Are you a paid dog walker/sitter or have you used a paid dog walker/sitter?

[CyprianCat]

Having had dogs for most of my life and happily walking and looking after dogs for free for friends and neighbours for many years, I've decided to try to earn a small amount of income on a casual basis by doing it for people I don't know. I'm thinking mainly of a local daily or twice daily visiting walking service but might be able to offer overnight or longer dog/housesitting to some. Also <whispers> c-a-t feeding/sitting.

Any hints and tips from your experience gratefully received.

You'll need council registration, liability insurance and animal first aid. I wouldn't recommend doing it without liability insurance.

I have used a dog walker, mostly when we are away and someone house sits who can't walk the dog herself. Most have been excellent, one wasn't.

Things to think about:
-will you solo walk or walk more than one dog at a time? I prefer a solo walk, but would be ok with the one other dog if they were friends.
-are you walking from people's houses, or picking up in a car and taking them to a park?
-how far away from where you live would you consider? driving there costs you.
-timing has to include washing/rubbing down afterwards if they are wet/muddy
-use an app which shows the walk as a route with distance and post it to dog owner. Proves you've walked them and how long.
-if you specialise eg you are good with big dogs or reactive dogs etc include that in your advertising.
-be reliable with timings, if you say 10 am, be there within 15 minutes of that.

none of mine will walk a dog off lead (insurance). That is fine for current dog, but would have been a pain with our old dog who loved to run.

I’m a walker and sitter.
You won’t need to be council registered if you’re sitting in the dog’s home.

For sits, ensure you see the whole house, including where you will sleep and the garden.
I’ve done sits where the house was so disgusting I wouldn’t even make myself a hot drink. Every surface was covered in greasy grime and the garden was so covered in unpicked poo, the dogs were treading it back into the house and onto the soft furnishings.

Ensure you’re charging enough. It’s tempting to start with a low price as you’re new. It’s much harder to increase this at a later date. I’ve had people tell me I’m too expensive. But that’s ok as I’m full and turning work away.

Be clear what you offer on a sit. If a client tells you their dog had 4 walks a day, will you include these in your set rate?

invest in good waterproofs (multiples) and decent footwear for a range of conditions.

I love what I do - it’s so rewarding and pretty decent pay.

We’ve used two dog walkers who both have also done one long weekend in our home dog sitting.

Our current one is significantly better for the regular walks, she chooses to travel the dogs over to a quiet area and doesn’t include the travel time into the hour - so our dog is out of the house for 1.5hrs. I think that’s really good.

Downside to her is her weekly rate is very expensive imo. We wouldn’t mind, but she left our dog home alone for a longish stint to go home, plus she also had some booked in dog walks to cover which also took her away from caring for our dog. Just didn’t sit quite right with us when we’re paying a lot of money. So we probably won’t use her again for dog sitting.

Other dog walker was the total opposite, she rarely took our dog out for a full hour (I think she overbooked, so had to factor in her travel time to the next dog within the hour we were paying for) plus she didn’t do the most stimulating walks.

Thanks everyone. I'm finding this very useful.

Thanks @unsync
I can see the good sense of first aid and insurance. I've seen conflicting advice about registration in these circumstances so remain unsure about that if you have any more information?

Thanks @steppemum

• I've already decided that I will only do solo walks.
• I live rurally so it will be countryside walks from the door or a short drive away, whichever works best by agreement.
• When I was thinking about the area, a maximum 5 mile radius from my home seemed reasonable for my travel time and petrol costs. I'd like it to be a bit less but that probably wouldn't bring in enough work. The 5 miles means I'll cover a few villages around us and the nearest small market town.
• It's a good point to factor in the washing/rubbing down in my timings. I enjoy walking and I'm not a fair weather walker by any means, but I'm also conscious we are getting a lot of rain and winter is coming! Doing this I won't have any choice but to walk whatever the weather as I wouldn't want to let anybody down.
• I'm not massively techy but will attempt to look at that app! I'd just assumed that it would be a relationship built on mutual trust, rather than me needing to prove the walk. If anything they'll probably get a longer walk with me than they've paid for unless it is tipping it down!
• I can happily manage most dogs (most used to medium, large and giant dogs) except I wouldn't accept a dog with any aggressive tendencies.
• I am reliable so timings shouldn't be too much of an issue.
• The on/off lead is interesting. I'd assumed I'd just do what I've always done, which is on lead until I get to know the dog, near livestock, roads, other dogs, children, vulnerable people and so on, then off lead if suitable and by agreement with the owner. I didn't know that insurance wouldn't cover off lead, so thanks for that.

