How much does a dog walker make?

On average, we find the typical dog walker makes between twenty-five to fifty thousand dollars a year. 

A full-time dog walker working 40-50 hours a week can make up to fifty to seventy-thousand dollars a year. A part-time dog walker working 20-30 hours a week can make twenty to thirty thousand dollars a year.

Of course, you’ll also want to consider expenses like how many dogs walking insurance costs to know your full earning potential. You can look at insurance policies and more with our dog walking insurance round-up.

There are three keys to knowing how much you can make.

1. How many dogs will you walk at once? Some people might only want to walk dogs individually while others would be comfortable walking 8 dogs at a time. 

2. How much will you charge for dog walking? Do a quick Google search on what local dog walkers charge in your area. You don’t have to charge less than your competitors but charging much more might be hard. 

3. How many hours a week will you walk dogs? How many hours a day on average will you be walking dogs? 

A dog walker has just so many hours of day and slots in their dog walking route they can fill. A dog walker should look at their business like it’s a hotel. A hotel has x amount of rooms and they want to keep them as booked as possible. A dog walker has x amount of spots on their route and they want to keep them as filled as possible.

Another way to make as much as possible per hour is to keep your clients as close to one another as possible. Every minute you’re traveling to a customer is a minute you’re not making money.

Factor in pet sitting and sleepovers and a dog walker can increase their earnings anywhere from five to twenty thousand dollars a year!