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Career Advice on How to Become A Dog Walker The dog walker is often looked down upon. This is due to the fact that they spend their days cleaning up dog excrement. However, there is big, big money in dog walking… if you are ten years old. The truth of the matter is that dog walking empires and moguls are far and few between. A few companies do appear to have lined up enough customers that they are making a decent buck. They are the exception and not the rule. Most dog walkers are independent business people with little more than a plastic bag, a scooper, a very dirty hand, and a dream. |
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Career Facts:
Here are some facts for your career planning purposes. If you are one of those people that like the idea of cleaning up dog excrement, then you may have found your calling. This is a career that is built around one defining concept: dogs go to the bathroom. You pick it up and pretend to dispose of it in a civilized fashion. Enticing, isn’t it? Yes, as a dog walker this could be your life for the next thirty or forty years.
Dog walkers also have to be highly wary of the notorious “big dogs.” Obviously, spending your day walking some miniature poodles will be a far different experience than walking a group of pit bulls around. Unfortunately, you will probably be paid the same amount of money whether the dog is small or large.
Career Opportunities and Job Outlook-Unknown:
How many dog walkers are there in the United States? What will your job search look like? If one counts the unpaid dog walkers, the numbers are in the millions. However, those people who walk dogs for a living comprise a much smaller number.
What about career opportunities? If you are working for a company walking dogs and you love it, then there is always the opportunity of going into business for yourself.
A Day in The Life:
It should come as little surprise that the dog walker’s day looks fairly similar day after day. Step one: get the dog. Step two: find a place where the dog is willing to “leave a present.” Step three: pick up the dog’s excrement. Step four: place said excrement in a bag. Step five: dispose of the excrement properly or leave it for someone you don’t like. Step six: wash your hands.
Average Salary:
Those running their own dog walking business can expect to make a couple of dollars per dog or a few dollars per hour. Is this the American Dream? Hardly.
Job Skills and Duties:
Job skills and duties content here
Career Training and Qualifications:
A working knowledge of dogs and an affinity for dogs is a must for a dog walker. If you have been around animals in some professional capacity, be it as a dog groomer or a veterinary technician, that is a definite plus.
