---
title: "How to start a dog walking business"
description: "What you need, what to charge, and how to find your first clients. Plus a free business template to get started today."
canonical: "https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business"
---

Guides

# How to start a dog walking business

What you need, what to charge, and how to find your first clients. Plus a free business template to get started today.

![](https://spark.site/images/authors/dan-li.jpg)

Daniel Li October 28, 2026

![‘How to start a dog walking business.’ with the Spark logo, beside the Daily Loop home page and the walker app on a phone, logging a walk with a photo of a corgi.](https://spark.site/images/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business/cover.png)

Dog walking businesses are great. You don’t need a shop or inventory. You just need time in the middle of the day, a love of dogs, and a reliable way for owners to book you and pay you.

The hard part, however, is earning trust. People are handing you their keys and their dog.

This guide covers how to set up the business so that trust comes easily, from insurance to the report you send after every walk. We use [Daily Loop Dog Walking](https://spark.site/business-templates/dog-walking), one of our business templates, as an example throughout.

Contents

1.  [What is a dog walking business](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#what-is-a-dog-walking-business)
2.  [What you need to start](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#what-you-need-to-start)
3.  [Step 1: Pick your services and your area](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#step-1-pick-your-services-and-your-area)
4.  [Step 2: Set your prices](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#step-2-set-your-prices)
5.  [Step 3: Sort out the paperwork](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#step-3-sort-out-the-paperwork)
6.  [Step 4: Set up booking and payments](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#step-4-set-up-booking-and-payments)
7.  [Step 5: Find your first clients](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#step-5-find-your-first-clients)
8.  [Step 6: Run it week to week](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#step-6-run-it-week-to-week)
9.  [Start from the Daily Loop template](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#start-from-the-daily-loop-template)
10.  [Questions people ask](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#questions-people-ask)
     1.  [How much money can a dog walking business make?](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#how-much-money-can-a-dog-walking-business-make)
     2.  [Do I need a license to walk dogs?](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#do-i-need-a-license-to-walk-dogs)
     3.  [Do I need insurance to be a dog walker?](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#do-i-need-insurance-to-be-a-dog-walker)
     4.  [How do I get dog walking clients fast?](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business#how-do-i-get-dog-walking-clients-fast)

## What is a dog walking business

A dog walking business takes dogs out for paid walks while their owners are at work or away, often on a regular schedule.

Most walkers serve a few neighborhoods close to home, charge by the walk or with a monthly subscription, and add services like pet sitting and drop-ins.

Repeat clients are the whole business. A client who books three walks a week, every week, is worth far more than a dozen one-off walks, which is why most walkers steer new clients toward a plan.

## What you need to start

| What | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Experience with dogs | This is the most important thing that owners will ask you about. Understanding handling, reading body language, and basic dog first aid all matter on a walk with a new dog. |
| Pet care business insurance | General liability, plus coverage for animals in your care. Owners may ask to see proof before the first walk. |
| Business registration | A sole proprietorship or LLC, and any license your city or county requires. |
| Leashes, waste bags, treats, a first aid kit | The basics for every walk. |
| A way to take bookings and payments | Clients expect to book online, pay by card, and see when their dog was walked. |

## Step 1: Pick your services and your area

Start narrow. One or two walk lengths, a meet and greet, and a small area you can cover on foot or with a short drive.

-   **Walk lengths.** Most walkers offer 30, 45, and 60 minute walks. A shorter visit for puppies and older dogs can be a useful extra, but we’d recommend starting simple.
-   **Solo or group walks.** Solo walks are simpler to start with. Group walks earn more per hour, but to earn trust and build new customer relationships, start with solo walks.
-   **Your area.** Pick the neighborhoods you can reach between walks without losing an hour in the car. List them by zip code, so new clients can see straight away whether you cover them.

## Step 2: Set your prices

Price walks by length, then offer monthly plans that cost less per walk. Monthly subscriptions make your income predictable, and clients like having the same walker on the same days.

Look at what other walkers in your area charge before you set your own prices. As an example, here are the prices in the Daily Loop template:

![Daily Loop's services and pricing screen: Potty & Puppy Loop, 20 minutes, $28; Solo Loop 30 minutes, $36; Solo Loop 45 minutes, $44; Solo Loop 60 minutes, $54; and the Loop 3 monthly plan, 3 walks a week, $419 a month.](https://spark.site/images/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business/services-and-pricing.png)

Daily Loop also provides a complimentary first meet and greet, so owners can meet the walker before they commit.

## Step 3: Sort out the paperwork

Register the business, get insurance, and write down your policies before your first client.

