You love dogs. You find joy walking dogs, spending time with them and caring for them. Given the choice between dogs or humans, it’s dogs every time. If this sounds like you, becoming a dog walker can be a great way to make a living doing what you love. Starting a dog walking business, big or small, isn’t easy, and just like with any other small business, it comes with its own set of challenges and rewards if you stick with it.
“Don’t get discouraged because it is hard. Just hang in there, believe in it and hustle,” says Heather Doll, who started dog walking in 2007, and now co-owns RuffCity, a dog walking business in New York City, that grosses more than six figures a year and has 50 employees.
Read on as Doll and other experts in the dog walking business share their tips for how to become a dog walker, as well as how to start a dog walking business.
Key takeaways
- Before diving in, start by building hands-on dog care experience and consider taking a pet safety or dog walking course.
- Create a strong, professional presence by adding your business profile to popular online platforms, launching a company website and networking in person.
- Research local competitors and crunch the numbers to set smart rates and determine whether the dog walking business can support your goals.
- Plan ahead by investing in insurance, business structure (like an LLC), scheduling software and understanding employment laws if you plan to hire.
1. Gain dog knowledge and experience
If you’re brand new to dog walking (or maybe only a pro at walking your own pooch), start building your knowledge and experience. Of course, you need to know the basics of dog and puppy care, like proper feeding, exercise and safety. To gain further knowledge, take a local or online course through pet organizations, shelters and pet care companies. Courses can cover leash handling, dog behavior, first aid and how to safely walk different breeds and sizes. Top Dog SF offers online dog walking certification ($500! But also, good for life), and American Red Cross offers online training in dog first aid ($25).
Another option? Do volunteer or paid dog walking for friends and neighbors to get practice (and references!), and look into opportunities with a local doggy daycare, where you can learn required training and get hands-on experience caring for dogs and handling common situations.
2. Build an online presence for your dog walking business
The quickest way to start making a name for your business online is to set up a profile on Facebook, Yelp or Instagram or on a trusted job website, like Care.com. Include detailed information, including:
- Your contact info.
- A professional photo of yourself.
- Your availability.
- What services you offer.
- Any unique skills, training and certifications.
- Client testimonials.
Once you get your dog walking business started, you may want to take your online presence up a notch to attract more customers. Doll built a website via WordPress.com, but Squarespace and Weebly are also options. If you’d like to hire a developer/freelancer to create your site, Doll suggests Upwork.
“It is worth it to spend a little extra money and have a sharp, intuitive and informative website that proves that you are organized and professional,” Doll says. To really add impact, she adds, “A good logo can help you stand out from the competition.”
Jacob Hensley, founder/owner of District Dogs in Washington, D.C., agrees on the importance of a strong brand. “For me, my brand and my brand image is what separates [my business] from my competitors,” he says. “I’m not just Jacob’s Pet Care or Jacob’s Dog Walking Service. I really wanted to brand myself.”
Doll adds that good, old-fashioned networking is still important, too. “Make business cards and flyers and visit pet stores, vet offices, dog cafes, etc. and ask to post your flyers on their message boards. Visit dog parks and network with owners. In a world that is so reliant on the internet,” she says, “people appreciate a personalized, grassroots introduction to such a personal service.”
“It is worth it to spend a little extra money and have a sharp, intuitive and informative website that proves that you are organized and professional.”
— Heather Doll, dog walking business owner
3. Research other dog walking companies in your area
What does the top dog walking service in your area offer? What do they charge? Do they sell packages? Any information you can gather is helpful, even if it’s not in line with your own business plan or goals, Doll says. “Put together a spreadsheet: the company name, what they charge for what length of walks, what kind of business method they have,” she suggests. “See what your competition is going to look like.”
4. Crunch the numbers
Before booking your first jobs, learn how to set a fair dog sitting pay rate. To research asking hourly rates for dog walkers where you live, enter your city and state into our Cost of Care Calculator.
Another tip for setting pricing? When you do your competitive research, says Doll, “Gauge what you should be charging. You want to be a little under the average but getting paid what you’re worth.”
As you build your business, you may have to keep working your day job or find other sources of income. “I Airbnb’d my guest bedroom to help supplement my income while I was growing the business,” Hensley says. “That was helpful, but I still ran the numbers to make sure I could survive off dog walking.”
Hensley ultimately left his career in finance to build his pet care business, but he recommends figuring out exactly how much you need to make a living. Be realistic about how many dogs you can see in a day, he says. “I had to know that if I filled my day up with dogs, I could survive while doing business. For me, that was really important, making sure that I was getting into a field that could support my lifestyle.”
5. Consider creating dog walking contracts
Do you need a contract in order to be a dog walker? For shorter or infrequent jobs, the answer is often no. But some pet parents do prefer a dog walking contract — and you may find you prefer them too. It’s one of the best ways to get (and keep) everyone on the same page and to protect your interests as a worker.
6. Acquire an LLC (probably)
Setting up an LLC, or Limited Liability Company, for your dog walking business can be handled via websites like LegalZoom, which Doll used, or through a lawyer. According to LegalZoom, having an LLC provides a tax advantage and personal liability protection.
For Doll, that protection was key. “The LLC basically protects you if someone tries to sue based on something that happened within [your business]. They can’t come after me personally,” she says. “They can only come after anything that the business has.”
