Hey, Ritchie here.
As always with business questions, the honest answer is: it depends. But if you tick the right boxes, a dog walking business can absolutely be profitable—and I know this because I've been a professional dog walker under the PHG brand for the last seven years.
Let me break down some of the factors which can affect profitability and show you some real-world scenarios. Then hopefully you'll see what's possible.
The Short Answer
Yes, a dog walking business can be very profitable in the UK—but your income will depend entirely on how you structure your business. Your rates, the area you cover, whether you offer solo or group walks, and crucially, whether you diversify your services will all make a significant difference to your bottom line.
The beautiful thing about pet care is that as a sole trader or owner-operator, you can enjoy healthy profit margins without the overhead of premises or staff costs.
What Determines Your Profitability?
Before we look at specific numbers, let's talk about the factors that will shape your income:
Regular vs. Ad-Hoc Clients: Regular dog walking clients give you the steadiest income stream you can expect when running a business. Yes, customers will go away on holiday, and so will you, but having a base of regular clients means you know roughly what income to expect each month.
Your Service Area: The radius you cover can dramatically affect the volume of walks you offer each day. A 15-mile radius means more driving time between walks. A 4-mile radius means you can fit in more walks during peak hours.
Walk Duration and Pricing: 60-minute walks vs. 45-minute walks, £10 per walk vs. £18 per walk—these decisions completely change your earning potential.
Your Positioning: Are you the budget option or a premium provider? Your pricing reflects your positioning, and your positioning affects how you are viewed by clients. This perception will determine the price clients are prepared to pay for your services.
Hours Available: There's only so many hours in a day. The core dog walking window is typically 9:30am to 2:30pm. You need to be strategic about how you use this time.
Three Real Scenarios: Low, Reasonable, and Premium Income
Let me show you three different approaches and what they mean for your earnings.
Scenario A: Bob the Dog Walker (Low Income Model)
Bob's Approach:
- 60-minute solo dog walks
- Covers a 15-mile radius
- £10 per walk
- Can only fit in 3 walks between 9:30am and 2:30pm (due to travel time)
- Monday to Friday, regular clients
Bob's Income:
- £150 per week
- £650 per month
- £7,800 per year (based on 52 weeks)
Not bad for part-time work, but certainly not amazing for a full-time income.
Scenario B: Linda the Dog Walker (Reasonable Income Model)
Linda's Approach:
- 45-minute solo dog walks
- Covers a 4-mile radius (less travel time)
- £15 per walk
- Can comfortably fit in 5 walks between 9:30am and 2:30pm
- Positions her business as caring and professional
- Monday to Friday, regular clients
Linda's Income:
- £375 per week
- £1,625 per month
- £19,500 per year
Much better! And still very manageable as an owner-operator.
Scenario C: Malcolm the Dog Walker (Premium Income Model)
Malcolm's Approach:
- Premium 45-minute solo dog walks
- Covers a 4-mile radius
- £18 per walk
- Walks 5 dogs every day, Monday to Friday
- Positions his business as a premium provider of professional dog walking
Malcolm's Income:
- £450 per week
- £1,950 per month
- £23,400 per year from just walking five dogs per day!
Remember, this is the same amount of work as scenario B, but the only difference is pricing!
The Power of Diversification
Here's where things get really interesting. As a business owner, why would you put all your eggs in one basket when there are additional services you can offer?
Home pet visits, house sitting, and animal boarding are natural extensions of a dog walking business—and they can significantly boost your income.
Let's look at what happens when Malcolm diversifies:
Adding Home Pet Visits
Malcolm starts offering home visits for cats, rabbits, and small animals while their owners are on holiday.
Malcolm's Additional Service:
- £14 per home visit
- Average of 3 visits per day throughout the year
Additional Monthly Income: £1,260
Additional Annual Income: £15,120
Adding House Sitting
Malcolm also offers house sitting services.
Malcolm's House Sitting:
- £80 per day
- Booked an average of 6 days per month
Additional Monthly Income: £480
Additional Annual Income: £5,760
Malcolm's Total Income with Diversification:
- Dog walking: £23,400 per year
- Home pet visits: £15,120 per year
- House sitting: £5,760 per year
Total Revenue: £44,280 per year
The Cost Side of the Equation
Revenue is one thing, but what about profit? This is where the pet care industry really shines.
As a sole trader or owner-operator, your overheads are refreshingly low. You don't need to rent a unit, and you have no staffing costs—which means you get the joy of working hands-on with pets every day while keeping more of what you earn.
Your main costs will be:
- Vehicle costs (fuel, insurance, lease/finance, maintenance)
- Pet business insurance
- Software costs (booking systems, accounting)
- Accounting costs
- Marketing costs (website, advertising)
- Franchise commission (if you're part of a franchise like PHG)
Strong Profit Margins
From our own experience as franchisees from 2018 to 2024, our pre-tax profit margins were around 65-70%.
So using Malcolm's example with a 67.5% profit margin:
- Annual revenue: £44,280
- Pre-tax profit: £29,889
In my personal view, £30k is a very respectable income for doing work you genuinely love.
What This Actually Means in Practice
Now, let me be clear about a few important things:
This takes time to build: Malcolm's scenario represents an established business with a solid client base. You won't hit these numbers in month one. It takes time to build your reputation, fill your schedule, and establish those crucial regular clients.
It must be about the animals first: If you're getting into this purely for the money, please don't. Everything we do must be driven by a genuine love for pets. When you get that right, the income follows naturally. But money should never be your primary motivation for entering this industry.
However... I absolutely understand that before you make the leap, you need to know there's good income potential. You can't run a business long-term if it doesn't pay the bills.
And I can tell you from seven years of experience: £40k+ revenue per year is absolutely achievable for someone who's committed, professional, and strategic about their business.
How PHG Helps You Build a Profitable Business
At PHG, we support our franchisees with their business strategies, service mix, pricing, and all the essential elements that enable them to build a profitable business they genuinely enjoy running.
Yes, there's a commission—11.4% of monthly revenue. But it's important to understand what that covers and why it's valuable.
We give you all the tools, training, and positioning to establish yourself as a premium provider of professional pet care from day one. That means:
- Professional branding that commands premium rates
- Proven systems that save you years of trial and error
- Marketing support that fills your diary with regular clients
- Ongoing guidance to help you make smart business decisions
The premium positioning more than offsets the commission because you're able to charge rates that reflect your professionalism—rates that independent operators often struggle to command.
The Bottom Line
Is a dog walking business profitable in the UK?
Yes—if you're strategic about your pricing, efficient with your time, professional in your service delivery, and smart about diversifying your income streams.
The scenarios I've shown you aren't fantasy numbers. They're based on real-world services and realistic client numbers. Malcolm's £44k revenue example assumes just five dog walks per day, plus some additional pet care services throughout the month. That's entirely achievable from an established sole trading business.
Could you earn less? Yes, of course!
But the fundamental truth is this: there's genuine income potential in professional pet care for people who are committed to doing it right.
If you'd like to discuss the PHG franchise opportunity and how we support franchisees in building profitable businesses, I'd be happy to chat it through with you.
Best,
Ritchie
📞 023 8225 4562 | 07902 127835
📧 info@petshomesandgardens.co.uk
