How to Start a Dog Walking Business

Time To Pet
Time To Pet March 22, 2024

A complete guide with all the resources you need to start your own dog walking business - updated for 2024!

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Starting a new dog walking business is an incredible venture that can lead to all sorts of wonderful opportunities and meaningful connections down the line. There’s also no denying the absolute appeal of running your own business, doing things your way, being your own boss, and spending your days in the company of cute furry pets. However, when you’re first starting out for yourself, things can quickly pile up and take a turn for the overwhelming. When you decide to strike out on your own and start your own business, it’s a huge step in and of itself, but it’s the work you put into the follow-through that is crucial and will determine the future of your new pet care company.

One of the first things you want to consider is the type of business you would ideally like to run. While it may not be possible right off the bat, many different iterations of dog walkers and pet care professionals exist in the pet care industry today. They range from teenagers who walk dogs after school and live down the street from you to local dog walking and pet sitting companies that focus on servicing a particular city to companies with large teams that operate across several states. There are even some sizeable online pet care companies that use gig workers via a mobile app that are able to deliver on-demand services to their clientele with the quickness of ordering takeout or calling an Uber. While your opinion may vary on each approach, the point remains that there is a pet care company out there for everyone, and it’s essential to understand what you’re aiming to be so that you know what you need to do in order to work toward that goal.


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This guide is for anyone who is interested in starting their own dog walking or pet sitting business. It will include all the resources you need to get yourself up and running, including a copious amount of practical knowledge that we have collected from years of being in the pet care industry and working alongside thousands of dog walking and pet sitting businesses. (Some of which included our very own.)

The information and resources compiled here offer the most comprehensive guide to starting a dog walking business that you will find online, so please feel free to jump around and discover the articles and lessons that will be the most useful to you and your new business. Also, remember to check back to this article every now and again because, just like the dog walking and pet care industry, this guide will constantly be changing and evolving.

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Starting Your Dog Walking Business

Understanding how a professional dog walker operates and runs their business will be incredibly valuable when planning how you would like to run your own company. Here is a list of several key ideas you should familiarize yourself with as you plan how to start your dog walking business.

1. What Does a Dog Walker and Pet Sitter Do?

2. What Services Will You Offer, Where Will You Offer Them, and How Much Will You Charge?

3. Startup Costs for Your Dog Walking Business

4. Creating Your Business: Name, Logo, and Website

5. Creating Your Business: Contracts, Procedures, and Policies

6. Software and Tools for Your Business

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1. What Does a Dog Walker and Pet Sitter Do?

While you probably already have a decent idea of what is required of a professional dog walker on a daily basis, there are several considerations you need to take into account for you and your business that may not be as apparent. Above everything else, a professional dog walker’s primary responsibility is for the safety and well-being of every animal entering their care. You need to make sure that a number one priority of yours from the get-go, which means being insured and bonded by a credible insurance company and educating yourself on how to handle pet first aid and other pet (and sometimes non-pet) emergencies.

While taking care of pets for a living is every bit the dream job you might imagine it to be, there are also many challenges that pet care professionals face along the way, especially when it comes to first starting their dog walking business. As a dog walker or pet sitter, your schedule will never be the same from one day to the next. You will almost always be in constant motion, spend a lot of time outdoors, and visit various client residences daily, which can lead to a lot of travel. It is also a very physically demanding job that may require you to rough it out in inclement weather or less-than-ideal conditions in order to ensure the pets in your care are properly cared for. Not to mention, on any given day, you may find yourself trekking across town to see all of your clients, going out on multiple walks, both long and short, and juggling requests and other communications from clients. However, despite these challenges, the unpredictable nature of the work can also be inspiring and will be full of new challenges to overcome. Could there be a more perfect career path for those who want to keep it moving and rise to a challenge?

