Dog Walking anyone?

dom300186

Im thinking about doing this when my son starts school in september, i need something flexable and easy to do.

I got our springer spaniel aka dee dee 3 months ago since ive had him ive lost nearly 2 stone, just by moving more.
usually go out 1-2 hrs a day and i love it, so it got me thinking is this something i could turn into a little job to keep us afloat.

Id like to know if anyone out there does this? how much they charge? how succesfull it is? or anything else i need to think about like insurance- where can i get it from can i extend my own dogs insurance to cover public liabilty for other dogs il walk?

tjp70

I started a dog walking/pet minding/dog boarding business nearly a year ago. I decided to do it professionally , so I have a signwritten van, PL insurance, website, uniform etc and it has cost me a small fortune.
Currently I am turning over about £200.00 on a good month and 80% of my turnover comes from having dogs to stay at my house. Very little money comes from the dog walking side and it is certainly not through lack of trying or advertising. I leaflet drop, have adverts in newsagents and pet shops everywhere but the majority of my business is through word of mouth.
If you want to make a small amount of money on the side and get fitter, then this is a good business to start. If you want to make a lot of money, try and find another business!!
There is specific PL Insurance for dog walkers, you cannot extend your current pet insurance as that is a personal insurance and you need business insurance.
tjp70

jo70mo

My Godson started dog walking last Easter as well as cat feeding and small animal pet-sitting.
He is now full for dogs and busy with cats too. It is hard to make it a full time business as a lot of people want similar hours - however I reckon with travelling he is doing about 25- 30 hours a week and turning over between £170 - £230 a week. He has low overheads but does have his own website, full insurance and very comprehensive contracts and pet information forms etc.
He has had to turn people away. However he does have to be flexible and does some weekend and evening visits.
He now has references now from a WPC a councillor and some other people of "good standing" lol!
He is not earning a fortune but it is often more than a full time minimum wage would pay at his age. He loves it and the animals love him.
He only walks dogs one at a time and people seem to love that he doesn't group walk - this also means he doesn't need a van.
hth
Jo

hermum

Have a look on your local Gumtree, on ours there are dog walkers advertised often with links to their websites. So you could check out how much others are charging in your area.

aylesburygirl

Hi we currently use a dog walker who charges £11 an hour but will also do 1/2 hours aswell- like the other have said most people want there dog to walked around lunch time to split up the 9-5 work day so think you would be limited on how many you would be able to fit in as i guess most people would want them walked between 11-2. We found ours through our Vet who had her details so would rec' leaving details with local vets & maybe pet shops.

dorisday

tjp70 wrote: »

I started a dog walking/pet minding/dog boarding business nearly a year ago. I decided to do it professionally , so I have a signwritten van, PL insurance, website, uniform etc and it has cost me a small fortune.
Currently I am turning over about £200.00 on a good month and 80% of my turnover comes from having dogs to stay at my house. Very little money comes from the dog walking side and it is certainly not through lack of trying or advertising. I leaflet drop, have adverts in newsagents and pet shops everywhere but the majority of my business is through word of mouth.
If you want to make a small amount of money on the side and get fitter, then this is a good business to start. If you want to make a lot of money, try and find another business!!
There is specific PL Insurance for dog walkers, you cannot extend your current pet insurance as that is a personal insurance and you need business insurance.
tjp70

Same here, I started a business for dog walking some 4 years ago plus the van etc spend quite a lot of money, and the fuel costs now are so high, it would be so easy if they all lived in the same street!! as above poster says I also make very little on the walking but having the dogs stay over holidays etc makes it worth while not a fortune but helps me pay some bills.

jaynemaria

interesting reading these posts and good luck everyone. Do you need any special lience for having dogs boarding in your own house?

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jaynemaria wrote: »

interesting reading these posts and good luck everyone. Do you need any special lience for having dogs boarding in your own house?

Yes you do need permission from the authorities I believe.

Also to those who launched their own businesses, did you ever have a website or online adverts or did you advertise only through other means?

angelsmomma

Hi

When you say you need permission from the authorities who exactly do you mean?

Thanks

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angelsmomma wrote: »

Hi

When you say you need permission from the authorities who exactly do you mean?

Thanks

Usually the council, for example if you look here you can see there are application forms for different kinds of boarding including using your home as home boarding.

dll

Live in London. In our area, dog walkers charge anywhere from £10 - £25 an hour. It varies. You often see dog walkers out with 4+ dogs, so it is quite profitable for very short input of time.

As for having dogs stay over whilst people go away etc, the price around here tends to be £25/night excluding food, and people will charge more if you want them to include food.

Hope that helps