How to Start a Dog Walking and Pet Sitting Side Hustle in Canada

After this guide you can decide if walking and sitting fit your neighbourhood, set a simple service with clear limits, and book a first week of trial walks without taking a dog you cannot safely handle.

Dog walking is one of the more pleasant side hustles until a leash wraps a lamp post, a client goes silent on keys, or January ice turns a 30-minute loop into a liability problem. The dogs are the easy part to romanticize. The work is reliability, animal behavior, and other people’s homes. If you would rather work outdoors on driveways than on paws, snow removal and lawn care are the seasonal cousins. If you want app-based tasks that are not pets, start with odd-job apps.

Who it fits

This can fit if you genuinely like dogs, you can walk in your local weather, you are home enough for midday walks or you can structure sittings around a job, and you are calm when an animal is scared or rude. It fits people who will write things down: medications, vet numbers, and which door sticks.

This is a poor fit if you are allergic, you travel unpredictably, you cannot commit to the same hour each day, or your housing bans animals you might need to bring home in an emergency. It is a poor fit if you want to group six unknown dogs on day one. It is a poor fit in a building where you cannot park or access the unit. And it is a poor fit if you are uncomfortable saying no to a dog that lunges, guards food, or has no vaccines on record.

Pet sitting overnight is a different product from a 30-minute walk. Do not advertise both until you have done the walk well. Overnight sitting means sleeping in a stranger’s home or hosting a pet in yours. Insurance, keys, and trust all get heavier.

How clients actually find you

Word of mouth in one neighbourhood beats a vague “I love dogs” post aimed at a whole metro. Start with people who already know you, then a tight local post, then an app if one operates near you. Rover is the app Canadians most often mean. Availability and fees vary by city, and the app’s insurance is not a substitute for reading the policy. Confirm the current coverage and exclusions in your account before you rely on it. Local Facebook groups, community boards, and vet clinic bulletin boards still work, especially in smaller cities where the apps are thin.

You are not a veterinarian, a trainer, or a boarding kennel. Say that early. Your offer is a walk, a drop-in, or a sitting, with the tasks you list and no others.

Costs in CAD

You can start with almost no gear if every client provides a leash and bags. Buy your own anyway. Client equipment breaks, and you will look unprepared on a sidewalk.

Item	Typical CAD range	Notes
Sturdy leash and backup slip lead	$20–$45	A frayed client leash is not your only option.
Waste bags and a dispenser	$10–$20	Buy the plain ones. Scented is optional. Running out is not.
Treat pouch	$12–$25	Only if the owner agrees on treats. Some dogs have allergies.
High-visibility layer or light	$15–$40	November afternoons get dark early. Drivers need to see you.
Winter boots with grip, and paw balm if owners want it	$40–$150 for boots you will actually walk in	Ice is the real equipment test.
Lock box or a key routine	$20–$40	Do not label keys with the home address.
Liability insurance for pet care	Get a quote	Dog bites and a broken vase are the classic claims. Price this before you have regulars.
First-aid basics for you, not for surgery	$20–$40	Know the nearest vet the owner named. You are not the clinic.

The first purchases worth choosing carefully are a strong standard leash TODO-AFFILIATE and a bulk pack of waste bags TODO-AFFILIATE. Add lights when the clocks change. Do not buy a six-dog waist belt until you have walked the same two dogs for a month without incident.

If you invoice neighbours directly, a simple invoice or a notes app can survive the first three clients. It will not survive twelve, so move to real invoicing software once the route is steady.

Keep client payments in an account you can reconcile. KOHO TODO-AFFILIATE is one way to separate “dog money” from household spending so you can see whether the route actually pays.

What to charge, without a fantasy rate

Walking prices in Canada vary with city, dog size, and whether you are doing one dog or a small group. A downtown condo route and a suburban visit with a 15-minute drive are different products. Look at local ads, then price your time including the walk there and the time to write the update the owner expects.

A simple structure:

• Solo walk, about 30 minutes, one dog, in your neighbourhood
• A longer walk or a puppy who stops every metre
• A drop-in (food, water, a short outing) priced differently from a walk
• Overnight sitting priced by night, with a written list of what “overnight” includes
• Extra dogs only after you know them, and not automatically at half price if they pull

Holiday weeks and summer vacation sits book early. January ice and July heat should be in the price or in the cancellation rule. Do not guarantee you will walk in a weather warning. Guarantee you will message early and reschedule or refund according to a rule you wrote down.

Income is uneven at the start. One regular weekday client is a better foundation than five one-off walks. Recurring revenue is the point of this hustle. Chasing a new dog every day is a different, more tiring business.

Step-by-step

1. Choose a service area you can reach without a stressful commute

Pick a few blocks, one condo cluster, or a suburb you already walk. Grouping clients is how the hourly rate survives. A single lovely dog 40 minutes away is a favour, not a route.

2. Write your limits before you meet a dog

Maximum number of dogs, sizes you will not take, no dogs with a bite history, no off-leash unless the owner, the park rules, and your insurance all allow it. Intact dogs, reactivity, and medications are questions, not surprises. If you cannot physically hold the dog, you do not take the dog.

3. Check local rules

Municipalities regulate leashes, off-leash parks, stoop-and-scoop, and sometimes the number of dogs one person may walk. Dog licensing is the owner’s duty. Yours is to follow the leash law on the route and to carry bags. Some cities also expect a business licence if you advertise a pet service. Search your city’s site for “business licence” and “dog” before you print flyers. Do not assume a rule you saw for Toronto applies in Calgary or Halifax.