A couple of questions please. What makes most of your walkers excellent and what made one not? What sort of price do you pay and for how long?

I am in a town in SW UK. Not an expensive town.
prices here are £15 an hour for a solo walk.

The excellent ones turn up on time, and do a full walk, check they are clean and have water before leaving. (I use a dog walker when I am not at home)
They all send me a message ot say dog walked, with photo of the walk, or the map from the app.

My dog is big and reactive, he barks loads at other dogs and because he is big when he pulls to bark he is a handful. The 3 good walkers we have had are all confident to handle him, and I trust them that if he is reacting to other dogs everyone is safe.

The bad one was actually fine with the dog. She was confident with him, and I knew that he would be OK with her, but she was unreliable with timings, I wasn't convinced that he was getting a full walk, and then she cancelled for spurious reasons, which really left me high and dry as I wasn't at home, and the dog needs walking.

We only use a walker occsionally, not regularly, and we have found that the good walkers get booked up with regular clients, so don't have space for an occasional walk.

You wont make much money on solo walks. Ever hour walk will take at least 20mins longer to pick up and drop off plus petrol car insurance will change to business use. Even if in a 5 mile radius.

If you transport dogs in your car you will need crated out vehicle. You will need insurance.

For your own safety and iabiity issues it would be a good idea to have a body cam.

I have a dog walking business and all dogs we walk are walked on private land are washed and dried if muddy before being returned home. All dog walks are filmed on body cams. You will find more peope want walks at middle of the day so can be harder to fill your full day with walks. Dogs are collected in vehicles with crash proof crates and you will need ramps for some dogs.

It is not a quick or easy way to make money. Dont forget cost of boots and appropriate clothing for you. Our staff go through walking boots on average every 4 months - these are good quality boots. You will soon see the need for the best (expensive) waterproof clothing you can find.

We use a dog walker and the best bit is my dog absolutely loves her. That can’t be faked. We used another one first and although dog was ok with her the excitement from dog wasn’t as there as there were 6dogs on the walk she wasn’t as happy. From my point of view she turns up within a 15min window and drops back as agreed. Mostly gets a good rub down before being handed back as goes out with two other dogs off lead in mud and water. Took a few weeks of on lead before the walker was happy and us too that the bond was there in recall. She stays with her for a week at a time in her house when we go away and has a great time with the walkers dog too. She is insured, licensed and expects to see that our dog is vaccinated & has all our vet details too if needed. Worth thinking about what you would do if dog injured or ill and you can’t get hold of the owner.

I think the registration does depend on your local Council, so check with them. I know my sitter thought it was a PITA, but because the Council needed it, her insurance required the registration. The money for her was more in doggy daycare for people that WFH who had needy dogs and dog sitting whilst owners were on holidays.

A good dog sitter is worth their weight in gold. She provided a home from home service and my dog adored her. She would have a few dogs during the day, always the same ones and then only dogs from the same family as holiday sitting.

So she effectively created a small pack of dogs who all knew each other and got on. She was in such demand that I booked the dog's stay first and then fitted my holiday in with that, usually at least a year in advance.

