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This weekend a flyer dropped through our letter box informing us of a newly set up dog walking service in Westbury. I was surprised at the rates – they charge £6 per hour for one dog and £10 per hour for a pair, which seemed quite high to me, after all walking my dog is something I enjoy, in fact I paid for the privilege of having a dog to walk!
Following a quick trip to Google however it seems that rates run from £5 per half hour for a group walk to £20 per hour for a one-to-one walk, which is quite astounding! On those rates the chap in the photo, could be making as much as £80 per hour! Given I’m currently trying to fit more exercise into my day I’m seriously thinking of working on a dog walking business plan – a couple of hours like that a day could make my wallet fatter and me thinner! 
But is setting up dog walking business a good idea?
Well according to the BBC, in 2002 there were 24 million UK households and 4.8 million of those owned dogs and at least 1 million owned more than one dog, so there’s a huge potential market. Looking at the market another way roughly one in five households in Britain has a dog. If you take flats and other housing that is unsuitable out of the equation then it could be as high as one in four houses, it certainly is where I live. So finding your target market is easy and reaching them is cheap – just put a flyer through their letter box, if for example just one in 25 dog owners takes up the service you would only need to post 100 flyers to get a customer. If each customer pays you just £5 per hour, five days per week, 40 weeks of the year then each customer could be worth £1,000 per year to your business. I suspect however that only a third to a half of your customers would be regulars, the rest being shorter term work covering the owners illness, holidays, work related travel and so on. So each customer might only be worth an average of £200. Therefore if you wanted to build a small business around it, earning you £24,000 per year, you would need 120 customers, which if these numbers panned out would mean you’d need to be based within a reasonable distance of 12,000 homes.
How to start a dog walking business
Starting a dog walking business is easy and relatively cheap. You’re main costs are going to be advertising and marketing, which if you use a flyer you which print yourself should be around £20, per thousand flyers plus the time it takes you to deliver them. I would also suggest contacting all the local kennels as they may well require regular dog walkers or cover for when theirs are unavailable.
As dogs are "mans best friend" they are dearly loved so once you start walking the dogs you’ll need to make sure you have insurance cover for the dogs in the care of your dog walking business. You may find the owners insurance covers you otherwise it’s time to look for an insurance broker, from a quick search on the Internet it looks like this will cost your business around £200 per year.
If you don’t want to start the business from scratch then you can always look for a dog walking business for sale. Or if you’re ambitious once you’re up and running you might like to buy other dog walking businesses and/or hire extra walkers in order to expand your business. I don’t think there are any dog walking millionaires, but that’s not to say it couldn’t happen!
Is it for you?
Well if you love dogs and you’re after a home business opportunity, or you have entrepreneurial teenagers looking to earn some extra pocket money then starting a business dog walking could right for you or even your whole family.
If you run a dog walking business, or after reading this you start one, please get in touch and let me know how close you are to these numbers.
Photo by Steve Deger.
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This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
Wow that’s pretty fun and at the same time financially productive. I love dogs, this is a work that is not stressful since animals are relaxing, unless those dogs turn out to be out of control.
I think generally people would not pay that price for someone to walk their dog. However there is a niche of people who work long hours and have a high disposable income who would not see these rates as a problem. The trick is to find these people:)
I think a dog walking business sounds like
a wonderful idea! I do have to agree with
Caroline though, you would have to find
people who have high enough incomes who would be
willing to pay for these services.
I agree the rates seem higher than you’d expect, but as I explained in the post that’s what businesses that are out there doing it at the moment are charging.
To make dog walking a business and not just a hobby theses rates have to be charged! Expenses include insuarnce,advertising,NI,tax and usualy a car.The dogs offered to you to walk are often untrained, they tend to be the ones that pull you off your feet, want to fight with every dog they see and jump up on unsuspecting on-comers. I dont understand how any
one can walk 4+ dogs at once.The man in the photo would struggle even to pick up the poo from his charges as the others would try and eat it, dance in it or pull him as he tries to collect it -resulting in dog poo up the finger nails!
It is not as much fun walking other peoples dogs as walking your own. You have to go whatever the weather,if walking 6 dogs for an hour it is 6 dogs to dry off before dropping home.If walking 6 dogs it would take more like 2 hours fit 1 hour walk to collect and drop off to each house and dry off check water etc etc.
Still it is better than working in an office,just not such easy money as those who have never tried it might think!
Pixie,
Thanks for sharing, it sounds like you have experience running such a business. Please feel free to share more of it!
[...] Crickett presents Starting A Dog Walking Business posted at Business Opportunities And Ideas, saying, “Dog walking is a great home business [...]
