[kayla]

Originally Posted by Prin

The difference between a dog park and your kennel idea is that I'm at the dog park with my dogs, whereas at your kennel, I have to trust you with my dogs' safety... Trust is a hard thing to acquire.

I know, I wouldn't even trust myself just yet. I have had a fair bit of experience with dogs growing up. My stepmother bred Irish Wolfhounds and we rescued dobies, some of which were quite aggressive and had to be kept separate, so I learned how to break up fights with BIG dogs at an early age, but rarely by myself. We also had a few little dogs running around, and cats of course! And with personal experience I've had my own dog, and fosters in my home, but never ten stranger dogs all running around all in my care!

I guess just starting small, and building trust in myself, and in my customers, is the way to go. I should talk to my dog trainer about breaking up dog fights, maybe I could find a good trainer in Ontario to be my mentor. I was also looking into an animal welfare certificate program at UTR. I talked to the program manager and he said many people who take it are people like me thinking of starting my own pet boarding facility, and that it teaches a lot from the business to behavior to health side of dogs and cats. Whether this was just bs to get me to enroll who knows..

Originally Posted by Deb's Lucky Rescue

Those waivers mean nothing as they are not law, but merely self-serving policies. A dog gets ripped up and you'll be in court being sued for vet bills and you will lose.

Ugh, legal matters, another thing I will have to teach myself inside and out before starting such a thing.

Originally Posted by Deb's Lucky Rescue

NOT try to be argumentative, just point out some pitfalls so you can prepare!

I know, and I definitely appreciate the input! I also think everyone wants something different for their dog, and would take different risks. Some would only want their dog out alone, others would be happy letting it run around but supervised. Most people trust dog walkers or doggy daycares to manage many off-leash dogs at once, I did last summer and never had a problem, this wouldn't be much different. There are certainly many risks to consider though, and I do appreciate people pointing them out!