Love dogs?
Want to make money watching other dogs?
If you’re shaking your head yes, let it be known that there are so many ways to make money when dealing with dogs, with dog sitting often being the most popular option.
From visiting your client’s house to keeping the dogs at yours for a limited amount of time, there’s a good chance there are hundreds of people near you who need your help in the upcoming weeks watching their dog right now.
If you want to get paid while taking care of someone else dog, here are a few websites you may want to consider to help you find a dog sitting job almost immediately.
How to Find a Dog Sitting Job
Rover
Rover could be the biggest name on this list as they only focus on sitters and dog walkers. A lot of the websites I’m about to mention focus on so much more than just pets, so it could be hard to get your name out there when people aren’t coming to that particular website for just dog sitting providers.
To me, Rover is a great service as you can set your own schedule prices and even offer a combination of pet services, not just pet sitting. You can also offer dog boarding, dog walking and even a doggy daycare inside your home. If it deals with a dog, you can offer your services.
Personally, I have played around with the website and have found many sitters in my area that were able to help for a lot less than what a local dog boarding company could do.
As a sitter, Rover offers protection up to $1 million and even includes 24/7 support, including vet assistance. They seem to treat their dog sitters quite well.
Out of all the options I mention, I would absolutely start with this platform as they tend to have the highest earning potential, with dog sitters earning more than $1,000+ per month.
To get started, Rover asks that you build a profile, tell them the types of dogs you want to care and how often you’re available. From there, you can then wait for nearby pet owners to contact you to start pet sitting services. The company does charge a service fee, up to 25%, so keep that in mind when creating your booking.
- Website: Rover.com
TrustedHouseSitters.com
TrustedHouseSitters helps both house sitters and pet sitters find opportunities around the world, including some very popular vacation destinations. Since a lot of these homeowners also have pets, you may be asked to watch both the house and the pet while they are away. Picture it as a way to stay at someone’s house for a limited amount of time.
If you’re interested in joining the platform, you do need to pay an annual $119 fee, but this qualifies you for unlimited opportunities and access to 24/7 support line, including the 24/7 vet advice line. There are quite few inclusions.
Now, the downfall to this option, in comparison to the rest, is that you won’t get paid. Rather, you have to view it as a way to get free rent in some of the coolest parts of the world. Homeowners are basically trading lodging for your services. Seeing some of these areas could easily cost $200+ a night in hotel fees, it could be worth it to you.
- Website: TrustedHouseSitters.com
Care
Out of all options I list here, I would say that Care.com is probably the most popular option as they seemed to have the most jobs available… almost. In my area alone, I could apply to more than 65+ dog sitting jobs and even more if I was willing to travel 10+ miles outside my zip code.
To become a dog sitter with the platform, Care.com will first ask you to create an account and select the services you want to offer. As the company offers a variety of “care-like” jobs, you will want to sign up as a pet care provider so that you’re only seeing pet sitting jobs. You can add other options as well if you so choose.
There is no cost to create a basic membership on the platform, but it’s limited in functionality. Eventually, you will have to pay a small monthly fee to communicate as well as perform your background check. This is almost mandatory as it’s very hard to get a job without it and the platform seems to push “credits” to get you more exposure.
- Website: Care.com
PetSitter
As the name implies, PetSitter.com only deals with pets only. So, unlike many of the other options that list babysitting and housesitting options, this is strictly pets.
The nice thing about the site is that you can pick out what kind of animals you want to watch as well as the services you offer. Name a pet, and I can almost assure you that there’s a pet owner looking for someone like you. They offer a lot of options, so you don’t have to just focus on pet sitting as people are looking for dog walkers, boarding, pet feeding and so much more.
If you want to sign up, plans start at $23 a month, but you can pay upfront for the year and save even more. This is mandatory to apply, but it may be worth as my zip code had as many as 300+ jobs available, the most out of any I listed. Worst case, check out the website for a month to see what kind of leads may come your way.
- Website: PetSitter.com
HouseSitter.com
Even though the website focuses on house sitters, you can still find both pet and house sitting opportunities on the website. You will just have to filter the results when applying to the job. Again, like the TrustedHouseSitters website mentioned prior, it could be a great option if you want to watch both a house and pets at the same time.
Now, the great thing about this opportunity is that you can actually get paid, unlike TrustedHouseSitters, so if you’re looking for cash, it’s one to consider.
To start applying for jobs and/or have homeowners find you, HouseSitter.com will ask that you post a profile and pay a $30/month or $90/year fee to fully access the website. They do have a basic membership, but it’s very limited in comparison to the premium version.
- Website: HouseSitter.com
Wag
Wag focuses more on dog walking services, but they do offer dog-sitting options as well if that’s what you’re looking for. If you’re interested in walking, it appears they pay $20 per half-hour, but as for dog sitting, the average worker makes $40 per night, per dog. Your results could vary, however.
