't go to the dog park much, but I think there is a real need for a dog park or place to exercise dogs when it is raining or the weather is otherwise unsuitable (even in the summer when it's too too hot).

I think daycare would run about 20-25/day and just for use of the dog park, I'd say around $3-5.

I don't think it's that hard to keep sanitary. Lots of indoor daycare places do it all the time. You just have to have the right kind of flooring down and disinfect every night.

Answer 7

Don't listen to everyone else about the "unsanitary" part. Petsmart has an indoor play area for dogs, just make sure that you have a surface that is easy to clean up and it is cleaned every night. That said, it would be a great idea and i would go. I live in michigan where it gets around 0 degrees in the winter, and sometimes a long walk can be hard to do. As far as pricing, a lot of places around here have passes you need to buy anyway, so if it reasonably priced and well planned i think it would be a great idea.

Answer 8

I think its a great idea! I live in MN and I have a pug that fights going outside for walks when its too cold or too hot (its not healthy for pugs, and mine is VERY aware of that!) She won't step foot in snow, or even wet grass unless forced to. So an indoor park is a great way to introduce her to new dogs as well as get her exercise during inclement weather. Cost wise, I wouldn't be opposed to a monthly fee for a nice park. $30-$50 a month I'd say is reasonable, or $5 per session. Good luck with your idea!!

Answer 9

Sounds like a good idea but, there should be 3 different size divisions for the different sized dogs.

Small dogs shouldn't be mixed in with larger dogs. You also need strict rules because dog parks are a turn off for me because I am afraid my dog will get injured by unruly dogs!! There are plenty of unrully dogs at dog parks.
You need like referree there to watch the dogs and the owners because sometimes there are dog owners that bring agressive dogs.

You also need a sanitation/clean up station for doggy accidents..

Answer 10

There is a similar business in my area that uses that idea. They are a facility with a pen in the front, for training classes, a TV, fridge, couches, pool tables, etc. so the owners and pups can all hang out indoors. Dogs have free reign, as do the people. They charge $3 per dog and $3 per person.