The 15 Best Resources from PetSitterCourse.com
By: Kyle Haubrich
Dog walker and online course creator
PetSitterCourse.com is best known for their pet sitter and dog walker certification course and the team training page you can use to train your entire team for one low price. However, they also offer tons of other resources and many free guides to help pet sitters and dog walkers start or grow their business.
You will be happy to find many of the guides PetSitterCourse.com offers are free, but you will be amazed by their affordable prices for the certification course and other paid resources.
The hardest part about getting started with PetSitterCourse.com is sorting through all of the resources that are available. So, this article features 15 of the best resources from PetSitterCourse.com and a short description of how each can be helpful to you as you grow your business.
1. Certification for Professional Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters
The PetSitterCourse.com certification covers the real world knowledge pet sitters need to know to keep their clients happy and the pets in their care safe.
The information provided in the certification is more than a collection of industry standards. The team that created PetSitterCourse.com are real pet sitters who are taking care of pets every day and they worked together over four years to create a training program that any professional pet sitter, anywhere in the world can use to prevent problems before they come up.
The certification course is the perfect tool to get anyone up to speed with how to do the actual job of pet sitting and dog walking. The best part is that it covers everything a new sitter needs to know in just under six hours.
The course has seven main sections:
- Fundamental pet sitter knowledge
- How to conduct successful and efficient meet & greets
- How to make sure you administer medication correctly – every time
- How to complete pet sitting visits
- Dog walking safety
- All you need to know about keys
- Equipment 101
To get certified, students need to complete each of the 49 video, audio, and text lessons then pass four quizzes with a score of 80% or higher. Certified pet sitters can use the PetSitterCourse.com logos on their website and marketing materials and they are featured in a directory of certified sitters.
If you would like to become a certified pet sitter, check out the PetSitterCourse.com certification course today:
2. Team Training
One of the most helpful resources from PetSitterCourse.com is the team training certification. With a yearly subscription, you get a custom team training page you can use to train your entire team for one low price.
As a team leader you can invite your staff members via email to take the course. You can also view their progress through the course and see their quiz scores.
The team training course is the perfect way to set expectations across all of your staff members and it makes it easy to grow your team. See pricing for the team training course here:
3. How to Start a Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Business
If you are looking for a clear and concise guide to starting your pet sitting business, look no further. This free 12 step start up guide will help you start the career of your dreams. Follow a proven path towards picking a business name, developing your service agreement, choosing the right business entity, and more.
If you are in the planning stages of your business, check out this article today:
4. How to Become a Professional Pet Sitter and Dog Walker
There are many ways to become a professional pet sitter and dog walker. There are also many different types of pet sitters and dog walkers. Some start their business as a side hustle. Others grow their business into a pet care agency with a team of sitters who care for hundreds of pets in their community.
Every sitter has their own goals and needs. So, this article details the common paths most people take to becoming a dog walker. There is a good chance one of the options covered in this article will be the right fit for you:
5. Free Ebook
The free-ebook from PetSitterCourse.com is a must read for anyone who wants to become a professional pet sitter or dog walker. There are many policies and details behind the services pet sitters and dog walkers offer. However, all too often the reasons behind these policies go unspoken.
This free ebook takes a deep dive into the policies, procedures, and details around the pet sitting industry itself. Such as how to match your services to the population of your area, tips for starting your own company, and an introduction to the pet sitting agency business model.
Every professional pet sitter should know the topics covered in this book. Get this free ebook here:
6. The Best Marketing Tips for Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters
Any pet sitter that is looking to get more clients will benefit from reading this article which covers easy and practical steps you can follow to:
- Create a referral program
- Network with local veterinarians and pet stores
- Generate word of mouth marketing
- Benefit from easy marketing wins
This article also includes a number of easy changes you can make to your website that will bring in a steady stream of new clients. There are even several advanced marketing tips here, such as an introduction to storybranding, how to use in-market google ads, and tips for getting 5-star reviews.
Read this free article today:
7. A Hot Weather Policy That Works
Every pet sitter and dog walker should have a proven hot weather policy in place. Good pet sitters know a long walk on a hot day can wear out a dog very quickly. If a dog walker pushes a dog too far on too hot of a day, it can even cause serious health issues.
This article is an excerpt from the PetSitterCourse.com certification. It not only covers when it’s too hot for certain dogs, it also covers how to adapt your visits to inclimate weather, and communicate this policy to your clients.
