You don't need any money to start a dog walking business. This book tells you how for $5.99. The start up costs are literally zero. It would be helpful if you had a car and some sneakers, but neither are necessary.
A dog walking business is fun and athletic. A better cure for depression cannot be found anywhere. The sun and the exercise, not to mention the interaction with the dogs and cats, will pull you out of your funk in no time. It even helps with PTSD - trust me on that one.
The $5 book The Dog Walker's Handbook describes everything you need to know to run a profitable and fun dog walking business. It's perfect if you are totally broke, as I was when I started, since you don't need any money to start earning money right now.
Showing posts with label dog walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dog walk. Show all posts
2.19.2009
9.28.2008
Now That We're a Socialist Country ...
Hooray! We're Socialists now! All this "free market" pretense can be dropped forever. Never will I have to listen to drivel about how the marketplace rules. Never will the argument be made about survival of the fittest, sink or swim.
At least for the next week or two.
So, as Socialists, we should expect certain things:
Free basic health care
Very cheap college
Rich get taxed a lot more than the poor.
At least for the next week or two.
So, as Socialists, we should expect certain things:
Free basic health care
Very cheap college
Rich get taxed a lot more than the poor.
11.27.2007
Dog Walker Hell Week - Dog Walking Company - The Dog Walker's Handbook
YOU DON'T NEED MONEY TO START A DOG WALKING BUSINESS !!! See How Here for $5.
It's over. I had ten extra walks per day for the last week and a half. It has been a few decades since I have been bone-tired in a literal sense. Dog walking is manual labor. It may seem like unfettered fun to you cubicle-ites, but there's a lot to worry about.
BUY The Dog Walker's Handbook for $5 by clicking on the title to the book.
First, every single dog owner has a specific set of instructions that applies to their dog alone. You need to remember all of it. Then, the dog doesn't always WANT to go outside if it's raining or snowing. My dog Amber is like that. She just looks at me like I'm insane and pulls a sit-down strike.
Of course there's the fat, old, lazy dog that suddenly gets a burst of youth and makes a run for it. Always keep a firm grip on the leash.
Logistics is everything in dog walking. The clock rules your day. You need to be at certain places at certain times and have to map out your strategy for getting there.
( And yes, YouTube managed to freeze my face in a bizarre expression. But listen to it anyway. )
Of course as your business grows, you hire people. Then it really gets tough. Like the guy who sat in someone's house and ate a bucket of chicken and left some of the bones and biscuits lying around. The client was a vegetarian, by the way.
There was another guy who thought of himself as a kind of roaming Dick Cavett and would get to houses as the people were getting home from work - big no no - and then have in-depth conversations about country music or the economy. And I'll bet they were great conversations. But you need not to lose your focus: caring for the dog. No matter how much they smile and laugh, they will get angry and fire you if you fail to do this.
That brings up another issue. Your clients think of themselves as better than you. As a dog walker, you are in the servant class. No matter how jovial they are, or how they discuss books with you, they think of you as the maid. And neighbors delight in watching you and telling the client if you have done something like not pick up the poop.
The colder weather isn't so bad if you prepare by dressing appropriately. You warm up really quickly if you move.
You are always marketing as a dog walker. The barrier to entry in this business is virtually zero. So anyone could call themselves a dog walker and try to poach your customers. Advertising on Craigslist is great, as are line item mentions in the local paper. Put signs up in dog parks, or better yet, go to them in the mornings. That's a great place to get customers.
Remember, your clients are the humans, not the dogs. It's hard to remember this fact. You will often like the dog more than you like the owners.
But the upside is that you get into really good shape and the dogs are always so glad to see you. It really lifts the spirits. They are such sweet little beings and the weather in DC is very mild most of the time, making a nice walk with a dog such a pleasure. I would walk along Rock Creek and think of all the times when I was working inside how much I would love just a few minutes of walking around in that weather. And I did it every day. It was glorious.
It's over. I had ten extra walks per day for the last week and a half. It has been a few decades since I have been bone-tired in a literal sense. Dog walking is manual labor. It may seem like unfettered fun to you cubicle-ites, but there's a lot to worry about.
BUY The Dog Walker's Handbook for $5 by clicking on the title to the book.
First, every single dog owner has a specific set of instructions that applies to their dog alone. You need to remember all of it. Then, the dog doesn't always WANT to go outside if it's raining or snowing. My dog Amber is like that. She just looks at me like I'm insane and pulls a sit-down strike.
Of course there's the fat, old, lazy dog that suddenly gets a burst of youth and makes a run for it. Always keep a firm grip on the leash.
Logistics is everything in dog walking. The clock rules your day. You need to be at certain places at certain times and have to map out your strategy for getting there.
( And yes, YouTube managed to freeze my face in a bizarre expression. But listen to it anyway. )
Of course as your business grows, you hire people. Then it really gets tough. Like the guy who sat in someone's house and ate a bucket of chicken and left some of the bones and biscuits lying around. The client was a vegetarian, by the way.
