Dog walking- Is £10 for an hour too much?

[mumbomama]

I am starting a dog walking service, taking up to 3 dogs together (although more likely just 2.)

I was thinking of £8 for an hour walk but when talking to the vet receptionist she thought that was low.

Any opinions much appreciated.

Thanks

We have a dogsitter who looks after our dog sometimes, she comes round for 2 hours, spends time with him and takes him out (on his own) for £6 an hour.

Lots and lots and lots of people need dog walkers, sudden change in circumstances (divorce is quite common) forcing people to work longer hours, mobility problems (age, injury, recovering from c-section - not advisable to exercise a pair of ridgebacks within days of abdominal surgery is it?), changing shift patterns, bereavement - owner dies and another family member takes care of dog rather than going into kennels. Some people just take on a bit more than they can handle by way of breed, or regularly work from home but are sometimes called away for a day or two at a time, some are seconded to work further away from home for a year or so and can't get back at lunch time. My favourites are the people who have rehomed very damaged, disturbed, heading for a lethal injection type dogs and need help and support with them - my favourite dogs and my favourite clients.

I pay £10 an hour in London but for that I expect not more than 2 dogs together (although she has been out with 2 puppies). My dogwalker has more work than she can take on so it seems like a good business! Best of luck with it.

love the dogs day out, wonder if there would be a market for a mums day out?

at prices
here you pay £3 an hour for your child to be looked after. dog walking sounds brill, is it easy to find work?? where do you get insurance from??

cliverton is good, there are others

sorry forgot link

it's not that lucrative if you, like us, don't walk masses of dogs at one time - you could be earning as little as £10 an hour

but the work floods in, several enquiries a month and most lead to long term contracts

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I used to pay £10 an hour for my dog to be walked during the day. The walked was great. My dog was a rescue dog who was extremely aggressive to other dogs so had to be walked alone though.

I'd pay between £10 and £15 to have my dog walked.

Yes, it's possible to find cheaper services, but to get someone reliable and trustworthy is worth a lot.

The most I've paid is £18 but that was to have my dog picked up and dropped back and the dog walker had a key to my house so it was more responsibility for them. Differentiating factors are a big key.... decent transport, insurance, dog sitting etc., are big plus points.

I currently pay £13 to have my dog looked after even though I do the walking myself.

Personally, though, I would not use and do not approve of dog walkers walking more than 2 - 3 dogs.

I tried out 1 petminder who had 10 (I kid you not) dogs at one time and was simply not in control of them. If those dogs had decided to scarper (or worse, attack!) there isn't a thing he could have done to stop it.

Good luck with the business!

that seems really expensive (sorry). we live in glasgow and when we used a dog walker last yr it was £7 per dog for a 1 1/2 hr walk - collected and returned. our local kennels only charges £8 per day for day boarding including two walks around their farmland and a heated kennel.

I pay £10 per walk, she is out of the house for between 2 and 3 hours, some of which is drop off/pick up but we are nearest Richmond park so I think we are the last picked up and first dropped off