4. Set up keys and updates

Agree how you enter: a lock box, a concierge, or a family member. Keys get a code, not an address tag. After each walk, send two sentences and one photo. Owners pay for proof of life as much as for exercise. Keep the photo boring and the dog identifiable.

5. Do a paid meet-and-greet

Walk together once. Watch how the dog greets you, how it reacts to bikes and dogs, and whether the owner minimizes a real problem. Ask about vaccines, vet contact, and what to do if you cannot reach them. Collect an emergency number that is not the owner’s dead phone.

6. Start with solo walks

One dog, same time, for two weeks. Add a second dog only if both are boring in the best way. Group walks are a skill. They are also how a loose dog becomes your legal problem.

7. Winterize the route

In most of Canada the sidewalk itself is the hazard. Yaktrax-style grips or proper winter boots, a shorter leash on ice, and a rule for salt: wipe paws if the owner asks, and avoid heavily salted corners if the dog’s paws are cracking. Extreme cold is a duration limit. A short outing can be the ethical service. Say so in the message.

8. Price a package

After three solo clients stick, offer a weekly pack: five noon walks, paid at the start of the week or month. Packages are how you stop re-selling every walk. Put the weather and illness rule in the same note.

9. Add sitting only when walks are calm

Overnight or vacation sitting needs a written list: plants are not your job unless listed, mail, medications with a log, and who may visit the house. Photograph existing damage when you arrive if you are in the home for days. It feels awkward. It is kinder than a dispute about a scratched door.

Your first week

• Day 1: Define the neighbourhood and the solo-walk offer. Check leash and business-licence pages for your city.
• Day 2: Buy a leash and bags. Draft a 10-line client questionnaire: vaccines, vet, reactivity, food, key plan, emergency contact.
• Day 3: Tell five people who live nearby, and post once in one local group. No city-wide spam.
• Day 4: Do one meet-and-greet. If the dog is a poor fit, say no the same day.
• Day 5: First paid solo walk. Photo and note within 15 minutes of finishing.
• Day 6: Repeat. Notice the route hazards: ice, construction, an off-leash park exit.
• Day 7: Decide if you want a second client in the same hour window. If your knees or your schedule complained, stay at one until they do not.

Tips that are easy to miss

Noon walks are the valuable product for office workers. Evenings are crowded with owners who can walk their own dogs. Sell the hour they cannot cover.

A reactive dog on a sidewalk is a management problem, not a training session you throw in for free. If the owner wants training, you are not that person unless you actually are. Refer out.

Keys and alarm codes are secrets. Do not store them in a phone contact named with the street address. A separate note with a code you can remember is safer than a labelled envelope in your bag.

Heat is the other Canadian extreme. Pavement that hurts your hand hurts paws. Shorten the walk, carry water if the owner agrees, and skip the midday asphalt. This is as real in a southern Ontario heat wave as cold is in Winnipeg.

If you drive dogs, your auto insurer needs to know you are transporting animals for pay. A personal commute policy may not see it that way. Many walkers avoid the issue by staying on foot in one neighbourhood. That is a business design, not a limitation.

Common mistakes

Taking too many dogs because a photo of a pack looks like a brand. It is also how bites and escapes happen.

No contract and no vaccine question. “He’s friendly” is not a health record.

Off-leash in a park that is not off-leash, because the dog “usually comes back.” Bylaw fines and lost dogs are both yours to explain.

Underpricing sits over holidays, then spending the week exhausted in someone else’s house. Holiday sits are premium or they are a no.

Using the client’s home wifi story as an excuse to host friends. You are a guest with a key. Leave the fridge and the mail alone unless the task list includes them.

Canada note

This is not tax, legal, veterinary, or insurance advice.

Fees are generally self-employment income. Track them, whether they arrive by e-transfer or an app. Keep receipts for supplies. The T2125 is the usual place this income and these expenses go on a personal return. Budget for both shares of CPP on your net. An app may send a T4A. Your own spreadsheet still matters.

GST/HST: walking and sitting are taxable services for GST/HST purposes in the ordinary case, and the small-supplier test decides whether you must register. The CRA’s line is $30,000 of worldwide taxable supplies — you and associates — in a single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive calendar quarters. Under that, registration is optional. Over it, you register on the CRA’s timetable, explained on the when to register page. This is not the ride-sharing first-dollar rule. Rates differ by province, including Quebec’s QST and Nova Scotia’s 14% HST since 1 April 2025. Use the CRA rate table.

Liability is the legal issue that matters sooner than tax. A bite, a fall caused by a leash, or a pet that escapes can become a claim. Home insurance sometimes excludes business activity. Ask your insurer the question directly, and price a pet-care liability policy when you have regular clients. Provincial dog-owner liability rules differ, and walkers can still be pulled into a dispute. Nothing in this article is a substitute for that conversation.

Animal cruelty and neglect are not grey areas. If you believe an animal is in danger, you are not required to become the family’s therapist. Know the humane society or animal-protection contact in your province and use it when the situation calls for it.

Where to go next

Outdoor work in the same neighbourhoods: lawn care and snow removal. Indoor recurring visits: house cleaning. App tasks that are not animals: odd-job apps.

Common questions