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Genera Dog Software

@generadogsoftware

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Running a dog daycare since 2011 @duncansdogco
What it really costs + the stuff nobody tells you
We built the software we use. Try it free ↓

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Day 20 of 31. Part one of four.

We read our Defra licence line by line. Every condition a council inspector can score a dog daycare against, all the way through.

Some of it is exactly what you would hope somebody was checking. Some of it is astounding.

One line says a bitch in season has to be kept where no male dog can see, hear or smell her. One says the room the dogs sleep in has to be between ten and twenty six degrees. One wants a written record of whether every dog has had a wee and a poo. One limits a crate to an hour in eight, and only if the owner has agreed in writing.

Six of them in this video. Duncan rates each one useful or bonkers. He kept two.

The point is not that rules are bad. It is that these are the lines a licensed business gets judged on, and a lot of them are things nobody can actually check.

Twenty two lines across the four videos.

Which one would you cross out?

Source: Dog day care licensing, statutory guidance for local authorities. Updated 1 June 2026. by @generadogsoftware

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23 days ago

This is your sign to never, ever give up.

In 2024 I was told I wasn't allowed to look after dogs on my own land. Land I own. On a business that had been five star licensed the entire time.

What followed cost me £250,000. My fixed rate ended right in the middle of it too, so my mortgage went from £3,500 to £11,000 a month, for close to two years.

We sat in front of 8 councillors. Every single one overturned the recommendation to refuse. Unanimous.

Fifteen years in, and that's still the year I find hardest to talk about. But if you're in your hard year right now, this is your sign.

What's the year in your business you don't usually talk about? by @generadogsoftware

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2 months ago

You need a licence to keep a tiger. You can walk a hundred dogs on private land and nothing is required.

Long one. There's a catch. 2x me if you need to.

Our licence at Duncan's Dog Co has two numbers in it. Ten dogs to one member of staff on our own ground, condition 4.1 of the day care licence. Six dogs to one person the moment we take them off site, condition 7.2. An inspector checks both.

A dog walker has neither. The licence only covers businesses with a fixed premises, and the guidance leaves dog walkers out by name. Some councils have put a number on their own parks. Tower Hamlets caps it at four dogs per person in a public place. That order stops at the park gate.

Here is the catch. Find someone with a lot of private land, get their permission, and there is no ratio, no licence and no inspector. Twenty dogs in a field and nobody is coming to count them. That is not dodging the system. The system was never written for it.

The only people in dog care with a number on them are the ones who volunteered to be checked.

Day 14 of 31 days of all things licensing and regulation. Tomorrow: why a member of staff going on holiday costs a dog daycare more than it costs most other businesses. by @generadogsoftware

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a month ago

It's easy to start a quick bit of software. We've been building Genera block by block ever since, and we've thought about all the little things that make it work in a real business.

Back when it was just me, Jess, Becks and two staff, everything lived in Google Calendar and a spreadsheet. Our answer to every customer text was "no problem", whatever they asked. Then one day I turned up to collect a customer's dog, and he'd cancelled. I went anyway. I said to him, if only someone would build me a booking system, and he said he'd do it. That was 13 years ago, and what he built was the very first version of what became Genera.

Thanks @theadamfayed for having us on the show. by @generadogsoftware

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20 hours ago

Long before Duncan's Dog Co, I spent years as a club promoter, standing on the door. It taught me more about dogs than I ever expected. The bouncy, happy ones are fine. The one standing stiff at the back is the one you watch.

What did your old job teach you about looking after dogs?

#dogdaycare #dogbehaviour #dogbodylanguage #doggydaycare by @generadogsoftware

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2 days ago

When we were naming Genera, we looked at a lot of words. The one we kept came from Latin. Genus means birth, family, pedigree. It's also the word scientists use to group animals, and every dog you've ever looked after belongs to the genus Canis.

Genera is the plural. Lots of families. That felt right, because pet care isn't one business. It's daycares, dog walkers, boarders, groomers and trainers, and we wanted one system built for all of you.

What's the story behind your business name? 🐾 by @generadogsoftware

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2 days ago

Thinking about getting your daycare licensed? I've been through it, and honestly, it's not as scary as it looks.

