Start Simple
Deciding which services you will offer is an essential part of starting and growing your dog walking or pet sitting business. It really comes down to what type of animals you want to care for and what resources you have available. Do you want only to walk dogs? Can you do overnight stays at a client’s home?
You can always add more services later. Focus on being the best you can at what you offer. We recommend keeping services as simple as possible. It can be easy to go overboard and offer dozens of types of services like cat sitting, dog walking, pet sitting, evening sitting, early morning walks, etc.
In reality, most of these services are probably very similar and have the same price point as well. Instead of offering tons of separate services, it’s easier to offer just a handful of services based on the duration of the event. There are just way too many inconsistencies when charging per task instead of by a certain amount of time.
For example—you may have a 15-minute visit, a 30-minute visit, and a 60-minute visit. Each visit can be the same for cats, dogs, walks, birds, morning, night, etc. Even though you may be doing different things at each event, you are still spending the same amount of your time. This makes the process much more straightforward when customers are requesting services—and more uncomplicated for you as well.
Keep your rates consistent and straightforward. In many cases, there is no need to add an extra dollar for giving oral medications, changing litter boxes, watering plants, or bringing in the mail. These additional services can all fall under the designated time of the visit. If a pet needs extra attention (or the visit requires more time for other services), then the visit should be for a longer duration.
One of the first things most people do when searching for a new pet sitter or dog walker is look at their prices. Make sure your prices are clearly stated on your website and are easy to understand. You will be more reliable, and clients will know what to expect, which leads to fewer misunderstandings about rates. If you are interested in finding out more information about how to set your rates, take a look at our blog post, The Ultimate Guide to Setting Your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Rates. You can also use our Free Rate Calculator Tools to help determine rates!
It’s always better to keep it simple, but 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.