A Dog Lover's Dream Come True in Beautiful Chapel Hill, North Carolina

In The Owner’s Own Words

When I built this kennel, my goal was to create a perfect dog training kennel. It had to...

• be intimate enough to be fun and fulfilling, but large enough to make a living
• be surrounded by nature but close to decent amenities and a market with a client base affluent enough to support a growing business
• have a high quality, state-of-the-art kennel designed to provide the best care for dogs while keeping day-to-day maintenance to a minimum
• sit on enough land to exercise, hike, and play with dogs
• be in a climate with four seasons but not too much winter
• be an ideal place to train dogs and live a wholesome life that included lots of time outdoors
• include a residence for my wife, myself, and our dogs to live a beautiful life in.

"This kennel and accompanying lifestyle is perfect for someone who loves being outdoors, loves working with dogs, loves nature, and wants to be their own boss! If that sounds like you, this could be your opportunity to step into a continually growing business and get started building your more perfect life." - Gene

Location, Location, Location

Located a short drive outside of beautiful Chapel Hill, North Carolina, everything you could want or need is a short drive away. This property offers a perfect balance between convenience and country living.

The kennel is ideally situated in the center of the North Carolina piedmont between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic coast. Additionally, this property is less than a 30 minute drive from: the vibrant downtown cultural center of Durham; Raleigh, the state capital; RDU airport; the Research Triangle Park; Duke University; UNC-Chapel Hill; and NC State University.

Finally, it’s located in the heart of the Sun Belt. We enjoy four distinct seasons with particularly mild winters. On an average December day, our highs are over 50 degrees with overnight lows around 32 degrees. Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter, this is a great place to live and work with dogs.

The Business

This is a luxury, custom-built, established “board and train” obedience kennel with a fantastic reputation. We’ve constructed proven marketing, advertising, and sales strategies that maintain a steady flow of business year-round. With a client database of over 3,000 customers, a longstanding reputation as the premier training kennel in the area, and over 10 years of consistent improvement, the business is well poised for continued growth.

All that is currently offered is in-board dog training, however, boarding, daycare, group training classes, individual lessons, and grooming services offer additional opportunities to expand the business and increase revenue.

The business has rebounded well from the initial COVID-induced downturn. During the shutdown, many aspects of the business were upgraded, including the building of a (COVID-compliant) private area for outdoor lessons, a new roof, alternate pricing structures, and tasteful landscaping additions.

Through the pandemic, we found an opportunity to increase our profitability by decreasing costs, optimizing processes, and increasing average transaction value. Ultimately, we find ourselves in a significantly more profitable, leaner, and truthfully, a much more enjoyable version of our business.

Skills Required

While having dog training skills would be optimal, it’s not necessary.

All daily tasks--including managing the kennel, making appointments, providing lessons to customers, doing sales work, and training dogs--is done by a fully-trained staff. All employees, including the actual dog trainers, joined with no prior experience. This structured operation allows the owner the freedom to travel, or even live off site, as the staff handles day-to-day operations. I have successfully built a business that works, and I can teach you how to operate it. If you have a passion for working with and being around dogs, everything else can be taught.

The Residence

• Beautiful 1,632 square foot home with 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a loft, constructed in 1986
• 1,160 square foot deck, surrounding an in-ground pool and hot tub with privacy fence
• 7 foot wraparound deck along the back of house connected to pool decking
• Natural gas range, fireplace, grill, water heater and dual fuel heat

The house sits at the front of the property, which allows the bevy of windows across the back to provide a panoramic view of the sprawling, idyllic, nearly 5-acre property. The decks, pool, hot tub, creek side areas, kennel patio and multiple fire pits offer wonderful outdoor living venues. A spacious, but cozy, kitchen and dining area situated along the rear of the house provides lots of welcoming, natural southern light. The generous, en suite master bedroom is located on the main floor. The house has a one-car garage with additional parking for 4 cars. The roofs on the house and on the kennel were replaced in 2020.

The Kennel

This is a state-of-the-art, 2,640 square foot facility originally built in 2010 that has been continuously upgraded and improved

The Kennel Room

The 1,471 square foot kennel room is the heart of the property and has been specifically designed with training goals, safety, comfort, and convenience in mind. The room was built with state-of-the-art, high-quality materials from top to bottom, ensuring peak performance and lasting durability.

There are 20 runs ranging between 3.5' x 8' and 10' x 8'. Each run has isolation panels on either side in order to keep neighbors from fighting. Additionally, to further minimize friction, our kennel includes a full 12-foot aisle between the two rows of kennels. This is far wider than the norm, but this is a training center and relaxed dogs really do learn better.

What matters most in a kennel is the lowest foot and a half of the room - where the dogs are. For this reason, the entire kennel room has epoxy floors rather than the customary cement and a dual fuel system complete with radiant heating. This design directly heats the floor rather than the air, keeping the dogs warm and cozy even on the coldest days. In addition, there are six thermostats to properly control the climate in the room.

The kennel room was built to be as redundantly sound-proof as possible. The cement block walls are heavily insulated, and the windows (which run the length of the room on both sides) are each made with three panes of quarter-inch glass. The acoustician who designed the room said that "if every dog in the room barked at exactly the same moment, the apparent sound outside at the nearest property line would be less than that of one large dog barking one half mile away."

The drain system in this room is also a unique feature. In most kennels, the floor is slanted so that the waste runs forward, past the dog, into a trough in the aisle. The system here sends waste in the run towards the rear and waste in the aisle-way to a drain in the middle, keeping the dog’s living space clean. All drains include integrated plumbing and filters for maintenance.

This is a luxury training kennel, and every aspect of the kennel room has been purposefully oriented in that manner.

The Training Room

The 900 square foot training room is a very unique feature of the kennel. It is a huge, versatile, open room that can be configured in countless ways. Group classes with up to 10 owners and their dogs have been given in this room.

The training room features two entire walls made up of windows overlooking the picturesque grounds and neighboring creeks.

Step through the glass back door, and you'll find yourself on a spectacular outdoor training area surrounded by custom, built-in cedar benches able to accommodate a dozen owners and their dogs. This semi-circle cement deck was created specifically for group classes and demonstrations. This patio also enjoys southern exposure and features the most impressive views of the property.

The training room also includes a custom-built desk, office, and storage area that encloses one corner of the room. This is currently being used for office space and an area for the owner's dogs to relax while the room is in use.

The Support Services Spaces

A strategically placed support services space is located in the center of the building, with easy access to both the kennel and training room. This area features a reception desk, private office, restroom, kitchen, grooming area, and plentiful storage. The grooming area includes an elevated bathtub, allowing you to bathe dogs standing up. Like the training room, the kitchen and bath area feature more large windows, providing lots of light and a wonderful view.

The Land

This beautiful property is bordered by two streams, one of which has a two-foot waterfall. Many years ago it was a dairy farm, and the mowed pastures have become a giant lawn that includes:

• 21 mature walnut trees
• 18 mature cedars
• 16 very large (over 100 feet) assorted trees

To get a real sense of this amazing property, be sure to check out the photo gallery linked below.

Overall

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step into an established business and start the next phase of your life. With up-to-date facilities, amenities, and a proven business model, living your dream of working, playing, and spending time with dogs couldn’t be easier or more gratifying.

Imagine waking up, watching the sun rise over the creek in your backyard, and then spending each day as your own boss, working with dogs and helping their owners. This is truly a dream come true.

The Money

The entire property, all structures, and the know-how to run the business successfully is priced in the low seven figures. In-depth financial documents are available upon request.