If you want to join the platform, they do ask that you complete a background check and fill out a profile in order to get approved on the platform. In this application, they will ask about your prior dog experience as well as ask you about your dog collars and harness knowledge.
If approved, you can then browse jobs on your app and apply to the ones you’re interested in.
All jobs include $1 million in home insurance and customer service is available 24/7.
- Website: Wagwalking.com
Sittercity
Don’t let the name fool you as many people often think this website deals with watching children. Sure, while you can sign up to potentially watch kids, you can also sign up to babysit dogs as well.
To join as a sitter, you will be asked to create a profile and choose the right care-type for you, which would be “pet care” if you’re looking for dog sitting jobs.
Once approved, you can then apply to any jobs in your area, but it will ultimately be up to the job creator to accept you, so it’s so important that your profile is as detailed as possible and you complete a background check on the website to increase your chances of being hired.
If you are selected, then you will more than likely have to meet with the family to schedule an interview and accept the job. Some jobs may be temporary while others could be a recurring thing; it really depends on the job as they are all different. You will be able to know what’s expected of you before you even apply to a job.
- Website: Sittercity
PetSit.com
If you’re serious about your pet sitting career, you may want to consider joining the Pet Sitters International organization, the world’s leading educational organization since 1994. In doing so, you can become a “certified pet sitter” and really increase your reputation.
It will cost $145 per year plus a $10 application fee and will offer you a myriad of advantages, including access to insurance, a subscription to Pet Sitter’s World magazine and inclusion in the PSI Pet Sitter database.
I wouldn’t recommend this option if you’re doing the job casually, but it could provide a ton of benefits if you want to potentially turn dog sitting into a full-time career.
- Website: PetSit.com
Craigslist
While this option isn’t as great as the ones I already mentioned, consider checking out Craigslist, particularly the “gigs” section to see if you can find anyone who’s currently looking for a dog sitter. You may find some people looking for a dog sitter for the day. Consider it as a spur-of-the-moment opportunity.
Even if you can’t find any options, you can always create your own business posting to see if you can get any bites. Remember, if you do go this route, most people will want references and some may even ask if you have insurance, so it’s something to consider.
Craigslist can really be hit or miss, greatly dependent upon your area, but it’s another option, nonetheless.
- Website: Craigslist
Indeed
If you don’t mind working for someone else, then Indeed could be a great option to consider as there’s often a lot of dog sitting jobs available. However, it really does depend on where you live as some areas may not have as many jobs as the next. This can be said with any job opportunity, though.
If you’re not familiar with the website, consider it almost like the Google of jobs. The website spiders thousands of career pages and lists them all in an easy-to-read format. All you need to do is enter your the job you’re looking for as well as your zip code and with this information, Indeed will showcase some of the hottest jobs in your area.
Depending on where you live, you can find anywhere from 10 to 25+ companies looking to hire a professional pet sitter right now. Again, only consider this route if you want a job as you will have to work certain hours and answer to a boss. Expect to make about minimum wage if you’re able to land a gig.
- Website: Indeed
Facebook Groups
I talk about Facebook groups a lot on this website, and it’s for a good reason. From offering your services to finding people who need help, I can almost guarantee that your local city has a local Facebook group that you can join, all of which are operated by people in your town.
To find a Facebook group and potential pet sitting clients, it’s pretty simple as all you need to do is log into your Facebook account, type in your city name and then look for the “groups” tab. From there, you will then want to join an active group in your town. Most will manually approve you, so you may need to wait a few days before being accepted.
Once in, be sure to read the rules as to what you can and can’t do. Some groups allow you to post services, whereas some won’t. If they don’t allow you to, just be on the lookout for people when they are asking for recommendations. At this time, you can jump in and offer your services.
It can take some time to find somebody, but it can happen if you’re aggressive enough.
Final Thoughts
If you want to work as a pet sitter, then let it be known that there are so many opportunities out there as you can see.
It’s really going to be up to you to create an attractive profile, be aggressive in your job hunt and actually show up and do the job as planned. This can be said about any job, though, right?
Once you prove yourself and get some reviews, you may be amazed as to how many people will want to hire you. It could turn into a full-time job!
For now, check out the many websites I mentioned and at least search the jobs available before joining. You’re going to find that some websites offer many more jobs than others, but this is very geographical dependent. As always, I recommend you do as much research as possible as there’s really no right or wrong answer.
Once you find some websites that you feel can land you some gigs, take your time to create the profile and start applying right away. Remember that it will take some time before you get a job, so don’t be too discouraged at first.
As I could write much more about the pet sitting world, I just wanted to quickly recommend the highly-rated book, Pet Sitting for Profit. The author, Patti Morgan, talks about the fundamentals of starting and operating a pet-sitting business. It’s a nice read if you really want to make money in pet sitting.
Have you ever used any of these websites? Have you made money pet sitting?
If so, share your thoughts to share with our community below!
Want $5 free?Try out Swagbucks, the most popular reward program I make the most money with. Simply answer survey questions and get paid! Join Now to Get $5! |
Add comment