The person searching for a dog walker is about to give a stranger a key to their house and their dog. They search ‘dog walker near us’ or ‘dog walker Clontarf’, then they look for the things that calm that worry: a face, a name, which parks you go to, how many dogs at a time, whether you are insured, and what happens if their dog does not get on with others. Websites for dog walkers in Dublin win or lose on whether those answers are there before the first message.
Who is this person with our key?
Trust is the product. The page opens with you: your name, a proper photo with a dog, how long you have been doing it and why. Then the practical reassurances. Public liability insurance, stated plainly. Whether you hold keys and how they are stored and labelled. Whether you walk alone or have help, and who. What you do if a dog is hurt or sick on a walk, and whether you have a vet you use. References from current owners if they are happy to be named, never invented ones.
Owners also want to know the limits. How many dogs in a group, whether you take dogs who are not neutered, reactive dogs, puppies under a certain age. A walker who says ‘no more than four, and we meet every dog first’ sounds like someone who knows the job.
Solo or group, and where
List the walks as services, with prices. Group walks and the parks you use, by name, because an owner in Raheny wants to hear St Anne’s and not ‘local parks’. Solo walks for the dogs that need them. Puppy visits at lunchtime. Drop-in visits for cats and older dogs. Holiday cover, and whether that means walking only or feeding and overnight stays. If you do home boarding, say so; if not, the kennels and catteries page is the trade the owner needs next.
Say the areas you cover and mean it. A walker’s round only works inside a tight patch because the driving between houses is dead time, so the site and the Google listing name the same few neighbourhoods. The enquiries that arrive are the ones you can take.
Rainy Tuesday, five leads, phone ringing
A walker cannot answer the phone on Dollymount with five leads in one hand, and a lot of the questions that come in are the same ones. The enquiry form carries the weight: the dog’s name, breed, age, neutered or not, how they are with other dogs, recall, medical issues, the days needed and the area. It arrives by email and WhatsApp, and you reply that evening knowing whether this is a group dog, a solo dog or not one for you.
The daily photo from the park is the other half of the job and it is why owners stay. The site shows a gallery of them (with the owners’ blessing) and the Google listing gets a few each month, which is how a dog walker builds a listing that looks alive. The checklist of what a small business website should include is worth a read, because a walker’s site is small and every line on it has to earn its place.
Getting paid for the month
Most walkers invoice monthly and chase a few every month. On Complete, you send a payment link for the month or for a block of walks and the owner pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay from the phone. The money lands in your account and the end-of-month text stops being awkward. The review text after a new dog’s first week does the same quiet work for your Google listing, and how to get more Google reviews explains why asking at that moment works.
The year as a walker sees it
January brings the Christmas puppies and the owners going back to the office, and it is the month the enquiry form is busiest. Tuesday to Thursday fill first because of hybrid work, so if you have Monday and Friday space, say so on the page. Summer is holiday cover and dogs that need shorter walks in the heat. The dark evenings of November and December bring the owners who do not want to walk at six in the dark, and the page carries a line for them.
What to send us
Your areas, your services and prices, your group size and the dogs you do and do not take, your insurance details, your hours and days, a photo of you with a dog, a handful of park photos you have permission to use, and what you want the form to ask. A chat over the phone or at the park is enough to start.
What it costs
Essentials is €499 to set up and €50 a month, no contract, VAT on top: the site, the domain, hosting, the Google listing and the monthly report. Complete is €1,499 and €100 a month for payments, review texts and the managed listing. The pricing page has the detail.