How to make money pet sitting

How to make money pet sitting, How to Become a Pet Sitter and Earn Additional Income.

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Are you missing the family pet now you're at uni? Getting paid to cuddle cute, furry animals with pet-sitting jobs could be the answer.

In our recent National Student Money Survey, 56% of students surveyed said they had a part-time job while attending university.

Unfortunately, some student jobs don't fit around uni schedules and employers aren't always able to be flexible.

Pet sitting allows you to schedule and pay for your own time. You can earn £40 or more per day. Not to mention, there's a nice little bonus of earning money while spending time with your beloved animals…

Interested? We thought so. This guide covers everything you need to know about becoming a pet plus, including some pictures of our pets you won't want to miss.

What's in this guide?
What is pet sitting?
Advantages and disadvantages of pet sitting
Do you need a license to become a pet sitter?
Do you need insurance to be a pet sitter?
How much money can you make from pet sitting?
How to become a pet sitter

If pet sitting is too little time for you, check out our interview with a student who owns and operates an alpaca farm.

What is pet sitting

How to make money pet sitting, Dog with sunglasses on the beach

When they ask who's a good boy, and you know it's you

Pet sitting is a lot like working as a babysitter. The difference is you're babying someone's pet, not their child. by knowledge

Some pet owners prefer to pamper their furry bundles instead of using a cattery or kennel. This can be due to various reasons. For example, it may be cheaper to pay someone to sit or their pet is pressured to stay away from home.

Depending on the job, you may look after the animal at the owner's home (as a pet and home sitter) or at your own place.

If you only have a few hours and can't commit to a few days of care, there are other options. You can become a dog walker, start a dog day care center in your home or keep pets company while their owners work.

In short, you have to feed them, play with them and keep them safe. This is exactly what you do when caring for your own pet.

If your parents are moving, you can offer to stay at home and pet sit for them. This is one of the many great ways to help your parents earn money.

The 5 Best and Worst Parts of Pet Sitting

If you're interested in making money as a pet, it's important to know these pros and cons

professional

How to make money pet sitting, Here are some benefits of owning a pet:

You can take care of animals and get money for them.

If you want to work with animals in the future, pet sitting will look brilliant on your CV. It's a bonus if you can get references from happy customers.

Pets may need to be fed at a certain time, so you need to get there on time. This is a great way to improve your time management and organization skills.

You can work whenever you want and choose your hourly pay.

Spending time with animals can boost your mood and academic performance.

But pet sitting also has some disadvantages:

Work can be rare. Job opportunities depend on where you are and whether anyone else is offering similar services.

You may be expected to give the pet medication if necessary. This is, if you didn't already know, something they don't enjoy.

Pet owners may be upset. Understandable, yes, but does Fido really need to be fed an inch of boiled chicken?

If you own pets in your own home, you may need a vehicle to pick up and drop off your animals.

If you use a website to find pet sitting jobs near you, expect them to charge an advertising fee.

Do you need a license to be a pet sitter?
Cat walking along the fence
Oh, you can't walk on the fence?

How to make money pet sitting, Technically, you don't necessarily need a license to be a pet sitter. But, if you are going to care for other people's pets in your home, you will need an animal boarding facility license.

These licensing rules vary from council to council. However, if you are keeping animals in your home overnight, you will almost always need one. Sometimes, you'll need one for daytime care as well.

The cost of an animal boarding establishment's license varies depending on the council, usually costing between £100 - £500. Although it may seem expensive, being caught without a license can result in an unlimited amount of fines or up to 6 months in jail.

It's definitely worth getting a license for an animal boarding establishment, or at least checking to see if you need one

You may need a basic DBS check. This is an especially good idea if you live in another person's home. You can apply for a DBS check.

Apart from that, there is no official qualification required to become a pet in the UK. In theory, anyone can do it. That said, there's no harm in having some relevant experience or qualifications to help you stand out from the crowd.

