reason why I am asking is because I am trying to find out how to get licensed in ohio and one site I read said you couldnt have any pets...which stinks for me because I have two adorable puppies....anybody know anything? thanks!

I know that in Pennsylvania you can not have pets. I would assume that would be the same anywhere. Check your dept of agriculture or health. Call them up and ask. They are usually pretty nice. HTH

I think it varies by state.

Here in Oregon, You can not have any pets inside of the home. If you have a pet, You can not let it in the home at all. Just one of the rules here.
Kathy

In NH you can but they must be sequestered away from the kitchen when you are doing anything pertaining to your baking for the public.. it definitely varies state to state.

In Ohio you can have pets, but you cannot be licensed, just follow the Cottage Laws. That limits you on what you can make though (you cannot sell anything that needs to be refrigerated). If you want to get licensed, the two biggies are no pets and no carpet in the kitchen.

....one more thing.... you are also limited to only selling within the state of Ohio if you are following the cottage laws.

p.s. where are you April?

NY is the same as NH...you cant have any pets in the kitchen while you are baking..it definetly varies

My post sounds confusing to me!

Cottage Laws: can have pets, but can't sell stuff that needs to be refrigerated and can't sell outside of the state of Ohio, must list all ingredients.

Licensed: No pets, don't have to label, can sell outside of the state, can sell refrigerated items. not sure on all the details, check out the department of agriculture website for more info.

MichelleM77 is correct....if you operate in the state of Ohio under the Cottage Law, you CAN have pets in your home (because an inspection is not required).

However, if you plan to "license" your business in the state of Ohio, then yearly inspections are required and NO pets are permitted!

In the past I have received several different answers from the ODA's Division of Food Safety concerning pets in the home....and just chose to believe my most recent inquiry...that pets are permitted under The Cottage Law because inspections are not warranted. I just choose NOT to have any pets because I myself would never purchase food products from a home baker if I knew there are animals inside the home....but that's just my choice! No offense to anyone that has animals in their homes!

If you have any further questions the ODA's Division of Food Safety can be reached at 1-800-282-1955....or just log on to their website at http://www.ohio.gov

Good luck!

No offense taken. I don't blame you. We got our little four-legged rugrat before I decided to do this. He is short little guy and can't reach the countertops or the table when he is up on his back legs, and is short-haired so he doesn't shed. Now a cat on the other hand, they get into everything whether you think they do or not, so I wouldn't have a cat in my house. No offense to you cat people out there.

Under the heading of "it varies from state to state", Indiana does not permit in-home kitchens, but pets are classified as "vermin" under the HD rules and ergo not permitted in kitchens at all. (So no "Take Your Doggie To Work Day" here!)

I understand why..For as much as I love my little dog, when I am cooking I dont want her around.
We think that dogs than dont shed are not a problem..That only means that the amount of hair they loose is less but they do shed to certain degree just as much as humans. As we humans are supposed to pick our hair or put hats when we are working I dont think we are doing the same things for a dog in a kitchen. And the dog hair is quite light so it flies. About cat..well we know they love counters..
Those are my 2 cents..and I am an animal lover
Edna

I have a dog and 2 cats.. when I am getting ready to decorate I put the dog in his "play room" (a penned off area in teh basement) and the cats go down as well (their box is down there so they are used to it down there) and put my hair up. Then I vacuum, then mop, then vacuum again.. wipe down every surface in my kitchen with a diluted bleach solution.. rinse out my mixer bowls and cake pans and utensils.. then I get on my chef's coat or apron and commence the baking process. The animals are down for the duration and my kids (who are dirtier than any animal I have ever met are playing in their rooms. I take every precaution I can to assure that my kitchen is clean. I know nothing is 100%, but I keep my home clean all the time.. I vacuum once a day at least so there isn't a ton of hair around to begin with. I used to work in a few restaurants and believe me.. just because there are no pets in the place doesn't mean that the people coming in to work aren't hairy with their own hair and their own animal's hair. There's no way to keep it 100% contanimant free unless we are doing it a sterilized room in biohazzard suits.

I'm not sure about where you are but I am from Buffalo NY and have been told that in order to have a licensed kitchen it has to be separate from the family kitchen with separate access. So look into it through the Dept of Acric or Department of Health. You always have to worry when you have animals because of the risk of hair and peoples allergies to animals.

Yes, I'm a dog-lover as well, and when I decided to make cakes my business, had to find her a new home We've had long haired/short haired, tall and short, hair/fur animals and it didn't matter in our case....they all lost their hair/fur! I'm still mortified to find balls of dog hair in our basement....a room our retriever was NEVER in (she was afraid of the open staircase)! Not only does it travel through the ducts, but it flies around everywhere! At least when it's me I can wear a hair net! However, you're right, nothing is 100%, but dog hair is another story!

We made a commitment to him when we bought him and it seems wrong to just cast him aside to start a business. It is legal where I am to have him and operate my business from my home so I take the precautions necessary (more than what the state requires which is simply that you don't interact with your animals while baking) and feel okay about that. If that wasn't the case.. I would not be doing this from home. I don't hide the fact that I have pets from my customers either. We all do what we are comfortable with.. I couldn't get rid of a family member to start a business.. so I feel fortunate that I didn't have to even think about it.

Opening this thread back up again. I know it has been a long time, but is there anyone in Virginia who can chime in on this? I have a dog, but want to become licensed by the Dept. of Agriculture. I don't need to have the Health Dept. because I am not catering. 

If I am unable to have my pup in my main kitchen (which he never is if I am baking or cooking), I will have to make a new kitchen in my basement. I would rather not have to do that right now as we are planning on selling next year and moving into a house we are building. I have a baking kitchen in those plans already. 

Thanks for any help you can give!

In my state the regulations differ from town to town.  I cannot be licensed in my town because the dogs have run of the entire house.  Understandable, given the amount of drifting fur here, there, and everywhere, even after vacuuming the life out of everything.

we were told if you want to be licensed and inspected by the dept of agriculture that pets are allowed but you have to have a door that locks separating your kitchen/work space....you can also go the cottage law route and not get the inspection and work with the limitations they allow.....such as labeling your products as coming from a kitchen that has not been inspected by the dept of agriculture, labeling your ingredients, not being able to sell anything that needs to be refrigerated and only being able to sell person to person or at farmer's markets....hope that helps....

glad i could help!  for the time being my biz partner and i opted for going the cottage law route......although i can put a door at my kitchen entryway i live in a townhome and the home owner's association doesn't allow an at home business....(grrrrr)......my biz partner lives in a private home but has an open kitchen as well with large entryways and it's not really feasible to put in doors.....it used to be that a baby gate to block out pets was sufficient but not any more.....so for now we will limit ourselves to what we can bake, label what we do make and who we can sell to until we can afford to open up a store front.....good luck to you!

At least we can still bake and sell legally! YAY!! haha!

I got a request for cheesecake wedding cake. I guess that's out of the question, but I never told her it was a definite that I could. I told her I had to research it first before I could give her a price or a "yes, I can make it". I'm almost glad it's out of the question. I love baking cheesecakes, but I don't really want to buy any special sized cheesecake pans for that! :)

Good luck to you! Hope you are able to open a store at some point!