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That doesn’t mean that you won’t have hard days, though. No matter how fulfilling or exciting the work you’re doing, there will always be days that wear on you or where it feels like you have too many hats to wear. When these days hit you, it can get overwhelming, and you may end up feeling defeated. But no matter what you have on your plate on any given day, it’s imperative that you stay as calm, cool, and professional as you can. That means showing up on time, completing the agreed-upon services for your clients, and putting forward your best attitude when it comes to communicating with the pets in your care and their parents. It can sometimes be easy to get snappy or impatient with a pet if they are being uncooperative or to slack off on a visit update for a client, but these moments of weakness can have a more significant impact in the long run than you might realize. A neighbor might see you berating a pet and report it to the client, or a poor interaction with a client may make them question your trustworthiness with their pet. These seemingly small instances can accumulate and lead to greater trust breaks in the future, so it is crucial always to do your best to provide the best service possible.

Being a dog walker or pet sitter is much like being a mail carrier - rain or shine, the job must get done! You’ll also have to work irregular hours, and many holidays will be dedicated to caring for pets as your clients leave town or get together with family and friends for their own celebrations. Holidays like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are incredibly hectic times of the year, and they often lead to the greatest amounts of revenue for dog walkers and pet sitters, so you won’t be able to take all of them off. It is important to consider these things ahead of time and plan accordingly for the time you will be sacrificing. You and any staff you may hire deserve to have your own time off around the holidays and should make time for yourselves amidst the holiday booms. However, you want to be sure to balance that out with ensuring your company is still adequately staffed for the clients who rely on your business during these times.

While all of the above might sound intimidating, being a dog walker and pet sitter also involves spending a good majority of your time getting to know and connecting with sweet furry pets and their adoring parents. The bonds and memories you form with the clients under your care (both furry and non) can last you a lifetime and will make every hard day worth it in the end.

All that time and energy you put into providing the best pet care services you can will definitely not go unnoticed by your clients and will secure their trust and loyalty in you and your business. That loyalty will then encourage them to recommend you to their friends, family, and coworkers and help you grow your business quicker than even the best marketing ploy. And while we mentioned earlier that there are many different ways to be a dog walker, there is definitely a reason why people prefer having a local, reliable dog walker over using a novelty cell phone app. After all, when pet parents are entrusting their most beloved family members to a pet care service, they expect them to receive professional, responsible, and compassionate care from their sitter. While sitters employed by larger cell phone app companies might be skilled at what they do, it isn’t quite the same as the personalized experience they are most likely to receive from a local company and is something you should keep in mind as you move forward.

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2. What Services Will You Offer, Where Will You Offer Them, and How Much Will You Charge?

What pet care services your company offers, where you offer them, and how much you will charge for them are the core components of how your business will operate and generate revenue. Deciding on these key factors is critical to the success of your business, especially at the beginning. Below, we go into more detail about what to consider for each component and offer advice to help guide you through these decisions.

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What You’ll Offer

Deciding which services you will offer is essential to starting and growing your dog walking or pet sitting business. What it really comes down to is what type of animals you want to care for and what resources do you have available. Do you want only to walk dogs? Can you do overnight stays at a client’s home, or do you plan to offer sitting services at your own home? Will you take care of cats, or are you allergic? Depending on your answers to some of these questions, you may have more to ruminate on.

It is our recommendation that you keep your services as simple as possible, especially when you are first starting out. It can be easy to get overly enthusiastic and offer all kinds of services – from basic services like dog walking and cat sitting to more specialized services, such as dog running, dog hikes, early morning/late evening dog walks, and half-day vs. full-day sittings, etc. However, having a different service for every little change to a basic service like dog walking can create confusion for both you and your clients, so aim to keep things contained in the beginning. After all, you can always add more services later on. In the meantime, focus on being the best that you can be on the service you currently offer or plan to offer until you’re ready to introduce new services.

