How To Start A Pet Sitting Or Dog Walking Side Hustle
As a nation, Britain is positively obsessed with furry (and feathery) family members. Approximately 57% of households have pets, with dogs the most popular, found in 36% of households, and cats a close second at 29% of households.
The downside of all those four-legged companions, though, is that they don’t always fit around a busy life. Most people have jobs, and they want to go on holidays from time to time - a pet doesn’t always fit in.
Pet sitters and dog walkers are therefore much in demand - and for animal lovers, starting up a side hustle that pays you to hang out with four-legged friends is pretty much a no-brainer.
But how do you start a pet sitting or dog walking business? How do you find clients? And how much should you charge? In this article, we’ll give you the lowdown on all you need to know to start your very own pet-sitting or dog walking business.
How To Get Started With Pet Sitting Or Dog Walking
Start locally
Trust is one of the most important aspects of your role as a pet sitter or dog walker.
Most owners consider their pet a member of their family - so leaving it with a stranger is quite a leap of faith. And to leave it with a stranger who’s only just starting out could understandable be a stretch too far.
If you begin by offering your services to friends, family or neighbours, perhaps at a reduced rate, you can build up a foundation of experience and happy customers.
Hopefully, they’ll also be willing to recommend you to other pet owners they know, thus organically expanding your range of clients.
Use third party agencies
If your immediate circle lacks people in need of pet sitting or dog walking, though, you may have to try your luck with a third party agency.
There are quite a few websites out there that pair pet sitters or dog walkers with owners in need of their services, and signing up to a few of those sites can be a great way to get started.
Companies such as Rover and Pawshake offer dog walking and/or pet sitting services by matching local pet sitters/dog walkers with owners.
The downside of these services is that there’s often quite a bit of competition, and getting started without any customer reviews may be a challenge, requiring you to offer unreasonably low rates to attract customers.
However, once you’ve built up a few happy customers who’ve left good reviews, you’re more likely to get more business, meaning you’ll be able to increase your rates without sacrificing custom.
Do You Need Any Qualifications For Pet Sitting Or Dog Walking?
None at all! Many pet sitters and dog walkers have no relevant qualifications except a love of animals.
That said, it can be helpful to have certain qualifications or skills. Some experience with giving medicine (especially to reluctant cats) can be hugely helpful, even more so if you’re capable of giving injections.
A certification in animal first aid will also reassure your clients that you’ll be qualified to help in the event of an emergency.
Having a driving license will be enormously useful, as otherwise you’ll be reliant on walking or public transport to get to your customers, limiting the area in which you can work. Plus, you won’t typically be paid for travel time, so time wasted getting to your clients is money lost!
You should secure specialist insurance when starting a pet sitting/dog walking business, though. If possible, it can also be very helpful to have a DBS check, which will give peace of mind to customers who give you access to their house in their absence.
Tips And Tricks For Successful Pet Sitting/Dog Walking
- Get to know your new furry friends. Pet sitters and dog walkers will often arrange an initial introduction to the pets they’ll be taking care of, free of charge. This shows your new clients that you’re a real person (always a good thing!) and, hopefully, that their pet likes you, which will make them much more comfortable leaving it in your hands. Plus, most animals will feel less anxious about being left with you if they’ve met you before.
- Be willing to go the extra mile, especially at first. If a customer also wants their plants watering, or some other quick and easy task performing, you might as well say yes. Obviously, you don’t want to be taken advantage of, so we wouldn’t advise offering a free deep clean on the side, but it’s well worth making a little extra effort to demonstrate that you’re helpful and friendly.
- Don’t take on more than you can cope with. Dog walkers will sometimes take charge of a dozen dogs at once (thus earning more for their time) but this is rarely a good idea. Unless you’re exceptionally skilled, it simply isn’t possible to keep good control of that many dogs at once, especially if they’re on the larger side. You’re responsible for their safety, and for the safety of the public around you - you should take that seriously.
- Get to know your local vet. Hopefully you’ll never need to take an animal for emergency care, but you never know! Many owners will give you their own vet’s details, just in case, but in an emergency you may need to call on your own vet to help you - and the animal - out.
Pros And Cons Of Pet Sitting And Dog Walking
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| You get to hang out with furry things! For animal lovers, what better job could there be? | The pay can be quite low, especially if you’re paying commission to a third party service |
| Pet sitting can sometimes be combined with house sitting, which pays very well with the right clients | If something goes wrong, you can end up responsible for an animal’s health, or even its life |
| Dog walking forces you to spend tons of time outside getting exercise, which is great for your health | You’re tied down by your clients, which can make it tricky to get away for a break yourself |
| You can choose the customers you want to take on, and the times to fit your schedule | There’s no way to work remotely |
| Once you’ve got a few regular customers, you’ve got a fairly steady income, especially for dog walking | Some clients can be quite demanding, making for high stress situations |
How Much Should You Charge For Pet Sitting Or Dog Walking?
Unfortunately, neither pet sitting nor dog walking is especially well paid, which is one of the chief downsides of this particular side hustle.
Pet sitting
£10-£15 per hour is often cited as the average charge for pet sitting (the lower end of which is below the national minimum wage for adults above 21).
If you’re popping in for half an hour twice a day to check on a pet, feed it and give it some much-needed love, you might therefore charge somewhere between £10 and £15 per day for your services.
Of course, some pets will need more of your time and attention than that. Dogs may need to be walked as well, in which case you’ll factor walking time into your rates.
You can also charge more if you take pets into your home (which will only really work for dogs). If a dog comes to spend the full day with you (while its owner is at work, perhaps), you might charge more like £40-£50, or alternatively £60 per 24 hour period if the owner is on holiday.
The benefit of hosting dogs in your own home is that you can more easily take care of several at once, resulting in a higher potential wage per hour.
Dog walking
The rate you can charge for dog walking will vary somewhat, depending on the length of walk and whether you’re offering to walk just one dog at a time.
Pet owners will expect to pay less if you’re walking their dog along with several others, as that means you’ll be earning for several in one go.
For a group walk, rates in the UK are typically somewhere between £5 and £15 per walk, with an average of around £8.
For an hour-long walk, with a group of four dogs, you’d therefore make £32 - not a bad rate at all! You do have to factor in time for picking up each dog, though, which chips away at your hourly rate.
For a single dog, most walkers charge more like £10-£20 per walk. While this is clearly a much lower rate, you save time by only having to pick up a single dog.
You should also consider your area. If you’re in London, you’ll be able to charge quite a bit more than somewhere like the north of England, where average wages are lower.
Other Great Side Hustles To Boost Your Income
If you like the sound of earning extra money from a new side hustle, but aren’t so keen on animals (in which case kudos on reaching the end of this article!), or would prefer to work from home, there are other great options about!
If you’ve got a way with words, you could try your hand at blogging or copywriting, or sell digital art if you’ve got a creative streak.
Or you could always give Matched Betting a go - it’s a great way to make money online from the comfort of your own home, and you don’t need any sports betting experience at all!