So you want to be a dog walker

START YOUR NEW CAREER AS A DOG WALKER

If you have seen one of our adverts for a dog walker and think it might be something for you then this blog post is worth a read. It talks you through the services we offer, what sort of people we’re looking for to join the team, what you could earn and more!

DOG WALKING JOBS MILTON KEYNES with JOG MY DOG. 

Jog My Dog is a professional dog walking and pet sitting company. The pet care professionals contracted by Jog My Dog travel to our clients’ homes to perform the pet sitting duties requested by our customers.

Our clients are located in Milton Keynes and the surrounding villages of:

• Bow Brickhill
• Woburn Sands
• Aspley Guise
• Newport Pagnell
• Wolverton

We currently need dog walkers in the West Milton Keynes area, Newport Pagnell or surrounding and Woburn Sands or surrounding. Anywhere within a 3 or so mile radius from these locations would be ideal. 

We provide five types of services:

1. Dog Walking: one visit per day, typically Monday through Friday between the hours of 11am and 2:30pm, to walk dogs while their owners are at work;
2. Doggy Day Care: dogs stay with us for the day and they are taken for at least two group walks
3. Pet Visits: to help make our client’s lives and time away from home easier, we look after cats and other small animals in the comfort of their own home; we are also able to offer a variety of add-on, specialty services on request
4. Home Boarding: the timeline for this service can range from a day anywhere up to three weeks; a client’s dog stays with a Jog My Dog pet sitter in their home where they will get at least two walks per day and not left alone longer than 3 hours
5. House Sitting: a pet sitter stays in a clients home to look after their pets, who should not be left alone for longer than 3 hours at a time. No partners or friends/family allowed to stay.

What is essential to work with Jog My Dog?

You must:

• Have a valid driver’s license and access to a reliable, insured vehicle (ideally hatchback or similar).
• Have a Smart phone, daily access to the Internet and the ability to communicate effectively by returning emails and phone calls promptly.
• Be familiar with the service area.
• Commit to at least 12 months.
• Be able to provide professional references.
• Obtain and submit a DBS certificate (circa £25 and lasts 3 years)
• You must be able to access our mobile phone application while performing duties. (Smartphone.)
• Pet First Aid Training is advantageous
• Knowledge of dog behavior is useful (the current walkers all receive ongoing training guidance from a behaviorist we use in Milton Keynes that JMD work with)

Positions with Jog My Dog

• Mid Day Dog Walkers must be available to walk dogs Monday through Friday between the hours of 11 AM & 14:30 PM. The number of dogs you’ll walk on any given day will vary based upon the clients’ schedules and when they need pet care.  It is important for the business to be able to provide cover on all of these days and hours; therefore please specify if you are only available a few days per week or for only certain hours of the 11:00-14:30 time block.

• Pet Sitters/ House Sitters visit our client’s home multiple times per day, and may need to be available for AM & PM visits. House Sitters will live in a clients home and the duration can span a weekend or two weeks.

Summary

Sitters contracted by Jog My Dog can either be classified as a Mid Day Dog Walker, a Pet Sitter, a House Sitter or any combination of the three positions. This is based on your availability and what services you’re interested in offering to our clients.

Walkers and sitters typically accept assignments as close to their “home base” as possible to increase their profits (i.e. reduce petrol costs). The usual travel distance is 2.5 to 5 miles with a max distance of 7 miles… unless they have agreed to travel further.

Note: For house sitting assignments, sitters can travel further because their “home base” is the client’s home.

Working as an Independent Contractor

Jog My Dog chooses to work with independent contractors (IC’s) to perform the pet care duties outlined by our customers. An independent contractor is someone who is classed as Self-Employed and is responsible for their own tax returns.

As an independent contractor you’re paid an amount per pet you look after rather than an hourly rate.

Group Dog Walks are kept to four at a time (unless the dogs are small/easy and the walker is extremely experienced in group walks). Independent Contractors working with Jog My Dog may walk one, two, three or four dogs at a time as determined by the needs of our customers, and their own confidence and experience with dogs.

Long-Term Relationship

Jog My Dog is interested in working with IC’s who want to build a long-term relationship with our company and its clients. It’s not a good position for those trying to find interim work while in-between jobs or trying to “figure-out” what their next step is. Our clients come to trust their assigned pet sitter and appreciate it when they’re able to grow a trusted relationship with that person.  

Dog walking with Jog My Dog is a lot of fun, but can sometimes be hard work too when it is raining, snowing or when the doggies are strong, pull, etc. The role offers a great work/life balance but is not suitable to those who need a set income each month as walks can fluctuate depending on when our clients need us (i.e. half term, Christmas can be quieter as clients are off with their dogs). However, if a walker is prepared to be patient and understands what pet care is – the importance of building strong relationships with customers and is willing to engage with local word of mouth advertising which helps business pick up and grow – it offers great potential for good earnings within the lunch time window.

Compensation

Jog My Dog offer fantastic rates for our services to the team of dog walkers, home boarders and sitters – paying the most of all businesses in Milton Keynes as we value our team. We also use a fantastic online system for managing the client info, diaries and invoicing is done by Jog My Dog so that our walking/sitting team do not have to worry about chasing money or getting paid.

• Compensation information will be provided in email 
• Walkers, Sitters and Boarders are paid every 2 weeks by direct deposit into their bank account.
  • We pay on the 1^st and 16^th of each month.

Earnings range from £400 – £1300 a month. What a person earns is very much dependent on their availability, experience with dogs, willingness to walk big dogs, engagement with clients and generating local word of mouth recommendations. The amount of time a walker has been with Jog My Dog also factors in to the amount earned, as areas can take some time to build up but once they do work continues to come in by word of mouth referrals.

Sound like something you’d like to do?

If after reading the above you feel this is something that you would love to do then please follow this link and complete the questionnaire form. We will only contact those who fit what we are looking for – thank you for your interest!