If you’ve been contemplating entering the world of dog walking, there’s no better time to start than now. The surge in puppy sales since 2019 has led to an unprecedented demand for dog walkers. Opportunities are abundant, and those who have recently embarked on this journey are already finding themselves at full capacity. With a shortage of dog walkers and a surplus of work (for now), the window of opportunity is wide open. Don’t delay – seize the moment and start your dog walking venture as soon as you can!

Choosing a business name

There’s more to think about in a business name than you might think. If you plan to work alone, a more personal business name may suit you better as pet care is very personal. I’m known locally as Jamie, the dog walker, and people recommend using that term, so if I needed to start all over again, that could be a suitable business name.

There has also been quite a benefit of using your location in your business name. It made it much easier to rank in Google search. Around 2011-2012 if you Googled for a dog walker using my location, my website, and all the directories it listed on took up the whole first page. But now, I only appear once, like most others do, with maybe my Facebook page listing. Google has changed a lot since those days. Google keeps tweaking its algorithms to improve user experience, so there is a chance that adding your location to your business name may become redundant.

If I planned to start a pet business and hire helpers as it grew, calling my business “Jamie’s dog walking” doesn’t make much sense. Nor does it to offer other pet services, like cat visits and small animal boarding. So for those with ambitions and plans of hiring staff, a less personal, more inclusive name is better. For example, if I started again and wanted a team and offered a spectrum of pet services, a business name like “Bishopton Pet Nannies” would make more sense. It includes the location and the term “pet” rather than just “dog” but also has the plural “Nannies,” letting people know there is more than just me working there.

Since pet care can be so personal, some people won’t use businesses that hire staff. They want to choose their pet person and have them walk their dog or care for their pet. Also, those who hire staff can struggle to keep them for long. It pays poorly, hours are low, and it isn’t as fun as it sounds. Yet, because of the appeal of working with pets, businesses never have trouble getting new staff. Still, their clients have to get used to a new dog walker becoming common every so often.

After four years, I hired someone as I found myself overbooked and told some clients their dogs would get walked by my new helper, and most were ok. But some didn’t like the idea of someone they didn’t know or trust walking their dog or coming into their home. So what I learned is that if you hire help and then pass some clients onto your team, it can make some clients feel disgruntled: the agreement of terms has now changed.

So my advice is, if you get a helper, then give them the new dogs to walk, not current dogs. New clients will be happy to have your helper walk their dog from the start.

Get a dog walking logo

A logo can help build your business identity. There are a few ways to get one:
Pay a graphic artist to make you one – expensive:

Choose one from the 40 free dog walking logos I made
Create one yourself
Steal one from the internet (not advisable)
Buy a premade logo from a stock website
Visit Fiverr.com – cheapish

How to walk multiple dogs at one time

You learn when you can let a dog off the lead with experience, but I can offer some great tips and advice on when to let the dog off the lead for the first time.

Some dogs will happily walk with you off the lead on their first walk and come to you when you call them but not all! Puppies are generally the easiest. Second to pups are the dogs familiar with getting walked by different people or have had a dog walker in the past. But the older the dog gets, the more time it can take to adjust to new things. So older dogs that have never had a dog walker usually need the most time – but that is not always the case.

You might be on a group walk with the new dog on the lead, and it shows signs of wanting to play with the group – this is a good sign but not enough. They might be keen on their pack mates, but they must also be keen on you. If they’re not, they won’t come back to you, respond well to your commands, or let you come close enough to them to put them back on the lead.

So you are looking for signs that they are comfortable with the other dogs and, more importantly, happy with you. Warnings that tell you they must stay on a lead are:

They are not pleased to see you when you arrive
They are not happy with you in their home
They won’t take a treat from you (at home or on a walk)
Or they do take a treat but spit it back out
They respond poorly to your commands/ignore you
They are nervous around their new group mates
They are not keen on you touching them while they are on lead

The last sign is vital. If dogs don’t like you touching them while on a lead, you will not get anywhere near them if you let them off, so you must keep them on. Thankfully trust builds quickly, and dogs learn that it’s a walk, and they get to go back home afterwards, so it might be scary at first, but they soon get used to it. If they have a good time, it can take just a couple of walks, but if you’re unsure, keep them on the lead until they get to know you better. Again, the older dogs are more prone to this than the younger ones (not always, though).

