Dog training franchise finance
Percentage fees at the median brand come to 10.9% of sales. The median cost to open runs $77,900 to $137,250.
Dog training franchises at a glance
- Averan Franchise compares six dog training franchise brands, each from its own 2026 FDD.
- The cost to open a dog training franchise runs from $40,175 at Sit Means Sit to $1,099,450 at All Dogs Unleashed.
- All Dogs Unleashed reports the highest average sales of these brands, at $930,432, and Bark Busters the lowest, at $144,479.
- Franchise fees take 7.32% to 18.87% of sales across the five brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure.
These figures come from each brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
Find a dog training brand
This guide covers six brands, each from its own 2026 FDD. Open one, or pick two and compare them.
All 6 brands
The brands in this group
Each brand has its own page on how its locations make money, with every figure set out against the brand’s disclosure document it comes from.
- All Dogs Unleashed 14 locations · Revenue by service line and kennel utilization
- Bark Busters Sales, single group
- Canine Dimensions 23 locations · Minimum royalty
- Sit Means Sit No financial performance representation
- The Dog Wizard 98 locations · Fixed charges against median revenue
- Zoom Room Full profit line for 48 gyms with top and bottom quarters, plus customer acquisition cost against lifetime revenue
The figures, brand by brand
| Measure | Median | Brands | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average sales per unit | $283,698 | 5 of 6 | Median of each brand’s disclosed average |
| Median sales per unit | $145,820 | 5 of 6 | Median of each brand’s disclosed median |
| Initial franchise fee | $49,500 | 6 of 6 | |
| Royalty | 8% | 6 of 6 | Headline rate |
| Brand or advertising fund | 0% | 6 of 6 | |
| Fees paid to the brand | 10.9% | 5 of 6 | Royalty, brand fund and other fees paid to the brand or its affiliates, as a share of average sales |
| Cost to open, low | $95,150 | 6 of 6 | |
| Cost to open, high | $280,550 | 6 of 6 | |
| Profit margin | Fewer than three disclose | 2 of 6 | Each brand’s own profit line; definitions differ |
| Labor, share of revenue | Fewer than three disclose | 2 of 6 | |
| Building costs, share of revenue | Fewer than three disclose | 2 of 6 | |
| Unit growth over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 0% | 5 of 6 | (End − start) ÷ start |
| Customers lost over each FDD’s Item 20 period (2025, or 2023 to 2025) | 4.8% | 5 of 6 | Terminated, non-renewed, reacquired and ceased, ÷ opening units; transfers excluded |
Each figure is the median of the brands that disclose it, and the Brands column counts them.
How we calculated this
Revenue is each brand's own reported figure on its own unit basis, so the median describes the group and no single brand. Growth and customers lost are our calculations from each brand's outlet table. Where fewer than three brands disclose a figure, no benchmark is shown.
The model
The business model the top performers in dog training are running
What the top performers can do that others cannot
One of the six dog training brands here sells a contract. Filling a fixed building is the constraint, and the rent does not move when the week is quiet. Rostering against demand is the constraint.
What the customer is buying
The customer buys a recurring account billed monthly. At one of them the model is different: the customer buys a quoted job, usually once, which asks something else of the owner. A location at the middle brand sells $283,698 a year, and the median top group sells $609,066. The offer is the same at both ends of that range, so the difference is volume.
Who the customer is, and how often they come back
This is a retention business. The money is made in the second year of a customer, not the first month, so the number that decides the year is how many stay. A median 35% of locations reach their own brand’s average, so most of the system is below the number the brand advertises, and the gap usually comes from low demand. Effort is usually not the cause. The top group sells $609,066 against $100,767 at the bottom. Trade area and site set that range before an owner takes a booking.
How the money works
Opening costs $40,175 to $1,099,450 across the group, and inside one brand the top of the range is typically 1.6 times the bottom. At the middle brand franchise fees take 10.9% of sales. The percentage changes little between them; the dollars change a lot.
Top performers
These are the things that separate top performers in dog training
Across the dog training brands that publish both figures, the median top group of locations sells $609,066 a year and the median bottom group sells $100,767. Across these brands, a median of 35% of locations reach their own brand’s average.
Decided before you open
- Opening cost against sales.The top group sells $609,066 a year against a build that tops out at $1,099,450, so at the heavy end of the range a location sells $0.55 for every dollar it cost to open.
- Rent as a share of sales.Occupancy runs 8.7% of sales at All Dogs Unleashed and 25.6% at Zoom Room, the two brands that disclose it. Top-group locations put more sales through the same square footage, with longer earning hours, a second daypart, and a site picked for traffic.
