Dog Walking: Should I work for a company or set up on my own?

thedoghouse

Thank you everyone. Lots of really helpful advice which I will take on board.

Kerriebaby

if you are under 30 go to the Princes Trust, I set my Pet Care Business up through them

suki1964

I dont know if this has been mentioned as Ive not read all the thread, but do check the local byelaws where you intend walking the dogs.

Wimbledon common WAS a favourite haunt of dog walkers, till the common trust then made a byelaw stating only four (or some low number) dogs could be walked by a person at a time. And I know many councils have the same or similier byelaws for common lands

Kerriebaby

suki1964 wrote: »

I dont know if this has been mentioned as Ive not read all the thread, but do check the local byelaws where you intend walking the dogs.

Wimbledon common WAS a favourite haunt of dog walkers, till the common trust then made a byelaw stating only four (or some low number) dogs could be walked by a person at a time. And I know many councils have the same or similier byelaws for common lands

Most good pet business insurances state the same!

(im only allowed to walk 4 at anyone time under mine, but in practice I only walk 2 at a time )

thedoghouse

Further to my original post, I have now decided to bite the bullet & set up my own dog walking business!

I'm still in the early stages of setting up & would really appreciate your help with some market research. Please take a few minutes to complete the 10-question dog walking survey I have created:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=cYu6ccd9w_2b3qlE6UhTVVRw_3d_3d

For more information about the service I am setting up as well as the survey results (once they are in), please see my blog:

http://maxandmollydesigns.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/let-the-dogs-out/

* Thank you so much for your time! *

- Jane.

thedoghouse

Oops!

So sorry guys. Survey seems to have closed itself after first 100 responses. Please try this updated link to complete it:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=FzvoylnPf7rJBIA8A501RA_3d_3d

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to respond

Hintza

I would never use a gog walking service so haven't filled it in. But my thoughts on the subject would be to offer a variety of services and if one is not popular then cut it. Obviously if you are walking a few dogs on a lead then rate per dog can be much less than giving them individual attention. As for duration I think I would try and split my day into say 30 minute sessions in the morning and say hour sessions in the afternoon depending on what customers want. You might then offer a bespoke/individual service at some other time. If you have any qualifications/experience then you can also add a bit of training at extra cost.

I might be looking at this from the angle but just my thoughts.

thedoghouse

Thank you so much to everyone who took part in my survey. It closed automatically after 200 responses so that may be why some of you had problems. Really appreciate all the extra comments you have given me. I have posted the conclusions I have drawn from the results here if any of you are interested:


[url][/url]http://maxandmollydesigns.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/dog-walking-survey-results/[/url]

Nordictat2

Just curious...how much does a dog walker make per week?

Someone asked me over the weekend if I was interested in walking their dog once a day/weekdays and asked me to come up with a price to charge them. I have no clue what to charge I have had dogs in the past so I do know about them and how to care for them of course.

skintlass

My dogwalker charges £8 for a walk and double that if the dog stays overnight.