If you get a nervous dog, it generally just takes a few walks with the same pack for them to relax soon. However, if you have an unsure dog, it’s crucial that you become Mr/Miss Chilled. No drama, loud voices, nothing that makes them think being walked by you or being in the group is wrong – make it a great thing!

Tip: When out and about and meeting people walking their dogs, chat with them as human and not as a potential client. Don’t try to be a salesperson trying to get work, forcing your business cards down their throat. By just being friendly and chatty and without any agenda you build trust amongst people and should they need a dog walker they will choose you. Why? Cause you are someone they’ve gotten to know, a nice person to chat too and someone they trust.

Don’t let the dogs be a nuisance

When walking dogs in public while they are off the lead, dogs need to behave in a particular manner and not bother or upset other people and their dogs. You can get a bad reputation that can spread quickly on social media. With social media, we get something called ‘call-out’ culture. An opportunity for someone to gain prestige and status by shaming others publicly. If you’re a regular on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll see it now and again. Since you can get prestige from a ‘call-out’, there is much motivation from certain types to do this if given a chance.

A good few years back, I was ‘called out’ when a stranger decided to kick a full-size football into the river for one of my dogs. Since the football was too big to get into the dog’s mouth, the dog just pushed it further and further into the river, ignoring my commands to return and soon was far out. It was a terrifying experience, but she returned, oblivious to the drama. After that, all was fine until I saw later that a witness decided to post about it on the local community group on Facebook.

A close call was when I was walking with a client, and her dog suddenly lunged at a passerby’s dog. Outraged, the owner demanded to know if this was a dog from my pack. I replied, “No,” and backed off. When the owner realised it was just a person out walking their dog rather than a pro dog walker, she quickly calmed down, and they were both chatting and laughing moments later. She changed that quick.

The response would have been very different if that dog was under my control. Maybe a bad review, perhaps a Facebook rant, but whatever the reaction would have been, it would not be nearly as forgiving since I’m a professional. Since we get paid, are professionals, own a business, offer a service, people have the right to complain. They are entitled to shame us, wag their finger at us, and even shout. This is why so many dog walkers look for quiet areas to walk the dogs away from the public. Ok, so here are some rules for how dogs should behave in public:

Dogs need to stay close to you, not running about all over the place. They can run after a ball as long as they come straight back. If your dogs are all close, this is reassuring to people that they are under control, which puts their minds at rest. As soon as any dog wanders, I call it back, it’s second nature for me, and now my dogs stick to me like glue unless I throw a ball for them. But if I’m on a path and a bike comes, I can walk off the path taking all the dogs with me to let the cyclist pass.
Don’t let dogs run as a group toward other people’s dogs. Very intimidating.
Don’t let your males hump or try to dominate other people’s dogs.
Don’t let your dogs surround another dog that you pass.
Don’t let your dogs steal other dogs’ toys or chase after them.
Dogs should be seen and not heard. Some dogs are very loud, particularly when excited. Not acceptable for a public place if it’s continuous. I’ve let dogs go because of how loud they were.
Dogs should focus on you, reassuring the public that they are under control.

Pack Culture

Packs have their own culture, every walk may have a slightly different culture from the next, but the gap is more prominent between dog walkers. For example, it might mean throwing one ball for all six dogs on one walk, one ball for each dog on another, or letting them all play amongst themselves or it could be lead walks for all the dogs. By culture, I mean the learned group social behaviour of dogs on that particular walk.

So my packs are inward-facing, which means they focus on me and their fellow packmates, which is what I want. When new dogs join the group, they adopt this culture, and it’s easier for them to do this when they are young. So the pack is like a bubble, and what is happening outside of the bubble is irrelevant and ignored.

Some other dog walkers have outward-facing packs. That means what is happening over there is a lot more interesting. So when new dogs join that group, they adopt that culture and become focused on what’s happening outside the pack.