Hi I have been dog walking for just under a year. I am enjoying it as no office politics etc. I did all the sums before I started and on paper it would appear you could make a fortune the reality is some what different, unless you were really callous and didnt have any thought for the dogs on your care. Most people want their pets walked at lunchtime so there is only a 2-3 hr slot in the day that you are likely to earn.Jobs b4 11 am and after 2pm are a bonus.If the dogs youre walking dont do their business in their alloted time do you just say “tough” and take them home knowinhg its hours before they get out again?I know I dont-Id feel guilty so you may lose time there. If one of them was injured on a walk it takes time for a vets visit.On rare occasions a puddle-or even a sea-of diarrhoea may meet you at the door-Ive spent hours cleaning up-cant just leave it. I have noticed a lady locall, who has bought a well-known franchise, walking upto 7 dogs on a nearby beach.They are let out the van in a pack and make their way to the dunes where she stands about for 15min then ambles back to the van.If 1 or several of her charges go after another dog she feebly calls on them but makes no attempt to retrieve them. I would worry about up setting other dog walkers or that they would get involved in a fight.If they did what would she do with the other 6 while she sorts it out? Likewise if 2 ran off together after a rabbit say what then? Id love to know, as you are right, she will be taking in around £60/hr for this service desite the company advertising that they only ever walk 4 dogs at once.Maybe Im just too cautious. Re the costs of flyers how did you calculate this? I have done my own, as small as possible while still being legible, and using megre amounts of coloured ink and cheap paper but with a black ink cartridge being around £20 alone my printing and advertising costs are much dearer. Cheers :@)
DaJobSucks thanks you for your participation in our weekly Business and Work from Home Blog Carnival. Sorry for posting the carnival a couple hours late, we will get it right next week.
Thanks again
Owning 2 dogs myself, I enjoy walking my dogs and getting out and about in the fresh air, whatever the weather! With the stresses of office work (and being sat at a desk indoors), I’ve been thinking about starting up my own part-time dog walking business – plus being a dog lover, working with them would be even better.
I think even though the majority of dog owners enjoy taking their dog out, not all are able to take their dog out for many reasons and may choose to employ a dog walker.
A point I feel has been missed is that this service also benefits the less able or the elderly who are unable to get out and walk their dog as often as they wish – or can no longer get out at all. A change of circumstance may mean having to work longer hours or perhaps having had a temporary injury/illness may leave people housebound for a period of time etc.
I think the most important thing is that the dogs are getting out and about, whether the owner chooses to walk them themselves, or pay a dog walker.
It can also help with socialising dogs that may otherwise be walked alone or late at night when there aren’t many other dog walkers around.
I do believe it is important to find a trustworthy, insured dog walker, and if possible, qualified in some area of canine/animal care, which is why I personally don’t think those charges listed above are expensive.
i have been wanting to have a job to earn a bit of pocket money and dog walking sounds like the ideal job for me since i have two dogs at the moment and i love animals so it could be fun and great exercise.
have been wanting to do this for years as i am a nursery nurse working mornings, so this would fit in afternoons and evenings.i am a bit confused about which insurance- public liability? – does anyone know the best company to use for this? only want to earn a bit of extra cash at the moment so wouldnt be a business, but who knows!! any help in starting out would be great please, just guess i am scared of actually going for it- so much easier to just sit and think about it! any help welcome, just want to make sure i will be doing it right and have the correct insurance in place.
wot is a good price to start walking a dog at for about an hour or so?
i started my dog walking business just over a year ago in trafford/cheshire – other walkers are quite right walking your own dog is very different to walking others you’re out rain hail snow or shine with dogs that are of different temperamants and dispositions. i do’nt understand the people attentping to walk 4 dogs upwards (in fact in trafford thats not allowed) but i regularly see it- and i know of a great many unisured walkers while its a great job its not for the faint hearted!
I actually leave my current employment tomorrow of which i have been with for 3 years to start my dog walking business.
I am very nervous about it but excited at the same time. The fact im launching into this with no customers (as yet) is worrying me but with good advertising and build up trust and reliabilty with clients i think it will work.
I’m buying a van over the weekend, sign write it up – not tacky but to show what i offer and then wait for the phone to ring.
I will be doing this as my job to make a living but the main reason is i adore dogs, i have grew up with them all my life and currently own a beautiful black lab, i just hope it works.
