20+ Dog Walking Services in Omaha, NE
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Dog walking packages and extra pet care services
Many professional dog walkers offer discounts when you purchase more than one service at a time. If your pet needs regular walks, its good to consider these offers. These packages can lower the cost of a dog walking service, especially over time.
Package deals dont necessarily include multiple walks. Some handlers offer dog sitting, boarding, and grooming in addition to dog walking. These services are ideal if youre going out of town or are away from home for long hours during the day.
| Also read: Your Ultimate Guide to Dog Care – Everything you need to know about caring for a dog, from grooming to training. |
Though average dog walking prices are pretty consistent, many things can increase the cost of the service youre looking for. Of course, pet handlers with more experience charge more. However, no two dog walkers are equal, even if they are insured and experienced with your pets breed. Consider these other factors:
On average, a dog walker will charge $15 to $25 for a short, 15- to 30-minute walk and $30 to $40 for a 45-50 minute walk. If you have a large, active dog, you might want their walk to last at least 30 minutes. This can increase the price, especially if youre scheduling more than one walk per day.
If you have an active dog or will be away from home for a long time, scheduling more than one walk per day is ideal. Some dog walkers offer discounts for “packaged” services, while others charge more for additional walks. Ask your dog walker what they can provide for two or more walks per day, especially if the walks will be private.
Many dog walking services pick up and drop off pets in small groups. This allows socialization and makes it easier for the dog walker to cater to more clients. If you want private walks for your pet, you might have to pay more for the dog walkers time.
Dog walkers often use one or two routes for the job. You might want to check if youre close to their area. Otherwise, youll have to cover their travel expenses. Find a dog walker near you if you want to stick to your budget.
Dog walking services are in demand during holidays. If youre planning to go out of town and need someone to walk your pet, you must plan well. Most handlers charge more on holidays. The availability of their services might be limited, so if you want to book your favorite dog walker, make sure to notify them promptly.
What Are the Price Deciding Factors a Dog Walker Should Consider?
Many things that matter when it comes to your pricing structure, as we’re about to demonstrate.
Add-ons include any additional services you may offer besides dog walking that entitle you to a higher fee. These add-on services will provide you with an added client base of senior citizens, employees who work late hours, and other people who can’t dedicate their time to pet care, doggy daycare or aren’t able to but want to make sure their pets are healthy, happy, and well-taken care of.
Plus, there are numerous pet-related services: feeding, treating, pet sitting, grooming, administrating medication, playing with a pet, and providing extra TLC. Many dog walkers even take multiple dogs for their routine vet appointment or offer report cards on how they’re doing while the dog owner is away.
To put this into perspective, Annie’s Walk & Talk company offers medication administration services for $20. In contrast, Paw Prince Pet Care company cleans and removes pet waste from backyards for $15-20 depending on if the professional dog walker is already at the client’s house or they’re going there for that specific reason.
Other add-ons include updates about your dog’s walk. Clients provide you with their email address or phone number, and you’d document these walks through photos and videos and send them to clients for a better rate.
Not to mention, some services even have nothing to do with the business, like bringing a client’s mail or watering their plants. Those cost an additional $0.51 to $1 per minute for these services combined.
Tip: If you want higher dog walking rates, expand beyond your dog walking service to an all-inclusive pet service company.
If you have to travel a long distance from home to get to your client’s area (farther than 10 miles), that entails travel costs, so it’d be fair to charge $1 to $2 per mile.
Also, if the client requests that you walk their dog at a specific recreation area, an off-leash park, or a large dog park, you may charge more as well. For these pickups and drop-offs, you can charge $45 per hour.
Furthermore, location is indicative of the cost of living, so if your home is in a more affordable city, your fees should be equally affordable. For example, a 30-minute walk in St. Louis should cost $15 to $20, whereas if the living costs are quite expensive, so should your services be, which explains why the same walk would cost $20 to $25 in Washington DC.
Tip: If you’re unsure what the average cost for dog walking is in your area, this calculator tool can be of great help.
If your client wants you to walk more than one dog, you should charge more because it requires better handling and navigation skills to walk more than one pet.
By no means should you double your rates for every additional dog. Instead, we’d suggest an extra $2 to $4 or, otherwise, 50% of the base rates for single dogs.
Moreover, you might walk several dogs for different clients together. Of course, that has to be your client’s wish; it saves them money and saves you time. In that case, take $5 to $10 off the cost for joint dog walks.
If you’re a bonded and insured member of the National Associations of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS), that’s a perk that enables you to charge higher for dog walks. This at-home study course covers pet care, animal behavior, first aid skills, business dealings, and more. Another certificate that covers more or less similar content is Pet Sitters International (PSI).
Both certifications ensure that you’re an overall more competent dog walker and, so, deserving of a higher rate.
We’ve talked quite a bit about price ranges, and we’ve concluded that mainly what places a professional walker towards the higher end is experience, in case someone decides to run a background check on you.
If you’re well-established as a dog walker or professional pet sitter and can back it up with positive referrals from customers, that paves the way for a relatively higher fee or additional fee in your benefit. “A dog is man’s best friend”, and consequently, pet owners would pay a premium to feel assured of their dog’s security and comfort.
Nevertheless, if you’re only just starting your service, don’t be discouraged. Make sure your potential clients see how trustworthy and competent you are as a dog walker or pet sitter, and in most cases, they’ll be willing to hire you to walk their dogs.
Whether your customer requested a morning walk or a midday walk or so is very relevant. For instance, for later hours, a dog walker typically charges an extra $5. Later hours for dog walkers usually mean past their service, which ends at 7 or 8 PM.
Another thing that could get extra money is if a pet owner hires a walker for their pet last minute (anything less than 24 hours), in which case they’re charged an added amount of $15 for the short notice.
You should also factor in the number of walks per day, as some dogs need to go on two or three 30 minute or 15 minute walks a day.
The number of walks paid for is crucial, too, because many of your walker competitors provide discounts if a client pays for 3 to 10 walks upfront. These discounts range from 10% to %30, and if you want to compete, you should offer discounted prices too.
As a dog walker, you probably offer anything from a 15-minute potty break and a 30-minute walk to a 1-hour walk and even a 2-hour walk or more. And undoubtedly, the length of the walk plays into how much you should charge.