Frequently Asked Questions

Central Bark is one of the nation’s largest networks of day care for dogs and provides one of the most holistic pet care options available. We go beyond a traditional doggy day care with our unique Whole Dog Care philosophy and enrichment focus that combines decades of dog experience with the latest dog behavioral science. We offer everything from Enrichment Doggy Day Care and boarding to grooming, training, retail and more. All with the mission to help dog owners and their best friends enjoy a whole, healthy, and happy life together. 

After more than 20 years in the pet care industry, many things have evolved, but our mission remains the same: To forever nurture, enrich, and inspire whole health, happiness, and unconditional love for each dog, family, and community we serve. 

Central Bark helps franchise owners take their love and passion for dogs and dream of owning their own business and make it into a reality. Our proven business model and the training and support provided to new business owners can put them quickly on the path to success. 

Central Bark owners enjoy many great advantages including:

• Proprietary Enrichment Doggy Day Care model based on over 20 years of experience working with dogs in a social environment
• Multiple Recurring Revenue Streams
• Proprietary training program in latest dog behavioral science and positive reward-based training techniques
• 100% commitment to safety
• Nationally recognized brand
• Unmatched operational and marketing training and support
• Extensive tools and resources to help you open and grow your business

Pet Care is one of the country’s fastest-growing industries. The U.S. Pet Industry is booming and expenditures grew to an all-time high reaching $100 Billion! This continued annual increasing trend from the previous year (even during COVID) has remained consistent for almost 30 years. It demonstrates the reliable growth of the pet industry through good and bad economic times.

Dog ownership in the U.S. continues to grow. 40% of U.S. households own dogs and 95% of them consider their pet to be a member of the family. This means pet care products and services such as doggy day care, boarding, grooming, training, and retail that support healthy, happy dogs and their families are in more demand than ever before. In addition to being an excellent business opportunity, owning a doggy day care is fun and fulfilling.

Central Bark is one of the nation’s largest networks of day care for dogs and provides one of the most holistic pet care options available. We offer everything from Enrichment Doggy Day Care and boarding to grooming, training, retail market and more. All with the mission to help dog owners and their best friends enjoy a whole, healthy, and happy life together.

Central Bark franchisees come from diverse backgrounds but share the same passion and purpose. There are a few certain key attributes we’re looking for including: 

✓ Must love dogs 

✓ Must love business 

✓ An entrepreneurial spirit 

✓ Ability to work within and follow a system 

✓ Great customer service skills 

✓ Willingness to build relationships across your community 

✓ Capacity to scale and market your business effectively 

✓ $200,000 minimum liquid capital 

✓ Can do attitude 

Central Bark is a proud member of the International Franchise Association, International Boarding & Pet Services Association, Franchise Registry, and registered with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

As of early 2022, Central Bark has 34 operating locations with many more in the process of opening.

We have availability in both existing and new markets across the country with the right franchise partner. See our locations map for more information.

The estimated initial investment for a single Central Bark facility can range between $552,769 to $934,172. This includes the initial franchise fee of $49,000. Startup costs depend on a variety of factors including the size of your facility, construction costs and your local market dynamics. More information on these costs is provided in the Item 7 of our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Request information

A 10% discount off the franchise fee is available for veterans and first responders.

The franchise fee is $45,000 for a single Central Bark facility.

Royalty fees are 6% of gross sales monthly. Marketing fees are the greater of 2% of gross sales. 

Walk into any Central Bark and you experience a feeling that is uniquely ours. For us, the “dog” really is the bottom line. Our spacious facilities are clean, healthy, safe, and welcoming environments where every dog and person feels welcome and treated with respect, care, and compassion. A proactive approach to safety is woven right into the fabric of our operations and incorporated into our facility, specially designed with the dog’s safety and comfort in mind. Fill out our Request information Form to receive our virtual brochure that includes photos of our facilities.

Generally, you need 10-15 employees to run a facility. Larger facilities may require a few more.

Yes!

If you have the passion for dogs, suitable skills, and experience, and meet the financial investment criteria, please fill out our Request Information Form.

It takes a strong desire to own your own business, hard work, dedication, ability to follow a proven model and an uncompromising standard of excellence. People don’t know what they don’t know and that is why Central Bark helps you eliminate obstacles, anticipate and strategize for your business to help maximize the potential. We will teach you the Central Bark franchise model to help prepare you for running a successful Central Bark franchise from your initial signing through your initial and ongoing growth and development. We provide the tools you will need, like our franchise services and training manual, to teach you how to operate your Central Bark business in the most efficient and rewarding way possible.

No two businesses are exactly the same when it comes to size, location, investment, etc., so there’s no quick answer to this question. Rather, we’ll guide you in projecting and anticipating all of your start-up costs. And we’ll do so in our one-on-one consultations. We also cover this in the financial planning section of our training manual. 

To give you a general idea and depending on your credit history and availability of funds from an institution, your personal cash availability can range between $150,000 and $200,000. Our current initial investment range is between $547,769 to $929,172. This range includes the one-time $45,000 franchise fee (that is required at the time you sign your Franchise Agreement), buildout, equipment, initial marketing and operating capital. You may be required to put down up to 30% to meet lending institution’s requirements. The following guideline breaks down the ongoing fees after signing your Franchise Agreement:

1. The proprietary Central Bark Operations Manual – This incredible document is the result of years of doing business. It is a complete and comprehensive guide to the how to’s of running a Central Bark business, including all policies and procedures, paperwork, documentation and forms used in our business.
2. Two weeks on-site training and support for you and another person at Central Bark University.
   One week of training and support at your site with our Doggy Day Care experts.
3. Continuous access to all of our professionally designed creative and marketing material, including website, newsletter, advertising layouts, etc.
4. Use of our unique Barkware software – This incredibly robust software package has been developed specifically for the Central Bark® business model and provides you with a paperless system for managing your Central Bark with updates and enhancements provided on an ongoing basis.
5. Our ongoing availability to assist you in growing your Central Bark Business.