Good luck to all who decide to do this, theres definatley a gap in the market for this and if your passionate for animals especially dogs then go for it
I have just started a Dog Walking & Pet sitting Business as I am being made redundant next month. I haven’t done much advertising – mainly postcards in newsagents/ vets/ pet shops. So far I have 2 regular customers for dog walking – 1 elderly/ 1 disabled. I also have bookings for pet sitting Chickens, Cats & a rabbit. Word of mouth is working as I was recommended to look after chickens yesterday by a local cattery -I don’t know how they got my number. I will be leaflet dropping soon to increase my clients.
I pay to have my dog walked – It cost’s me around £40 per week. I do not earn huge amounts of money but I am willing to pay to ensure my pet is well looked after whilst I am at work.
I have just started thinking about setting up my own business – I’d love to walk dogs full time.
I live in London and the going rate is £15 per hours walk – agreed though this is more like 2-2.5 once you have dropped all those dogs home etc.
However I still think there is enough money to be made to pay the bills.
I met a dog walker in the park today who told me he gave up his job in Feb tof this year to walk dogs – he earns enough to pay his bills and now has too many dogs to do on his own – he is currently turning away business.
It’s very tempting isn’t it!?
After having not only owned dogs but bred them too i sadly find myself dogless for the first time ever. Unfortunately my current circumstances mean that i live in a flat and am unable to own a dog of my own. I miss canine companionship greatly and my partner suggested that i think about dog walking as a way to not only earn a few quid but also as a way of assuaging my desire for a dog. Brilliant idea of his and so i found my way to this page and its good advice. I personally will never walk dogs as shown in the photo as i feel that this is a disaster waiting to happen, and will only offer a one to one service. I don’t expect to make a lot of money therefore but i should be able to make life a little easier and pay a few bills. With the cost of insurance and running a suitable car , i think £20 per hour for a solo dog walk is reasonable particularly when you take into account travel costs. After all not all of my customers are going to be on my door step. This venture has the added advantage of hopefully increasing my fitness and reducing my weight which has increased by at least a stone since i had to give up my dogs. One more tip for anyone else thinking of taking this up….buy decent walking boots and breathable waterproofs ,then you won’t care what the weather throws at you.
i am thinking about starting up my own dog walking business and have been at college for three years two for animal care and one for dog grooming. so i would also do other stuff as well. i am not going to leave my job till i have it up and running fully and i am going to buy a van when i can afford to. but i am very nerveus about it and would love to hear any advise that you can give me.
thanks
Wow £20/hr is alot even considering insurance (Less than £200/yr) and running costs. Be interesting to hear how you get on at these prices esp noting that London average is £15/hr. good luck
I am also researching starting a dog walking business and understand I require insurance and possibly a license – any advice on insurance companies/policies would be appreciated. Also can anyone please tell me if there is a demand for dog walkers in the Ripon\Harrogate, North Yorkshire area. Many thanks.
Wow im 12 and im starting a dog walking business and i have 2 partners we are doing so well we earn 1′000 pounds a year
Hello i was wondering what kind of arrangement you have with the owners, if they are out at work how do you get the dog? i no it sounds stupid but i wouldnt want to leave a key with a dog walker, surely people wouldnt dot that?
Yes they leave keys with us. Thats why it important that people choose their dog walker wisely. When choosing a dogwalker its important to check that they are insured and police checked.Even better if they can give references.
Im 14 and i would like to start a dog walking business. Do you think people would trust me with their dogs? Would i need to get insured and police checked?
I live in a small town, and i was thinking of charging £5 an hour, do you think that is a fair price?
And what would i need to start up the business ? Like how many leads would i need ?
So many questions … I would really appreciate it if someone could answer my questions and help me out !!
Also (last question, i promise), Would it take long for me to get the business up and running with customers who are willing to pay and trust me to walk their dogs?
Thanks
I have 5 customers who are not at home when I collect their dogs. I keep their keys locked away at home when I’m not walking their dog. I have Pet Walking Insurance from Cliverton which cost £136 for a year. It covers me if I lose keys etc and public liability. I also have 2 CRB checks with Girl Guides and the council (for school).
I have references from current customers.
All my new clients have been happy with this.
Hello Ailsa – I’m sure people would trust you with their dogs. you could get some character references and I think their is a police check you can get done to show you don’t have a record etc. You probably won’t be able to get insurance until you are 16. I think £5 an hour is very reasonable- I’m sure you would get some customers.
To start with you will need a good pair of walking boots, a mobile phone, lots of poop bags and 1 or 2 spare leads/collars. A torch, waterproofs and a personal attack alarm are useful.
It would depend on how much advertising you do as to how many customers you get. Put cards in Newsagents, Vets, pet shops, Libraries etc. you could make some flyers and post them through doors.