There was another guy who thought of himself as a kind of roaming Dick Cavett and would get to houses as the people were getting home from work - big no no - and then have in-depth conversations about country music or the economy. And I'll bet they were great conversations. But you need not to lose your focus: caring for the dog. No matter how much they smile and laugh, they will get angry and fire you if you fail to do this.
That brings up another issue. Your clients think of themselves as better than you. As a dog walker, you are in the servant class. No matter how jovial they are, or how they discuss books with you, they think of you as the maid. And neighbors delight in watching you and telling the client if you have done something like not pick up the poop.
The colder weather isn't so bad if you prepare by dressing appropriately. You warm up really quickly if you move.
You are always marketing as a dog walker. The barrier to entry in this business is virtually zero. So anyone could call themselves a dog walker and try to poach your customers. Advertising on Craigslist is great, as are line item mentions in the local paper. Put signs up in dog parks, or better yet, go to them in the mornings. That's a great place to get customers.
Remember, your clients are the humans, not the dogs. It's hard to remember this fact. You will often like the dog more than you like the owners.
But the upside is that you get into really good shape and the dogs are always so glad to see you. It really lifts the spirits. They are such sweet little beings and the weather in DC is very mild most of the time, making a nice walk with a dog such a pleasure. I would walk along Rock Creek and think of all the times when I was working inside how much I would love just a few minutes of walking around in that weather. And I did it every day. It was glorious.
3.05.2007
Dog Walker, Hilary, Obama - The Dog Walker's Handbook
Econo-Girl has a dog walking business now and it is great. I'm outdoors all day long which I enjoy even in bad weather. It began in mid-January with one dog, and now there is 10. The dogs themselves are fun, too.
What this career shift has given me is NO DESIRE for following the Presidential race. The little tales of one-upmanship are too much for me to care about for the next two years.
Intellectually, I know that it is important who becomes President. But how can you get wrapped up in it this early in the game? Most of these guys are going to be gone in a year.
But really, when you snuggle those furry creatures every day, when you wipe their feet and feed them treats, it gives me a grounded and settled perspective on things.
Read about the dog walking business in The Dog Walker's Handbook.
What this career shift has given me is NO DESIRE for following the Presidential race. The little tales of one-upmanship are too much for me to care about for the next two years.
Intellectually, I know that it is important who becomes President. But how can you get wrapped up in it this early in the game? Most of these guys are going to be gone in a year.
But really, when you snuggle those furry creatures every day, when you wipe their feet and feed them treats, it gives me a grounded and settled perspective on things.
Read about the dog walking business in The Dog Walker's Handbook.
1.24.2006
Dog's Leg Is Broken - The Dog Walker's Handbook
Sorry for the short post before. Just got word that our puppy broke her leg. Had to take her to the Animal Hospital. I won't even tell you how much that is costing.
The vet says that you can tell if there's a fracture to a dog's leg if the dog is trying not to put weight on the leg. At least you should take the dog into the vet at that point. And if the dog is walking normally, there is no fracture. Just a handy rule of thumb.
Click on The Dog Walker's Handbook ($5) for more details.
Econo-Girl feels free to write this since our dogwalker never reads my blog.
He has lost that puppy for at least four times in the last two months. This is while walking it. So he takes the dogs to the same fenced area with the gap in the fence every day, and keeps going back even though the puppy, Molly, runs away about once a week lately.
So this time Molly runs into the street and gets hit by a car that naturally doesn't even bother to stop.
I ask you: what kind of dipshit takes a dog to the same place it always runs away from? Leisure Lad thinks that the guy is cheap and an old friend and means well. He says we should just insist that the puppy always be tethered, and since we never told DogWalker Dipshit to do that we don't have room to complain about him.
Fire his ass, I say. It just isn't acceptable to be that dumb. He is a smart guy, and a good poet. But damn it, I can't keep risking my dogs like this. Econo-Girl is upset.
It is 2 a.m. and there is paperwork to fill out for the job. Can you believe it? They hired me and I still have to fill out an application! Ah well. It's a job at least.
The vet says that you can tell if there's a fracture to a dog's leg if the dog is trying not to put weight on the leg. At least you should take the dog into the vet at that point. And if the dog is walking normally, there is no fracture. Just a handy rule of thumb.
Click on The Dog Walker's Handbook ($5) for more details.
Econo-Girl feels free to write this since our dogwalker never reads my blog.
He has lost that puppy for at least four times in the last two months. This is while walking it. So he takes the dogs to the same fenced area with the gap in the fence every day, and keeps going back even though the puppy, Molly, runs away about once a week lately.
So this time Molly runs into the street and gets hit by a car that naturally doesn't even bother to stop.
I ask you: what kind of dipshit takes a dog to the same place it always runs away from? Leisure Lad thinks that the guy is cheap and an old friend and means well. He says we should just insist that the puppy always be tethered, and since we never told DogWalker Dipshit to do that we don't have room to complain about him.
Fire his ass, I say. It just isn't acceptable to be that dumb. He is a smart guy, and a good poet. But damn it, I can't keep risking my dogs like this. Econo-Girl is upset.
It is 2 a.m. and there is paperwork to fill out for the job. Can you believe it? They hired me and I still have to fill out an application! Ah well. It's a job at least.
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