Hounds Town USA CEO Michael Gould Talks to Franchise Expo About the Doggie Daycare Business and Why His Business Model is Like No Other in the Industry. 

In 2015, people spent more on their dogs than they did on their children. Staggering fact, isn’t it? As the pet care industry continues to boom, the demand for services such as doggie daycare, luxury overnight boarding, and grooming has never been higher. Surprisingly, there are only a handful of doggie daycare franchises that exist, despite the fact that the industry is essentially recession-resistant and the demand for these services shows no signs of down trending.

Hounds Town USA is a unique doggie daycare franchise that began on Long Island, NY, and is quickly expanding across the country. In business for more than 15 years, Hounds Town USA offers several things no other pet care franchise does. “With 35 years of commercial dog training experience from my career in canine law enforcement, I have a deep understanding of canine behavior and the dog brain and it’s enabled me to develop a particular method for grouping dogs in playgroups that has proven very successful,” says founder and CEO Michael Gould. Gould began his canine career in the NYPD as a canine handler, then moved on to become the Commanding Officer of the Nassau County Canine Unit on Long Island. He has also worked with Military Working Dogs and bomb dogs at locations including Ground Zero. Because Gould understands dogs and how to manage them properly, Hounds Town USA does not breed discrimination. “The brain of a pit bull is no different than the brain of a poodle,” he says. For franchisees, this means larger revenue streams from “bully breeds” banned at other pet care facilities.

With a rich background in canine management, Gould found that opening a fully interactive doggie daycare was a natural extension of his law enforcement career. “It is so essential for pet care professionals to truly understand dogs in order to be able to offer what we do at Hounds Town, which, at the core, is fully interactive daycare–meaning dogs play in natural packs all day long,” explains Gould. “Too many professionals in this industry, including those Big Box stores, do not really know what they’re doing. They’re trying to grab a piece of the market without the knowledge to back it up.”

Impressively, this pet care franchise has hosted 600,000 visitors across four locations since its inception. The franchise is looking for passionate people to expand their brand with. “To me, this opportunity is about tapping into the $60-billion-a-year pet care business but also about extending our Hounds Town family. And we are a family,” says Gould.

To read the full interview, click here. To find out more about Hounds Town USA franchise opportunities and starting a dog daycare, visit www.houndstownfranchise.com.