While it's always better to keep it simple, you should still offer the services that suit your business and your goals the best. Here are some ideas for services to offer:

  • Dog walking
  • Dog running
  • Dog hiking
  • Dog park visits
  • Training
  • Pet sitting for any animal type or time duration
  • Overnight stays
  • Emergency visits
  • Medications and/or vitamins administered as needed
  • Cat litter cleaned
  • Plants watered (indoor and outdoor)
  • Mail and newspaper collected
  • Pet waste clean up
  • House and home security checks
  • Individualized, customized dog (and cat) exercise programs
  • Pet food pick up and delivery
  • Pet taxi
  • Pet wedding attendant
  • And much more



Where You’ll Offer Your Services

When starting your dog walking business, deciding where you will offer your services is vital. Where you live will play a significant part in this decision. For example, trying to service the whole city won't make sense if you live in a big city like Los Angeles or New York. After all, you want to be able to spend your time taking care of pets, not driving across town all day! Many dog walking companies will want to take on any prospective client looking to hire them when just starting their business. Doing so can be very tempting because who really wants to turn away work and the potential profit that comes with it? However, accepting work from all prospective clients is an excellent way to overextend yourself, leaving you exhausted and stretched too thin. Instead, the best way to expand your service area is to do so organically. Start small and grow with the needs of your clients and your own capabilities. By doing so, you might quickly realize it’s time to hire additional walkers once the requests start pouring in!

If you live in a more rural location or a small town, on the other hand, it might make more sense to service several areas and zip codes. Regardless, you should always make sure you are calculating travel time and additional expenses when taking on new clients. It might seem like a good idea to accept any job you can get when starting, but as we mentioned above, it might stretch you too thin and impact your ability to provide exceptional service to the clients you already have. It might also turn out not to be worth it financially in the long-term, especially if the additional expenses and travel time you are spending to make it to any clients that are particularly out of the way could have allowed you to complete a few visits closer to home in the time it took to take care of one.

You’ll also want to consider your competition and where they are offering services. Market research is absolutely your friend here and will be beneficial in finalizing the decision regarding your service area. If you live in a densely populated area with lots of demand (and little competition) for pet sitting or dog walking, you might service a smaller area like your neighborhood. If demand decreases and the supply (the competition) increases, you may need to expand your service area. If your research shows that your competition is all focused on similar service areas, branch out and see if there may be an underserved area nearby, as they will likely have a high demand for pet care services. By understanding what other companies are providing and their service areas, you can help yourself decide what services to offer and what areas to focus your efforts on.

How Much You’ll Charge for Your Services

How much should you charge for dog walking and pet sitting services? More often than not, price serves as a major deciding factor when prospective clients are looking to hire a dog walker or a pet sitter. It will also likely be one of the first things a potential client will look at when visiting your website. That is why you must ensure your business has an easy-to-understand pricing structure. Your prices should be clearly stated on your website, and any additional fees or charges should be disclosed to your clients. This could be anything from a late booking fee to an after-hours charge to an additional pet fee. Regardless of the add-on service or fee you are charging, make sure that is apparent to your clients from the get-go in order to avoid potential misunderstandings. Doing so will prove yourself and your company to be forthright and reliable, and clients will know what to expect, which leads to more clarity about rates.

For additional guidance on what to charge for your services, Time To Pet has created several free calculators to help you determine your rates based on where you live and what services you offer.

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The key ingredients for deciding what to charge:

  • What services will you offer? Remember to try and keep it simple. It could be as straightforward as offering 30-minute, 45-minute, and 60-minute walks. Then, you could also provide home visits for the same amount of time and at the same rate. If you encounter clients requesting another type of service often, then you can easily add it to your list of offerings.
  • Where are you located? Where you live plays a very significant part in deciding what to charge for your pet care services. Using our calculator tool, you can see the average service cost in your area. You most likely do not want to be the cheapest service around, but you also don’t want to be the most expensive. The happiest medium is somewhere around the average rate of what’s charged in your area but at a rate that remains in competition with other pet care companies in your local area.
  • What is your competition charging? Do your research. Look at your competition and see what others across the country in similar-sized cities are charging. Check out our free rate calculators for help coming up with rates for different services. Deciding how to position yourself compared to your competitors is also a good idea. Will you be a luxury service? Do you have special medical qualifications? Do you offer extra value to your clients and their services by using software like Time To Pet?
  • What are your expenses? If you have employees or workers other than yourself, you must account for their pay. When considering what to charge for your services, you should factor in labor, insurance, gas, marketing, materials, and any other miscellaneous expenses. Your profit is not what you make from each event but rather the revenue you generate minus your expenses. Ensure your rates cover your business expenses while leaving something left over for profit.
  • How much do you want/need to make to sustain your workers and business? This can be one of the most overlooked aspects of setting your rates. You need to make sure that, at the end of the day, your services are generating enough profit for you to have a sustainable business and make a decent living for yourself.

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3. Startup Costs for Starting Your Dog Walking Business

How much will it cost to start your dog walking business? Luckily, starting a dog walking business is relatively inexpensive compared to starting other companies, such as opening a restaurant. In fact, it’s possible to get started for less than $500 if you’re operating on a limited budget. However, these costs may vary depending on the scope of your business and your available resources. Below, we will go over some typical expenses you will need to consider when beginning your business and the range of those costs.

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Costs of starting a dog walking business:

  • Registering Your Business as an LLC or DBA— $10 to $500+

When you’re first starting out, you'll need to decide which type of legal structure your dog walking business will operate under. The two most regularly used structures are LLC (Limited Liability Company) and DBA ("Doing Business As"). Both structures allow you to operate your business under a name other than your legal given name. You can also open a bank account under the name of your business. LegalZoom has more information on both types of business structures. We recommend doing your due diligence so that, after a bit of research, you can decide which structure is the right fit for you and your company. The cost of registering your business will vary depending on the type of business structure you choose and where you live. An LLC will be more expensive but will also provide more liability protection for your business.

  • Opening a Business Bank Account — $0 to varies

As you begin the process of starting your own business, it's a great idea to open up a bank account for your business that is separate from your personal accounts. NerdWallet is a great resource that can help you track down locations where you can open up a checking account that is truly free in your area. Having a different bank account for your business will make tracking expenses and taxes for your company much more manageable. For more information about opening a bank account for your business, we recommend taking a look at this article from the Small Business Administration.

  • Obtaining a Business License — $0 to $400+

The cost of obtaining a business license varies based on the state you live in, though on average, the price is somewhere between $25 to $550. In some states, however, you may not even be required to acquire a business license, while other states require multiple licenses or permits, depending on your business type. The Small Business Administration can help you understand what licenses are needed in your area. You will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to apply for a business license. It is free to register for an EIN – just go to the IRS Website and follow the instructions listed.

  • Joining Professional Organizations — $0 to $300+

Joining a professional pet care organization is entirely optional, but should you choose to join one, they can provide you with many benefits geared at helping new pet care business owners grow their businesses, including offering certifications for professional dog walkers and pet sitters. The two most prominent organizations are the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS) and Pet Sitters International (PSI). Membership fees and application fees will vary.

  • Obtaining Professional Pet Care Insurance — $129+

Pet Sitting Insurance is essential for a new pet care business. It not only protects you and your business, but it can also serve to protect your staff and clients, as well. In fact, many clients will ask if you have insurance during the onboarding process. Being able to say, "Yes, we are insured and bonded!" is a great selling point for any company, especially for a brand-new pet care business. Check out our Definitive Guide To Pet Sitting Insurance for a full breakdown of what Pet Sitting Insurance includes and a link to some providers.

Several providers offer Pet Sitting Insurance in the United States, but the four major providers are:

  • Business Insurers of the Carolinas — Providing coverage since 1992. Must be a member of NAPPS or PSI.
  • Pet Sitters Associates — Providing coverage since 1998. Pet Sitters Associates provides many options for pet care professionals, including a Business Listing service. Their basic membership price begins at $199 per year.
  • Kennel Pro — They offer three different packages - Silver, Gold, and Platinum - depending on your and your company's needs.
  • Pet Care Insurance — Offers products for many different pet care professionals.

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  • Building a Website— $15 to $50+

A website is essential for your dog walking business. Most clients will search for local dog walking services online, so you should consider your website your digital storefront and your local listing page in one. After all, your website is often the first thing that clients will see and what they will base their first impressions on. In this way, it can often be the deciding factor on if a client reaches out to you to inquire about receiving services, so you want to be sure you have a site that is solid visually and easy to navigate.

If you have some experience building a website, creating a site using WordPress can be relatively inexpensive. There are also some very user-friendly website building tools like Wix and Squarespace out there, too. They cost a little more than something like WordPress, but they will allow you to build a professional-looking site quickly. We have a great post on what information to include on your website if you need any help getting started.

  • Creating Marketing Materials — $10+

Sometimes, old school is the best school when it comes to marketing. Creating business cards and flyers is a relatively economical way to advertise in your area. One of the biggest companies that can make marketing materials for you is Vistaprint. They offer many templates and can create flyers, business cards, magnets, and more. Also, make sure to create your free listing on Local Pet Care, a new resource created by Time To Pet to connect pet parents with local pet care pros!

  • Taking a Pet First Aid Class — $50 to $200+

Attending a Pet First Aid Class is an excellent idea for a new pet care business owner. Not only will you learn some valuable lessons and bits of information you can pass along to your staff (if you have any), but your new clients will really appreciate the fact that you are Pet First Aid and CPR Certified, as well. Pet Tech is a fantastic resource if you’re interested in learning about CPR and First Aid Care for pets, and you can also use it to find a class near you. If you'd like to take an online course instead, we recommend checking out PetProHero. For more information on pet first aid, take a look at our blog post, Pet First Aid for Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters.

  • Dog Walking Supplies — $5+

You can’t run a dog walking or pet sitting without some crucial supplies! For newer businesses just starting out, whether you’re a solo venture or you have some staff, it’s always a smart idea to grab some of the essentials – poop bags, some spare leashes or leads, collapsible water bowls, and some dog treats. You can pick up all of these supplies from your local pet store. Depending on what supplies you want to pick and how many you think you will need, the budget you should allow yourself for supplies could vary wildly. You don't need to go overboard with supplies when you are just starting out, so just focus on getting the basics to keep you and your team afloat. Once you have spent some time in the field, you will quickly discover what additional supplies you need! You'll also discover which ones you can leave at home.

  • Dog Walking Software — Time To Pet Free Trial

While you may not need pet sitting software just as you start your business — getting up and running with an efficient system early on can do wonders! Not only does it impress your clients, but it makes managing the many aspects of your growing business much more straightforward. Whether it be scheduling services, invoicing, managing staff, or communicating with clients, a good pet sitting software can help you streamline your processes. Plus, it's always better to start with software than to try and transition to it after your business has already taken off! Check out Time To Pet on a 14-day free trial to see how it can help you and your business today!

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4. Creating Your Business: Name, Logo, and Website

Your company’s name, logo, and website are what your clients will use to identify you. They will serve as a representation of your brand and inform them of its overall vibe and personality. With this in mind, it’s your chance to get creative! Feel free to get silly (we’ve seen a lot of pet-related puns, and they never get old, trust us), or you can choose to keep it cool, calm, and collected. It’s your company, so anything goes! Just make sure that your name and logo are easy to remember and that your website is incredibly user- and mobile-friendly. We have a helpful Academy Lesson we recommend that has some practical tips and resources for creating your dog walking logo and website.

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Name:

Choosing a name for your dog walking business can actually be a much more complicated process than it initially sounds. That doesn't need to be the case, though! When brainstorming names for your company, here are a few things for you to consider:

  • Do you plan to provide just dog walking or cat sitting? If so, pick a name that describes what you offer.
  • Are you going to be providing upscale pet care services?
  • Are you going to be the biggest and the best?
  • Do you ever hope to expand to other markets?
  • Do you want your customers to hear your business and think, “What a fun company!”?
  • Maybe you have veterinary and medical animal care experience?
  • Do you want to be playful?

On top of the questions above, you also want to make sure that the name is available and that the domain name for an accompanying website also free to use. It’s also a good idea to make sure all the social media handles you would want to use for the name on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter haven’t already been taken. Otherwise, it will be too easy for clients to confuse your business accounts with another.

If you are still feeling stuck with choosing a name, check out our guide to naming your pet care business.

Logo:

Like your name, your logo will be on your website and marketing collateral, so you want to be sure that it represents your business well. If you don’t have someone on your team who can make a logo, there are tons of great resources online, like Fiverr and 99designs, where you can make affordable graphic designs. If you have some experience with design yourself or someone on your team does, there are also great free design tools like Canva that offer a full suite of tools and tutorials that will enable you to make a fantastic design, as well.

Website:

There are endless numbers of companies and freelancers that can create a website for you, but if you are a little tech-savvy and are feeling adventurous, a few very easy-to-use website builders are available. Sites like Wix and Squarespace use drag-and-drop style website building tools, making it easy to build a professional-looking website for your dog walking business. Here is all the information that you should have on your website:

These don’t each need to be separate pages. Still, you’ll definitely want all this information on your website, along with many opportunities for pet parents to contact you and book services.

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5. Creating Your Business: Contracts, Procedures, and Policies

The contracts, procedures, and policies you set up and decide on for your company will help to define the type of dog walking business you are. They will inform your clients of what they can expect from you and the type of services you will provide and will also let them know what will be expected on their end. For this reason, it is imperative that your policies and agreements are clearly stated and easily comprehended to help avoid potential confusion with clients. Well-defined policies and procedures will also work to make your business look more professional and make your life easier in what can often be a hectic industry.

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Dog Walking Insurance

Having dog walking and pet sitting insurance is an absolute must. We have a thorough guide to help professional pet sitters and dog walkers with the process of getting insured and bonded.

Dog Walking Contracts

Your dog walking contracts should include:

  • A Service Agreement should clearly outline all the different components of the services you will provide to a client. Whether your client is going to receive dog walking services from you or you’ll be staying overnight in their home, it is vital that the agreement is tailored to fit the services you’ll be providing. For example, if you are going to be giving 30-minute walks to your client, go into detail about how you will be spending those thirty minutes and what is included as part of your service at no extra charge. Will you medicate dogs that need it as part of the visit free of charge, or is medicating a pet something you want to charge extra for? Will you feed them dinner? Bring up packages? Be clear on what can be expected from you and your team as part of the visit, and if there is anything they can expect not to be included as part of your services, be sure to outline those things as well. Your agreement should also detail your company’s terms and policies. Every client will need to agree to your terms and policies before you provide them with any services. You can find a a sample service agreement here..
  • A Vet Release Form is designed to permit your business to seek medical care for the pets in your care in case of an emergency. This document should include some terms (which may be similar to terms in your Service Agreement) that clearly outline your procedures in emergency cases. Time To Pet has a sample Veterinary Release Form you can review here.
  • A Key Handling Form is essential when you are dealing with many clients and their many keys. You are responsible for ensuring that their homes are locked and that their keys are well taken care of. We have a great post on key management for ideas on efficiently taking care of your pet parents’ keys here that you can review. We also have a sample key handling form here.
  • A Payment Authorization Form is definitely essential to have on hand when it’s time to take payments. After all, getting paid is an integral part of running a business. The payment authorization form for your company should provide clear instructions to your clients on how they can pay their invoices. If you require a credit card on file and will be charging that card for the client, you should be very clear in explaining it. We have a sample Payment Authorization Form for you to review here.

Note: As with all of our sample agreements, these are just for educational purposes. Please have your attorney review all of your contracts and agreements before finalizing any of these documents.

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Cancellation Policy

With all the different moving parts of life, you have to be adaptable. There will always be the occasional cancellation for your dog walking services—sometimes at the last minute. While not a big deal, you need to make sure you have a policy in place so there are no questions or confusion about what should happen if a client cancels. It’s important that you are still compensated for your time and expenses, especially if they cancel at the very last minute.

We have more information about how to set one up in our blog post on Setting and Enforcing Your Pet Sitting or Dog Walking Cancellation Policy.

Meet and Greets

The Meet & Greet for dog walking services give new clients the opportunity to get to know you and your company. They are often the first, and sometimes only, time a pet sitter or dog walker will meet their clients in person, so making a good first impression throughout is especially important.

A Meet & Greet is the perfect time to review your company’s policies and procedures and have the clients review and sign your Service Agreements. It’s also a great time to go over any questions they might have or instruct them on how they can schedule visits, pay their bills, communicate with their sitters, and so on.

Depending on how you conduct your Meet & Greets, you may be setting up these consultations over the phone or by email. Regardless of your approach, ensure you make it clear to your clients what they can expect to go over at the meeting.

