Dog walking as a business is very popular in many areas, especially in towns and cities where people can’t get home in the afternoons to let their dogs out. Dog walking appeals to many young people who may have some extra time on their hands and who are in good physical shape for walking dogs.

In most cases the people who need a dog walker work long hours and their dogs may be indoor dogs who can’t go outside on their own. The dogs may be stuck in the house with no one to check on them all day or, in some cases, the dog may be crated. (Some dogs may have to be crated if they chew and destroy things in the house when they are left alone, for instance.) A dog walker can be in great demand in these circumstances.

If you are interested in starting a dog walking business there is not a large initial outlay of funds. You will need to be sure that you are insured, especially for the loss of one of your client’s dogs or in case a dog that you are walking should bite someone. You can check with Pet Sitters Associates, LLC and Pet Sitters International regarding insurance. You do not have to be a member of Pet Sitters Associates, LLC to purchase insurance through them but you do have to be a member of PSI in order to purchase insurance.

You will also need some basic office supplies (even if you don’t have an office) such as an appointment book and perhaps business cards. You may also want to have some invoices or sales receipts for your clients.

You should probably write up a simple contract to use with your clients. The contract should explain what your services will be and how much and when your clients will pay you. You may be able to find similar contracts already on the Internet.

Before you begin accepting clients you should also check to see if your state requires you to get business license. You should also talk to an accountant to see how your business should be set up financially. Finally, you will need to call your state’s Department of Revenue to find out if you will need to tax your services. If you do, then you will need to pass these taxes on to your clients and report the taxes to the state each quarter.

If you plan to have other people working for you then you will need to be bonded. This will protect you in case someone working for you should take something from a client’s home.

You can determine your rates by finding out what your competition is charging. In the beginning you will probably want to charge a little less in order to try to encourage customers to give you a try. Dog walking is usually charged according to time increments. You may also offer a monthly discount for people who sign up for an entire month from you in advance.

You may want to consider doing some advertising. This will help increase your business. At the very least you should put up your business card in vet offices, groomer salons, pet supply stores and other places where dog owners tend to visit. You should also consider writing up a press release about your new business and sending it to the local newspapers. Finally, it’s a good idea to create a nice web site about your business, especially if you can create one that looks good.

Adding dog training to your dog walking business can be very profitable, in fact dog training will probably be more profitable than dog walking. If you have any questions feel free to contact me or visit www.K9-University.com.

Until next time……

I get several calls daily from people who want to get in to the dog training business.

Can you blame them? It’s a GREAT way to make a living. I also get calls from dog trainers who want to add to their existing streams of income by adding another training area like drug dogs or arson dogs.

At K9-University we offer a FREE monthly webinar titled “So You Think You Want To Be A Dog Trainer” where we discuss the dog training business and the different areas of training that you can do to make a living.

Feel free to join us at the next webinar. Take a look here and signup today because space is limited.

Until next time…….

Are you currently in the dog business?  It doesn’t matter if you train, walk, board or dog sit; if you have a website or a blog you need good meaningful content.

DogPLR.com does just that. It’s NOT a membership site but it does offer great articles when you need them. These are articles that you can use as your own. You can actually claim that you wrote them, because you have “Private Label Rights”. Use these articles on your site and watch the search engines start indexing your site more often.

You can also give them as a bonus to your clients or put several together and create a doggie ebook that you can give away or sell. Take a look today.

Let me know what you think……….

You asked for it and we heard you.  Many of my readers and students have been asking for a coaching program to help them start their business or to help them make their existing business even better and more successful.

We heard you and we created www.DogBusinessSuccess.com to help you reach your goals quicker.  We would love to hear from you so please give us a call or send us an email and let us know how we can help you.  Feel free to call 7 days a week from 8 AM - 9PM Central Time.

As a professional dog trainer I believe the single biggest reason people give up training their dog is because dog training isn’t fun for them. But it can be fun! You can make training the dog fun for both your client and their dog. If training is fun then they will stick with it and the dog will enjoy learning. That’s what it’s really all about. Your client and their dog will be having a good time together.

So, how can you make training fun?

Keep in mind that dogs learn everything from their trainer. That means that he picks up on the owners attitude about training. If the owner thinks it’s boring then he will, too. If the dog owner approaches training with a positive attitude and is cheerful about it, then your dog will be a lot happier about his lessons.

There’s an old saying that what you’re feeling goes right down the lead to your dog and that’s completely true. Your dog can pick up on everything you’re thinking and feeling. Dogs are extremely perceptive. So, if you want your dog to have fun with dog training, the change in attitude has to begin with you!

Keep training fun…………….

]]> http://dogbusinessblogger.com/make-dog-training-fun.html/feed http://dogbusinessblogger.com/dog-trainer-coach-keeps-getting-better.html http://dogbusinessblogger.com/dog-trainer-coach-keeps-getting-better.html#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 18:59:10 +0000 Wayne Booth http://dogbusinessblogger.com/?p=341 Dog Trainer Coach has re-launched with a GREAT new feature.

I have something really special I want to tell you about today. In an effort to keep making Dog Trainer Coach better we are going to start a “LIVE” Question and Answer coaching session on the 2nd Tuesday of each month for Dog Trainer Coach members. Here is the best part………..this added new feature is FREE!

The coaching session will be done via the internet. You can log in on your computer and either listen in via a telephone or via your computer speakers. The session will be driven by questions pertaining to the Dog Trainer Coach program.

If you would like to attend simply go to www.DogTrainerCoach.com and signup before the first session on the 9th of June.

Like any other important skill, becoming a professional dog trainer can’t be learned overnight. It takes time and a great deal of hands-on experience with dogs and their owners. But there are some things you can do to get started on the path of becoming a professional dog trainer.

