Online Certification
for Professional
Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
CPS-DW Certification
• Become a certified professional pet sitter
• Start and grow your business
• Self-paced online certification
• Resources for hiring and training your team

Certified Pet Expert
Three Simple Steps To Get Certified
Enroll In
The Course
Enroll for instant access to proven pet care training that teaches everything a professional dog walker or pet sitter needs to know to offer safe, reliable pet care.
Finish Lessons & Quizzes
Easy-to-follow video lessons designed to help you (or your staff members) learn and retain the most critical information.
Enjoy a Career You Love
The best clients expect their sitter to be trained. Grow your company by becoming certified and enjoy a career you love!

Watch The Video
Getting training and certification is the best step you can take in becoming a professional. Gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence your clients expect.
Start and Grow your Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Business
Enroll in the CPS-DW course for pet sitters to learn the real-world details of how to offer safe, reliable pet care in the client’s home.
This course will teach you the hundreds of policies and procedures every professional pet sitter and dog walker needs to know to keep themselves and the pets in their care safe. The resources and training offered here were developed to work within every pet sitting and dog walking company to help you grow the company you have always dreamed of.
Made For Pros
For professional pet sitters and dog walkers
For in-the-client's home style pet care
Perfect for Training Staff
Train your entire team with a single subscription
Set standards and expectations across all staff
Be a Certified Professional
Pass quizzes to earn your Pet Sitting Certificate
Get better clients by continuing your education
Made For Pros
For professional pet sitters and dog walkers
For in-the-client's home style pet care
Perfect for Training Staff
Train your entire team with a single subscription
Set standards and expectations across all staff
Be a Certified Professional
Pass quizzes to earn your Pet Sitting Certificate
Get better clients by continuing your education
Don't just wing it. Start off on the right paw
Experienced sitters know anything can happen at a visit. Be prepared by getting training.
Avoid common problems and insurance claims
Developed by real pet sitters and dog walkers
Stop developing processes by trial and error
Keep yourself and the pets in your care safe
Covers every detail of how to do the actual job
Based on real world experience
Easily set expectations across your entire team
Comprehensive training that goes beyond the basics
Avoid common problems and insurance claims
Developed by real pet sitters and dog walkers
Stop developing processes by trial and error
Keep yourself and the pets in your care safe
Covers every detail of how to do the actual job
Based on real world experience
Easily set expectations across your entire team
Comprehensive training that goes beyond the basics
The CPS-DW is becoming the most recognized and trusted certification course for pet sitters and dog walkers. This course shares the real-world details such as emergency protocols and client communication strategies, along with the policies and procedures pet care professionals use to offer safe, reliable and trusted care for pets in the client’s home.
The content in this course was developed by a team of pet sitters with decades of experience and the animal behavior lessons were peer reviewed by a Karon Pryor Academy – Certified Training Partner.
Enroll in this certification course to get started as a professional dog walker or pet sitter — or to train your team.
Building a trustworthy team is often the biggest challenge in scaling a pet care business. Our hiring course teaches a proven process that will save you years of trial and error.
This course includes a complete A – Z process you can implement to start making great hires right away.
Try before you buy. Watch 4 free lessons to see if our training style works for you.
CPS-DW Course for Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters
The CPS-DW is becoming the most recognized and trusted certification course for pet sitters and dog walkers. This course shares the real-world details such as emergency protocols and client communication strategies, along with the policies and procedures pet care professionals use to offer safe, reliable and trusted care for pets in the client’s home.
The content in this course was developed by a team of pet sitters with decades of experience and the animal behavior lessons were peer reviewed by a Karon Pryor Academy – Certified Training Partner.
Enroll in this certification course to get started as a professional dog walker or pet sitter — or to train your team.
Building a trustworthy team is often the biggest challenge in scaling a pet care business. Our hiring course teaches a proven process that will save you years of trial and error.
This course includes a complete A – Z process you can implement to start making great hires right away.
Free Demo
Try before you buy. Get 4 free video lessons to see if our training style works for you.
FAQ