I’ve seen this before with another dog walker whose own dog felt threatened by other people and always ran over to other people’s dogs. It was always on the lookout for something. What was that noise? Who’s that in the distance? What’s that smell? Is this a threat? The whole pack soon adopted that behaviour.

I ended up with some of their dogs, and it took weeks of work to bring them back into ‘the bubble’ and lose focus on what was happening over there.

Marketing Your Business

If you want an online presence, a Facebook business page may be all you need. But a website can also help. Those who don’t know of any dog walkers will likely Google for one and find local businesses (and their websites) listed. Register on ‘Google Business.’ Doing this will list your business (and website) on local search results and Google maps – a must-do action, and it’s free! But remember, it’s not about being number one on Google; it’s about building an effective website that turns visitors into clients – this is marketing. I bought my domain name (bdws.co.uk) from Names.co.uk for just a few pounds and I use rocket.net to host my website as they are cheap, offer the super fast web hosting, and their live chat is amazing and they’ll sort out everything for you. If you cant make a website, use google maps to find a website designer or if you want it cheap try Gumtree. A ‘one-page website’ is enough for most people and may only cost a couple of hundred but it will make you thousands a year. Half of my work comes from Facebook and the other half from my website, and primarily at the beginning, when I had no word of mouth, all of it came from my website. But 2010 was a different time with no Facebook. There are loads of dog walking websites that rank high on Google, but their sites are hopeless. They will never convert visitors to clients, so make sure that you give the visitor what they want straight away if you have a website. Too many sites focus on talking about themselves when they should be letting visitors know what they can do for them – all people care about is what you can do for them! On the website, state clearly what services you offer, what areas you work in, your prices, and how to contact you. Lay down the simple facts, and explain how it all works. People are lazy online; bullet points make for easy reading. It’s not about you. It’s about what you can do for the client! This can all easily be done on a ‘one-page website’ , so you don’t need a fancy website, then add links to Facebook, Instagram pages, for all your photos. I advertise my dog walking services in Erskine and Bishopton, and I state that on the first line of my website – that tells visitors what I do and where. I then list how it works in bullet points, and underneath that, I have a ‘call to action’ (CTA). A CTA is a directive used in marketing campaigns. It tells the visitor what we want them to do next. People expect to be led by the hand online. Some CTA examples:

Sign up to start your free trial.
Buy one pizza, get one free! Order now!
Get your dog walked! Call Today!

Since we want them to contact us, we’ll add our CTA telling them to do so on every website page.

Tip: When you walk a new dog for the first time, it’s important to post photos to Facebook that same day (if possible). You can bet your bottom dollar that your new client will be visiting your Facebook page aplenty that first day because the new client wants reassurance. Most are anxious when a stranger takes their dog out for the first time. Photos let clients see for themselves that all is good. Posting photos to Facebook is ideal for reassuring and giving an excellent impression to new clients. Not to do so is to keep your client’s insecurities lingering – this can cause resentment and potentially for the client to find another, more reassuring dog walker.

Advertise your business on your vehicle

An excellent advertising method is to get stickers on your vehicle if you have one. Then, hundreds of people will see you every day, and it doesn’t cost much. Anywhere you park, outside your house, outside a client’s home, or in the supermarket is advertising for your business.

Being a Responsible Dog Walker

Control is what dog walking is all about and the most important thing to remember. Being in control is the number one rule. It’s more important than giving the dogs a good run and play. More important than letting them pee and poo. If you’re in control, dogs are safe. If you’re not, then they’re not. You have to be able to control the dogs you walk and what that means is that dogs off the lead should stay close to you, come when called, and be focused on you. The easiest way to control dogs is to be the centre of attention and even give the dogs a job to do. That might mean using a ball to keep the focus for some, retrieving things from the water for others or just having playmates. However you do it, the dog must know that being with you is better than being away from you. Else they are likely to entertain themselves. What’s happening over there may look a lot more fun. That means they are running away to greet other dogs, that means they are following a scent they’ve found, that means you are not in control. Being the centre of attention is the number one mega secret of being a good dog walker. Unfortunately, not many dog walkers understand this, so I’ll repeat it, you are the centre of attention. It’s more fun for dogs to be with you than away from you – play with them – entertain them – talk to them, don’t ignore them – give them a job to do – remember that, and you will be doing well! If all else fails, they go on the lead. As I said, I’ve said this to many dog walkers who can’t stop their dogs from running off. Still, they don’t seem to get it for some reason, and eventually, most of their dogs end up permanently on lead.