I get most of my enquiries through my website – but that can cost lots.
Wendy – petzbestfriend.co.uk
… Personal attack alarm?
Yes – you can get small attack alarms/rape alarms which can burst an attackers ear drum. You might be glad of one if you are walking alone across fields etc. I take mine when I walk on the local common – just in case.
Hmm, I suppose I should probably get one then.
Thank you very much for your advice, I really appreciate it
Hi everyone,
I’ve been running my pet sitting business for the last three years and safely say that to operate at a decent level of income per year takes more than just a couple of stroles in the park with a few dogs every day.
To those of you who are thinking of setting up simply as a sideline then my advice is thats great. With a small collection of customers you won’t be stretched much for time and will pretty much be able to relax while your ‘at work.’
Now, to those who need this to make them say £20k+ a year. You have to be readily available every day and that includes weekends and key holiday periods such as Xmas Day. My business runs dog walking, cat/small animal visits, home boarding for dogs and small animals and house sitting and I currently have two splendid ladies that help me out. Offering all these services creates extra revenue streams but also means that I don’t take a day off inless I can provide suitable cover so don’t roll into this if you value your personal life too much, not at least till you have a few helpers. Many of my regular and holiday customers have got used to me being around and available and thus have used me more and more for extra weekend breaks and evenings out etc so be prepared for short notice requests if you want to keep them happy!
I charge £10 for an hours walk and walk dogs in groups as much as possible. This is in order to fit everyone in and make enough money and also dogs by their very nature are social animals and love having play with their mates every day. This price may seem quite a lot to a few of you but I have to charge this, really I feel that everyone should charge a few £’s extra but thats the market and I’m not going to complain about that. This price takes into account the day to day costs such as travelling time and petrol expenses getting to and from a customers property and we all know how much fuel costs at the moment!
Also, I have to say something about responsibility of care. Most of my customers don’t have children and their dogs are in effect their replacement children whom they care greatly about. All dog walkers have a great deal of responsibility to bear whilst in care of their customers loved ones that I feel is greatly overlooked by many and although I can’t place a financial figure on this level of responsibility I would say that for £10 an hour this is quite acceptable.
In conclusion, I would say that dog walking is a great thing to do but if you want to make a proper living out of it, it can get very chaotic at times when customer after customer rings up thinking they are the only people in the world wanting their dog to be walked at 12pm every weekday!
Anyone wanting any advice about anything please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at rob@wolverhamptonpetsitters.co.uk.
I pay £10 per hour to have my dog walked. My dog walker is a trained veterinary nurse so i feel confident my dog is in good hands. She has the keys to my house. Initially I thought this was a lot but when you think about it it isn’t – I reckon she needs 2 hours for each groupd 1hr dog walk. She ahs to leae home and collect the dogs from different addresses. Drive to the walk location and then walk for 1 hour. Takes dogs back home. She also has to have a suitable vehicle and also insurance. It is not a “licence to print money”. I have thought I would like to do it myself but I would only do it when I no longer relied upon a cvertain level of income. Also what if my dog walker has a fracture and can’t walk the dogs? She doesn’t get paid then so not as rosy as it looks!
i am thirteen and i would like to start a daog walking business around my area we have a massive park down the road from me so i could walk them there, but how can i get the insurance i live in a built up area and am not sure how many people have dogs, if i started a buisness how could i afford the insurance
Im not sure if insurance companies would even insure a minor. I,personally,wouldnt want a child walking my dog.What would you do in an emergency-say the dog had anaphalatic shock?
You couldnt drive staight to vet.You could try phoning insurance companies and see what their policy is re insuring someone under 16yr.
I am thinking of starting a dog walking business and I wondered if it is feasable to offer this service for only 3 or 4 days per week? as I work as a counsellor on Fridays and Saturdays.
Thanks
Hi, I’m running a dog walking / dog sitting – cat sitting business in Brussels. I’m charging about 20 pounds for an hour walk to 15 pounds depending how regular the customer is. It might sound expensive but a lot of people are ready to pay that price for a good and regular service. It is not an easy job but you can really make good money if you’re well organised. And if you hire dog walkers you can really grow and become bigger. I do not advertise at all. I just made a website myself and I spend a lot of time referencing it. I’m one of the first result on google when you type: dog walking or dog walker or dog sitter on google.be and I haven’t spend a penny on advertising. I have started it a year ago and my sister and myself can live of it. So if you thing to start a dog walking business you can visit my website and contact me for some help.
