How should I set up a summer business regarding dog sitting?
I know it's kind of unrelated to the forum topic, but this is the closest topic to the topic of my question...
It's a little bit early, but it never hurts to be early, so..
This summer I plan to offer dog-sitting services on my own, it's just going to be me and I don't plan on making it an official business, I'll keep it more like a private activity between me and the clients to earn some pocket money. I have dog-sitted some of relatives' pets before and I think I have some experience to pet-sit. The thing is, I don't really know if there should be special requirements for setting up such services, or anything regarding to the fees and how much should I charge, or maybe things like what I should declare to the owner prior to accepting them as a client, or if there's a few general questions to be asked before I sit their dog (things like does the dog have special requirements, etc.)
I plan to do come to the client's house daily, for however as long or as often as the client wants me to. So a suggestion on the hourly rate would be nice.
I would also like to know the general idea of dog-sitting activities. Something like what I should do in general, besides feeding and taking care of the dog, playing with the dog, and taking it to walks.
Thanks in advance!
It's a little bit early, but it never hurts to be early, so..
This summer I plan to offer dog-sitting services on my own, it's just going to be me and I don't plan on making it an official business, I'll keep it more like a private activity between me and the clients to earn some pocket money. I have dog-sitted some of relatives' pets before and I think I have some experience to pet-sit. The thing is, I don't really know if there should be special requirements for setting up such services, or anything regarding to the fees and how much should I charge, or maybe things like what I should declare to the owner prior to accepting them as a client, or if there's a few general questions to be asked before I sit their dog (things like does the dog have special requirements, etc.)
I plan to do come to the client's house daily, for however as long or as often as the client wants me to. So a suggestion on the hourly rate would be nice.
I would also like to know the general idea of dog-sitting activities. Something like what I should do in general, besides feeding and taking care of the dog, playing with the dog, and taking it to walks.
Thanks in advance!
Comments6
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I was a petsitter for about 8 years, got started in high school and it just sort of exploded from there. I got my jobs mostly through word of mouth; our neighborhood also had an HOA website and I eventually advertised my services through that. My rates changed here and there, but mostly I charged $10-20 per day depending on what I did. My work usually included feeding, medicating, letting out, walking/taking to the park, sometimes bathing, and sometimes staying overnight.
$10-15 an hour because it's a need and you can ask for that much.
Make some flyers and put them up in pet related businesses and places you know a lot of family oriented people will be. If you can make and order a small amount of business cards to hand out with your contact info and put an ad on craigslist.
Most importantly, have confidence. Even if you don't know 100% what you'll be doing at first.
Make some flyers and put them up in pet related businesses and places you know a lot of family oriented people will be. If you can make and order a small amount of business cards to hand out with your contact info and put an ad on craigslist.
Most importantly, have confidence. Even if you don't know 100% what you'll be doing at first.
Personally I would make a WIX, with images of me sitting on dogs of various sizes to demonstrate my skill in the specific field.
I think some dogs like to establish themselves as alphas? Perhaps be careful when the males mingle.
I'd check around on craigslist in the pet and jobs section in major cities, they have different businesses posting there. See what they are charging around your area, and charge a bit less than that.
Some things you might want to do in the meantime are read up on canine behaviour and clicker training. Some great books are The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell and any Karen Pryor clicker training book. Take some time to watch the dogs at dog parks and get an idea of how they act.
Some other things that might be helpful is learning about the care of high maintenance plants and aquariums. You can charge extra for these services as well.
The best thing to do is meet the dog outside of it's territory; so go for a walk with the owner and the dog first and talk to them a bit about your business, what your goals are for the business, why you like dogs, ect. Have treats in your hand and offer them to the dog if they are interested in them. The ones that are more skittish might need more meet and greets with you and the owner. This will make it a lot easier to handle them when the owners are gone!
Some things you might want to do in the meantime are read up on canine behaviour and clicker training. Some great books are The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell and any Karen Pryor clicker training book. Take some time to watch the dogs at dog parks and get an idea of how they act.
Some other things that might be helpful is learning about the care of high maintenance plants and aquariums. You can charge extra for these services as well.
The best thing to do is meet the dog outside of it's territory; so go for a walk with the owner and the dog first and talk to them a bit about your business, what your goals are for the business, why you like dogs, ect. Have treats in your hand and offer them to the dog if they are interested in them. The ones that are more skittish might need more meet and greets with you and the owner. This will make it a lot easier to handle them when the owners are gone!