Introducing new dogs to the group

Try to know as much about the new dog before you walk it. Are they dog-friendly? If not neutered, does it get on well with other males? If it’s a female, is it spayed? Are there any breeds they don’t like or anything you need to be made aware of? If you want, you can organise for the owner and dog to join you for a walk with your group so they can meet first. Sometimes owners won’t tell you what you really should know because they count on you to walk their dog, but there can be signs that can give you insight if you look closely. For example, if they have a bungee lead, they might not be goon on lead. This can also be true if they use a harness or head collar. If they have an extendable lead, the dog probably doesn’t get off lead much, find out why. Outside where dogs can run free and have plenty of room, they can ignore the other dogs if they’re not happy in their company. But in the vehicle, dogs won’t ignore each other. So any problems will surface in the vehicle. New dogs always need to be placed in a separate area from the rest – this is why you need a minimum of two spaces in your vehicle. Usually, dogs are fine, young puppies are always good, but the most likely scenario you’ll find is from the males and non socialised dogs. Unneutered males don’t always like other males, especially complete males, but this isn’t always the case. Some males do need neutering but haven’t been, and they can cause problems with other males, harass and get too personal towards the girls and cause trouble. Some dog walkers (not many) only walk female dogs because of this. If you have a complete female, you’ll have to let the owner know that you can’t take them on group walks when they are in season. However, you might be able to offer a solo walk which would have to be on the lead. Suppose a dog hasn’t been socialised enough at a young age. It really might not like being in proximity to other dogs in the vehicle, but a separate area can remedy that. Your dogs must be dog and people friendly! Most dog owners will tell you their dog is friendly. Whether they are or not is another matter. If their dog doesn’t want anything to do with other dogs but doesn’t go for them, you may expect to hear that it’s friendly! Dog walking can be pretty funny that way, and some owners are, let’s say, very loyal towards their dogs. So unless it’s a puppy, you will have to find out what the dog is like. You could have a fantastic team filled with lovely sociable dogs having a great time together, all under your control. Then you bring in a new dog that profoundly changes the dynamic of that walk for the worse. For me, dogs that cause problems in the group are the worst part of dog walking. Suppose I come across a dog that doesn’t fit in enough because it’s too hard to control or not friendly. I will let the owner know that its’ not working out and end that dog’s time with us – for the good of the group walk. Regarding new dogs, it should only take a couple of walks for you to get a good idea of how that dog is and how it gets on with the pack. Even after one walk, you should have a reasonable idea.

Dog Walking Forms

Starting a dog walking business is an exciting venture, but it’s essential to protect yourself, your clients, and their pets by having the right documentation in place. Three critical forms every dog walker needs are the Dog Walking Contract, the Veterinary Release Form, and the Pet and Owner’s Information Sheet. These forms ensure clarity, safety, and professionalism in your services. The Dog Walking Contract outlines the terms of service, including compensation, cancellation policies, liability, and responsibilities of both the dog walker and the owner. It sets clear expectations and protects both parties in case of disputes. The Veterinary Release Form is crucial for emergencies, as it authorises you to seek medical treatment for the pet if the owner is unreachable. A vet is very limited in what they can do to treat a pet without the owners consent so the Vet Release Form is probably the most important form. It also specifies the owner’s preferred veterinarian and any insurance details, ensuring the pet receives timely care. Finally, the Pet and Owner’s Information Sheet provides essential details about the pet’s health, behaviour, and daily needs, as well as the owner’s contact information and emergency contacts. This form helps you tailor your services to each pet’s unique requirements and ensures you’re prepared for any situation. Pet sitting forms are slightly different and are required for pet sitting duties in the owner’s home, like cat visits, small animal care etc. To make it easy for aspiring dog walkers and pet carers, you can download these forms for free here: