7 Essentials for Starting a Pet Sitting or Dog Walking Business

1. Have pet care forms and contracts, it is essential that you have the correct forms and contracts for your clients to fill out and sign before leaving their dog with you. These will include a reservation form, veterinary authorization form, telephone reservation sheet, client invoice, dog or cat information sheet, dog walking report card, medication log, service contract , a pet accident and illness card.

2. Get pet sitting insurance, we’re very lucky in the UK that you can get pet sitting insurance from just £6.00 per month depending on the service you offer. It is essential to have pet sitter insurance to cover unforeseen events.

3. Obtain a Pet Sitter CRB Check, if you offer a dog walking service, in-home pet sitting, or an emergency service and you have keys, you will need to write a CRB check to show clients that you does not have a criminal record.

4. Have a document storage system, ideally a pet sitter database, storing your client and pet information is a must as they will most likely come back to you time and time again so a good Filing system is essential, they should contain information such as details of the vet, medication and behavior notes of the pets, service required, reservation dates, cost, etc.

5. Write a business plan for a pet sitter. A business plan is a document that outlines your business: its goals, strategies, market, and financial forecasts. It will help you assess exactly what services you will offer to pet owners. How much to charge and how well your business is doing. You need to make sure it’s short, clear and well presented, and review it regularly as your business progresses.

6. Run a marketing campaign, having a good brochure is key to attracting new customers, these should be distributed to local vet clinics, pet stores and beauty salons. Having a website and a Google AdWords campaign is a great idea and shows professionalism. Some well-known membership organizations offer pet owners a postcode lookup feature that retrieves member pet sitter details, which will also bring you more work.

7. Join a pet sitting membership organization, if you really want to run your own pet sitting service, you should join a membership organization that will give you help and advice when you need it, but more importantly, will help you It will give your customers peace of mind. since it gives credibility and professionalism to your business.