"I started by having business cards printed up and then I approached people with dogs on the local commons. Then after talking to them about my dog walking service, I was introduced to other dog owners and it just grew from there...You do the math. An enterprising young man, he also set up a website called "The Dogfather."
It is important to be professional – I have had a Criminal Records Bureau check as I have people's house keys, and have also done dog first aid training and have specialist pet walking insurance. If someone's dog runs into a road and causes an accident, you need to be covered.
I usually walk six dogs in the morning and six in the afternoon and also offer all day care. I charge £15 per dog per hour and work seven days a week – so as you can see, it's a good earner...
28 March 2011
The surprising economics of dogwalking
Probably not "typical" or "average," but these numbers from a Telegraph story are startling:
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I guess it would depend on how many hours a day he walks the dogs. It couldn't be for more than 2 hours I wouldn't think. One hour walks for 6 dogs would be $90 where 2 hours would be $180. Either way, doing this twice a day seven days a week would add up.
ReplyDeleteNote that he charges £15, not $15, per dog. That converts to $24 per dog x 6 dogs in AM = $144 and 6 in PM = $288/day. He says 7d/wk = $2,000 wk x 50 wks = $100,000/yr and two weeks vacation in Tahiti.
ReplyDeleteGee. I should copy this and show it to my clients. I charge $40 per day to dog sit in my home, 4 walks a day guaranteed. If your dog sleeps on your bed, he or she sleeps on my bed. Ditto with furniture. I buy toys and treats for my doggies. I consider myself kind of a doggie grandma or aunti, and love my doggies to pieces..
ReplyDeleteMy (preteen) daughter set up a dog sitting service around town. Actually printed up advertisements with tear-off phone numbers. Didn't get any takers, but she did get some business via word-of-mouth.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she undercharges, but she only charges $5 to walk a dog (and will never walk more than one at a time), and $10/day dog sitting, including 2-3 walks. I think the difference between a farming town of 5900 versus a city makes a big difference in the going rate.
Whoa! The going rate for daycare centers here is $15 a day per child! And young single mothers can't afford even that if they have more than one child.
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