That’s where you, an aspiring dog walker or pet sitter, comes in.
Dog walking, pet sitting, dog training, and other pet care work in general, is a fantastic industry for anyone that loves animals and wants to spend time with them while also making great money. If you’re considering starting up or expanding your dog walking business, you need to look into licensing and certification to operate legitimately.
This guide will walk you through what you need to know about having a dog walking certification. Let’s jump in.
The short answer is that it depends on where you’re dog walking:
The longer answer begins with the fact that there aren’t many federal or state guidelines about dog walking or pet care businesses, aside from general laws about animal cruelty and abuse. But there are local laws and protocols you need to be aware of in individual cities, townships, municipalities, etc if you want to start your own dog walking service.
In smaller towns, suburbs, and rural areas, there are often few restrictions and regulations on business practices, especially for relatively new, small, or niche industries like dog walking. However, in many larger and more densely populated cities in the US, there are stricter regulations in place about who can do this kind of work and how it can be done.
So, let’s take a look at relevant requirements in some high profile cities.
Here are some of the policies on dog walking and pet sitting license and certification in big cities across the US:
New York, New York – In the big apple, you need to have a Small Animal Boarding Establishment Permit in order to walk dogs professionally. This also applies to any kind of pet care, such as grooming, training, and sitting. To get one, you need to:
Chicago, Illinois – The Windy City’s requirements for professional dog walkers include an Animal Care License. That same license also applies to large-scale businesses such as veterinarians and zoos. You need to:
San Francisco, California – In the City by the Bay, a certified dog walker needs to have a dog walking permit to be able to walk four or more dogs at once (but no more than eight). Unlike in New York and Chicago, the permit is specifically for dog walking. But overall certification also involves broader animal safety requirements, so you need to:
Across these examples, you see a few themes common that apply to other cities’ local policies. They all cost money! And the certifications can be wide-ranging, applying to all kinds of animal-related businesses of any size (as in New York and Chicago). Or, they sometimes relate very specifically to dog walking itself (as in San Francisco).
In any case, no matter where you are, you should research the local laws to figure out what you need to do to start (or keep) professionally dog walking there.
So, whether you live in one already or not, a city is a great place to think about starting your dog walking business.
Regardless of location, one consistency is that all cities require walking pet professionals to register or insure their business in order to operate officially. That’s not just a city thing, either: it applies in most locations across the US.
Wherever you are, in order to operate legitimately, you’ll need to set up an official business.
In practice, starting a dog walking business can be as simple as registering it at the federal and state levels. But to make sure you’re setting yourself up for long-term success, it’s important to cover all your bases:
For that last part, we’re here to help.
Thimble brings on-demand, high-quality insurance coverage to pet professionals that helps to protect themselves and their business. If you consider yourself a professional dog walker or pet sitter, it’s essential that you are protected with dog walking certification and coverage.
Our pet sitting policy covers dog walking, as well as grooming, sitting, and training. It consists of general liability and professional liability coverage to protect you from both general risks and work-specific accidents or errors, including:
Best of all, our coverage is easy to sign up for and flexible to suit your needs as a professional dog walker. You can purchase plans by the hour, day, or month, all in just 60 seconds.
Making sure you have the right coverage is like giving yourself the longest leash possible. It gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow your dog walking business into a dog walking empire (where you’re top dog).
Our editorial content is intended for informational purposes only and is not written by a licensed insurance agent. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary by class of business and state.
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