Live operating levers
- Wages by brand.Wages run 32.1% of sales at Zoom Room and 33.2% at All Dogs Unleashed, the two brands that disclose them. The levers are scheduling against booked demand hour by hour, sales per paid hour, and keeping part of pay variable. On the top group’s $609,066 of sales, a point of wages is $6,091 a year; on the bottom group’s $100,767 it is $1,008.
- Cost of goods by brand.Products and materials take 6.1% of sales at Zoom Room and 9.5% at All Dogs Unleashed, the two brands that disclose them. The levers on this line are buying on the brand program, holding the price list instead of discounting to close, and counting waste weekly.
- Profit margin.Two brands publish a profit line, and they keep 8.2% to 16.6% of sales. The cost lines above move by a few points between the highest-selling and lowest-selling locations while sales move by multiples.
- Fees as a share of sales.Fees run a median 10.9% of sales across five brands, from 7.3% to 18.9%. Where a minimum applies, lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. At $609,066 the fees cost $66,388 a year; at $100,767 they cost $10,984.
Context you underwrite around
- First-year build-up.None of the six dog training filings shows how a new location builds up.
- Brands without sales bands.One brand publishes only an average, with no sales bands.
Operating levers
What each brand’s top performers actually work on
These are the levers each brand's filing supports. Each brand has three to five, read from its own 2026 FDD. Filter by type of business, or open a brand for the figures underneath.
6 brands
All Dogs Unleashed
Dog training
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 7.3% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 8.7% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Wages. Wages take 33.2% of sales. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
Bark Busters
Dog training
- Accounts. Accounts bill year after year. Track how many you keep as well as how many you win.
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 10.0% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
Canine Dimensions
Dog training
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 18.9% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Sales depend on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month.
Sit Means Sit
Dog training
- Jobs. Each job is won separately. Track how many quotes turn into work and the average job value.
- Fees and the minimum. A minimum fee applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
The Dog Wizard
Dog training
- Fees and the minimum. Fees run about 12.7% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Sales depend on pets served. The owner counts how many pets come through in a day and how many come back within the month.
Zoom Room
Dog training
- Wages. Wages take 32.1% of sales, against 8.2% kept at the end. The levers are staff productivity, scheduling against demand hour by hour, and the balance of base pay to commission.
- Occupancy cost. Rent and building costs take 25.6% of sales here. The rent is fixed when the lease is signed, so this share falls only as sales per square foot rise.
- Membership drives the model. Track how many members join, how many cancel, and what each member spends beyond the plan.
- Fees. Fees run about 10.9% of sales. No minimum royalty applies, so the charge rises and falls with sales.
Dog training cost lines as a share of sales
Two of the six dog training brands in Averan Franchise disclose what their locations spend on wages, rent and space, or cost of goods. Each figure is a share of the average location's sales, from the brand's 2026 FDD. Rent and space covers rent and the other costs of the premises.
| Brand | Wages | Rent and space | Cost of goods |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Dogs Unleashed | 33.2% | 8.7% | 9.5% |
| Zoom Room | 32.1% | 25.6% | 6.1% |
Common questions
How much does a dog training franchise cost to open?
Among the six dog training brands in Averan Franchise that publish it, the cost to open runs from $40,175 at Sit Means Sit to $1,099,450 at All Dogs Unleashed, according to their 2026 FDDs.
Which dog training franchise costs the least to open?
Sit Means Sit has the lowest starting cost of the dog training brands in Averan Franchise, at $40,175 to $137,250.
Which dog training franchise has the highest average sales?
All Dogs Unleashed reports the highest average sales of the dog training brands in Averan Franchise, at $930,432 in its 2026 FDD.
What do dog training franchise fees cost as a share of sales?
Across the five dog training brands where Averan Franchise works out the figure, franchise fees take 7.32% to 18.87% of sales.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
- I run several locations. Which ones actually make money?It shows each location's contribution to profit and the reporting it takes to see it.
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. It checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What revenue releases your brand’s minimum?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around the crossover point where a percentage overtakes your minimums, occupancy cost read as a percentage every month. We also build a profit line that shows your own pay as a cost.
Talk to AveranWhere these figures come from
Every figure here comes from the brands' 2026 FDDs and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brands. The medians, growth and customers lost figures are our own calculations. The figures describe past performance at other businesses. They are not a projection of your results. This page is an educational summary and is not an offer to sell a franchise or financial, legal or tax advice. All trademarks belong to their owners. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.