Dog walking business

first78

Just wanted to ask if anyone runs a dog walking business? It is something I am thinking about starting (only in the initial stages of thinking about it). I know it will vary in different areas but just wanted to get an idea of how busy you are, what sort of hours you work, income etc. I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who does this.

74jax

Surely it makes a huge difference if someone is working 8am - 6pm in Scotland but you live in London?

Shouldn't you be researching specifically the area you will cover?

Research your area - how many currently. The costs per hour. Do they have a waiting list. What days they work. What do they offer - single walks or pack walks. How to they transport the animals. How many work for them. Do they offer photos of them on the walks etc.

You need to do this local to you.

Exodi

I'd also imagine you'd need Public Liability Insurance.

I've seen a board on this forum where they discuss dog-walking as a means of generating income in considerable depth (perhaps check the Boost Your Income board?)

Two threads with similar questions;

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5911609/dog-walking-service
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5940092/become-a-dog-sitter-or-walker

TELLIT01

I don't know the details, but there was something on the news recently about some councils clamping down on the number of dogs a person can walk at a time. Limit of 4 per person was mentioned but you'd need to do research for your own area.

spadoosh

I know a few people how have started dog walking businesses recently.

One a more professional outfit and one more casual. The more professional bought a van, gets plenty of work but tends to be more specialised in taking dogs on 'day trips' (to the lakes). So more for the very fit and active dogs.

The other has someone else work with/for them. Its a bit more informal, drop ins, holidays, short group walks, that kind of thing. Makes a enough for a young mum.

Neither have struggled to get work and both seem to keep customers so viability seems there. The smaller of the two (the latter) has recently been looking at venue to host 'doggy day care'. Providing pets stays as popular as they are theres lots of different income streams that could be sought to depending on what you want to chase (thinking, food supplements, toys, clothing/accessories, day care, holidays/boarding, social calls, training, grooming etc)

TELLIT01

It might be worth checking with places like local vets to see if they know how many other people are currently doing dog walking and therefore how much competition you may be up against.

Marcon

Googling on 'set up dog walking business' gets you masses of useful links e.g. https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2018/01/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business-a-guide/

SensibleSarah

I did it for a few months a few years ago when I was taking a career break, along with some freelance writing work. Depending on the area, it can be highly competitive and you might not be able to charge what would make it worthwhile if other people undercut you. There will be an average going rate in your area. My area was about £10-£12 per dog (with a discount for multiple dogs from same household) for an hour's walk, but that was a full hour walk, with drop off and pick up outside of that time.

You absolutely need public liability insurance. The use of a vehicle to transport dogs can also be a grey area. Some insurance firms I contacted were insistent that I needed 'for hire or reward' cover (essentially taxi cover) and others insisted I needed commercial vehicle insurance, but then others were happy to let me insure personally with business use. My vehicle was a van-based car, with removable crates in the boot, which I used for everything else I did in life, as well as for dogwalking.

You also need to consider the hours you're likely to be able to work. Most dog owners (me included, when I used to hire a dogwalker myself) want their dog to go out in the middle of the day so it breaks up their day and they aren't left too long either side. So the majority of people want their dogs walking between 11am-2pm. You can only walk so many dogs in that time period, factoring in pick ups, drop offs etc, so make sure you do your sums to see if its viable.

My insurance allowed me to walk up to 6 dogs at once, but local bylaws in some places only allow 4 - so check that out in the area. I never walked 6 at once - that would have been too much for me to responsibly manage anyway. Obviously some dogs need to be walked on their own, for a variety of reasons, which cuts down on your earning potential for that time period. So you need to limit that to non-busy times of the day if possible to maximise your income.

Realistically, the most dogs I generally walked on a week day was around 10, in about 4 batches. So I would start with my first pick up about 10am - and would finish around 3.30pm - earning around £100 for the day (some dogs from same households, so were discounted rate).
Often pet sitting work falls on the evenings and weekends, so extra earning potential but no social life

You can make it work, if you have an area that can support the volume of working dog owners you need to make it viable. But it's hard work, you can't take sick days or holidays easily if you work on our own, and there are some up-front costs you need to think about, like insurance, vehicle, marketing etc.

saker75

I've employed several dog walkers over the years. Most (but not all) had some form of animal husbandry training or background. They would charge for an hour's walk but in reality it could be over two hours - great for the dogs but not financially rewarding. They also considered any health issues for each dog.
My current one attaches GPS trackers to the dogs (rural area with lots of woodland) and has a fairly decent bit of kit to monitor them.
And of course it's an outdoor job regardless of the weather!

ReadingTim

I spoke to an expert about this. He said the following:

"Grrrr..woof, woof, WOOF!".

Personally, I think he's barking...

Ridgerunner

In looking to hire a dog walker, I look for adequate insurance, experience, canine first aid training and a DBS check. If not walking from home I also want to know how my dog will be transported, how long he might have to remain in a vehicle for (some get left for considerable lengths of time) and expect that he remains on lead unless I sign a form giving permission for the walker to let him offlead.