Would you pay this for a dog walker?

[albapunk]

I work full time condensed into 3 days per week. I'd like to fill my time walking dogs but without the commitments of set days/times each week. There seems to be a gap locally for people who only want one-off walks or as and when they need them. They have been turned away by othe businesses for not garunteeing set walks each week.

There is also a gap for 1-2-1 dog walks. From my research a 1hr walk (group) is often £15-18. I'd like to offer 1-2-1 dog walking but at £20 for a 1hr slot. This is what would be fair to cover outgoings and also reflect the fact that clients don't need to agree to set days/times.

Is this reasonable? A service you would use? I will be insured, and happy to do a qualification. I am a VERY experienced dog owner.

I'm afraid I wouldn't pay that for an hour's walk, no. I pay £20 for daily dog care, where my dog is living in the dog walker's house with her dog and max 1 or 2 other dogs, and gets treated like part of her family, including 2 walks a day.

20 quid to walk a dog? No.

Where in the country are you OP? Unless Mayfair/Chelsea, I can't see anyone paying that for 1hr.
Do you have any qualifications such as doggy 1st aid? Insurance? Training skills?

Honestly no I wouldn't pay £20 for a one hour dog walk. I'd also be really surprised if the rate for group walks was genuinely £15-£18 per dog that's insanely high compared to the prices where I am.

No I get a whole day of care for £25 including collection and drop off. He also has high medical needs and she's amazing with him.

I pay £15 for a group walk but it's well,over an hour.

I think people will pay £20 as presumably there are very few dog walkers that offer one to one walks and some dogs can't do group walks.

Financially it's probably not viable though. How much is insurance?

Sorry no I wouldn't pay £20 to have my dog walked, If you want the work I think maybe £12 - £15 max.

Also doggy first aid is a must!

I pay £28 a day for full daycare (9-5) pick up from my house and drop off, includes a 2hr ramble in Cotswold hills.

£20 is a whole day at doggy day care where I live not just an hours walk

I pay 23 pounds for an hour at the moment 🤦‍♀️. It’s a lot but ours can be dog reactive so can’t do group walks.

A friend is looking for exactly what you are offering, to fit around occasional work-in-office days.
The premium price reflects the ad-hoc nature.
I think you'd manage it here.
£18 might look more appealing.
For those saying they get daycare for not much more, that's true but can you book on an ad-hoc basis, one-off short notice etc?

I pay £12 per hour currently for an individual one hour walk.

My previous dog walker charged £15 for the same thing.

Both of these were ad hoc arrangements, rather than regular.

I'm in the Middle of the country

I wouldn't pay £20 per hour.

I don't have a walker but ddog who is old dead blind and insulin dependent and he goes to a home boarder when we go away as it's too much for him to travel anymore its £42 for 24 hours so no I wouldn't pay £20 for an hour. I'm in SE London if it's relevant.

£5 an hour here for group dogs £10 for 1 to 1.
Fully insured which you will need.

He is not dead ffs, he's deaf!

I did chortle a little at the typo poor mutt 🤣.

If you're not on the app you can click on the three dots and then edit to amend your post. 🙂

No I wouldn’t. We pay £8 for half a day and £15 for full days at a dog kennels where our dog spends hours running round fields. No booking required.

I pay teen £5 for a 40 minutes 1-1 walk on days my back is hurting too much to walk much myself.

I would. That's not much change over NMW once insurance etc is paid for.

I pay mine £15 for an hour solo walk, but it's often not a full hour.

Thank you for the responses so far.

Yes in my local area 15-18 per hour is the norm.

Some advertise a little less, but not many. I would of course undertake an updated Dog First Aid course (I have done one in the past) Insurance is around £100 per year plus around £25 to add business insurance to my car. I would also invest in safe travel for within my car. Also advertising materials etc.

I have a fear reactive dog which nobody wants to walk or take for day care. He is extremely human friendly. I have always struggled to find someone for him in the past, on an ad-hoc basis when I worked different shifts and had family to assist on some days.

I feel it would be fair to charge more for a more specialised? Personality? 1-2-1 service and to bare in mind 1 hour would be the full walking time and there may be travel to and from locations to consider.

I'm glad of the honest responses and opinions! It's very helpful! 🙂

But £10 an hour isn't even NMW for an adult. How are they paying themselves a living wage as well as being insured and covering costs for fuel etc out of that?

I pay £15 for half a day doggy day care from 8.30-2 including one group walk.

I think I'd pay £20 for an ad hoc hour walk if my dog was reactive and couldn't be walked with others. I imagine owners with more challenging dogs may be prepared to pay more as it would be harder to find someone

Thank you. I think it needs to be taken into consideration walking multiple dogs allows people to charge a fair bit less in some areas so need to consider NMW and costs. I would also garuntee a full 1 hour walk. Travel time would be outside of this.

It's not massively comparable to doggy daycare, boarding or even to group walks. The whole point is its for dogs who can't cope with the group environments.