-   **Register.** A sole proprietorship is the simplest start. An LLC keeps business debts separate from your personal ones. Check with your city or county about a business license.
-   **Insure.** Get pet care business insurance before your first walk, and keep a copy you can send to clients.
-   **Write your policies.** How far ahead clients cancel, what happens in bad weather, how you handle keys and door codes, and what you do if a dog is hurt or sick. Put them on your site, so every client sees them before booking.
-   **Collect the details that matter.** For each dog: vet, medical needs, behavior with other dogs, and how to get in and out of the home.

Need a head start on these? Ask Spark for help with your paperwork and policies.

## Step 4: Set up booking and payments

Owners compare walkers online. A site that lets them check your area, book a meet and greet, and choose a plan will win over clients who would never call a phone number.

Your site should let clients:

-   check whether you cover their zip code;
-   book a meet and greet, then choose a plan or a single walk;
-   pay by card, with plans billed each month;
-   skip a walk or book an extra one without messaging you;
-   get a short report after every walk.

That last one does more for trust than anything else. A photo, a note, and the time you were out tell the owner their dog was walked and was fine.

![A Daily Loop report card for Sitka and Fig: a photo of a dog with a tennis ball, checks for pee, poo, and water, a note from the walker, the walk time 8:33 to 9:02am, and a box to tip the walker.](https://spark.site/images/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business/report-card.jpg)

Payments should go straight to your own account. On Spark, they go to your own Stripe account; see [Get paid](https://spark.site/docs/business/get-paid).

## Step 5: Find your first clients

Your first clients will almost all live within walking distance. Start there.

1.  **Tell everyone you know.** Friends, neighbors, and coworkers with dogs, and the people they know.
2.  **Post in neighborhood groups.** Local Facebook groups, Nextdoor, and building message boards. Say which streets you cover and offer the meet and greet.
3.  **Talk to dog people.** Dog parks, groomers, pet stores, and vets meet the owners you want. Leave a card or ask if you can put one up.
4.  **List your business on Google.** A Google Business Profile helps people searching “dog walker near me” find you.
5.  **Ask for reviews.** After a client’s first month, ask for a review. New clients read them.

Need help with making social media content? Ask Spark for help, and it will generate text and visual posts for you.

## Step 6: Run it week to week

Once you have a couple of clients, the work becomes scheduling. You need to know who you’re walking today, which dogs go together, where the keys are, and which walks are still unpaid.

Keep one record per household: the dogs, their notes, the plan, and any skipped or extra walks. When you hire a second walker, they need their day’s walks on their phone, with the access notes for each home.

## Start from the Daily Loop template

[Daily Loop Dog Walking](https://spark.site/business-templates/dog-walking) is a complete dog walking site and the tools to run it. You can take the Spark template and change the name, area, prices, and photos to make it yours.

[![The Daily Loop home page: “Hi, I’m Maya. I walk dogs in Seattle.” with the neighborhoods she covers, a “Do I walk your street?” zip check, and photos of Maya walking a dog.](https://spark.site/images/blog/how-to-start-a-dog-walking-business/daily-loop-dog-walking-home.jpg)](https://spark.site/business-templates/dog-walking)

It comes with:

-   **For clients:** a zip check, a free meet and greet, monthly plans with the same walker on the same days, a report card with photos after every walk, and a portal to skip or add walks.
-   **For walkers:** a phone app with the day’s walks and each home’s access notes.
-   **For you:** dispatch to assign walks, a record of every client and dog, and a services and pricing screen.

The same template works for pet sitting, drop-in visits, and other businesses that visit the same homes every week. See all of them in our [business templates](https://spark.site/business-templates), or read our guide to [starting a business with AI](https://spark.site/blog/how-to-start-a-business-with-ai).

## Questions people ask

### How much money can a dog walking business make?

It depends on your prices, how many walks you fit into a day, and how many clients you have. At Daily Loop’s $36 for a 30-minute walk and 48 working weeks a year, six walks a week brings in about $10,000 a year, and six walks a day, five days a week, brings in about $50,000, before costs such as insurance and travel.

### Do I need a license to walk dogs?

Many places have no license specific to dog walking, but most require a general business license or registration. Some cities and parks also limit how many dogs you can walk at once. Check with your city or county before you start.

### Do I need insurance to be a dog walker?

You should have it, and many clients will ask. Pet care business insurance covers injuries to people and harm to the animals in your care.

### How do I get dog walking clients fast?

Start with people you know and your own neighborhood. Post in local groups, talk to owners at dog parks, and make it easy to book a free meet and greet online. A first walk that ends with a photo and a note is the best ad you have.

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