Dog pet sitting/home boarding

[LancashireRunningGirl]

Hi I wonder if anyone is able to give me any advice/help please. I have always loved dogs and currently have just 1 rescue dog (very friendly and loves other dogs). I am seriously thinking about applying to offer dog home boarding/pet sitting. I have spent ages reseraching and know I will need a licence from my local Council after an inspection is done (if I pass) and will need decent insurance. I have got myslef quite anxious about the process of the licence - never wrote a business plan in my life and struggle with lengthy form filling. Can anyone point me in the direction of any useful sites for helping with this - material that I can read possibly to give me an actual idea of what is involved.

I was feeling really excitied about the possibility as really am a crazy, dog lady and can't go anywhere without commenting/looking at at all the dogs. When we adopted our last rescue the process was much tougher and I know the outside garden/space is OK as we had to have a 5ft/6ft barrier all the way round and so now we are totally enclosed.

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.

You only need a license to board dogs in your home - if you just want to pet sit dogs in their own home, you don't ☺️

I do the latter as I wanted a clear separation between work and home, which boarding doesn't really provide.

I can't really help re. applying for a license but do have a think about how much it can take over your entire life. I know lots of boarders who gave up after a few years because they just felt like they never had their home to themselves anymore.

This course will help you and tell you what you need to know and do

IMDT Day and Boarding Ofqual Certificated

Have a look at Rover.com. I don't know how it goes re actually being a dog boarder, I just use for my dog.

Thank you - I will as I can imagine it to be a full time job!! So do you only pet sit in other people's homes? Are you there all day or just for an hour or two? Do you need a licence to do it in your own home but not the boarding part? Thanks for any advice.

Just be aware that a lot of dogs will be unsettled initially in a new home, and will change the dynamic with your own dog. You'll have toileting and marking accidents. Always do a test stay before committing to having them for longer!

You need a licence if you are taking money for a dogs to stay in your house. If you pet sit (stay in someone else's house to look after their dog) then you don't.

I don't need a license as the dogs stay in their own homes :) I am fully insured and trained in first aid, though.

My business is 90% dog walking, so I only pet-sit for dogs who can be left for a few hours during the day so I can continue my normal work during the day. I also only do overnight sits for dogs I already walk for, so I know their temperament and how well they cope being left etc.

I personally won't take on sits where I have to be present the entire time - mainly because it doesn't make me enough money, but also because I just don't want to be stuck in someone else's house all day long with no freedom to do anything.

Very rarely I'll do it for an existing client if (for example) their dog is recovering from surgery, but not on any kind of regular basis.

I'd also suggest thinking about pricing - people are reluctant to pay more than maybe £30 a night per dog for boarding, so if you're limited to say, four dogs by the council, that's only £120 for 24 hours of work. I can easily make that in 3-4 hours of dog walking and I don't take the dogs (and all the mess) home with me afterwards

Thank you so much - after a lot of thought I think this may suit me better. Although I am at home all the time at the moment (since losing my part job) my husband does work full time shifts so sometimes has very early starts and late finishes which would probably disturb boarding dogs. Ours is used to it by now!

When you say "I only pet-sit for dogs who can be left for a few hours during the day so I can continue my normal work during the day." do you stay at their house for a few hours. Also that is a good idea to only do the overnighters for dogs you already know the behaviour of. I think I would prefer to do that if I had to stay overnight thought would ideally prefer just to do during the day.

Do you mind me asking how much you charger for dog walking and also the pet sitting? This sounds like something I would 100% be able to commit to doing and doing it well. I have so many questions and sorry for asking you so much. I will have to try and find someone else to question lol. You have been very helpful and I really do appreciate it :)

I'm so glad you've found it helpful!

So, in terms of pet-sitting, the dogs are generally left during the day (the same as when their owners go to work), with me popping in a couple of times to take them for a walk and/or let them out for the toilet depending on their routine. I get back to the house for the night at around 5pm, and stay there until about 8.30am the following morning.

It doesn't work for all dogs as they absolutely do need to be okay alone for at least three hours at a time, but as I walk the dogs regularly anyway, I know what their capabilities are as well as their usual routines, so I generally just stick to the routine they have with their owners, if that makes sense.

Price-wise, it's £50 per night for sitting, which includes an hour of exercise. That's for up to two dogs - extra dogs are £10 a night. If they want more than an hour of exercise, then I'll charge my standard walking rates on top of the £50.

Walks are £15 for 45 minutes for solo dogs, or £10 an hour for group dogs (max of three at a time). 2nd/3rd dogs from the same household get a small discount as it's less travel.