2262 Boarding kennels

Hi Zillah,

There has been a thread on boarding kennels back in July, if you type boarding kennels in the search box it should pop up. Good luck :)

Most of the Italians, in the country at least, rely on their family or friends to look after the dogs etc., One of the forum members runs a kennels, I think the name is Wol ???

Hi

I'd like to think that boarding kennels would be a plus in our area but I think George is right, at least about the Italians, they tend to rely on family or friends to look after them or in some cases leave them to get on with it whilst they are away.

As for the Brits, not sure but it would be of interest to us, we've seven dogs in total plus about 12 cats depending on whether they stray or not to the neighbours for Sunday lunch.

Having said that, I'd be particular about where I sent them. I'd consider someone staying at the house to look after them, if it were an option, house and pet sitting. It was a popular theme when I lived in France. Also cheaper than trying to board the family.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Thank you for your comments. I agree with the part on the Italians - I don't think there would be a market for it with them. I wonder if there was more the market on the British side - I am trying to find out more - certainly if we do go for this idea I wan to make sure we have all the sizes, quality etc right for the kennels, and any legalities. I would like to think it could also be for cats, even down to small pets.

Macy I know what you mean about being particular as to where they go, I am as well! We have two border collies aged 8years, and here there is only one kennel we send them to! The Home sitting although fine I do not feel at the moment that we could consider that. There is more research to be done, but hopefully this year we will be over and travel around first of all to see where we want to be and where would work for us.

Macy & Georges - I appreciate your comments and any ideas you may have.

we have several boarding kennels in the area around us.... that the vets reccomend ...also various people that dog sit either in their homes or to yours... we have very few english in the area ... so i would presume as this is italy ...italians use them....

Would you consider going round to people`s houses to feed animals. When we go away we keep our cats locked indoors and someone comes & feeds them & does the litter tray. They also feed the dogs that we keep in the garden. I`d be reluctant to put them all in kennels as it would be too expensive and I wouldn`t like them to be kept in a confined space. However, I`d be really happy to pay a reliable person to come in and feed them for me. Maybe you could consider doing this as well as actually having kennels. I suppose the whole thing depends on whether this is going to be your only source of income and how much you need to live on. Maybe you could do the `poodle parlour` bit as well. I have an Italian friend who pays a fortune to have her dog groomed on a regular basis. I`m sure there`s big money in dog grooming here.

I hope Zillah doesn't mind me answering her email on the forum but as there is a thread about it I thought others might be interested.

Unfortunately, we were supposed to open our kennels ([url]www.sibillinikennels.com[/url]) last Summer but the house has been delayed (big surprise) and as it can't be run unless we live there, it meant no kennels. Finally we are opening in June 2006 (definitely this time!) with less kennels (one triple and one double) than we originally thought but we feel we will grow as/if we need to.

We have had a smattering of enquires (mostly at Christmas). Most have been from ex-pats but some from Italians too. We even had one from a lovely lady who would have driven down from Northern Italy to leave her dogs with us. Now some of this could have been to do with the fact we are not open yet and maybe we will get more enquiries now we are close to opening. Interestingly, it has usually been from people with more than one dog (hence our choice of less but larger kennels). I suspect it is not too difficult to get someone to look after one dog but always harder when there is a family of them.

I cannot imagine it ever being a sole income earner as there is just not enough income unless you are some huge outfit like City Dog which means employing people. So if you are relying on that I would think of some other way of supporting yourself in addition. I wish I had done a course in dog clipping because it is really needed here. We even shaved our red setter in the summer because she was so hot and constantly full of burrs and seed heads. If you could clip dogs it would be a good complement to the kennels and you would have plenty of Italian clients too I think as clipping your dog for the summer is very popular here.

Good luck and feel free to pop in to see us if you are in the area

one of the effects of micro chipping dogs here has been to stop or at least hinder the habit of dumping your dog in the street when you go away on holiday..... owners in the north used to dump them with the swiss ...but now even this has come back to haunt the individuals responsable and there are large fines for those who think domestic animals are to be binned when inconvenient....

so italy is changing and apart from the regulations there are some that even before took good care of their animals...

so i think its maybe a form of income that will be increasing over the coming years as people become more used to the idea that their pet has to be figured in as well when they are planning holidays... sorry if the first reply...which after i read again ...seemed a bit curt... but i think as penny says...if its not your only form of income ...then gradually it will build up beyond the limited foreign market here.... so good luck with your plans

I do believe that attitudes to animals are changing in Italy as they are doing elsewhere in the world, including Blighty.

