Dog walking is a key part of developing a strong career in the field of pet care, and this is something that tends to be very popular and in high demand. There are loads of things to consider when you are thinking about becoming a dog walker and developing a pet walking business. One of the biggest factors here is to think about how much you should be charging for your dog walking services.
There is no question that dog walking is an essential part of caring for your pets, and this is why many people choose to hire dog walkers. Busy people need to ensure that their pets receive proper exercise and attention whilst they are busy with intense working days. Because of this, the dog walking industry in the UK has grown over the past few years. The Office for National Statistics found that between July 2020 and June 2021 there were more than 79,000 dog walkers employed in the UK.
In this blog post, we will look to explore how much dog walkers charge in the UK per hour, and what factors impact these charges.
Factors That Affect the Cost for Dog Walking
When you are trying to develop a strong dog walking business, one of the best things that you need to get right when it comes to making the most of this is figuring out how much to charge. There are a lot of factors that play a role in helping you to improve this process, and focusing on what determines the cost of dog walking is really important:
Location
Your location plays a massive role in helping you determine the rates you are going to charge people. There are so many excellent things that play a role in helping find the right rates, and, if you live in the city centre, for instance, you could charge higher rates due to increased demand for dog walkers. Cost of living is also a factor that might determine how much you are charging as well.
Experience
Dog walkers who have more experience are also going to be experienced for charging higher fees than those who might be new to the industry. Once you have built up a larger client base, you can start to raise and increase your rates, but when you need to attract clients you should start off small.
Group Size
Walking multiple dogs at once can be much more cost-effective than walking a single dog, but some walkers will prefer to walk just one or two dogs at once for safety reasons.
Length of Walk
The length of the walk is another critical element when it comes to determining the cost of dog walking, and longer walks will typically cost more than shorter ones. Planning out your walking schedule is important to know what you’re working with as well as how much you can charge.
Type of Walk
It’s also important to understand some of the best ways of being able to determine costs, and the type of walk is something that plays a role in this. Some dog walkers offer special services, such as off-leash walks, which can wind up costing more than regular walks.
Insurance
Insurance is something else that can affect what you charge for dog walking services, and those who carry liability insurance might charge more for dog walking than those who don’t. It is also important to think about securing a UK pet sitting licence, as you will be able to show you are certified and professional, which will help with the rates you set.
Loyalty Packages
There are a lot of things that you need to focus on when it comes to improving your loyalty packages. This is something that you need to think about when it comes to improving this process. You are going to need to work on some of the best ideas that will allow you to improve your customer loyalty, and you can come up with dog walking loyalty packages.
It is important to make sure you understand some of the best ways of determining packages that will appeal to customers. Using It’s All Savvy software to help you manage and run your dog walking business better is one of the best things you can do to make the most of this. Try to think about some of the key ideas that will help you improve the company and boost the loyalty element of your customers.
How Much Do Dog Walkers Charge Per Hour?
According to data from Pawshake, the average cost of dog walking services in the UK, tend to fall between around £10 and £20 per hour. But, the pricing can go as low as around £5 in some areas, and as high as around £35 in big cities like London. It is important to make sure you come up with the right rates that are going to help you when it comes to improving your dog walking services and attracting people to your company.
When you are making the best financial decisions as a business owner, this is something you need to try to focus on. There are a lot of elements that will help you when it comes to running your company better and more effectively, and this means that you need to use things like the best point of sale solutions, and work on making your price points as competitive as possible.
Tips for Developing Your Dog Walking Business
If you are serious about developing a strong and successful dog walking business, you need to be able to work on the best ideas that are going to help you achieve this. It is important to focus on what you can do to develop the key steps in the process that are going to help you improve this moving forward. Using software options like Dark Savvy, and other solutions from It’s All Savvy would be perfect for allowing you to develop and grow your company.
You could consider branching out and trying to introduce new elements into your business, and this will improve your client base, as well as allowing you more avenues to make money in the process. For instance, pet sitting would be a great option for integrating dog walking services, but you’ll need to consider taking care of things like insurance, kennel software, staffing, and licencing to do this properly.
Reasons People Might Hire a Dog Walker
These days, there are a lot of reasons why a person might want to hire a dog walker, or make use of dog walking services. This is something that you need to try to get right as much as possible, and you have to think about the best ways of making this work for you. A lot of people these days are very busy and live action-packed lives. They want to be able to fulfil their obligations as well as making sure their dogs get the best possible care and attention, but it’s not always possible to do both.
This is what prompts them to hire dog walking professionals in order to take charge of this for them. Returning to work post-COVID has also fuelled high demand for dog walkers, and this is something that you can benefit from. Making sure you come up with some of the best ideas that will help you improve this process makes a massive difference, and will help you position yourself in the best possible way to attract clients and be successful.
Closing Thoughts
These are just some of the key ideas that you need to keep in mind that will help you to run your dog walking business more effectively. Coming up with ideas that will allow you to improve your approach, and get your dog walking price points right is so important.
You need to make your pricing competitive, whilst also ensuring that you are going to be able to make profit as well. Using the services we offer at It’s All Savvy would be great for helping to to achieve this, and to run a successful dog walking or pet grooming service. Get in touch with our friendly and knowledgeable team today to find out how we can help you thrive.
