Earn Extra Money from Dog Walking
Do you often take a walk or run outside during the day as your daily routine? If yes, then why not gain some money from out of it. You can offer your neighbours or other pet owners out there who don’t get to take their dogs out for a walk because of reasons, may it be because of their work or because they are too lazy. However, in order for you to be a good dog walker, aside from taking walks, you also need to be a pet-lover who easily gets in tune with the dogs and ready to take on the job. Now here’s what you can do to become a successful dog walker.
⦁ Offer Your Service to Family, Friends, or Neighbour
Walking a dog is not only an easy way of making extra cash, but it can also help build up your resume. As your starting point, you can start by offering your neighbours, family, or friends to walk their dogs. Once you have done the job successfully, you’ll be more likely to be asked again to walk their dogs. The next step is to start your online business, get a nice website, register a Facebook and Instagram page and start promoting your services.
⦁ Join an Agency
If you want to make money as soon as possible, then consider joining an agency to have a client more often. Yes, an agency may get a cut from what you’ve gained, but you would get an experience and the company would handle all the legal papers. Whether the agency is specialised to dog walking, pet sitting or daycare, then consider joining for experience, and of course for extra income. Joining an agency is optional, you can just do the network yourself to get a client. However, it would be much easier to get clients and experience if you join an agency.
⦁ Get a certification or License
If one day you want to consider this kind of job as your career, then you should consider getting a license or certification. This would help you build some major credibility with your clients. Some schools out there will offer you with full-tuition scholarships, so don’t let this chance slip off. Some of the best agencies out there might even require to have it, either after hiring your or before you become a full-time employee. The classes can only last for 4 days, so it won’t really consume most of your time, and there are many online courses too like BCCS offers.
⦁ Know Your State’s Laws and City Structure
Here’s what you need to know before going to take someone’s dog out for a walk. There are some cities that require, dog owners, dog boarders, and dog walkers to be insured. If you are working in an agency, they might have taken care of the insurance. But if you are just planning to dog walk during your free time, or to just make extra cash, then getting an insurance is something that you should definitely do. Aside from insurance, you should also know your local’s layout. Know where the dog parks, hideaway spots, back trails, and parks to bring your furry friend to. This way, not only you will get to walk your client’s dog, but you’ll also get to have fun with them by playing games and such.
⦁ Build a Relationship With Your Clients
Dog walking may seem like the perfect job for introverts, but do remember that the dog’s owners are the ones who are paying you and not the canine. Therefore, it would require you to interact a bit with your client. Not only with your clients, but you’ll also have to make small talks with anyone around you, which could help with your networking. This way, you’ll get more professional contacts in the future. Also, remember to have gentle persuasion and proper negotiation with your clients, because this way you get to win them over and may even become your regular customer.
⦁ You Should Know How to Understand Dogs
To have a successful career that is associated with dogs, you’ll need to love dogs first. It’s just that simple, dogs can sense if you are a non-dog human, therefore, you won’t have a smooth and successful job if you aren’t comfortable with them. If you are not into handling animals, then this is definitely not the right job for you.
There are also some things you need to consider, such as:
⦁ How many dogs can you walk at a time? Some professional dog walkers can handle 6 dogs per walk in different sizes. Therefore, try asking yourself if you can walk more dogs at a time. The more dogs you handle, the more money you make.
⦁ Learn more about the dog. You can ask your client about their dog’s behaviour, or search about their breed on the web.
⦁ Know which dog breeds are compatible with one another. If you are planning to walk multiple dogs at a time, then you should know if the breeds are compatible with one another before taking them for a walk.
⦁ Be In a Good Shape
Getting into good shape is very important if you are walking a dog, especially if you are walking an untrained dog. The dogs may tend to pull you around, especially if they are trying to chase something. So if you want to withstand their pulling efforts, then you should definitely need to work up with your strength. It would also help build up your cardio, and this way you can walk more dogs at a time and get less tired to have a more enjoyable walk with your furry client.
⦁ How Much Money You’ll Earn
Most dog walkers tend to have different walking options it usually comes in 30 and to 90 minutes walk. And each walk will also be charged differently. If you live in a big city like London, expect to earn a bit more as dog walkers come in a higher demand in cities, however there are more walkers too. Generally, for a 60-minute walk, you can earn about £8 to £20. If you have more clients and can group their dogs together, its double earning. But if your client has two or more than one dogs, then you can add a £5 to £10 charge per walk. If that client often asks you to walk their dog 5 times a week, then you can give a discount for being your regular customer.
So, no matter what age you are, you can actually earn money from dog walking. If you are below 18, make sure to let your parents know that you want to dog walk to gain extra money, especially during summer. But if you are a working person that happens to have a lot of free time, then make sure that you are covered with insurance in case of a certain situation. If you want to learn more about dog walking or day caring then visit https://doggydaycare-london.co.uk