Check out this free training video here:
8. How Much to Pay Pet Sitting Staff
When a pet sitter wants to expand their business and not get burnout in the process, they often decide to hire a team to help with visits. One of the first questions that comes up is how much to pay staff. This article takes a deep dive into this topic and even includes a free spreadsheet you can use to calculate each portion of a sitter’s pay.
This free article also covers some of the finer points, such as how many hours a pet sitter can expect each week and how to break down pay for mileage, drive time, and time at the visits.
If you are thinking about hiring staff, this is an article you don’t want to miss. Read it here:
9. Free Demo
If you are not sure if the PetSitterCourse.com certification is right for you, check out the free demo before you buy the course. You can see the high quality videos PetSitterCourse.com has to offer and see if their teaching style works for you.
Try the certification course free demo risk free today:
10. Coaching
Nobody should have to build a company on their own. Entrepreneurship (and pet sitting in general) can be a lonely job. Not many people understand the struggles and hardships that come with professional pet sitting and dog walking. While it is one of the best jobs in the world, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
A pet sitting coach can help you get through some of the tough times you might encounter when starting and growing your business and they will steer you toward success.
Kyle Haubrich, the author of PetSitterCourse.com offers individual coaching to professional pet sitters and dog walkers and can cover any of the following topics during a coaching session:
- Hiring strategy
- Business growth
- Client onboarding and sales
- SEO and marketing
- Pricing
- Operations and management
- Accounting and bookkeeping
It’s always a good idea to get industry specific coaching. It’s an even better idea to get advice from more than one coach because each will offer their own unique perspective that you can mold into your successful business. That’s why PetSitterCourse.com offers a list of industry coaches on their resources page.
It’s easy to schedule a coaching appointment with Kyle Haubrich. All you need to do is follow this link:
11. Tips For Scheduling Pet Sitters
When you onboard staff, you should not expect your sitters to work seven days per week at all hours during the day and night. You will reduce turnover and burnout if you split up the work into two shifts.
This free article from PetSitterCourse.com details an example AM shift and PM shift that gives each team member (including the owner) two days off every week. This schedule is a key part of building a team and a sustainable pet sitting and dog walking business that will last for the long term.
Read this article now to see how it works:
12. How to Set Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Timeblocks
Many new pet sitters get stuck in the trap of offering visits and dog walks at specific times rather than during specified timeblocks. While it’s OK to try to shoot for a specific time when a client requests it, it’s not always possible to hit a specific time for every visit. Trying to hit specific times also can make for an awkward schedule with lots of gaps or wait-time between visits.
That’s why most pet sitting and dog walking businesses offer timeblocks rather than trying to hit specific times. This article has example timeslots that are a good starting point for pet sitting visits, dog walks, and cat sitting visits.
13. A Complete List of Resources for Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
The PetSitterCourse.com resource page is a complete list of the best resources every pet sitter and dog walker should check out. There are a ton of companies that exist solely to assist pet sitters and dog walkers in being successful. So, PetSitterCourse.com put all of those resources in one place.
Check out this page to find:
- Options for Insurance and Bonding
- The best company for background checks
- Credit card processors
- Virtual assistants
- The best pet sitting associations
- Scheduling software for pet sitters
- HR and payroll software options
- A list of pet sitting business coaches
- And much more
See the complete list of resources here:
14. How Much to Charge for Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Service
Each pet sitting and dog walking business will need to sort out how much they can charge for their services based on their unique area and market. There is not a single price that will work for everyone. However, there are general guidelines and best practices each company can follow to optimize their pricing.
This article will show you how to research the prices in your area and covers a number of best practices and examples for how to set your pricing policies.
Getting your prices set correctly is one of the most important things you can do to ensure the success of your business and most pet sitting and dog walking companies don’t charge enough.
Read this free article now if you have been thinking about changing your prices:
15. Example Questions for Online Home and Pet Profiles
Modern pet sitting companies use pet sitting software such as Time to Pet or Precise Pet Care. These softwares streamline every aspect of your business, but it’s still up to each business owner to set up the software in a way that works for them. Part of that process is sorting out what to ask in the client’s online home and pet profiles.
This article gives examples of what questions to ask so you have all the information you need, right from the beginning.
Check out this article today:
