How Much Money You Can Earn Through Care.com Pet Sitting

Are y'all missing the family pet now you're at uni? Getting paid to cuddle cute, hirsuite animals with pet sitting jobs could be the answer.

Our National Student Money Survey showed that 66% of students take a part-time job to get past at university. Merely, unfortunately, some pupil jobs simply don't fit with uni schedules, and employers aren't always the most flexible.

Pet sitting lets you set your ain hours and your own pay, pregnant you could stop up earning £40 or more each mean solar day. Not to mention, there's the squeamish little bonus of earning coin to spend fourth dimension with your favourite animals...

Interested? We thought then. This guide has everything you lot need to know about condign a pet sitter. Plus, information technology includes some pictures of our pets that you lot won't want to miss.

If pet sitting is a little too modest-fourth dimension for you, check out our interview with a student who owns and runs her own alpaca farm.

What is pet sitting?

Dog with sunglasses at the beach

When they ask who's a good boy, and yous know it'due south you lot

Pet sitting is a lot like working as a babysitter – except you're looking later on someone's pet, and not their kid. Makes sense.

Some pet owners prefer to have someone await subsequently their furry packet of joy instead of using a cattery or kennel. This could be for a number of reasons – perhaps paying someone to sit is cheaper, or their pet gets stressed existence away from dwelling house.

Depending on the chore, y'all could find yourself looking subsequently the animal at either the owner'south house or your own place.

If yous've just got a few hours spare and can't commit to several days of care, there are other options. You could become a dog walker, start a doggy daycare centre at your business firm or just keep pets company during the mean solar day while their owner is working.

In a nutshell, you lot need to feed them, play with them and keep them safety – but similar your own beast.

If your parents are going away, you could offer to stay at home and petsit for them for a lilliputian bit of cash. This is one of many keen ways to brand money from helping your parents.

5 best and worst parts of pet sitting

If yous're interested in making money equally a pet sitter, it'due south important to know these pros and cons:

Pros

Two cats

Jess' cats, Nuschka and Shiva, looking ambrosial (those optics!)

Hither are some advantages that come with being a pet sitter:

Yous get to look after animals and get paid for it.
If you desire to work with animals in the future, pet sitting will look brilliant on your CV – especially if you can get references from happy customers.
Pets may need to exist fed at a sure time, then you need to go in that location on time – a neat manner to encourage time management and organisation.
You tin can piece of work whenever y'all desire and choose your hourly pay.
Spending fourth dimension with animals tin boost your mood and academic performance.

Cons

Harry the dog next to a bottle of whisky

It'd been a long twenty-four hour period at the office for Harry

But at that place are also some disadvantages of existence a pet sitter:

Work may be sparse – it depends on where y'all are, and if anyone else is offer a similar service.
You may be expected to requite pets medication if required (which, in case you lot didn't already know, is something they don't tend to enjoy).
Pet owners may be fussy. Understandable, yeah, simply does Fido really need to be fed boiled craven, hand-cut into 1-inch pieces, and for you to brand whale noises to get him to slumber?
You may demand a motorcar to option up and drop off animals if you are pet sitting in your own home.
If you use a website to detect pet sitting jobs near you, expect them to take a fee for ad.

Practise you need a licence to exist a pet sitter?

Vizsla with owner and asleep

Bonnie the vizsla's favourite things are sleep, nutrient and selfies

Technically, yous don't necessarily need a licence to be a pet sitter. But, if you lot're going to exist caring for other people's pets in your own dwelling house, you volition need an creature boarding establishment licence.

While the rules on this licence vary from council to council, you'll almost always demand one if you're keeping animals in your habitation overnight, and sometimes for daytime care, too.

The cost of an brute boarding establishment licence likewise varies depending on the council, usually costing anywhere between £l – £400. While that may seem expensive, being caught without a licence can outcome in a fine of an unlimited amount or imprisonment for up to vi months.

In brusk, information technology's definitely worth getting an creature boarding establishment licence, or at least checking if you need one. You can find more than information about this licence hither or at the website of your local council.

You may also demand a basic DBS bank check – particularly if yous will be staying in some other person'south house. You can apply for a DBS cheque here.

Other than that, in that location are no official qualifications needed to be a pet sitter in the UK – and so, in theory, anyone tin do it. That said, there'south no harm in having some relevant experience or qualifications to aid set up yourself apart from the crowd.

While we're non expecting you all to exist vet students (although if you lot are, that'll stand you in good stead), make sure your pet sitting profile mentions the experience that yous do accept. So if you've had pets from a young historic period, learned to ride horses or regularly walk the neighbour'south dog, mention it – information technology all shows that y'all're good with animals.

Exercise you need insurance to be a pet sitter?

Cat walking along fence

Oh, tin can't you walk on fences, too?