Experts recommend the following:

1. There are many dog training schools these days. Some are good and some aren’t. Be sure to check out any school that you are thinking of attending. Do you have access to the instructor? Check out our programs at www.K9-University.com/programs .

2. Attend seminars, workshops and conferences on dog training and behavior. These programs are usually relatively inexpensive and they allow the participants to get first-hand information from recognized experts in the field. Many dog training seminars are now offered online so you don’t have to travel.

3. You should also read books on the subject of dog training and dog development. Read as much as possible but don’t believe everything you read. Remember that every author has his own viewpoint. When you read about one training technique you should also read other authors who practice different techniques. Being well-read in dog matters, in general, it will help you as an all-around dog person. And, you should read more than just dog training material. Familiarize yourself with dog books on breeds, nutrition, canine sports — every aspect of dogs. You are considering making dogs your life’s work. Become an expert on them.

4. Watch videos of other trainers to observe their approaches to training. Again, you don’t have to agree with everything you see, but you should be aware of what’s going on in the dog world.

5. Consider volunteering at local animal shelters. This is a good way to practice some of your training skills and the shelter will be very appreciative. Dogs which have received some basic training in manners are more likely to be adopted and stay in their new homes.

It can take years of hard work and hard study to become a dog trainer. Enrolling in a good dog trainer programs can get you started without re-inventing the wheel. We never stop learning about dogs. Everyone has to start at the beginning and learn the basics.

You can learn to be a professional dog trainer by studying under trainers in courses, seminars and workshops as described here. Study dog training and dogs by reading everything you can find. Take a good course. If you follow these guidelines and continue to practice your skills, you will make it as a professional dog trainer.

Dog trainers may love to argue about who is right and which training method is best but good trainers approach each dog as an individual. They try approaches and see what works with a particular dog. One dog may respond best to food motivation. Another may like it best when there is lots of play or baby talk. Another dog may need someone who is very firm with him.

Dogs were originally bred for different purposes. That means that they are still hardwired today to react in different ways when they are presented with the same situation. A Border Collie and a Pug will probably have different reactions when you first begin training them. A Border Collie comes from a background of herding and quick responses. A Pug has always been a small companion dog whose job was to comfort and amuse an owner. These two dogs will probably require different training. It would be foolish for a trainer to lock into one kind of training and try to apply it to every dog. Consider that there are over 400 breeds of dogs in the world, not to mention the countless mixes, and you can see that trainers have to be flexible.

Some dogs have very “soft” temperaments while others seem to be completely oblivious to corrections. A good trainer will try to figure out what makes a dog “tick” so they can make a connection with the dog. Finding a way to motivate the dog and helping the dog enjoy training is important. That’s one of the things that makes training each dog a very individual experience.

Experienced trainers may have worked with many different kinds of dogs and with different individuals. They will be able to choose different techniques from different dog training theories to apply them to particular situations. They may use positive reinforcement, some ideas from dog whispering, and some basic common sense to train a dog. With another dog they may find that the dog responds best to clicker training, for example. There are many options available to trainers. The best trainers know their options and choose the best ones for each dog.

A good trainer will probably avoid spending much time arguing about methods. There isn’t much point in arguing. It’s better to spend time working with dogs and finding out what works. There is no one right way to train a dog. There are only ways that work and bring good results — or not. Every dog is different. The goal is always to train the dog. If the method you’re using isn’t working you should explore other methods to find what does work. Keep working until you find the style of training that’s right for you and the dog you’re training.

What do you think about the subject? Please give us your opinion in the comments section below.

Until next time…….

DrugDogCoach.com will launch on Thursday April 30th. Please visit www.drugdogcoach.com for more info.

Traditionally, group classes have been the way to go for most trainers. They allow you to give one lesson to many people at one time. All of your clients are paying you for your training expertise at once. You are getting the maximum return for your work. If you are using a facility — perhaps renting a space — you can reduce the number of nights you have to rent it. If you are giving group lessons on the weekend you can give them all on one day. Your expenditures are kept to a minimum with group lessons. From a business standpoint group lessons offer many advantages.

With group lessons you can also offer as many or as few classes as practical for the number of students. It’s up to you to determine the best working number of dogs and owners in a class. However, it’s usually possible to fit in one or two more students and their dogs if necessary, so you have a great deal of flexibility. You can also set up classes to appeal to special groups, such as puppy kindergarten classes, classes for older owners, classes for new dog owners, and so on. There are good reasons why group lessons have always been popular with both trainers and owners.

Yet there are some good reasons to consider giving private lessons, too. For one thing you can give these lessons during weekdays on a day and time that is convenient for you and the owner. You will usually go to their home so you would not need to use your own facility. Private lessons can be a way to supplement your dog training income at very little expense to yourself.

Additionally, many owners are willing to pay more for private lessons. They may have dogs with a problem that can’t be addressed in a group lesson — some issue that isn’t resolved with simple obedience lessons yet which is well within your scope as a dog trainer. It could be housebreaking problems that wouldn’t be an issue in a group obedience class. It could be a problem that is only triggered in the home environment, such as excessive barking in the backyard.

Some owners are simply more comfortable receiving one-on-one instruction and they are willing to pay extra for your time and attention. They can be inhibited in a group session and will be able to focus on learning and training their dogs much better with private instruction.

Likewise, some dogs may learn better in a private training session since there are fewer distractions offered than there are in a group lesson. It may be easier for a dog to focus on learning without being surrounded by several other dogs and people in an unfamiliar setting.

While group classes offer the trainer the advantage of having many clients in one place at one time, private lessons can be very lucrative for dog trainers since you’re offering a more specialized service tailored to an owner’s needs. Specialized services can almost always command higher rates. Your time and effort spent working with one dog and one owner in a private lesson can be a great supplement to your income as a dog trainer.