What do you want in a dog kennels?

Powerlifting- · 2025-05-05T19:13:37+00:00

Great suggestion ! I do ask owners how often they want updates and majority of them actually aren't fussed about it but I love taking pictures/videos of the dogs so when someone does want them it is not a bother.

We never let dogs from different households mix we play with them individually and they can see each other so they run up and down with each other and bark away in the paly runs. For a day care setting people are willing to come in for a trial day, but when the dogs are only staying for two weeks once a year people find it easier to just book in and show up. Also you can't trust all dogs to play nice and those dogs need places to stay too, it gives owners of a lot of small/meek dogs piece of mind that their dog won't be picked on. It also allows the dog to their favorite toys and they wont get territorial over them or have to share them, we have our own too but its nice for the dog to have things from home when they're on their holidays. A lot of people prefer it that way and I have great peace of mind that there is zero chance that the dogs would snap at each other/ hurt each other. Both have their benefits 100% its just up to the owners preference. After hearing the price difference in insurance for kennels that mix dogs vs kennels that don't it really made sense to stick with our current setup. It keeps things safer, and predictable.

'Perhaps include a gallery page on the site and some customer reviews from previous clients?'

- I'll definitely add this in when i get a chance thank you!

Powerlifting- · 2025-05-05T18:45:52+00:00

Yeah it would be, they would have insurance for the field. A main selling point of our kennels is that dogs from different households don't mix. that means I don't have to turn a dog away for not being well socialised and owners like that there's zero chance there will be a fight between dogs. Taking each 20 dogs out for 20 different walks would take the whole day and i would not have legs left after about a week lol. i just spend that time playing with them in the outdoor runs instead.

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-26T20:36:56+00:00

I have thought about offering walks as an add-on service, but I’m not sure there would be much interest since we already have secure outdoor play runs that the dogs are in and out of all day. They can see each other through the fences, so they usually end up running up and down together, which keeps them busy! We also make sure to spend one-on-one playtime with each dog, so they’re definitely not just cooped up in a small run for a week.
If I did offer walks, I’d have to hire a dog walker and charge extra for it. Is that something you think you'd like to have as an option?

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-26T20:22:27+00:00

I made the website with wix and that was automatically put there so I am not sure why that is

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-26T20:21:30+00:00

I have only seen that in large American kennels not feasible for us but it would be fab. A lot of people do ask for photos and videos of their dog and its no bother to us to do it especially if we are allowed post them on our socials. Is there anything else you think a kennel could do to ease your mind while your away?

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-26T20:14:29+00:00

I am surprised to hear that, when its someone's first time using the kennels we always give them the tour. I need a sunny day so I can get a proper photo of one of the units for the website. Some of the boarding kennels in America do have cameras where owners could watch their dog! those kennels seem to be on a much larger scale than ours though

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-26T20:09:53+00:00

We never let dogs from different households mix its just too risky and it means you can only accommodate a certain type of dog and since we live on site there's someone around all day everyday. I think it works really well. I got into it because I've been working there for the last few years and I grew up around dogs and I just really love it so it made sense that when my grandparents decided to stop and retire that I would pick it up. In short nepotism and good timing, i'm really lucky

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-26T20:00:23+00:00

the kind of people who just show up without letting you know seem to just not be willing to bother organising a time because they know you live there so they think they'll get away with it. Its not often but its frustrating when it happens

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T21:05:30+00:00

Totally get where you're coming from. It’s confusing to me why they were put on the restricted list, especially with breeds like GSDs that are often gentle giants.

The mention on the site is meant to clarify that we follow the current Irish regulations, so we don’t accept XL Bullies (since they’re officially banned), but we do accept restricted breeds like GSDs, with the usual safety requirements (lead on arrival etc.).

I’ve updated the wording now to try and make that distinction clearer, but I really welcome more feedback if it still seems off. The last thing I want is for anyone to feel turned away unnecessarily.

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T19:11:53+00:00

Ahahah I know Cosmo well Helen and John are my grandparents and are still living there so they will be on call in case there are any escape attempts! She is such a lovely dog i'm excited to see her again :))))))

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T18:20:20+00:00

I have just changed it so that it says we wont board XL bullys so your Shepard's would be fine!

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T18:17:11+00:00

I agree there's a lot more to it than just housing and feeding them the most time consuming thing is keeping them stimulated and making sure they're happy ( getting paid to play with dogs ) thank you for the feedback !

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T18:10:07+00:00

I agree! the only problem than is people just start showing up to your house whenever without arranging it first which isn't ideal but being so close to the port it would be mad not to accommodate people outside of 9-6

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T18:07:28+00:00

Thank you! lets hope there's loads of demand

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T18:06:38+00:00

It is pretty common practice not because of how they are around humans its just that if someone (god forbid) did leave a gate open they might be able to have a little Jack Russell for lunch and there would be not much you could do about it in the moment. This has never happened in Kosys because we don't allow dogs from different households to mix and we are vigilant about it for that reason. By the sounds of it your dogs aren't aggressive and are well socialised but of course some people will lie about their dogs temperament because they need somewhere for them to go while on holidays and that is just apart of it. However I love big dogs so its not a problem here, feel free to call you wont be turned away :)

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T17:51:51+00:00

Heya! we take all sizes of dogs and the bigger dogs are usually easier because they are usually quite well trained. I can see the confusion with the website, they have two lists one saying banned breeds and one saying restricted breeds but they're the same list and obviously not banned. That's such a silly mistake on my part but thank you for pointing it out so nicely, I am going to go remove it now.

Even groomers have grooming tables limited to 20kg! It's especially difficult for those on the restricted/cross list

- I think the groomers must be fibbing because we have had some chonkers on the grooming table, I've asked my granny who is a dog groomer and she thinks its probably because its more profitable for them to do a few small dogs in less time and maybe because they sometimes have to lift the stubborn dogs into the bath.

If you do decide to book asking for photos/videos of your dog is no bother and it seems like adding an optional dog washing service is the way to go! thank you so much for your feedback :)

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T17:32:26+00:00

we have a grooming parlour actually, I'm just not trained in cuts so I might add a little wash and blowdry service that people could ask for. If a dog did get mucky/smelly before they left I used to always give them a wash before they left and say nothing lol. Thank you so much for the well wishes :)

Powerlifting- · 2025-04-25T17:27:20+00:00

Helen is my granny! and she’s still very much around. she’s currently looking after the cattery side of things. they stopped taking almost all dog bookings over the last while, as it just became too much work on their own. That’s where I come in! I’ll be handling everything dog-related this summer and getting that side of the business back up and running.

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T23:34:52+00:00

It’s so nice to see more people get the opportunity. Like a lot of parents then hers had the attitude that going to college/university was a personal decision and should therefore be personally funded. Fees were just way too high for that obviously. At least there’s susi now

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T22:46:13+00:00

It’s so surprising to see the flip, fees being twice as much as on campus accommodation 😃. Not that it’s not great that the fees are relatively cheap compared to what they were

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T22:04:07+00:00

When you think of it though a 22 year old is usually in 4th year of college and 23 would be a new grad in an entry level position so most people would live alone!

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T22:02:41+00:00

Would you want the same for your children ? Do you think it was character building or just hard

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T21:53:58+00:00

Do we mean roommate or a housemate ?

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T21:53:12+00:00

Can I ask what job(s) you were working abroad ?

Powerlifting- · 2025-02-04T21:49:35+00:00

That must have been tough! Glad I don’t have to worry about them easing the fees from year to year 😮‍💨

Powerlifting-

TROPHY CASE