What is the CPS-DW certification?
CPS-DW stands for Certified Pet Sitter and Dog Walker. Achieving this certification means you completed the entire body of knowledge and passed each quiz with a score of 80% or higher.
You must also agree to uphold our Code of Ethics for pet sitters and dog walkers.
What will I learn from the Certification Course?
You will learn every detail of how to do the actual job of professional pet sitting and dog walking.
In this course you will learn:
- How to screen for aggression issues at the Meet & Greet
- How the animal mind works and how animals learn
- How to work with and calm reactive dogs
- How to stop a dog fight
- How to make sure medication is administered correctly – every time
- 8 steps to completing a pet sitting visit like a pro
- 8 critical principles of professional dog walking safety
- How to negotiate and work with pet owners
- A proven method for conducting successful and efficient Meet & Greets
- Everything a pet sitter needs to know about keys and lockboxes
- A full list of recommended equipment for pet sitting and dog walking
- What should be in your first aid kit
- And much more
- View the complete Body of Knowledge
You will also receive:
- A proven set of emergency policies & procedures
- An Editable Document Pack with 16 well designed, easily editable forms and visit leave behinds
- A complete workflow for onboarding new clients.
- Two example Meet & Greet checklists
- An editable forty point visit checklist
- An example medication chart
What will I learn from the Hiring Course?
The Hiring Course teaches a complete A-Z hiring process specifically tailored for pet sitting and dog walking businesses. The course includes everything you need to start hiring, including:
- An initial job description and job ad example
- A hiring scorecard
- Recorded phone interviews (with both good and bad candidates)
- Example interview questions
- Onboarding information
- Editable employee policy sheets
- Example emails for communicating with potential candidates
- HR information
- Employee handbook examples
- And much more!
Does this course include information about how to start my business?
Yes it does. We also have many free business articles in our blog.
For those who want to start their own business:
How can I enroll my team members?
When you enroll in the Team Training Plan, you will receive an email that invites you to fill out a form with the information we need to set up your Team Training Page.
Please allow us 48 hours to create your Team Training Page.
Once your Team Training Page is active, you can invite your team members to the training by email or by sending them an invite link.
Does Team Training provide reporting for student progress?
Detailed reporting is available as part of your Team Training Page.
Team leaders can view each team member’s progress through the course and see staff quiz scores in real time.
What style of dog training do you recommend?
We recommend using positive reinforcement style training. Our style of pet training is similar to what you will find in Fear Free style courses.
Our animal behavior and dog training content was reviewed and approved by a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Professional.
How long will I have to complete the course?
For the CPS-DW course, you will have one year from the time you purchase to complete all the lessons and quizzes.
For the Hiring Course, you have access to the content for one year. Although the you will be able to keep the downloadable content forever.
When will I earn my certificate?
You will earn your CPS-DW certificate when you complete all of the lessons and pass all of the quizzes, in the certification course, with a score of 80% or higher.
Your certificate will be available in the “Member’s Area” under “My Certificates”. Click the date you earned your certificate and it will open.
Is there a money back guarantee?
Yes, all of our courses come with a 30-day money back guarantee. So you can try any course risk free.
Testimonials
Derrick G.
Premier Pet Service
I've been working with pets for over 40 years. I thought I knew most everything, but I was mistaken. This course is amazing.
Violet B.
Bare Paws
If a new hire doesn’t complete training, I can infer that they probably won’t care too much about carefully reading a client’s details, and we really need people who are on top of it. This course helps us weed out bad hires.
Monica S.
Comfy Cabin services
This course helped me know how to set boundaries with clients when I didn’t feel safe walking their dogs.
A Masterclass in Professional Pet Sitting
For years I struggled to hire and train the staff within my pet sitting and dog walking company. It seemed almost every day something new would come up that needed to be added to our hiring and training program.
So, over the course of five and a half years, I continued to add each new item to a notepad. Those notes have evolved to become a complete training and certification course for dog walkers and pet sitters that anyone can use to build the foundation of their business.
I’m excited to share everything I’ve learned with you. I wish I had this course when I started because it covers the details you won’t find anywhere else. Now, instead of piecing together all of the information you need and developing your policies by trial and error, you can get everything you need from one place and everything works together as a system, right from the start.
I initially wanted to franchise our pet sitting agency and built policies and procedures that would work in any pet sitting and dog walking business. However, later I decided we could have more impact and help more pets get the best possible care by teaching everyone in the industry how to start and grow their own company. So we made this information available for anyone who wants to learn it.
When you enroll, you get instant access to a complete foundation of knowledge you need to know to become a dog walker or pet sitter, grow your business, hire and train your team, and enjoy a career you love.

Kyle Haubrich
– Course author & Narrator
– Pet sitting business owner
– Dog walker & Pet Sitter
Developed over
Created while completing over
Becoming the industry standard
Developed by a Team of Pet Care Professionals

Certification Course Author and Narration


Editor and Content Development

Video Creator and Content Development





Have Questions About the Course?
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