(PRESS RELEASE) Dog Training Elite, the dog training franchise that works to support owners in creating a strong, reliable relationship with their four-legged friends, continues to expand rapidly thanks to its unique offering and strong business model. With over 320 territories nationwide, the franchise continues to grow, awarding new territories to expand and even garnering attention from Entrepreneur, securing the No. 12 spot on its Fastest Growing Franchises ranking.
“A lot of work has gone into this to lead up to where we are right now,” said Mark Mestas, CEO. “We definitely don’t take it lightly, and we look forward to taking that momentum and continuing to move forward with it.”
Dog Training Elite Expands Its Horizons
At the start of the year, Dog Training Elite had less than 100 remaining available franchise territories in the states it was licensed in, and accelerated growth left supply dwindling. With two new owners, who account for six new territories, added to the system and a new territory set to open in New Mexico at the start of August, the franchisor continues to sell out its markets.
However, it more recently obtained state approval to do operate and award franchises in California, which will bring a substantial amount of territory availability to the system, and prospective owners are already noticing. Though there have been no official signings to open in California, Dog Training Elite reports a full early pipeline, indicating a strong demand for the franchise in the state.
“Opening up availability in California opened up quite a bit of territory availability for us, but that’s not to say that an interested prospective owner shouldn’t hurry,” explained Nicole Evans, vice president of development. “We have someone looking at opening in Oregon, which is also a new market. The type of demand we see depends on the area the business will be opening in, but the demand is certainly there.”
As it looks toward the future of the system, Dog Training Elite is focused on protecting and supporting its existing franchisees to ensure it takes on healthy growth that will allow the brand to stay true to its roots and values.
“Our current owners are really important to us,” said Evans. “We want to see internal growth before we focus exclusively on growing externally.”
By offering a right of first refusal to existing franchise owners, Dog Training Elite has created an opportunity for its current network to take advantage of available territories before external owners come in. Since the offering was implemented system-wide, seven existing owners have taken advantage, making the choice to purchase a territory close to their existing one to expand their influence.
How the Dog Training Elite Franchise Stands Out in Local Communities
Dog Training Elite has long differentiated itself from other dog training models by relying heavily on positive reinforcement to support owners in building strong relationships with their pets. Rather than relying on the dog trainer to do all of the work, Dog Training Elite explains the process and equips the client with the skills they need to both bond with the dog and continue the learning process, even in the absence of the trainer.
Most notably, service dog training is becoming increasingly popular and has proven to be a very lucrative offering for Dog Training Elite owners.
“We’re starting to see a lot more service dog situations where we help people train their own. There has been a pretty big uptick in that across the board,” said Mestas. “It’s not in its infancy, but how dogs can help with all sorts of stuff is still becoming more well-known. People with PTSD, anxiety, seizures, POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), autism and more can use service dogs, and having that help can be a pretty big thing for the people and their families.”
Many families who could greatly benefit from the support of a service animal simply cannot afford to pay the tens of thousands of dollars that a pre-trained service dog might cost, and Dog Training Elite’s service dog training courses dramatically increase accessibility by making the process available and easily understandable at a much lower cost.
Given the progress Dog Training Elite has already made, Mestas and Evans agree that adding a predetermined number of territories to the system within a set time frame is far less important than continuing to encourage the growing strength of the system as a whole and the individual owners within it. As it follows along this path, Dog Training Elite is committed to continuing to bring a new, more accessible and effective form of dog training to the communities it enters across the nation.
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About Dog Training Elite
With more than four decades of experience in dog training, Dog Training Elite is one of the country’s leading obedience and specialized training franchises. Offering a comprehensive suite of customizable training programs, Dog Training Elite works with dogs and owners to meet any and all training needs, including therapy dog training and advanced service dog training for PTSD support, psychiatric support, mobility support, autism support, diabetic alert training and an array of other services. In addition to the wide breadth of services offered, Dog Training Elite differentiates itself from competitors through a uniquely human-focused approach to dog training, which focuses on helping owners and their families learn to effectively and consistently support their dog’s training needs. To learn more about franchising with the Franchise 500 Dog Training Elite, visit here.