Dogs are one of the most popular pets in the world, and owners spend steadily on them all year. That makes a dog store a strong business if you pick the right niche and build for repeat buyers. You can run one on your own inventory, through dropshipping, or with print-on-demand, so startup costs can stay low while you test what sells.

In this article, we look at how you can start a dog Shopify store with ease.

Key Takeaways
1
Create a Shopify account for a 3-day free trial to start building and taking orders easily.
2
Connect or register a domain carefully as it greatly influences your dog-themed store’s success.
3
Enter tax, payment, and shipping info, select a fast-loading pet theme, and add popups and social media features.

Popular Dog Store Niches

Dog is a huge category, and focused stores tend to grow faster than general ones. A clear niche is easier to market and helps you rank for the searches your buyers use. Some directions that sell well:

  • Food and treats, including natural, grain-free, and subscription options.
  • Toys and enrichment, from chew toys to puzzle feeders.
  • Apparel and accessories like collars, harnesses, and seasonal outfits.
  • Beds and furniture for comfort-focused shoppers who spend more.
  • Grooming and health products such as shampoos, supplements, and dental care.
  • Personalized and breed-specific gifts, a strong gifting angle.

Many owners buy across several of these once they trust a store, so it is fine to start narrow and widen later.

Step 1 - Register Your Shopify Account

The first thing that you have to do is to create a new Shopify account. With a new account, you can get access to the 3-day free trial. This allows you to build and take orders on your website with ease.

Step 2 - Connect Your Domain

If you have a domain, connect your domain to your Shopify account. And if you don’t have a domain, then you can register a domain with Shopify. Domains should be chosen carefully, they can have a massive impact on your website’s success.

Step 3 - Add Vital Information

Now you need to enter vital information such as tax information, payment details, shipping information and more. This can take a little time, but it is important to get it right.

Step 4 - Create the Website

Now you can build your store. Most dog stores start on one of Shopify’s fast free themes, then move to a paid theme as the catalog grows. Our pet store theme guide compares options that suit pet businesses. You can also see which themes and apps pet stores actually run on our Shopify pet store statistics page.

Plan your apps early too. Pet stores lean on reviews, email, and subscriptions to earn repeat orders. The chart below shows how many apps a typical pet store runs, so you can budget your stack.

6.3
Stores in this category install 6.3 apps on average
Median: 5 apps · 25th–75th percentile: 3–9 apps · max: 27 apps
Based on stores in this category in our dataset.
Apps installed% of stores
19.7%
211.4%
310.2%
410.4%
59.7%
6-1032.5%
11-2015.5%
21+0.7%

Last updated August 24, 2026.

Then add the functions that help shoppers act. A popup for email signups and clear product photos are good starting points.

Step 5 - Add Products

Now you can add products to your website. If you’ve created the products yourself, then you can add them manually to your website. Otherwise, you might want to get access to a CSV file to upload the products. Most suppliers can offer this service.

If you are dropshipping, an app like DSers or Spocket lets you import products in a few clicks. This allows you to import your product list and make additions with ease. For instance, you can change the product title, description, price and more. You can also import reviews from some dropshippers.

Step 6 - Market Your Brand

Now you can market your brand on social media and Google. Blogging helps here, since regular content brings in search traffic over time and gives you material to share by email and social. Stores that publish consistently tend to see steady growth in visits.

You should also ensure that you’re regularly publishing content on social media and sending out emails. Some apps can automate much of these processes for you, which can help you save time and concentrate on other business activities.

What Themes Do Dog Stores Use?

Before committing to a design, it helps to see what similar stores run. The leaderboard below shows the themes most common on pet and animal supply stores in our data. Free themes lead because they ship by default, while paid themes appear once owners want more control over merchandising.

Most-used themes on animals pet supplies Shopify stores

Dawn: 17.53%Dawn17.5%Horizon: 7.88%Horizon7.9%Shrine PRO: 5.3%Shrine PRO5.3%Impulse: 3.2%Impulse3.2%Prestige: 2.91%Prestige2.9%Sense: 1.68%Sense1.7%Motion: 1.68%Motion1.7%Impact: 1.68%Impact1.7%Minimog OS 2.0: 1.64%Minimog OS 2.01.6%Shrine: 1.23%Shrine1.2%
RankTheme% of stores
1Dawn17.5%
2Horizon7.9%
3Shrine PRO5.3%
4Impulse3.2%
5Prestige2.9%
6Sense1.7%
7Motion1.7%
8Impact1.7%
9Minimog OS 2.01.6%
10Shrine1.2%

Last updated August 24, 2026. Methodology →


Use it as a starting point, then pick the theme that fits your catalog size and brand.

Turn First Orders Into Repeat Buyers

Dog owners buy on a schedule. Food, treats, and supplies run out, so the real profit is in the second and tenth order, not the first. Make reordering easy, add a subscription option for consumables, and collect reviews with photos to win nervous first-time buyers. A simple email flow that reminds customers when they are likely to run low does more for revenue than chasing new traffic.