To me a licence is accountability. You jump through a few hoops, you pay your fee, and it tells every owner you've done the basics. It protects the people doing it properly.

Here's what the guidance asks for. Ten dogs to one member of staff, and six on a walk. Six square metres for every dog, and your inside and outside space both count. A trained team, with a Level 2 or the experience to show for it.

Then the inspector comes. I welcome them with open arms. Nobody gets five stars first time, because you've no track record yet, so four is the best a first licence can be. Do it well and it pays you back. At five stars I go three years between inspections, and I've still had spot checks. That's how it should be.

If you're thinking about it, comment REPORT and I'll send you what your council charges and a checklist of what to have ready. by @generadogsoftware

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3 days ago

I've spent this whole series asking for more inspections. Then I watched the hidden camera footage that's been going round, and it made me stop and think.

Metro reported on a dairy farm where footage filmed hours before a retailer's inspection appeared to show workers padding the pens with extra straw. The inspection lasted 10 minutes. When you know an inspector is coming, you can dress the set.

It made me think about our own inspections. A five star daycare licence lasts three years, and the guidance asks for at least one unannounced visit in that time. I've had three unannounced visits in one year and I welcomed every one of them. I've got nothing to hide.

I still think inspections are needed. Without a licence and written rules, there's nothing to mark anyone against, announced or not. The bigger question is how councils pay for enough inspectors to do more of them.

Do you think inspections actually work?

Day 28 of 31 days of all things licensing and regulation.

Sources: Metro, 6 October 2026. Defra, Animal activity licensing process: statutory guidance for local authorities. by @generadogsoftware

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4 days ago

Starting a dog daycare? The first thing everyone asks is what to charge.

Most people look at the daycare down the road and go a pound or two under. But prices change a lot depending on where you are. A day costs about £55 in London and £27.50 in Yorkshire.

And the daycare down the road might not be covering its costs. With two staff, the rent and a wage for yourself, a daycare with 16 dogs needs about £31 a day just to break even.

👇 Comment PRICE and we'll send you what daycares in your area charge, plus our free calculator to work out your own day rate.

#dogdaycare #dogdaycareuk #startingabusiness #dogbusiness #doggydaycare #petbusinessowner #dogdaycareowner by @generadogsoftware

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5 days ago

A software company offered me their app for free & I said no. The reason? Well in the words of Duncan from @duncansdogco & owner of @generadogsoftware I’m a “one in a million dog walker who does all this already fur my customers”. But if you’re not already doing this & you want an app that gives your customers live updates on your collection routes, creates invoices & reminders, keeps veterinary & emergency contact information safely stored & provides information on members of staff like accreditation, licence & insurance data then you need the Genera app. Begin your 30 day free trial #genera #thedogenthusiast #professionaldogwalker #ad by @generadogsoftware

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6 days ago

The winner of the most ridiculous comment on Day 22: "If you need a dog walker, don't own a dog."

If we can't homeschool our kids, should we not have kids? There are a million and one reasons to use a walker. Your dog gets company, exercise and something to do with its day. You've got a doctor's appointment, work, the kids. My dogs are lazy as sin and they still need walking.

Using a walker, even just a day here and a day there, is part of being a responsible owner. It isn't a sign you shouldn't have a dog.

To be fair to the person who wrote it, they explained in the replies that they understand people who need a walker, and they'd like to see licences for trainers and owners too. On owners, they might be in luck. That's coming on Day 31.

Do you use a dog walker?

Day 27 of 31 days of all things licensing and regulation. by @generadogsoftware

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6 days ago

Vicky from Woof Whistle Walk has been with us since day one, and this one means a lot to us.

Trusting your business to a new system is a scary thing to do. You worry it will just become one more thing eating your time. So hearing her call it a life changer, and a godsend, honestly made our week.

She went from pen and paper to one place for her invoicing, her bookings and her clients booking for themselves. Route planning is the newest job she's handed over, and in her words, it's "another job less for me."

Thank you, Vicky. Running a daycare is not for the faint hearted, and we are so glad we get to make it a little easier.

Daycare owners, what's the one job you'd love to hand over? by @generadogsoftware

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9 days ago