Pet sitting daily rate: How much do pet sitters make in the UK?
The average salary of a pet sitter in the UK is £24,218 per year. As a pet sitter you will have a few tasks and depending on these, the price range will vary. Here are some benchmark figures of how much you could earn as a pet sitter:
Keep in mind that these figures are an estimation, depending on where you live, which pets you are looking after, and what is asked from you. If you wish to earn more, you can always go an extra mile and suggest watering plants, picking up the post or house sitting.
Whatever missions you have, always make sure you care for the animal, and help it feel at ease around you. This could be by giving them treats, for example. Also, pet owners love to get news from their pets when they are away, it helps for their peace of mind. So don’t hesitate to send pictures and news of pets to let their owners know they are ok.
The statistics behind that claim depend on what is taken as an average salary. What is certainly true is that a dog walker charging £11.50 per dog, per hour, and performing 197 dog-walks per month, can equal the current UK median salary of £27,200 a year. And, at a rate of 13 dog-walks per day, that month’s work is done in just over 15 days. If that same walker worked for 20 days per month, they’d earn more than £35,000 per year. In London, dog walkers charge more, around £14 per hour, probably because the dogs there have developed fancy tastes and need to be bribed with macaroons.
If you want to jack in the rat race, your best bet might be to become a dog walker. It’s been reported that they earn a fifth more than the average UK salary – but work less than half the average hours.
So it’s best to be your own boss? Not necessarily. “You’d need a sizeable client base. And you wouldn’t be able to take days off, because they’d take their business elsewhere,” explains Denise, a professional dog walker I meet. Actually, what she says is closer to “Izzy! Izzy! Milo! You’d have to have a client ba- Nero! Cassie! And you can’t have days- Izzy!” because as soon as she stops to talk, her charges wander off like hairy children with attention-deficit disorder who can run at 45 miles per hour.
Fed up with being yanked in six directions and dealing with other people’s mess at work? You could take up professional dog walking instead …
So much for quitting the er, nine to five. If your job involves being yanked in six directions and dealing with other people’s crap, you could quit and take up dog walking – but you might be in for more of the same. And there’s another unpredictable element the two agree on – the frequently atrocious British weather. “I only started in spring,” says Tunder, who until two years ago worked in a hospital in Hungary, and wants to re-enter medicine. “Hopefully I’ll be done with this by October.”
Dog sitting rates: How much is dog sitting?
There are a few tasks requested as a dog sitter and the more tasks, the higher the price. A dog sitter could have these different missions:
Depending on the service you require from a dog sitter, the price will vary. On average a dog sitter earns £10 per hour. Doggy daycare in a pet sitter’s home is often between £30 for half a day and £40-50 for a full day. If a pet sitter comes to the owner’s home for 24 hours, it will cost around £60.
When it comes to short visits such as dog walking or popping by the house to make sure the dog is fed, and entertained, the hourly price range varies between £10 to £25 (again depending on what is required from the pet sitter).
Overnight dog sitting: How much to charge for a dog sitting overnight?
Dog sitters who stay overnight will usually charge approximately £50-60. This price will vary depending on the duties required (dog sitting, house sitting or house duties) and if the dog sitter is required to stay the whole day too.
Now that you know more about the price range related to the different services offered by pet sitters, you might be asking yourself extra questions, like… should you tip a dog sitter, or should you pay for your dog sitter’s travel costs?
FAQ
How much do dog sitters earn UK?
How much is a dog sitter for a week UK?
How do I become a pet sitter UK?
Whist there are no specific qualifications required to become a dog walker/pet sitter, having qualifications in areas such as animal first aid, animal behaviour, or animal care, will enhance your professional standing.
How much do most dog sitters make?
However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2019 median salary for animal caretakers was $24,990 per year, and $12.02 per hour. The pet sitter and owner negotiate the exact fee, whether on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.