How much should I charge for dog walking/pet sitting services?
Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at
2:08 am
I want to start a dog walking/pet sitting "business", just something that will earn me small change and won’t take too much of my free time. I was wondering how much I should charge (for both walking and pet sitting per hour/day), and your experiences with this if you’ve ever done it before. Also, if you were hiring a pet sitter, what you would expect the person to do.
Filed under: Dog Obedience Training
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Survey your potential customers - if they want to compensate you adequately/or not, then you can decide. Find out what it is worth to them for your services.
Be mindful of value-added services you may be able to supply. (eg pooch-washing etc….)
Thats a great idea! I would call every service like that in your city, and compare their rates to what you think you can make.
Id expect my pet to be fed, but not overfed, exersized, given time to socialize, and a quick cleaning if necessary. Maybe you could offer basic sit/walk and charge for extras like "deep cleaning" or "nutrition management"
MY dog walker used to charge me £6 per hour for walking or £10 to look after him at her house overnight. Small animals like mice, guinea pigs about £20 per week. She charged £5 per day to call in and feed a cat and change litter whilst owners on holiday. She was police checked and marvellous with all animals.
Hi,
I’m new to the group, & this is LONG, but I’m very experienced with dogs and travel since I show them frequently and have to leave some behind when I travel to a show. Some of the things I look for in a professional "Pet Sitter" are, 1) are they reliable? I ask for references, and phone numbers, and I CALL the people to be sure they are not just family members trying to help out this person. 2) Are they bonded? In case of a break in or theft, are they licensed or bonded by their State (different States, different rules) to cover any losses? 3) How do they get along with my dogs? I have them come over for a pre-Pet Sitting visit, show them the routine, and observe their behavior with my dogs. MY DOGS are one of the BEST indicators if a person is reliable or not. If the person is friendly and the dogs are willing and happy to play and interact with them, I’m more likely to hire them. 4) How many other clients are they taking on at the current time? This is important, because each visit SHOULD take at LEAST 1/2 hour at the MINIMUM for proper feeding, potty time, and play time. I prefer my sitter to stay longer, and to visit 2 to 3 times a day. I DO notify my neighbors that I am going out of town, so they are VERY aware of the goings on, and are instructed to DROP BY while the sitter is over. The sitter is aware that this WILL happen, but not when or how often. My dogs know my neighbors, and are used to them. If a stranger came near, they would react quite differently. When it comes to charging, I pay per dog, per visit, per day. I am lucky, because my sitter happens to be my best friend’s daughter who is EXTREMELY reliable, experienced, and great with the dogs.
If I were you, I would call around to other pet sitting services, ask the questions as if I were the client, get the range in prices, as well as the prices of the best dog and cat "day care" and supervised kennel operations (the ones with video cameras for you to turn on your laptop to see what your dog or cat is doing while you are away). Check the prices for ALL the EXTRAS. This includes 15 minutes in the "play yard" or a special diet, etc. There are a lot of things to consider when taking on something like this. Many pets need meds. Do you have the experience to give insulin shots to diabetic animals? Are you a certified Vet Tech.? All of these things are very important to pet owners. Also, how would you handle the loss (death) or serious illness of a pet while the owner was away? I know these are tough things to consider, but they are the REAL LIFE things that happen. The best thing you can do is RESEARCH, EDUCATE, & really think this one over. Pet Sitting may sound fun, and not too time consuming, but it can be more than you expected.
The big red flag for me when I read your post was, “won’t take too much of my free time”. As a former professional pet sitter, I can tell you that pet sitters have little to NO free time, NO holidays, NO weekends, etc. When you consider pet sitting as a business, consider when people travel. Most travel happens on weekends, holidays, summer vacations, etc. A pet sitter has to be available to the public they are serving. Your up very early in the morning (those pets have to be let out) and out late in the evening. Pet sitting carries heavy responsibility with it. Licensing, training, insurance, all have to be considered. You’re not just caring for healthy young pets, your caring for elderly animals, and sometimes pets with serious health conditions who need daily medication.
Mid-day pet walking might be a better fit for you if you want to keep your weekends and holidays free. Hope this helps with your decision.