Guides
What to put in a pet sitting business package for owner-operators
A pet sitting package sells a defined visit, a set arrival window and a written care report, priced from drive time, visit length, number of pets and staff cost.
What to take away
- A package is a named visit with a set length, a set arrival window and a written report. "Dog walk" is not a package; "Standard dog walk, 30 minutes, window 11am to 2pm" is.
- Price from drive time, visit length and staff cost, not from what the neighbour charges. Two 30-minute walks across town are two jobs, not one.
- Cat drop-in and overnight house sit carry different insurance needs than a midday walk. Care, custody and control cover is the one to ask your broker about by name.
- Toronto walkers need a permit under Municipal Code Chapter 349. Elsewhere, check the municipal bylaw before printing a rate card.
- Sell the recurring weekday plan first. It fills the calendar a month out, which is the only thing that makes hiring a second walker affordable.
Build the package around the visit, not the animal
Customers do not buy "pet care". They buy a person arriving at a known time, doing a known thing, and leaving a note. The package name should say which of those three changes.
Pet Sitting Package Menu
Package
- Standard dog walk
- 30 minutes
- Puppy visit
- 15 to 20 minutes
- Cat drop-in
- 20 to 30 minutes
- Senior-pet visit
- 30 minutes
- Multi-pet household
- 45 minutes
- Overnight house sit
- 10 to 12 hours
- Wedding pet attendant
- 4 to 8 hours
- Pet taxi
- Per trip
Visit length
- Standard dog walk
- Solo or paired walk, report
- Puppy visit
- Toilet break, play, crate reset
- Cat drop-in
- Feeding, litter, water, report
- Senior-pet visit
- Slow walk, comfort check, report
- Multi-pet household
- All animals in one stop
- Overnight house sit
- Evening and morning care, mail
- Wedding pet attendant
- Transport, holding, handoff
- Pet taxi
- Vet or groomer run, crate
Includes
- Standard dog walk
- Weekday commuters
- Puppy visit
- Dogs under six months
- Cat drop-in
- Cats who dislike travel
- Senior-pet visit
- Arthritic or blind pets
- Multi-pet household
- Two-dog or dog-and-cat homes
- Overnight house sit
- Holiday travel
- Wedding pet attendant
- One-off events
- Pet taxi
- Owners without a car
Who buys it
- Standard dog walk
- Puppy visit
- Cat drop-in
- Senior-pet visit
- Multi-pet household
- Overnight house sit
- Wedding pet attendant
- Pet taxi
The pet-care version of basic life support is simple: fresh water, food to the owner's instruction, a toilet break, and a written report of what you saw. Anything past that is a different package with a different price.
Build the package around the visit
| Package | Visit length | What it includes | Who buys it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard dog walk | 30 minutes | Solo or paired walk, water, paw wipe, report | Weekday commuters |
| Puppy visit | 15 to 20 minutes | Toilet break, play, crate reset, report | Owners of dogs under six months |
| Cat drop-in | 20 to 30 minutes | Feeding, litter, water, medication if in your scope, report | Cats who dislike travel |
| Senior-pet visit | 30 minutes | Slow walk or garden time, comfort check, report | Owners of arthritic or blind pets |
| Multi-pet household visit | 45 minutes | All animals in one stop, one report | Two-dog or dog-and-cat homes |
| Overnight house sit | 10 to 12 hours | Evening and morning care, mail, bins, plant watering | Holiday travel |
| Wedding pet attendant | 4 to 8 hours | Transport, holding, handoff to the couple | One-off events |
| Pet taxi | Per trip | Vet or groomer run, crate handling | Owners without a car |
Eight is enough to start. Add a ninth only when a customer asks twice.
Price the drive, then the visit
A 30-minute walk that needs 20 minutes of driving each way is a 70-minute job. Price the job, not the walk. Set a service radius and charge a travel fee outside it.
Price the Job, Not the Walk
- Take your target hourly rate
- Multiply by visit hours
- Add drive hours at the same rate
- Add consumables
- Divide by realistic visits per day
- Result is your floor price
Work the arithmetic in your own numbers. Take your target hourly rate, multiply by visit hours, add drive hours at the same rate, add consumables, then divide by the number of visits you can realistically run in a day. The result is your floor. If the market will not pay it, the package is wrong, not the price.
Recurring weekday plans should carry a lower per-visit rate than one-offs. You are selling the certainty of a filled slot, and that certainty is worth a discount. Holiday and last-minute coverage should carry a surcharge, because you are breaking your own schedule to cover someone else's.
What the authorities actually say
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on animal care and service workers describes the physical handling and injury risk in animal-care work. That is the case for limiting visit length and for never sending one person to a reactive dog alone.
The FTC advertising guide for small business requires that claims be truthful and supported. "Insured and bonded" is a claim. So is "vet recommended". Keep the certificate on file.
The IRS recordkeeping guidance covers what supports income and expenses. Keep the visit report, the invoice and the mileage log together. In Canada, GST/HST registration thresholds are published by the CRA, and PIPEDA governs how you store client addresses and door codes.
None of this is legal, tax or insurance advice. Confirm your own position with an accountant, a lawyer licensed in your province or state, and your insurance broker.
The two numbers that decide whether it works
Revenue per visit tells you what a customer pays. Revenue per labour hour tells you whether the business can pay a second walker and still keep something. Track both monthly.
When Revenue Per Labour Hour Drops
Revenue per labour hour below your floor for two months?
problem is usually routing, not pricing
keep tracking both numbers monthly
If revenue per labour hour falls below your own floor for two months running, the problem is usually routing, not pricing. Cluster the visits. A walker who covers four streets instead of four suburbs earns more per hour without a rate rise.
Read the service and package guide before you name anything, then check the package against the most profitable services list to see which ones carry their own weight.
Common questions
How many packages should a new pet sitting business offer?
Start with four: a standard dog walk, a puppy visit, a cat drop-in and an overnight. Add multi-pet, senior-pet, taxi and event packages once customers ask for them by name. A long menu confuses the buyer and complicates your scheduling.
Should I charge more for a puppy visit than a dog walk?
Usually yes, because a puppy visit is a shorter visit with more handling and a higher chance of a mess. Price it from the time it actually takes, including the cleanup. If the visit runs 20 minutes plus 15 minutes of travel, that is a 35-minute job.
Do I need a permit to walk dogs?
It depends on where you work. Toronto requires a dog walker permit under Municipal Code Chapter 349, and other municipalities set their own rules. Check with your city licensing office before you advertise, and keep the permit number on your site.
What insurance should a pet sitting package carry?
Ask your broker about care, custody and control cover, which responds to animals in your care, alongside general liability. Coverage terms and exclusions vary by insurer and by province or state. Confirm what your policy actually covers before you promise a customer anything.
