How to make $800+ per month with dog sitting jobs

I never considered making extra money with dog sitting jobs until I discovered the dogsitting app Rover. Before, I was petsitting for family friends here and there, but the work was few and far between.

But my very first month using Rover, I made $800, and have been getting consistent work with dog sitting jobs ever since.

I love dogs, but can’t have one because I currently live on a sailboat, and also, dogs tend to make it harder to travel. Rover not only gives me an outlet to be around dogs, but I also get off the boat for awhile and get to stay in a real house, with things like a refrigerator, which I don’t have on the boat.

Staying in these beautiful houses and apartments feels like a luxury, and dogsitting is such a good way to make a little extra money.

How Rover helps you get dogsitting jobs

Rover is a website and an app that connects dog owners and dogsitters.

• If you’re a dog owner, you can use Rover to book dog walks, in-house visits, an overnight petsitter, or find a home where your dog can hang out while you’re at work or on vacation.
• If you’re a pet lover, you can use Rover to create an online profile and offer house and pet sitting services. You can also sign up just to be a dog walker if you don’t have a desire to stay in someone’s home.

I created a profile and was getting dogsitting requests within days. I got to play with a 3-month-old little puppy all day in Sausalito, did a long weekend with two fun dogs in Sausalito, and stayed in a stunning hillside apartment with a gorgeous German Shephard with views of Alcatraz.

These dogs are all so wonderful, and just watching them and playing with them made around $800 in my first month alone, with subsequent months bringing in good money for me as a dogsitter.

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Another great way to find pet sitting jobs is to put an ad on Craigslist offering up your services. Rover will give you a custom link so you can offer $20 someone’s first booking.

If you want to try using Rover, click here to sign up! www.thewaywardhome.com/petsit.

How I decided my rates for pet sitting jobs

Sometimes, it’s hard to know how much to charge for a service, especially when you’re new to dogsitting.

I did some Googling, and also relied on what past dog owners had paid me. I think the average pay for a dog sitter for an overnight stay is $35 per day. So, I set my rate at $35 per dog, with an added rate of $40 for a puppy, since they require more time and attention. So far, nobody has balked at these rates.

I’m sure dogsitting rates also depend on where you live. If you’re in a smaller town, you may need to charge less for services. I happen to be in one of the most expensive areas in the United States, so everything costs a bit more.

If you’re interested in checking out my Rover profile, click here. 

What to do before accepting dog sitting jobs

One thing that’s really important to do before agreeing to a particular pet sitting job is to go to the house and meet the owner, the dogs, and scope out the space.

The space doesn’t matter as much if you’re just going to be walking dogs, but if you’re doing an overnight, make sure you are comfortable in the house.

Make sure the house is clean, and ask to see the room you’ll be staying in. I made one mistake of looking at a house in the dark, and when I went back during the day to start petsitting, I saw that the house was very, very dirty. It was embarrassing for both me and the homeowners when I asked them to please hire house cleaners so I could live there for two weeks.

It’s also good to make sure the dogs seem well-behaved before committing to watch them.

The downsides of dogsitting through Rover and an alternative

There are a few downsides to using Rover if you want to be a professional pet sitter. The app does take out a pretty big chunk of services fees from each booking you get, so that’s a bummer.

Another thing is that its a highly localized service. You can’t be running around the country trying to get Rover bookings, as dog owners look for a dogsitter who’s based near where they live.

But, there is an alternative to Rover.

You can use Trusted Housesitters, which is more of an exchange than a paid gig. You get a free place to stay, and pet owners get someone to watch their animals for free. Plus, Trusted Housesitters doesn’t just focus on dogs. You can watch cats, birds, and even farm animals, like this couple did. I really want to use Trusted Housesitters when I start to do more traveling outside the San Francisco Bay Area. There are beautiful homes all over the world!

Conclusion

I think pet sitting jobs are a great way to make a little extra money and also get to experience the love and joy of dogs. I can’t wait to keep using this service and see which lovely animals I’ll get to meet.

Have you used Rover for dog sitting jobs yet? How do you like it?

To join Rover, go here: www.thewaywardhome.com/Rover

To join Trusted Housesitters, go here: www.thewaywardhome.com/trustedpetsitters

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