I want to start a dog walking business for summer but how do i advertise it around my local area? also what do people exspect from a dog walker, i mean apart from walking their dog!

My daughter started by leaving cards at the Vets, in Supermarket's notice boards, newsagents, shop windows and the local pub!
She moved on to the local newspaper and then into Yellow Pages.
She started from the dog walking to feeding them when owners asked her (£5 a visit), which went on to feeding cats and doing litter trays if owners were away.
Then she began taking in small caged animals into her own home (budgies and bunnies, etc)
She eventually had a web site – with letters of recommendation from satisfied clients.
Took other pet carers onto her books – they were self-employed at £5 per hour but she received a booking fee.
Then she emigrated and sold the business for a 4-figure sum!
Best of luck in your venture – watch out Richard Branson!!

My husband and I own and operate our own pet care business- we provide pet sitting and dog walking services. We are willing to accommodate alternative requests when they are made but we rarely get them. I know that pet care businesses are gaining popularity because people are doing more for their pets. However, as a small business what services could I offer or what approaches could I take to appeal to pet owners more than the average pet sitter? While I’m willing to undergo additional training for more skills like grooming and training, what services could be useful that I could offer right away? My business already offers pet sitting visits that are one hour in duration, which is unheard of among professional sitters around here (most people stay for 30 minutes or so). Without dropping prices, what could I do that would appeal to you and make my business your first choice? I want to be unconventional- don’t want to stick to JUST dog walking, pet sitting and house sitting.
Health care! There are so manmy things you can do without a vet that will make sure to keep low cost for owners and more income for you! The DHPP (parvo combo) vaccines can be given by you and if you do cats, the FVRCP vaccines can be done as well. Reaearch small animal care and learn the facts, so you can educate your customers! Dogs need HeartGuard or a heart worm prevention once a month, and if they go months or more without it, they need to be tested first, or if they have heartworms, giving them the preentative could kill them! Also, little things like not being abl to give cats the flea prevention from Walmart stores could be a good thing to spread around. It has an active ingredient permethrin and is very toxic and can kill them. Puppies and kittens need at least three vaccines (DHPP/FVRCP) to be protected, and until they are 3 months and cn be on the heartguard, they need de-worming with Strongid or another pyrantel based wormer to prevent those nasty intestinal worms. Also, outside cats need to be tested for leukemia and vaccoinated yearly. These are just a few very commonly ovrlooked things I see daily,and you can investigate them more thoroughly or even ask your vet about them. The Strongid you can also keep on hand, but stay away from trying to do rabies vaccines yourself (its illegal) and leave the heartworm prevention and testing to the vets as well. GOOD LUCK!!! You can also check out this Dog Business

With all the news on TV about impending economic doom and gloom I thought it important to discuss how this news impacts the pet industry.

Recent indicators show that the pet industry, while not impervious to the overall economy, has the ability to rise above the fray – and the current trends are a good case in point. The spending trends are such that the industry looks set to continue to prosper through 2008. This trend, however, is going to be difficult to maintain if the general economic conditions deteriorate into 2009 and 2010.

There has been plenty of talk about a “credit crunch” in the past 6 months, as subprime lenders feel the effectives of years of loose lending guidelines. While this may be a form of a “credit crunch”, it certainly isn’t the more dangerous liquidity crisis that stems from questionable monetary policy. This is actually good news for your pet business because it means people will still have the cash to spend on their pets should they want to.

A liquidity crisis would be far worse than a credit crunch for petrepreneurs. During a liquidity crisis, pet owners would find that cash is just more difficult to come by and purely discretionary purchases, even for their pets, would be negatively impacted. Tough cash situations usually means switches to lower priced food products, delaying travel (no sitting serviced needed), home grooming, and purchasing fewer toys and treats for their furry family.

The 2007 credit crunch could be the first of several waves of poor economic news to hit us. While we can take comfort in the knowledge that the pet industry is beating the current general economic trends, we should use this time to strategically position ourselves and our businesses for success and profitability.

Hi I have a business idea intended for cat and dog owners and am looking for a way to get to the pet owners to sell my product. I could try paper ads but wonder are there any obvious ways to pitch my product to the owners? Many thanks TJ
you should try this google the words pet expo this will take you to a whole list of expos for pets with the opportunity to sign up as a vendor to show or demonstrate your product. Their are quite a few expos try to find one in your local area

I just started a dog running business in the south sound. I take local dogs out for a run. But I’m not quite sure how to market my services. Any ideas? Can I post fliers in businesses?
Get a hold of PaulR 3 question up from yours, he needs a dog walker. Word of mouth is the best advertisment