Dog Training Elite Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $188K – $297K
- Disclosed sales
- $335K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 19 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Dog Training Elite is a pet-services franchise providing in-home and facility-based dog obedience and behavioral training. Franchisees run a training operation with certified trainers offering classes, private sessions, and board-and-train programs.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Dog Training Elite franchise requires a total initial investment of $188K – $297K, including a $110K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average revenue per franchisee was $335K. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $188K – $297K
- 47th pct Pet Services
- Avg gross sales
- $335K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 69th pct Pet Services
- Units
- 419
- 94th pct Pet Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Pet Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Pet Services median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $188K – $297K including a $110K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per franchisee of $335K/year (median $278K). Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 71/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +21 franchised outlets in the latest year (21 opened, 0 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Dog Training Elite Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- DTE Demo Dog, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- CEO
- John Mestas
- CEO experience
- 30 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 2909 S. Dobson RD., #15, Mesa, AZ 85202
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.5M
- vs $3.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- John Mestas
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 36
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 26% below the typical pet services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $110K | $110K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $22K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $55K | $137K |
| Total initial investment | $188K | $297K |
Source: Dog Training Elite 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $188K – $297K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $22K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $110K – $110K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $325 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $6K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 44% below the pet services norm.
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Dog Training Elite until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$278K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Dog Training Elite unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
- Avg gross sales
- $335K
- Per franchisee, per year — not per outlet
- Median gross sales
- $278K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 69 franchisees
- vs category median 12 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $40K→$953KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 50 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
Compared against 69 Pet Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average franchisee generates $335K/year in gross sales. Median is $278K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Pet Services median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System expanding at 14.8% CAGR over 3 years across 419 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Pet Services medians
How Dog Training Elite Compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Pet Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 419
- Opened
- 21
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +14.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +14.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 6
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 36 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
36
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 19
- Loan volume
- $2.6M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Limited · 19 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 19 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 19 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 19 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 1
- Typical loan rate
- 9.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.4%
- n=1,203 loans
- Jobs supported
- 93
- 3.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 47%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 88% went to startups / new businesses, 12% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in pet care (except veterinary) services, franchised businesses charge off at 10.4% vs 11.3% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Dog Training Elite franchisees
Showing 3 of 7 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Dog Training Elite from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 4.3%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 74%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.32%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $105K
- Lender concentration
- 47.1%
- Job velocity
- 3.8 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 4.6%
- NAICS 812910
- Jobs supported
- 93
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 47% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 8 | $932K | N/A |
| 2 | United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 5 | $682K | 100.0% |
| 3 | Security Bank | 1 | $455K | N/A |
| 4 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 1 | $270K | N/A |
| 5 | Northeast Bank | 1 | $40K | N/A |
| 6 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 1 | $50K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAGeorgia | 3 | 1 | 100.0% |
| NJNew Jersey | 2 | 0 | -- |
| OHOhio | 2 | 0 | -- |
| RIRhode Island | 2 | 0 | -- |
| TNTennessee | 2 | 0 | -- |
| WIWisconsin | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NHNew Hampshire | 1 | 0 | -- |
| NMNew Mexico | 1 | 0 | -- |
| OKOklahoma | 1 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Undisclosed financials, internal governance litigation, multiple franchisor enforcement actions, and minimal growth create meaningful uncertainty around unit economics and franchisor stability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
1 arbitration among members/officers settled and dismissed with prejudice Oct 2025. 3 franchisor-initiated suits: 2 against Condorman/Neal Mestas (dismissed 2025), 1 against Ballard/Sbibos (pending) for breach of contract and failure to pay royalties.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenue of $3,494,397 stated in Item 8 (supplier rebate of 0.8% of total revenue). Item 21 audited financial statements (Exhibit B, dated Dec 31 2024/2023/2022 plus unaudited Dec 31 2025 interim) are present as image-only pages in this text extract; no balance-sheet/income-statement line items (net worth, assets, liabilities, net income, auditor) were OCR-captured.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 71 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHInternal litigation involving breach of fiduciary duty and fund misappropriation suggests governance instability at franchisor level
- 02MINORThree franchisor-initiated lawsuits indicate enforcement challenges and potential franchisee compliance/profitability issues
- 03MINORSlow unit growth (5.3% YoY) with 419 total units suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction concerns
- 04MED8% royalty on undisclosed revenue creates opacity—actual net margins unknown relative to $110k franchise fee
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 175,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 90 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Mesa, Arizona |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 4 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 arbitration among members/officers settled and dismissed with prejudice Oct 2025. 3 franchisor-initiated suits: 2 against Condorman/Neal Mestas (dismissed 2025), 1 against Ballard/Sbibos (pending) for breach of contract and failure to pay royalties.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 87 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 129 hrs
- Training location
- Mesa, Arizona or other location designated by franchisor
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Chase merchant mobile Point of Sale System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Chase merchant mobile Point of Sale System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Dog Training Elite franchise?
The total investment to open a Dog Training Elite franchise ranges from $188K – $297K, with an initial franchise fee of $110K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Dog Training Elite franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Dog Training Elite FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $335K. The median is $278K. Important context: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Dog Training Elite?
Dog Training Elite is franchised by Dog Training Elite Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is DTE Demo Dog, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Dog Training Elite FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Dog Training Elite FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Dog Training Elite's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Dog Training Elite (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Dog Training Elite franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Dog Training Elite has 419 total units in the United States, including 419 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 21 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Dog Training Elite a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Dog Training Elite as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 71 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Dog Training Elite, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Pet Services franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Pet Services category
Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.