Starting your own dog walking business is easier than ever today thanks to sites like Rover.
If you love spending time with animals and caring for them, becoming a dog sitter or dog walker may sound like a fun way to make money without a job.
If you want to know how to become a dog walker on Rover, it’s a lot simpler than starting your own private pet sitting business from scratch.
Dog sitting is flexible and pays well. You can set your schedule and work from your home or travel to clients.
However, one of the most difficult aspects of starting a dog sitting business involves organizing all the logistics and actually finding leads and clients.
Millions of people own dogs so there is likely someone in your area who may need a pet sitter. Here’s how Rover can help you get started and reach your first payday.
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What is Rover.com?
If you’ve never heard of Rover before, it’s a site that helps connect pet sitters and dog walkers with paying clients in their own area. It’s similar to Care.com only you can sign up and offer services to care for pets instead of children.
You can search for Rover dog walking jobs and optimize your profile so that other people can find you when they’re looking to hire someone to care for their pet.
Rover also provides insurance up to $1,000,000, 24/7 support, and even vet assistance. Use the app or the desktop version to jump-start your dog sitting business and utilize their modern-day marketing tools to land jobs quicker.
While Rover is a great app overall, it’s always important to weigh the pros and cons before you consider signing up for anything.
Here are some key benefits and drawbacks of using Rover so you can decide if it’s something that will work for you.
Pros
- Set your schedule and prices
- Offer a variety of pet care services (choose whatever you feel most comfortable doing)
- User-friendly app to manage your profile and quickly respond to prospects
- Coverage up to $1 million
- Payments are handled through the app
Cons
- Can be competitive (there are many other dog sitters on the app)
- Rover takes a fee of around 20% when you book a job
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Sitter Requirements
Before you apply to start pet sitting with Rover, make sure you meet the basic requirements.
Rover doesn’t just approve everyone who wants to be a dog walker or pet sitter. They carefully screen new applicants so you must:
- Be at least 18 years old to get started
- Provide references
- Pass a safety quiz
- Complete a background check
10 Steps to Become a Pet Sitter on Rover
Technology and odd job apps are really great tools for those who need to earn some extra money. If you’re wondering how to become a pet sitter, you no longer have to print out flyers or have awkward conversations with friends and neighbors.
You can simply sign up with Rover and complete your profile. Here are the basic steps you’ll need to follow.
Step 1: Sign Up to Become a Sitter
If you go to Rover’s website, they have a section at the top that says ‘Become a Sitter’. Once you click on this, it will take you to a new page where you can click on a green button that says ‘get started’.
You can sign up with Rover through Facebook, Google, Apple, or your personal email address.
If you choose to sign up with Facebook, Google, or Apple, Rover may be able to automatically pull information from your profile to speed up the process.
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Step 2: Fill Out Your Basic Information and Upload a Photo
Next, Rover will prompt you to fill in basic information like your address, birthday, email address and ask you to upload a profile image.
Choose a clear, well-lit professional image so potential clients can see exactly what you look like.
During this step, you’ll also need to include a phone number and emergency contact. This won’t be public on your profile but Rover does need to verify your number in case they need to contact you or send an important update.
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Step 3: Narrow Down Your Service Offerings
After you fill out all your basic information, Rover will ask you to narrow down which service you want to offer on the platform.
Keep in mind that boarders or dog sitters make the most money since you can charge more for this service.
Still, it’s a good idea to diversify your services so you can definitely offer more than one thing. Once you choose your services, you can set prices for each service.
Step 4: Set Your Pet Sitting Preferences
This is an important step because Rover will use these preferences to match you with relevant dog sitting and dog walking jobs.
Also, when people are searching for a pet sitter, they’ll know exactly what you offer, how many walks you can do, how often you can come to the home to check in on their pet(s) and so on.
You can even get specific when it comes to your preference for what type of dog you think you could handle best. Or, maybe you’re open to caring for cats too and can provide that service.
Step 5: Provide Information About Your Home and Pets
Next, Rover will want to know additional details about your home and the pets you have. This can also help potential clients determine whether you would be the best person to meet their needs.
Some dogs have special preferences or get along better or worse with other animals. Taking the time to fill out this information will only help you locate the most relevant opportunities in your area.
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Step 6: Craft a Catchy Bio
Your bio and headline are some of the first things people will see when searching for a dog sitter on Rover. Take a minute to think of something catchy to say if you can. Or, just keep it simple but be transparent.
There is a minimum word count of 125 you’ll need to meet so be sure to include any additional details about the services you can provide and why you’d be the best fit.
Having some experience caring for pets in the past is helpful but not always required. If you’ve had a dog in the past, this could be used as experience to help you land pet sitting jobs.
Step 7: Provide Photo Proof
Here’s where your dog sitting experience can come in handy. During the sign-up process, Rover wants to see at least one photo of you walking with or playing with dogs. If you have a dog this should be easy to do but if you don’t have any pets, see if you can get some pictures with a friend or family member’s dog.
Step 8: Request Testimonials
Testimonials are what can really make or break your profile. People want to see that you have good reviews before they hire you. Invite people you know to write a testimonial either via email or Facebook.
If you haven’t done any dog walking or pet sitting jobs before, see if you can provide a free service for someone you know in exchange for a testimonial.
Is there anyone you know who may be going out of town and need a dog sitter? Volunteer yourself to score a client testimonial.
Step 9: Take a Quiz and Agree to a Background Check
Toward the end of the sign-up process, Rover will ask you to take a short quiz. You’ll watch 2 videos, each 3-5 minutes long, then answer 3 questions per video.
As long as you pay attention to what’s going on in the video the quiz should be pretty easy.
If you pass the quiz, you can move on to agreeing to a background check. Each Rover dog sitter must pass a background check as this helps ensure the client’s safety and the safety of their pet.
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Step 10: Set Your Calendar and Get Ready to Accept Your First Job
The final step involves setting your calendar availability with the days that you’d be able to pet sit. This way, potential clients can see if it matches up with their needs.
When people book you for a service, they can rate you afterward and write a testimonial about their experience. In terms of getting your first booking, Rover users say the timeline can vary.
One Reddit user said it took 2 weeks to get their first request and a month to get their first booking. Having pictures and a completed profile with your experience, list of services and preferences can help increase your chances of landing paid work faster.
How Much Can You Realistically Make with Rover?
Now that you know how to become a dog sitter on Rover, you may be wondering how much you can actually make with this platform.
Rover says that you can make up to $1,000 per month so this could be a profitable and flexible job. It does make it clear that its highest-paying services are dog sitting and pet sitting.
When you’re signing up and creating your Rover profile, you can put how much you expect to earn and Rover will give you realistic income ranges depending on the service.
If you want to earn $400 per month, you may need to dog sit around 16 dogs that month with a nightly rate of $25.
You can always adjust your rate and service to test out different strategies. For example, you may want to charge $40 per night for pet sitting if you’ll include extra walks or care. This would reduce the number of dogs you’d have to sit each month if you wanted to earn $400.
If you have at least 30 to 40 minutes, you can sign up for Rover, complete your profile, and start looking for local dog walking and pet sitting jobs today.
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