Free playbook · Dog Walking & Pet Sitting
The dog walking and pet sitting marketing playbook
How dog walking and pet sitting businesses build a client base they own instead of renting one from an app. The economics, the calendar, and step-by-step guides to local SEO, ads and a website that books meet-and-greets.
The guides
Three guides, one dog walking and pet sitting plan
Dog walking and pet sitting local SEO
Get into Google’s map results in the neighborhoods your walkers cover, with reviews on a Google profile you own.
Read the guide 02 Paid advertisingDog walking and pet sitting Google and Meta ads
Run Google and Meta ads around your walkers’ neighborhoods, push sitting ahead of holiday travel, and judge it all on recurring customers.
Read the guide 03 WebsitesDog walking and pet sitting website
Build a site that answers the three questions every owner has: who will be in my home, what does it cost, how do we meet.
Read the guideFree PDF
Get the full dog walking and pet sitting playbook as a PDF
All three guides, every checklist and the marketing calendar in one file you can print or hand to your office manager.
- Local SEO, ads and website, step by step
- Printable checklists
- A month-by-month marketing calendar
The economics
Dog walking makes its money on the weekday route
Dog walking runs on weekday walks for the same households, and pet sitting runs on travel. Nearly half of U.S. households own a dog (AVMA, 2026), so the neighborhoods you already walk usually hold more potential clients than you have.
Apps take a share of what clients pay: Rover takes a 20% service fee from each booking, and Wag takes a 40% cut (NerdWallet, 2026). Every client who books you directly keeps that share in your business, and their reviews stay on your own profile.
- 20%service fee Rover takes from each bookingNerdWallet, Rover vs. Wag (2026)
- 40%cut Wag takes from walkers’ and sitters’ servicesNerdWallet, Rover vs. Wag (2026)
- 43.7%of U.S. households own a dogAVMA, U.S. pet ownership statistics (2026)
The calendar
The dog walking and pet sitting marketing calendar
- Jan to Feb
Weekday routines reset
Owners settle back into work schedules after the holidays. Push midday walks, and offer weekday walks to your holiday sitting clients.
- Mar to May
Spring break bookings
Sitting calendars fill for spring break. Longer days bring new recurring customers and requests for puppy visits.
- Jun to Aug
Summer travel
Overnights and drop-ins peak with vacations. Review requests follow every stay, and walks shift earlier in the heat.
- Sep to Dec
Holiday rush
Thanksgiving and December book up early. Recurring customers get first pick of dates, and new sitting clients get offered walks for January.
Rather not do it yourself?
Every dog walking and pet sitting company we work with gets its own plan
This playbook covers what works for most companies in your trade. We start from your market, crews and numbers, then test and adjust month to month, reported in booked jobs and revenue.