Fixed items
- Business registration: low double-digit amount, depending on the municipality
- Permit under § 11 TierSchG: fee varies by veterinary office
- Police certificate of good conduct
- Business liability insurance: ongoing premium
Guides
Starting a dog school: the process in eight steps
Professionally, most founders have long been ready. What holds them up is the order: which permit first, which registration when, which insurance actually covers you. This page sorts that out.
- The permit under § 11 TierSchG is the longest item in the schedule
- Business registration, tax office and insurance follow afterwards
- Six mistakes that regularly cost money at the start
- Roughly what starting up costs
By the PfotenCard editorial team (Joos Soft Solutions) · Published on · Last updated on
The eight steps in order
The order isn't a suggestion: you may not start without the permit under § 11 TierSchG, and it takes the longest.
Clarify your expertise
Before registering anything: how will you prove your expertise? A completed training or further education course with an exam is the easiest route. Without one, you prepare for the expert interview at the veterinary office.
Apply for the permit under § 11 TierSchG
In writing to the responsible veterinary office. Expect up to four months of processing time, extendable by two months. This is the longest item in the schedule – start with it, don't leave it until last.
Secure a training ground
Schools with a fixed location need escape-proof fencing, injury-free equipment, shelter from the weather and water. If you work on the move, you don't need a fixed ground – which significantly lowers start-up costs.
Register your business
At your local trade office. The registration is automatically forwarded to the tax office, the Chamber of Commerce (IHK) and the responsible employers' liability insurance association.
Tax registration
You submit the tax registration questionnaire via ELSTER. This is also where you decide on the small business rule under § 19 UStG – it saves VAT paperwork but rules out input tax deduction.
Take out insurance
Business liability insurance that explicitly includes the care of other people's dogs. Without this, the policy is worthless when it matters.
Define your offering and prices
Which courses, which group sizes, which hourly rate? Anyone who estimates here instead of calculating often works below their value for years.
This is how it looks in PfotenCard Become visible
A website with your town in the title, a Google Business Profile, listings in dog school directories. People search for “dog school” plus the name of their town – that's where you need to show up.
Six mistakes that cost money at the start
Starting the permit too late
Four months of processing time is the norm, not the exception. Anyone who plans course starts and advertising before the decision arrives ends up postponing both.
The wrong insurance
Normal business liability insurance without cover for other people's animals won't pay if a customer's dog causes or suffers damage during training.
Gut-feeling pricing
Anyone who bases their group price on the competitor next door instead of their own costs only notices the mistake after the first tax assessment.
No written terms
Terms of participation, liability rules, cancellation deadlines and compulsory vaccination belong before the first session – not in the discussion afterwards.
Admin on scraps of paper
A list works up to about thirty customers. After that, every week costs hours that are missing from training.
Groups set too large
Large groups look like more revenue, but they lower training quality and therefore referrals – a dog school's most important source of customers.
What starting up costs
The mandatory items are manageable. What gets expensive is what you spend on training, ground and equipment.
Variable items
- Training or further education with an exam
- Training ground: lease, fencing, weather shelter
- Equipment: hurdles, tunnels, long lines, leads, first-aid supplies
- Website, management software, accounting
Your trade office and veterinary office will tell you the exact fees – they differ from municipality to municipality. How to get from your running costs to an hourly price is explained under Calculating prices.
Frequently asked questions about starting up
- What do I need to open a dog school?
- The permit from the veterinary office under § 11 (1) sentence 1 no. 8 letter f TierSchG (German Animal Welfare Act) is mandatory – without it, you may not train commercially. On top of that come business registration, tax registration with the tax office, business liability insurance and a training ground. No specific qualification is required by law, but you must prove your expertise.
- Do I need a completed dog trainer qualification?
- In Germany there is no state-regulated training for dog trainers and no protected professional title. What matters is proving your expertise to the veterinary office. A completed training or further education course with an exam makes this considerably easier – without one, the route usually involves an expert interview.
- Business or freelance?
- In the vast majority of cases, a dog school is a trade and must be registered with the trade office. Whether a predominantly teaching activity counts as freelance by way of exception is decided by the tax office case by case. Clarify this with a tax adviser before registering – the classification affects trade tax and Chamber of Commerce (IHK) membership.
- What insurance does a dog school need?
- Business liability insurance is practically indispensable. Important: private pet owner liability insurance doesn't cover other people's dogs. Make sure the policy explicitly includes the care of other people's animals – otherwise you'll be personally liable if something happens during training.
- How much does it cost to start a dog school?
- The mandatory part is manageable: business registration costs a low double-digit amount, plus the fee for the § 11 permit, which varies from office to office. The larger share goes on training, the training ground, equipment and insurance. Your veterinary office and trade office will tell you the exact fees.
- How do I find my first customers?
- Most reliably through local visibility: a website with your town in the title, a Google Business Profile, recommendations from vets, animal shelters and canine physiotherapists, and listings in dog school directories. Puppy courses are usually the way in, because people with a young dog are actively searching.
Note: This page provides general guidance and is no substitute for legal or tax advice. Responsibilities, fees and requirements differ depending on the federal state and municipality.
Structure pays off from the first customer
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