While we don't expect all of you to be vet students (though it will stand you in good stead if you are), make sure your pet sitting profile mentions your experience. If you've had a pet since childhood, learned to ride a horse or walked the neighbor's dog regularly, mention it. It shows that you are good with animals and that you care for them.

Do you need insurance to be a pet sitter

How to make money pet sitting, Although you don't need pet insurance, many owners will appreciate it if you do.

In addition to showing potential customers that you are a conscientious and responsible pet, this will protect you if something goes wrong.

Depending on the package you go for, you may be covered for different things. For example, if the animal becomes ill or dies in your care, if the animal damages third parties or their property, or even if the owner loses his house keys.

Packages can start from around £5 per month. Given how much you can earn from pet sitting (and your potential expenses if something bad happens), it's worth considering getting some cover.

How many pets are sitting?
Havanese dog on computer
You're doing amazing, sweetie

If you're wondering how much pet sitting costs where you live, take a look at what other people are charging. Here are some benchmark statistics on how much you can earn as a pet owner:

Job Type General Salary

£10 – £15 per hour for pet sitting while the owner is away or at work

Dog walking £10 per walk

(with additional charge for multiple dogs)

Dog sitting in your home for a few hours from £15

Pet sitting overnight at owner's home from £25

Keep in mind that these are just ballpark figures. You may get more or less depending on where you live and what the pet is.

If you go the extra mile when it comes to pet sitting, you can potentially charge more and even get yourself some regular business. You can offer to water the garden or pick their posts.

You should always make a genuine effort to help the animals around you feel comfortable. This could mean giving them treats or sending regular texts or pictures to the owner to let them know their pet is doing well.

Find out how a savvy saver hacked a pet trip, bagging 14 nights of free accommodation in Paris in exchange for looking after a cat.

How to become a pet sitter
Dog at graduation with owner
Lauren's graduation was a whirlwind

To find paid pet-sitting jobs, start by asking family and friends if they know anyone who needs your services. You can also post on local Facebook pages or Gumtree. Or, if you're feeling old school, you can even put up some posters or flyers in the local area.

If you're after something a little more structured, some pet-sitting websites will introduce you to owners. If you work through these companies, you may also be covered by their insurance (always check the specifics though).

Best pet sitting jobs website

Here are the best pet-sitting websites:

Telstar
Telstar logo

Although the logo might suggest otherwise, the site focuses on more than just dogs. You can find a cat sitter or someone to look after a small pet. However, the dogs are in the spotlight at Telstar - namely, their walking and boarding.

Access to the platform is free, and you get to keep 80% of your earnings. Telstar takes the remaining 20% as service fee.

Cat in the flat
Cat in a flat logo

Want to know how to become a cat sitter? Cat on a flat site for you. This is for cat sitting only, and you can offer the cat to sit for a few hours or overnight.

You (and the cat) will be fully insured by the website, and you will be expected to send the owner a picture of their cat every day.

Joining the site is free but a flat cat charges a 19% fee to cover insurance and commission.

the rover

Rover (formerly DogBuddy) is specifically for dog owners. This is the perfect place to pay for dog sitting.

As a dog sitter, you can offer dog walking, home viewing and dog day care.

Rover's fees are a little lower than other sites. They take a 15% cut if you book through the site.

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posh logo

Don't want to commit to caring for just one type of animal? At Pawshake, you can care for everything from dogs to birds.

Services you can offer include dog walking, dog daycare and overnight stays.

Faithful Housesitter
Faithful house sitter logo

If you're looking for a pet-sitting job and you don't mind making money but want to travel a bit, you can housesit instead.

Trusted Housesitters matches global trekkers with homeowners worldwide who need a pet sitter in exchange for free accommodation.

You pay a fee of £99 a year to advertise. Depending on where you're traveling, you can make it a free night or two.

How to make money pet sitting, How to Become a Pet Sitter and Earn Additional Income

How to make money pet sitting