We live in the country and we have seen a lot of evidence of people arriving on their summer holidays, adopting a dog or cat who should just wander into the grounds, feed them for a couple of months, then disappear leaving them to get on with it. Or as is our case, they end up with us and we have to either find homes for them or ship them off to a local canile where they are well looked after.

This is still the stark reality and seems to be expected by many of the people around us, whether city people or country people. One of our neighbours is a vet from Bari (second home here in the country) and still she does nothing to stop the unwanted population of animals in our neighbourhood or help to tend to their medical needs. She tells me that it's like that and accept it!

Would you accept it?

[QUOTE=Aliena]Italians in Blighty probably don't accept child cruelty or even pampered pink poodles.. but what can they do to change it?

I'm not saying it's right or that nothing should be done to change attitudes further in the right direction.. just that things have advanced very quickly in Italy regarding animal welfare.. gentle pressure takes time to build up.

:) :)[/QUOTE]

Your absolutely right, couldn't agree with you more. My point is just from a frustrating angle in terms of the so called educated people, like Vets, should have a responsibility to make it better and actively do so, not accept the way it is because that's the way it is and always has been.

And I hope and believe that Italians, whether in Blighty or any part of the world, will take and do take an active part, to make changes that make things better for all. Including animal welfare problems in the UK. They exist there too. It's just I'm here and can't sit back and accept the way things are.

We can change things with a little time and patience.

So, I'll keep up the pressure.

we have had contact because of our animals with either three or four vets in the area here ... and undoubtedly ...you cannot say because you know one good..or even three good people that everyone is...

but in defence of them...and i would not feel comfortable reading your post if i didnt say these things ..they have all been without fail very caring,helpful...and all of them have adopted so many dogs that their wives or in one case husband are all threatebning divorce unless they stop taking in the stray patients...

we have two abandoned dogs in the house and one of the vets refuses to charge for vists..just for the medicine ... if needed...

so not really to start arguing... because most of what you say i agree with... but some proffesionals do care... have lists of good boarding kennels and dog sitters too... to try and keep this relevant... so anyone starting this type of bussiness should make the rounds and post their cards in their offices... in this area there seems to be an awful lot of vets... one surgery also has a dog grooming parlour next door... the lady is from belgium and her bussiness is struggling... combined with kennels it might help...but italians love their cars and maybe a mobile service would be better...they wouldnt have to have the dirty mutt inside their car .... just an idea... that way you have your rural retreat for the kennels and then you visit the dog owners to do the grooming...

one word of warning...competition is hot...you most probably need several bits of paper to be able to do either .... and the rumour mill will fly... ie that belgium lady does not traeat the dogs well...put about by other local italians in the same line of work.... no one here likes competition and there is a big difference between coming here and retiring and arriving here and trying to run a bussiness... it gets very cut throat... and i know the same thing occurs in england...or anywhere...but you would be niave if you thought italian cut throat is as reasonable as uk cut throat....

its a useful thought for anyone trying to start up anything here... make sure you do it in the legal way... make sure you register for iva... and make sure you give receipts for everything... a favorite pastime is setting the guardia financia on any competition... and everyone is scared of them... and pay your taxs on time...

Thank you for all the comments - these have been extremely useful. We had not thought of this as a sole income we would just like to be able to do things that we enjoy rather than be on a roller coaster as per here and now!

I had not particularly thought about the competition aspect - though I can't say that it surprises me but this comment would certainly make me ensure that the legalities are OK. I feel also that it is very important to get to know the locals to try and cut back on this. Oh how simple that sounds!!

The dog sitting and certainly going to visit peoples homes and feed their dogs, cats etc - and horses would be an idea and one that we would consider as an option. I had not thought of the visiting and feeding aspect before.

The grooming side - after just chopping our collies hair today - maybe I should do a course?? But kidding aside that is something else.

What is iva?

Penny - thank you for your reply - where do I get the legal size requirements for kennels?

Thank you all again for your advise and suggestions.

iva equals vat... the difference here to the uk is there is no level set before you have to register... if you work and are not employed by a company you have to register.... and from the start its best to get a bookeeper to help....its pretty hopeless apart from being illegal to try and earn without registering.... one of the worst people to get on the wrong side of here are the finance police... youll notive that everyone tenders receipts here...even for a cup of coffee... main reason is their fear of getting caught out for not giving one..... even on markets it happens.... the funny thing is that tax revenues here are very low so the only way i presume they manage it is to have two sets of books....