Hello Rana
I definitely think its worth you working 3 0r 4 days a week. As previous comments have mentioned Dog walking is for extra money in some cases.
I have a second job now on Mondays & Fridays – I can walk dogs before I start & occasionally at lunchtimes on these days.
Most of my dogs are 2 or 3 walks a week – you need to be very organised and get people to book as far in advance as they can.
Hi,
I’m always surprised by the comments about the rates being high. From £5 for a half-hour walk the business person has to pay NI, tax, insurance, marketing costs, holiday pay (assuming they are running it as a business and not a side activity to make money). So there is not much left of the £5 for profit.
Even if the business is not properly registered, there are costs such as marketing and the walker probably wants to save some kind of pension, or just normal savings.
Also, it seems that on the one hand the customers love their pets but on the other are reluctant to pay for their well-being and care. Doesn’t add up really.
Erin
Hi,
Yes I totally agree that it’s hard to make any profit- my main expense is petrol as I drive to all my customers and also take dogs in the car to different places.
I think you have to really enjoy walking dogs- in all weathers- I will have walked about 55 miles this week with dogs and worked about 20 hours. I have made £170 gross and about £120 net – that works out at about £6 per hour.
I am feeling sore now, still 2 days to go til the weekend! I also seem to be working a lot more weekends now.
Oh and I have put my prices up (after doing my tax return – and realising I don’t even make min wage)
I now charge £6 for half hour and £10 for an hour.
The only thing I’m saving money on is advertising – I’ve stopped as I can’t cope with any new dogs at the moment…
Wendy
I want to set up a sideline dog-walking business to help fund animal care studies. How much time and effort is it going to take me, and is it worth it?!
Is this correct?
1) Register as self-employed.
2) Keep records of income and expenses.
3) Get public liability insurance
4) Get car insured for business use (even if not used to transport dogs, but to claim on travel expenses to and from dogs?)
5) Separate bank account. Save money to pay tax and NI.
Has anyone done the CIDBT pet-sitting certificates, or any others? How useful?
Can I get tax relief on payments for courses?
Thanks,
Debbie
Hello
Gosh! I did not expect ‘dog walking’ to be so involved but have to say that I gleaned plenty of information from many of the comments posted. Thankyou to those who provided genuine helpful advice – you have certainly given me plenty to think about in my very early stages of considering ‘dog walking’!
I am currently unemployed with a work background in admin and retail but have had a passion for the environment and animals since I was a child.
I am fit (well a bit overweight actually) and healthy, own 2 jack russells, so if I did start up my own small business, I would have to take my own two dogs with me so would only consider walking a maximum of 2 other dogs to enable me to retain control of any situation that may present itself.
I have an appointment with my J.S.A. advisor next week so shall certainly be enquiring if there is any funding available to assist me start up etc.
Wish me luck!
Kate.x
to Kate-have you any experience working with other peoples dogs? If not I think walking 4 dogs to start with is a bit ambitious and quite possibily putting yourself and the dogs you’re walking in danger. I worked for 14 yr as a qualified vet nurse and own 4 dogs so am aware of pack dynamics etc but even so I worked as a walker 2yr before up-ing to groups of 4. How would you diffuse a situation if another dog was to come and attack your group? Would you know what signs to look for as a warning? If you havnt then I suggest you leave your two at home to start with.
Hi Pixie
Thank you for your very relevant comment. I guess I would have to leave my two little devils at home (and just hope they forgive me) until I have gained experience and confidence!
Thanks again – just reinforces the fact that nothing is ever that simple!
Kate x
It isnt simple-yest i got a tearful call from a lady asking me to take her son’s lab pup out -she cldnt cope….. what with a cute lab puppy? Went to c him placid lad-popped him in car for walk in park with a regular GSD. She barks at other dogs but has recently had training so has been good- not yesterday!!!!!!! She started growling and barking at pup as soon as he out car and he quite clearly has never been trained he was twirling around on his lead on hind legs trying to lick her face, not realising she would happily have his tongue for lunch! Event got the both to sit but it was hard work walking to park and it all stared again down there. GSD got her halti off (lead still attachted)and both leads getting tangled she was growling (wouldnt bite just sounded awful to passers-by) and I cldnt reach either bum to make them sit-asking was pointless they were both hyper by then.After a few mins I got close enough to lab to ask him to sit and press his bum down, needless to say as soon as it touched the grass it was up again! I was sweating and have pulled muscles in my back. It look like chaos-not a good advert,granted nether dog could escape or were in danger but a passer by wouldnt know that. After a further hour at the beach pup was handlable but it just shows you never know whats going to happen and its not easy money! good luck!