For more information on Meet & Greets, see our definitive guide to mastering Meet & Greets and our post about conducting Meet & Greet virtually.

Certifications

Becoming a certified dog walker is not a requirement for starting a dog walking business, but it is something you should consider pursuing. An accredited industry certification can demonstrate that you are committed to your craft and to upholding specific professional standards. Certification can also help you learn relevant skills and provide training you may not have achieved otherwise. It also serves as a great marketing tool.

Here are a few of the benefits of being certified:

  • It shows your clients that you take your profession and the welfare of their pets seriously
  • Some certifications allow you access to resources and communities that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to
  • Certifications like First Aid and CPR can be critical and even help you save a pet’s life. For more information, please take a look at our blog post on Pet First Aid for Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters
  • Being certified can help you to stand out from your competitors
  • Continually learning about your industry is a great way to stay on top of new trends and grow your business

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6. Software and Tools for Your Business

When you start a dog walking business, some tools of the trade you need are apparent – such as leashes or poop bags. But what are the less conspicuous tools you need to make your business successful? We are so glad you asked! Dog walking software just so happens to be one of our favorite things to talk about, and it is something that you’ll need to grow and manage your business, whether you believe it or not!

Time To Pet was created by former dog walkers and pet care professionals who wanted to develop better tools that did everything they needed while working in the field and caring for lovable pups. Dog walking software will not only save you time, but it will help you to manage your staff and maintain better communication and relationships with your clients, as well.

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Dog Walking Software

The right dog walking software will make your life easier, provide a better experience for your pet parents, and help you grow your business. You may be asking yourself what software is right for you, and questioning whether or not you really need it. Read on to learn more about the specifics of pet sitting software like Time To Pet and why it is essential for your business.

What is Dog Walking Software?

In it’s simplest form, dog walking software is a field management tool that allows you to perform Scheduling, Invoicing, Client Management, and Staff Management, all while you’re out on the town taking care of your four-legged clients. These are just a few of the basic features that dog walking software might offer. Our platform here at Time To Pet has the most advanced version of these features and much more!

Why Do I Need It?

We have a great Academy article on why a pet care business needs software, which you can find here. In brief, it helps you build relationships with your clients, saves you time, helps get you and your team paid on time, prevents more mistakes, and increases productivity. Time To Pet also offers a Client App that helps even the playing field between your new dog walking business and the big tech, Uber-for-dog-walking companies.

Okay, I Need It. But How Do I Get Started?

If you haven’t already signed up for our free trial, definitely go ahead and take it for a spin! If you have already gone through the free trial and are considering signing up, feel free to look at our blog post on what to expect from the Time To Pet onboarding process. You can also contact us with any questions at support@timetopet.com - we are always happy to assist!

I’ve Got It. Now What?

Our Onboarding Manager at Time To Pet has written a fantastic blog post about announcing your new pet sitting and dog walking software that we recommend reviewing here.

Accounting Software

Quality accounting software will allow you to organize your finances and make running your business easier and more effective. Setting up with accounting software like QuickBooks Online can help you save time and stay organized. As an added bonus, Time To Pet supports QuickBooks Online integration to streamline the real-time accounting process.

Resources:

Are You Ready to Start Your Dog Walking Business?

Yes, you absolutely are! We hope this guide has inspired you to take the first step in starting your own dog walking business and has provided you with some of the answers and clarity you need regarding certain aspects. Having all the information from this guide at your fingertips should take much of the stress out of the planning process and make things much more manageable.

Once you hit the ground running, be sure to check back on this guide occasionally. We will continuously update it with new and relevant information. And as far as resources from Time To Pet go, this is just the tip of the iceberg! We are constantly improving and adding to our Blog, Time To Pet Academy, and Email Courses. Our goal is to continually provide the best resources we can to help dog walkers and pet sitters start, manage, and grow their pet care businesses.

Signup for our 14-day email course for more useful information about starting your dog walking business.

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All the Resources for Starting Your Dog Walking Business:

Make sure to check out our Time To Pet Academy and Blog for more great resources.

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