Hike Doggie Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $89K – $205K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Hike Doggie is a pet services franchise providing group dog hiking and outdoor adventure outings as an alternative to walking and daycare. Franchisees run local operations, managing hike guides, scheduling, and clients.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hike Doggie franchise requires a total initial investment of $89K – $205K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2025. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $89K – $205K
- 26th pct Pet Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 2 outlets
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 69th pct Pet Services
- Units
- 2
- 16th 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 $89K – $205K including a $45K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 33/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +1 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Happie Doggie, LLC
- Parent company
- Loyalty, LLC; Hike Doggie Franchising, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Loyalty, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- Hike Doggie Franchising, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO
- Cory Hughes
- CEO experience
- 13 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 780 Lynnhaven Pkwy, Suite 240, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Hike Doggie
- has offered franchises s
- Loyalty Business Services
- ATAX
- Loyalty Brokers
- Purely Pet
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 8
8 other brands on this site name Loyalty, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
- ATAXB
- Cooper’s ScoopersC
- LedgersF
- Loyalty Business BrokersC
- Loyalty Business ServicesB
- Salty Dawg Pet SalonD
- The Inspection Boys® (Area Representative)D
- Zoomin Groomin®A
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Cory Hughes
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 55% below the typical pet services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $45K | $45K | |
| Brand Identity Package | $5K | $5K | |
| Bus and Bus Upfitting | $2K | $82K | |
| Dog Transportation Equipment | $6K | $6K | |
| Bus Vehicle Wrap | $5K | $5K | |
| Bus Transport/Delivery | $0 | $4K | |
| Hike Doggie Bus Inventory and Supplies | $2K | $3K | |
| Computer System | $2K | $3K | |
| Hike Doggie Bus Stop Equipment and Supplies | $4K | $11K | |
| Training Expenses | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurance - 3 Months | $3K | $4K | |
| Professional Expenses | $2K | $3K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $500 | $1K | |
| Grand Opening Program | $3K | $3K | |
| Lease, Utility, and Security Deposits, Storage | $0 | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $10K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $89K | $205K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $89K – $205K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Hike Doggie makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Hike Doggie 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — above the Pet Services median of 8.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Hike Doggie Compares
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
- 2
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 50%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 9
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
5 current owners across 4 states.
- VI 2
- CO 1
- GO 1
- WE 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 1 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Hike Doggie is a pre-revenue or micro-system franchise with a legally troubled founder, zero financial transparency, going concern issues, and insufficient operating units to validate the business model.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Multiple concluded and one pending case involving director John T. Hewitt related to prior employment at Liberty Tax and ATAX; one pending investor fraud claim (2025); various concluded settlements including $775K (Shahabuddin) and $545K (JTH Tax v. Hewitt); DOJ consent order against Liberty Tax (2019); CA Commissioner consent order requiring Hewitt to disclose DOJ order in future FDDs
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited statement is a balance sheet only (opening balance sheet as of October 9, 2025); franchisor formed September 16, 2025 and has no full fiscal year, so no income statement or revenue figures are presented.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 33 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 2 operating units with unknown growth trajectory suggests system is pre-revenue or contracting
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (average revenue/net income) disclosed—cannot validate unit economics or ROI potential
- 03HIGHLitigation history involving founder John Hewitt and Liberty Tax Service includes fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and non-compete violations, raising integrity concerns
- 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($45,000) relative to minimal system size creates disproportionate risk with unproven model
- 05MED8% royalty on undisclosed revenues means ongoing cost burden without transparent profitability benchmarks
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% 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 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 125,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | VA |
| Litigation count | 9 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Multiple concluded and one pending case involving director John T. Hewitt related to prior employment at Liberty Tax and ATAX; one pending investor fraud claim (2025); various concluded settlements including $775K (Shahabuddin) and $545K (JTH Tax v. Hewitt); DOJ consent order against Liberty Tax (2019); CA Commissioner consent order requiring Hewitt to disclose DOJ order in future FDDs
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 42 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 25 hrs
- Training location
- Golden, Colorado or another designated training center or online
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee (home-based permitted; optional commercial site requires franchisor approval)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Time to Pet
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Time to Pet
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 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 Hike Doggie franchise?
The total investment to open a Hike Doggie franchise ranges from $89K – $205K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Hike Doggie franchise owners earn?
Hike Doggie makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Hike Doggie?
Hike Doggie is franchised by Happie Doggie, LLC. Its parent company is Loyalty, LLC; Hike Doggie Franchising, LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Loyalty, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Hike Doggie 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 Hike Doggie FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Hike Doggie's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Hike Doggie (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 Hike Doggie franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hike Doggie has 2 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hike Doggie a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hike Doggie as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 33 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
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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.