I’ve name changed to comment as want to be honest. I am just giving you my own experience so I don’t mean to deliberately contradict other posters. I walk and board. I’m licensed with the council for boarding as you need to be really for your insurance to be valid. I have a yearly updated dog first aid certificate and the NVQ3 in dog care and boarding. Have also done many dog training courses including scent work etc. None of my clients have ever asked about this! Instead they want me to meet their dog and get on with him. I love dogs and am very good with bouncy, large dogs. I like the dogs to run on long walks. All walks are off lead; this is allowed provided the owners sign a form. The council has lots of forms to give the clients on their website. I’m also registered with the local vet. I have about twelve families that use me all year round. Their dogs are like extended family. I would not tolerate being watched on an app or told to stick to a 15 minute window for collection. I have keys and let myself in. It’s based on two way trust and there is give and take on both sides. I do send very cute photos every day though and genuinely care about their dogs. You have to love dogs for it to work. All my jobs come through recommendations, so I’m not meeting families blind, as it were. Good luck OP.

There’s a lot of false information being given on here - if I were you, I would join one of the many Facebook groups for professional dog walkers in the UK and ask there as you’ll get answers from those of us who actually do it for a living and know what’s required.

I have about twelve families that use me all year round. Their dogs are like extended family. I would not tolerate being watched on an app or told to stick to a 15 minute window for collection. I have keys and let myself in. It’s based on two way trust and there is give and take on both

Well that is all very nice, but you have to start with a family somewhere. As a new dog walker with a new family, you have to build up the trust.

If I have a new person walking my dog, I need to know they did what they said they would do. I may have references, but I still want to know they do the job.

Once you know someone, they know you and they know your dog, then there is plenty of trust and you can relax.
But trust is not instant.

Why is this an exact repeat of your recent post about cat sitting?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/5441899-are-you-a-paid-cat-sitter-or-have-you-used-a-paid-cat-sitter

DisplayPurposesOnly
Why is this an exact repeat of your recent post about cat sitting?

Who made you the thread police? I'm not sure why you have a problem with that and felt the need to insert yourself in this positive and helpful discussion thread to post about it, especially when you have made no contribution at all to either thread? It makes perfect sense to me to ask dog people about dogs and cat people about cats when I am considering the pros and cons of helping with both dogs and cats. I'm very grateful for their responses on both threads.

Thanks @Springflowersyay
Yes, I don't intend to do any home boarding/day care. That's quite shocking about the condition of that house. I assume you didn't work for them again, or did you because you felt sorry for the poor dogs? Would you mind saying what you think is too low, how much you charge and for what/how long, and whether your area influences your pricing? Looking on the online sites, they seem to take off booking fees of up to 30% before sitters/walkers get paid, then there is petrol, liability insurance, car business insurance, clothing, tax and so on to factor in. Many people seem to be advertising to walk/sit at below the minimum wage, even before their basic business expenses are taken off. I'm really not expecting to make my fortune but a fair hourly rate covering my costs and for my time, effort and care seems only right. My own animals have always been a very important part of life and I really enjoy what I do for friends and neighbours with their pets, it would just be great to get some income from doing it too.

Thanks @familyissues12345
Would you mind saying what you pay for walking and sitting, and whether you think that your area influences that? Did you have an arrangement with the sitter that she wouldn't leave your dog at all during the week? Where do you find your sitters?

Thanks again @steppemum
I suppose that's one thing that concerns me working as a one-woman band, the added risk of unavoidably letting dogs and their people down at times of illness/emergency.

My DH is a dog walker, he does up to four together, they stay on leads. He has a van with rear and side access containing crates that have emergency access so he can get dogs out should anything happen. His wellies cost a fortune and he has every type of coat going. He has public liability insurance and has done first aid. He won’t take on a new dog unless he’s met them in the family home first. He used to do 30 or 60 minute walks but dropped the shorter walk and the hour starts from when they get to the park. Picking up and dropping off is on top. He has a fair (I think) cancellation policy. They can cancel until 9pm the night before, after that if they were booked in they have to pay. Most people he has given a reminder the first time that if it happens again they pay.