While you don't necessarily demand to have insurance to be a pet sitter, a lot of owners volition capeesh it if you do.

Aside from showing potential customers that you're a conscientious and responsible pet sitter, it will also protect you if anything goes incorrect.

Depending on the parcel y'all go for, you could be covered for a range of things. This includes if the animal falls ill or passes away in your care, if the animal damages a third party or their holding, and even if you lot lose the keys to the possessor'due south business firm (if yous're given them in the offset place).

Packages tin start from around £v a calendar month, and given how much you can earn from pet sitting (and the potential cost to you if something bad happens), we'd definitely recommend taking out some cover.

How much practice pet sitters make?

Havanese dog at the computer

You lot're doing amazing, sweetie

If you're wondering how much demand at that place is for pet sitting where you live, accept a wait at what other people are charging. Hither are some benchmark figures of how much you can earn as a pet sitter:

Blazon of work	Typical pay
Pet sitting while the owner is away or at piece of work	£10 per hour
Canis familiaris walking	£10 per walk (with extra charges for more one dog)
Canis familiaris sitting at your firm for a few hours	From £15
Pet sitting overnight at the owner's firm	From £25

Remember that these are just ballpark figures, and depending on where you lot live and what the pets are, you could get more than or less than this.

If yous go the extra mile while pet sitting, you can potentially charge more and even get yourself some regular business.

Y'all could as well offering to water the garden or pick upward their postal service, and you should always make a 18-carat endeavour to help animals experience at ease effectually you. This could hateful giving them treats, or sending the owner regular texts or pictures to let them know their pets are okay.

Observe out how one savvy saver turned pet sitting into a travel hack, bagging 14 nights of gratis accommodation in Paris in exchange for looking later on a cat.

How to become a pet sitter

dog at graduation with owner

Dusty was VERY dapper at Lauren'southward graduation

To find paid pet sitting jobs, start off past asking family and friends if they know anyone who needs your services. Alternatively, y'all could postal service on local Facebook pages or Gumtree. Or, if you're feeling super old school, you could even put upwards some posters or flyers in the local area.

If you lot're after something a trivial more structured, there are a few pet sitting websites that will introduce you to owners. What's more, if you work through these companies, in that location'southward a proficient chance you lot'll be covered past their insurance (always bank check the specifics though, just in example).

All-time pet sitting job websites

Hither are the best pet sitting websites:

Care.com

Unlike nigh other pet sitting websites, Intendance.com caters for pretty much any type of beast.

Of course, every bit cats and dogs are the well-nigh popular pets, they'll too exist the bailiwick of a adept proportion of the listed jobs. But don't worry if y'all're after some diverseness, every bit all animals are welcome here!

You won't be charged to use the booking services on the site, but yous'll likely need to pay for a background check. There's besides the option to upgrade to a Premium business relationship to increase your visibility to pet owners.

Annals with Intendance.com »
Tailster

While the logo may suggest otherwise, the site focuses on more than than simply dogs – you tin can also discover cat sitters or someone to expect later on a smaller pet. Dogs are, however, in the spotlight on Tailster – namely, the walking and boarding of them.

Access to the platform is costless, and yous'll get to keep 80% of your earnings, with Tailster taking the remaining 20% as a service fee.

Register with Tailster »
Cat in a Apartment

Wondering how to become a cat sitter? Cat in a Flat is the site for you. It's solely for cat sitting, and you lot tin can offer to cat sit for a few hours or overnight.

You (and the cat) will be fully insured by the website, and you'll be expected to send the owner a motion picture of their kitty every twenty-four hours.

Again, information technology's costless to join the site merely Cat in a Flat charge a xix% fee to encompass insurance and commission.

Register with Cat in a Flat »
Rover

Rover (previously DogBuddy) is specifically for domestic dog owners. It's the perfect place to get paid to canis familiaris sit.

As a dog sitter, you tin can offer dog walking, dwelling visits and doggy daycare.

Rover's fees are a bit lower than some of the other sites – they'll take a fifteen% cut when yous brand bookings (up to £49 per booking).

Register with Rover »
Pawshake

Don't want to commit to caring for only one type of animate being? On Pawshake, you can find yourself looking afterwards anything from dogs to birds!

Services you can offer include dog walking, doggy daycare and overnight stays.

Information technology's free to sign upward simply there'south a fee of 19%when yous make bookings through Pawshake.

Register with Pawshake »
Trusted Housesitters

If y'all're looking for pet watching jobs and you're not bothered about earning money but want to practise a bit of travelling, Trusted Housesitters matches upwardly global trekkers to homeowners all over the world who need a pet sitter in substitution for free accommodation.

Yous need to pay a fee of £99 a twelvemonth to advertise, only depending on where you're travelling to, you could be making that back in as little as one or 2 nights' worth of gratis accommodation.

Annals with TrustedHousesitters »