Dog Walking - A Lucrative Business For Over 40s

In short, be prepared.

We are currently seeing an explosion of dog walkers and dog-walking companies. It is, after all, a wonderful way to make a living. If it's the path you choose, set yourself up to enjoy the most worry-free experience, knowing that you are taking the best care possible of the four-leggeds in your care

"How do I become a dog walker?"

I've had calls and emails asking that since I've been dog walking from people keen to start up and asking for advice. If you're thinking about being a dog walker/pet sitter then I hope this article gives you some help so you can be successful.

Starting any small business is hard (especially when living with such a fragile economy as we do now) dog walking especially so as it appeals to so many people, because a) the start up costs are very low, b) requires little knowledge and skill and c) enables people to be their own boss and all the perks that come with it. This means dog walking businesses are popping up all over the place all with the dream of being successful. Many disappear not long after starting and with more dog walkers about than ever before the spread of work has been spread thin compared to a few years ago.

First thing first

Research everything you can about dog walking and especially the already established dog walkers in your area, the services they offer and the prices they charge. A good way to find out where dog walkers are is to locate them using Google maps, many will have websites detailing their services and general info - this is all useful stuff. Find the going rate and make sure you don't go over it nor beneath it too much as you have to make a living and the first few months will be a real test financially.

The prices of dog walking can range between 5-10 but generally it's about 7-8 per hour walked. There are two types of dog walking, group and solo. Solo walks tend to cost more but group walking is ideally what you want to do. Most people want their dogs walked at lunchtime while they are at work, so that's your peak working hours and you may only get two to three walks (max) in that time and in that time you will earn most of your money for that day, so if you are doing solo walks in that time you are limiting what your income can be.

You'd be surprised how much time is spent traveling, picking up and dropping off dogs, even in a small area. You don't get paid for driving so keep you area of work as small as you possibly can. Petrol costs will take a lot of your income if you have a car so if you plan on using the car make sure it's economical. I'm serious, when I started I had 3 dogs all within 6 miles of me, just picking them up and taking them to the park and back home racked up over 100 miles a week!

Personally I've never walked more than four dogs at a time and wouldn't want to walk many more than that, I know there are people out there who walk 10 dogs!