Escape the leashes and the poop baggage! There’s by no means been a greater time to be a canine walker.
Who says so? Effectively, The New York Times says so. It simply ran an article about skilled canine walkers in Manhattan who’re making greater than $100,000 a yr.
And, positive, most of us don’t dwell in Manhattan, and most canine walkers don’t actually earn six-figure salaries. However that is nonetheless a profitable time to stroll canines for a dwelling, both full time or as a aspect gig. And it’s all due to the pandemic puppies.
Pandemic pups? Yup. Through the quarantine situations of the COVID-19 pandemic, once we as a collective nation have been all caught at dwelling, greater than 23 million American households acquired a canine or a cat, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
That’s practically 1 in 5 households! That’s tens of hundreds of thousands of recent pets that want tending to, each single day. “With many People again within the workplace, any person has to stroll all these pandemic puppies,” the Instances identified.
Tips on how to Get Began as a Canine Walker
Sounds nice, proper? A lot of recent air and train and canines, what could possibly be higher? However how are you going to set your self up for fulfillment?
You can get began the old school means: Inform all your pals and neighbors, then put up some handmade leaflets in strategic spots round your city. Put up it on Craigslist and announce it on all of your social media profiles, too.
Nowadays, although, most starting canine walkers are discovering work on apps.
The rise in canine strolling as a job or aspect gig may be partly attributed to the rise of dog-walking and pet-sitting apps which have hit the market lately, modernizing this entire course of. The preferred ones are Rover and Wag, which have been based in 2011 and 2015, respectively.
Right here’s our article evaluating the 2, plus a couple of related apps.
These apps are type of like Uber for canine strolling in that you simply take requests in your space. Relying on the place you reside, you possibly can settle for canine walks which are ASAP, which means you’ll want to arrive for the stroll inside a sure time frame, or you possibly can settle for a stroll that’s scheduled for a later time.
You additionally publish your availability for canine strolling gigs in your space. Canine homeowners close to you possibly can take a look at your profile, your costs and your availability, then e-book a stroll with you thru the app. So that you’ll need to make sure that your profile seems inviting and options images of you interacting with pets.
If you happen to hit it off with a pup and its proprietor, you possibly can schedule ongoing walks with the identical shopper.
It’s a must to be 18. Each apps do a fundamental prison background examine.
And should you’re discovering canine strolling appointments laborious to return by, you would possibly department out into pet sitting and even pet boarding. Each apps supply that.
How A lot Does a Canine Walker Make?
There’s not a easy reply to this query. Pay charges are everywhere in the map, and your complete earnings will depend upon how aggressive you might be about searching for out work and how much companies you supply.
In response to Rover, listed below are the common costs for every service:
- Canine strolling: $20 a stroll
- Drop-in visits: $20 a day
- Doggy day care: $35 a go to
- In a single day boarding or sitting: $40 an evening
A search on Rover in our metropolis discovered canine walkers charging $15 to $25 per stroll.
“Many sitters on Rover use the platform as a conventional aspect gig, taking good care of pets for additional revenue,” Rover tendencies knowledgeable Kate Jaffe advised The PNW. “We make it straightforward to handle their enterprise, whether or not they work full time and need to canine sit on the aspect, or they’re a scholar on the lookout for versatile work, or a retiree who needs to remain energetic and keep away from dipping into their retirement financial savings.”
Unsure how a lot to cost? Take a look at what different individuals in your space are charging. If you happen to’re simply beginning out, set your charges on the low finish when you work to construct up your clientele.
For instance, Wag permits you to set charges for 20-, 30- and 60-minute walks, and it reveals you a spread of what the common walker in your space is charging.
When you set your charges, your shoppers pay your charge plus a 20% payment to Rover or a 40% payment to Wag.
Pet sitting and pet boarding gigs sometimes pay greater than canine strolling as a result of they require greater than a quick dedication of your time.
“Given the period of most in a single day care (boarding and sitting) requests, these are usually probably the most profitable,” mentioned Kaitie Edel, senior advertising supervisor for Wag. “Changing into a pet mum or dad’s most popular caregiver or accepting a recurring request will also be very profitable, given the long-term relationship it creates.”
In brief, you’re in all probability not going to earn greater than $100,000 a yr like knowledgeable Manhattan canine walker who caters completely to the wealthy elite.
However all these pandemic puppies should be walked, and somebody has to stroll them.
If you happen to’re on the lookout for additional money, it could possibly be you.
Mike Brassfield ([email protected]) is a senior author at The PNW.