Do you remember the Marley and Me scene when the dog sitter — hired by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston to watch their mischievous Labrador while they were out of town — stomps out the front door in an angry fury upon the owner’s arrival?
Let’s take this as a pet sitting case study. Perhaps she didn’t do the proper homework before becoming a pet sitter. Maybe she loves pets but hadn’t met Marley before she agreed to watch him. It may be that she was familiar with smaller dogs but hadn’t considered the energy level of big dogs. Had she asked Marley’s parents if Marley was scared of thunderstorms? Did she know about Marley’s appetite for destruction?
The good news is that pet sitting makes an easy-entry and potentially lucrative side hustle for the animal-lover with the right preparation skills, interests, and patience.
Make Sure Your Interests and Skills Align
Have what it takes to make money as a pet sitter? Whether you focus services on pet boarding in your home, house sitting in the pet’s home, dog walking, or providing doggie daycare or drop-in visits, the best sitters love animals, possess exceptional organizational skills, enjoy working independently, and work calmly in crisis.
Experience with Pets
It takes more than an unwavering love of animals to be a pet sitter. Some experience with dogs or cats — a pet of your own, a family pet or one you care for through a roommate — offers an ideal prerequisite for starting a pet-sitting business.
Even a short resume of pet supervision prepares a pet sitter in the art of avoiding and handling chaos that can ensue. Accidents on the carpet, a loud bark in the middle of the night, a chewed-up shoe or a purse-turned-scratch-pad aren’t out of the ordinary. And on a much more serious note, a pet sitter should always have a plan in place in case of an emergency. Bottom line: experience with pets helps ease the what-ifs of the job.
Organization Skills
Walk the dog. Feed the cat. Seems like an easy enough job, right? Sure, but it takes more than that to gain and retain a client roster. Any pet owner knows that each pet comes with its own set of idiosyncrasies. While some pets own a go-with-the-flow demeanor, others are beholden to a strict daily routine to ensure their peace.
Pet owners employ sitters to provide their animals the same level of care they would receive on any given day. The best pet sitters harness good organizational skills to keep pets on their unique schedules with feedings, meds, walks, playtime and sleep.
Communication Skills
As an entrepreneur, communication is key. Potential clients expect you to sell your experience and ask quality questions about pet logistics and level of care. Current clients may request updates or even pictures while they’re away. Past clients will appreciate a check-in that may even promote them to returning clients.
Work Independently
Pet sitting is a solo sport, so to speak. There’s no team for collaboration and the only boss you have is the pet owner. In addition to watching, walking and feeding a pet, it’s on you to track time, taxes, billing, payments and schedules.
Start Out with Sites Like Rover
Does pet sitting sound like a job for you? Great. Now, it’s time to set up your services online to tell the neighborhood that you’re open for business. Sites like Rover.com, Dogvacay.com and Care.com pair pet owners with pet boarders, house sitters, dog walkers, doggie daycares and drop-in visitors.
Most pet sitting sites take a percentage (sometimes up to 20%) of your earnings. With site commissions, state taxes and federal taxes, you’ll have to take those costs into consideration when figuring out your rates.
Get Familiar With Pet Supplies
You’re hired. Congrats! Once you get that first gig, you’ll want to purchase a few pet supplies. Although most pets will have their own leash and collar, it’s a great idea to have a few extra on hand just in case. For walks and playtime, go the extra mile by purchasing treats, treat pouches, poop sacks, poop sack carriers, water bottles and bowls at pet supply stores like IFA.
Decide Your Rates & Service Area
Let’s talk money. What should you charge for pet sitting services? ZipRecruiter reports $31,629 a year as the average salary for a pet sitting job, so pet sitting can be profitable for the dedicated and organized person.
While it may seem like a good idea to charge low to get your business off the ground, it’s not. Check the pet sitting sites to see what others are charging in your region. Next, determine what neighborhoods you want to service.
Charge competitively to cover gas, pet supplies and taxes. Consider the time involved with the pet, plus the hours involved with prep, wrap-up and business development. And don’t forget to factor in commission fees from websites, liability insurance costs, or the amount to cover permits to operate a boarding or kennel facility.