“As an LLC, you have a little bit more coverage with your independent contractors,” says Liza Angerami, who purchased and ran the Walks of Nature dog walking/pet sitting business and switched the business to an LLC. “It’s just a safer way to run your business, rather than a DBA.”
The benefits of a DBA, aka “doing business as” filing, aren’t as wide ranging, but according to LegalZoom, you need a DBA in most states if you plan to conduct business under a name that’s different from your personal name. “A DBA is super easy to get,” Doll says. “You have to acquire it from your city or your state. It just gives you an employer ID number and kind of sets you up. But it doesn’t protect you in any way like an LLC.”
Hensley formed his business months before he quit his day job so he could hit the ground dog walking. “I actually did an S [corporation], which is taxed similarly to an LLC, but in hindsight, I would have done an LLC,” he says. “I did an S corp because I thought I would get investors for my doggy daycare business, but the LLC would have given me more flexibility.”
7. Get dog walking insurance and bonding
For an individual walking dogs, dog walking/pet sitting insurance can be very affordable, and like an LLC, it offers protection for your business. Learn more about how pet insurance works. General liability insurance, which protects against third party claims, is a good idea, also, say experts.
“You need insurance if you want to do pet sitting in someone else’s home,” says Angerami, who got her insurance with Business Insurers of the Carolinas through Pet Sitters International, an association that provides education and other resources. She adds it’s important to first “figure out what you want to include in your business and what insurance you’ll need for that.”
Doll recommends bonding your business, as well. “Bonding protects any of the client’s property,” she says, “whether the walker accidentally breaks a vase or they actually steal something.” She adds, “Bonding insurance — which is separate from the pet insurance but usually obtained with the same carrier — it’s definitely something you want to look into also, and that’s even cheaper than the pet sitting insurance.”
8. Purchase scheduling and invoicing software
In the early days of your dog walking business, you may not think you need special software to keep your appointments straight and invoices sent out. However, Doll says, you’ll be glad to have it up and running as you add clients and employees.
“When we started, we were using Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Sheets, all things Google, and eventually, it just became smart to move to a one-stop kind of shop,” she says. “We use Time to Pet right now, which is amazing. There’s an app for the walkers to use that has their schedule, and that’s where they can see their pay stubs and all the dog information. It automatically generates invoices and automatically charges invoices.”
Hensley also uses Time to Pet, which charges $25-$50 a month for solo dog walkers. “I had the wrong invoicing software and wrong scheduling software on Day 1, and I got too big, and I had to merge everything,” he says. “If you just start with the right software immediately, even if it’s a little more expensive, it just helps with the migration, client data and confusion.”
9. Know your state employment laws
If and when you bring on employees to help juggle all the dog walking jobs, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the employment laws in your state.
“When it is time to hire your first employee, you’ll want to be fully aware of the costs associated with staffing, the rights of the employee and your rights, as well,” Doll says. “If there’s one thing I would tell someone who wants to build a dog walking company, it’s do everything right from the beginning. Because we didn’t. One, because we didn’t know, and two, because we were just young and carefree. Nothing that we’ve learned has been easy.”
Adds Hensley, who employs several dog walkers, “It’s really easy for employees to file different types of claims, and you want to be protected and make sure you’re doing everything right.”
“When it is time to hire your first employee, you’ll want to be fully aware of the costs associated with staffing, the rights of the employee and your rights, as well.”
— Heather Doll, dog walking business owner
10. Work hard but work smart
Doll believes hard work is the foundation of her company’s growth. In the beginning, she recalls trekking up and down New York City blocks, “just making it work and hustling and doing 12 walks a day, hitting the ground running and making sure that I was setting myself up for every opportunity that came my way.”
Saying ‘yes’ to everything may not be possible all the time, notes Angerami. “You’ll probably have to say ‘no’ to clients sometimes, which I found really difficult,” she says. “I want to help everybody. I don’t want to say ‘no’ to anyone. But sometimes it’s just not going to be a good match, or you’re just going to be too busy and you just don’t want to overextend yourself.”
Hensley says he didn’t just want to be a dog walker; he wanted to be a business owner, so he was careful to structure his business accordingly. He says, “I kept the territory very tight, and I wanted to grow smart. I still was very selective. If someone wanted a regular Monday through Friday evening walk, I said ‘no’ because I was primarily a midday dog walking company. I would do the occasional evening walk, but I wouldn’t ruin my evenings as a sole dog walker for this one dog. I wanted to make sure my lifestyle wasn’t negatively affected.”
11. Hustle and believe in your business
With dog walking becoming a more popular profession (and service) in recent years, there will be competition and tough days ahead, but don’t let it get you down.
“I still have to remind myself of [this]!” Doll says. “When we first set out, we spent a lot of time sulking about how we had no clients and worrying that we made a huge mistake leaving our advertising and interior design jobs. But our hard work and hustle slowly started to pay off, and we are now consistently in shock of what we’ve built.”
Hensley agrees that this profession has its share of ups and downs. “It took me a lot longer to get my first client than I expected,” he shares. “And it took a lot longer to get my second and third client than expected. But at some point, it’s like a snowball effect.”
Doll’s recommendation for a successful dog walking business is putting all your effort into making happy customers out of each and every client. “Put your all into it,” she says. “Just give it everything you have. Focus on the owners — taking care of the owners and obviously taking care of the dogs — because those are the ones that are really going to help get you to the next level.”
