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I am curious if anyone in this forum Walks Dog or Doggie Day Care for a living? What made you start a Doggie Day Care or a Dog Walker? and how did you go about it?
I'm a dog walker and also a dog sitter. I love animals and have wanted a simple job that had to do with animals. Although I've been tld I'm very cheap..Price wise lol. I charge $2.50 for a 30 minute walk/30 minute play time. The longer I'm there the more it costs.. and it goes up a tiny bit if you have two dogs. But you can usually work me to give a better price..I charge $10 a day to dog sit.. the last time I dog sat I spent well over 40 hours with the dog in a matter of five days. I take Teddie along and he has a blast. He also keeps the dog busy. The big plus is at the end of the day Ted's worn out too so it works for me lol.
I also do dog bathes for $5 and some grooming, but it's not my specialty.
Keeper, you are so right. TeddieXRuxpin, you're not charging nearly enough. I am a professional petsitter, have been in business for almost 4 years. I am bonded and insured (which costs $), and I'm a member of a couple of professional organizations. I am not going to say how much I charge, but I am much more responsible and reliable than the kid down the street or the relative. I know how to deal with emergencies, and I have plenty of contacts that can help out if I have an unusual situation come up. I also have backup in case of emergency. But the pets are waiting for me, and their owners are counting on me, so I'd pretty much have to be dead to bail on a visit.
I went to a seminar a while back that was put on by one of the national organizations, and I was hooked. Was looking to get out of the corporate world, and of course I love dogs. Was spending too much time on the internet at my job doing pet-related stuff, which of course was not fair to my employer. I was very lucky in that my employer was willing to let me go part-time, which I did for a couple of years until I built up enough of a clientele to go full-time. I've been full-time for almost a year now and managing to support myself just fine.
Go into this business only if you are a mature and responsible adult who is going to be working early in the morning, late at night, and lots of weekends, and you'll be extremely busy on holidays too -- not much time to spend with the family. You can make good money, but you'll have to work a lot of hours. It would be a good idea to try to sign on as an independent contractor with an existing company. I love being my own boss.
I have also worked at a Doggie Day Care on a part-time basis. I thought it would be great fun, but not really. It mostly consisted of keeping the place clean, and keeping the dogs out of trouble. Many of them are terribly spoiled, and their owners bring them so they'll get exercise because they are too wild at home. The place where I worked was well-run, the owner was also a trainer who I like and respect. It's just the nature of the business.
You aren't charging nearly enough to dog walk, especially with the price of gas now a days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharon R.
Keeper, you are so right. TeddieXRuxpin, you're not charging nearly enough. I am a professional petsitter, have been in business for almost 4 years. I am bonded and insured (which costs $), and I'm a member of a couple of professional organizations. I am not going to say how much I charge, but I am much more responsible and reliable than the kid down the street or the relative. I know how to deal with emergencies, and I have plenty of contacts that can help out if I have an unusual situation come up. I also have backup in case of emergency. But the pets are waiting for me, and their owners are counting on me, so I'd pretty much have to be dead to bail on a visit.
I went to a seminar a while back that was put on by one of the national organizations, and I was hooked. Was looking to get out of the corporate world, and of course I love dogs. Was spending too much time on the internet at my job doing pet-related stuff, which of course was not fair to my employer. I was very lucky in that my employer was willing to let me go part-time, which I did for a couple of years until I built up enough of a clientele to go full-time. I've been full-time for almost a year now and managing to support myself just fine.
Go into this business only if you are a mature and responsible adult who is going to be working early in the morning, late at night, and lots of weekends, and you'll be extremely busy on holidays too -- not much time to spend with the family. You can make good money, but you'll have to work a lot of hours. It would be a good idea to try to sign on as an independent contractor with an existing company. I love being my own boss.
I have also worked at a Doggie Day Care on a part-time basis. I thought it would be great fun, but not really. It mostly consisted of keeping the place clean, and keeping the dogs out of trouble. Many of them are terribly spoiled, and their owners bring them so they'll get exercise because they are too wild at home. The place where I worked was well-run, the owner was also a trainer who I like and respect. It's just the nature of the business.
Good luck and have fun!!
It's more of a spare time, play, lets have fun type of thing so I'm not to worried. Right now I'm down to one pup; Millie a 11 year old Sheltie, since people have been moving a lot or have lost dogs, but I'm making an extra $600-700 dollars a year. Which works for me. So I need to pick things back up!
My dog goes to a doggie daycare twice a week. The other three weekdays, a dog walker comes to walk and play with her during lunch time. The doggie daycare is very expensive. The dog walker is my neighbor. She charges me very little too (of course, much more than $2.50) and she doesn't have to drive. My dog's doggie day care is very busy and we have a standing reservation so we can get in. My dog isn't wild at home but I would like to keep her socialized with other dogs. A doggie daycare is an easy choice for this purpose (much better environment than a dog park).
That is some interesting stuff there and thank you for sharing. Sharon when you used to work in a Doggie Day care. Did he do training on the dogs he was babysitting? did he have fun obstacle for the dogs? Games for them? did agility? The list can go on and on?
Did you ladies start out as dog walker first before going further? Did you just advertise in the newspaper? Were you nervous meeting other people dogs because they can have aggression? Where I live there are so many dogs in my neighborhood that are tied up and I am thinking maybe if I advertise some these dogs will at least get some walks or I am sure there are caring working people that would love to have their dog walked? So what do you think?
I'm a pet-sitter (in my spare time), but I work for a company... probably not allowed to advertise for them here, but it's a well-established chain. We charge $22 for a walk, $45 for an overnight, and so forth - I get 1/2 of the bill, $2 for gas per visit, and an $11 surcharge if it's a major holiday. It's a really fun job, and if I had the organizational skills, I'd love to start my own pet-sitting business! Oh, and I started simply because I love animals, and it was a good way to earn extra money on my own schedule (I was in grad school at the time).
Hi, I have a professional pet sitting business which includes dog walking. I got my start by joining Pet Sitters International (petsit.com). There are other groups too, like NAAPS. They provide tons of useful info, a guideline for getting started, insurance and bonding topics, etc. This is in regards to pet sitting. I didn't start a doggie day care because of the cost (insurance, property etc..). I have been doing it for more than 4 years and love it.
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We charge $22 for a walk, $45 for an overnight, and so forth - I get 1/2 of the bill, $2 for gas per visit, and an $11 surcharge if it's a major holiday. It's a really fun job, and if I had the organizational skills, I'd love to start my own pet-sitting business! Oh, and I started simply because I love animals, and it was a good way to earn extra money on my own schedule (I was in grad school at the time).
dog walker