As far as I have been able to find out there is no minimum size so we are going with the sizes recommened in an excellent book called "Essetial kennel design" by David Key which far exceed the UK minimum.

For regulatioons you must contact the ASL office of the comune you live in and I have no doubt there will be different rules for different regions so choose your area first and then do your research.

John - a bit off subject but in Italy there is an interesting accounting principle called the "prima nota" which allows you to make an accounting entry and then change it (with no audit trail) for anything up to 60 days after the date of the entry. Quite impossible in the UK.

I am sure that helps :-)

In general I agree with what John is saying. Our neighbour, the so called vet, is an isolated case, I do hope so. We have a wonderful vet in Martina Franca and wouldn't trade him for anyone. He is highly recommended by other vets, Italians, Brits etc. He's the best for us and has saved many lives we've taken in on death's door, even offered to take in the strays that we've found and he's attended to. Another 2 vets we use, give their free time and professional time to the many caniles in the area. They are all Italian, they all hold that bit of humanity, in that they really do care.

Going back to the thread, consider an option of having a network of people on board, a network for home sitting and pet sitting. People that want to visit the area, whether to buy or just see the sights; and would consider doing something whilst they are here. Saves on the costs of hotel and lodgings and they get paid aswell. Canvas the local vets see what they say about boarding kennels. I'll ask mine next time I see him.
Grooming is a plus and I'd happily let someone else do this than risk my amateur hand.
Also, long term boarding for folks returning to their homeland for a longer period than say a holiday.
There are many people I've come across working back in the UK and living down here but can't take up the commitment of a pet despite their wants and desires. And yes please look after horses and ponies and donkeys too!!! Would you consider looking after an elephant, I've always fancied having an elephant!!!
I could be asking you sit over soon so I can have a long weekend away with my husband, relaxing in the sun and doing nothing................don't worry the elephant hasn't arrived yet!

As people who have multiple pets, we would so welcome the availability of a reliable person who could come to our house and take care of our guys. Part of the charm of moving to Italy is the ease with which we can travel. But, of course, that can't happen until (and unless) we find someone to take care of our pets while we are away.

Here in Florida we pay between $25 and $40 a day to have someone come over twice a day, clean the litter boxes, put out fresh food and water, and check on the general well-being of our gang. Having someone come to the house is much preferable to boarding them in kennel.

So, if you want to come to Lunigiana and set up a business there, you'll probably have little competititon and more business than you might think. I know several people who have searched unsuccessfully for a pet-sitting at home service.

Good Luck!

I agree on the option to consider a 'movable' business, i.e. go into people's homes to look after their pets, being the best.

After our recent move (to Edinburgh) we were looking at catteries for our 2 kitties and the choices were dismal! Eventually I found the website of a nice lady who does home visits, looking after all sorts of small-ish pets (from dogs 'downwards' size-wise).

Prior to us going away, she arranged to visit our house and sort out all the legalities, in addition to getting to know the cats with us there. She had various certificates, most importantly insurance (!), and a number of references with contact details. When approaching the cats, she came across as caring & friendly (one of our cats is extremely shy) and we knew we'd picked the right person. She usually stays for around 30 minutes, feeding cats, replacing litter tray & even brushing & playing with them - and all for £7 per visit!! ;)

However, with dogs I would think of doing a dog grooming / handling course (not kidding!). We used to offer them at a college where I worked and they were cheap & very popular. I guess many colleges which offer animal care courses would have classes available. This would lead to a certificate which can be used as proof of competency.

Don't forget the insurance issue, as not just the pet's but also your own wellbeing could depend on it...

Good luck in your venture!!

Stephanie

I think there would be a good demand for a pet-sitting service. Some friends of ours are looking for someone to do this right now.

The only downside where we live is that the roads are not good. Windy, slow, hilly and in some cases unkept so you would be lucky if you got round 3 houses in a day and you would need a 4x4.

Thank you for all the messages again, this is really positive feed back. I am going to print them all off to digest it.

I have done one course in dog behaviour and kept meaning to do another - you know how it is when you are working full time and learning another language!

Your answers are spurring me on to find out more and put more feelers out - maybe ex pat communities etc. Unfortunately I don't have e xperience of elephants as yet - snakes, rats, parrots, as wel as dogs, cats, horses, ponies, donkeys etc etc! My elder son is just finishing his studies in zoology - hence the snakes we have kept for several years - not coming with us!

Penny - I will get the book on the kennels - really useful.

Can't wait to get over there and travel around and sort out where we are going to stay - thanks again and any more comments welcome. Going to print it all off to look over now.