Rover Dog Sitters: How to Become One and Immediately Start Making Money

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Rover dog sitters have one of the easiest and most flexible jobs around. They have the convenience to set their own schedules and ultimately choose exactly what services they offer.

Working for Rover has a variety of perks that I will get into more detail below.

Is Rover Safe for Sitters?

Overall… yes.

My biggest concern when I first started out as a Rover sitter was the safety of my kids around dogs we didn’t know.

What I did though was set up a meet n greet with every new potential client when my services were requested. This is suggested by Rover and I highly recommend doing it.

You need to be sure that the dog is going to get along with your pets and/or your kids and other family members before you take them in. Safety should always be your number 1 priority.

You can get a pretty good idea of their temperament and whether they will be a good fit in your home in just a short amount of time.

In 4 years of dog sitting, I’ve only had to turn away one dog. I instantly got a bad vibe of how the dog was acting around my son and I knew he wasn’t a dog I was willing to watch.

As for the client, Rover takes safety very seriously. You can see here every precaution they take to protect all fur babies that utilize Rover services.

What are the Benefits of Using Rover?

Marketing

One of the great things about Rover is that they pay for all the marketing and are out there promoting you and your dog sitting business.

Imagine if you were trying to start a dog walking business and had to pay for marketing. It would be a lot of hard work and could become quite costly to really get your name out there.

With Rover, once you set up your profile, Rover will market you to anyone searching for a dog walker or sitter in your area that falls within your set preferences.

It’s that simple.

Client Referral

What I love best is the opportunity to receive ratings from clients who have utilized my services.

If you have high ratings from existing clients, Rover will give you preference and keep you higher in the search results. When they see that people are happy with you, they will continue to funnel new potential clients to you.

You also benefit from your existing clients telling their friends about you. I’ve received new clients because they heard about me from a friend that used my services from Rover.

How great is that? A referral is definitely the highest compliment.

Customer Service

Rover has some really great customer service. This is not just for the clients utilizing their services but also for the dog sitters as well.

If customers have any issues they simply contact Rover. You will not have to worry about handling any issues because they have a team in place ready to step in and handle it all.

They will go above and beyond to resolve the problem and find a resolution that satisfies both parties.

Being a Rover dog sitter myself, this has come in handy a couple of times and I can’t tell you how thankful I was that I didn’t have to deal with the issues at hand myself.

Get Paid With Ease

Don’t worry about having to ask your clients for money because Rover handles all of the payments.

This is great for those that may feel uncomfortable talking about the money part or asking for the money that’s due to them.

Rover charges the client once they book the desired service. They hold that money and wait 48 hours from the completion of the service before releasing the 80% that belongs to you.

Another great part is they keep their 20% so you don’t even have to worry about paying them.

If you are looking for ways to make money without sitting in an office all day, check out 8 Ways To Immediately Make Money With Your Car.

How Do I Sign Up to Work for Rover?

Signing up for Rover is not only simple to do but it’s free.

Head over to Rover.com and follow their step-by-step guide as they walk you through the sign-up process.

You can either sign-up with Facebook, Google, Apple, or your email address.

Next, you will arrive at a screen that looks like this.

Fill this out and hit the sign-up button.

Keep in mind, Rover will conduct a background check on you if you opt for this option. Mine only took 3 days to get approved and I highly suggest you pay to get this done.

You will be required to pay for the background check and it will let you know the price before you opt-in to get it.

The reason I suggest getting it done is that it gives the client an extra layer of peace of mind and gives you a better chance of getting picked amongst all the other profiles.

I set up my profile and was immediately placed in searches in my area.

Setting Up My Profile

There are a lot of questions you will need to answer in order to build your profile but once it’s done, you don’t have to do it again.

This is where you will set all your services, pricing, and preferences. Simply go to the Rover login which is currently located in the upper right corner of their website and get started.

Everything is pretty much a 1-click option to pick your preferences. You will also need to upload a profile picture, pictures of your pets, and pictures of your home and yard.

You want potential clients to get a feel of who you are and where their fur babies will be staying.

I gladly share pictures, especially of my yard because it’s HUGE and I want people to see the benefit their dog will have while staying in my home.

Setting up your profile is super easy and pretty much impossible to mess step.

Creating an Eye-Catching Rover Headline

Creating an eye-catching headline for Rover is crucial if you want to make your profile stand out.

People searching ‘Pet sitters near me’ will only get you added to a long list of options so get creative.

Using ‘Dog Lover’ or ‘I Love Animals’ is pretty basic and pretty obvious. You probably wouldn’t have signed up to do this job unless those 2 things were true.

Think, how are you going to make yourself stand out from the other sitters?

Pick something that features one of your qualities as a dog sitter or something you can offer that maybe others cannot.

What catchy wording will make potential clients want to click on your profile and potentially pick you?

Make it short and sweet. Once they click on your profile they will be able to read your entire bio. That’s when you can really sell yourself and your services and explain why you are the best sitter or dog walker Rover has to offer them.

Choosing Which Services to Offer

The great thing is… you decide this!

Look at the services available to offer and decide which would be the best for you to offer to potential clients.

I personally offer dog boarding and doggy daycare. As a mom of 2 toddlers, it’s not necessarily easy for me to offer all of these services but these are the ones that work for my lifestyle.

We have two dogs ourselves and they are amazing with the other dogs that stay in our home.

Not only do my dogs tire out from playing so much with their new furry friends, but my kids do too. It’s a win-win in my book.

The services available to offer include:

• Boarding
• House Sitting
• Drop-In Visits
• Doggy Day Care
• Dog Walking

This is what the page looks like.

As you can see in the picture you have a 1-click option to set your profile in either away mode or once you have established a clientele, you can set it to repeat clients only.

Deciding What Types of Dogs You’re Willing to Work With

This allows Rover to filter out who should and shouldn’t be in particular search inquiries.

When setting up your profile, it will be required to set these preferences. If you only have space for small dogs, Rover isn’t going to place you in searches done by clients with a 150-pound Mastiff.

This is what the page looks like.

Never worry about dog owners reaching out to you that don’t match your preferences because Rover won’t share your profile with them.

How Much Time Will I Have to Commit to Rover?

You can commit as much or as little time as you like.

Some people do dog sitting as a full-time gig while others may only do it on the weekends or certain times of the year.

There is a calendar inside your Rover account where you can set your availability. This allows Rover to only feature you for clients looking for those specific days or times.

This way you won’t get bombarded with requests when you’re unavailable. You also have the option to set your account to vacation-mode for when you’re out of town.

This is what the calendar looks like.

As you can see all my days are white because I watch dogs every day of the week.

If there is a day you are unavailable, it would simply be grayed out.

You can also see how many dogs you have booked compared to your dog limit. You can see I have zero bookings through the end of the month. Given Covid and no one really traveling, dog boarding hasn’t brought me in much income lately.

I did talk to one of my friends who also offers services on Rover and she is slammed. She does dog walking and says she is constantly getting booked during Covid.

She’s had clients telling her because they are working from home and homeschooling at the same time, it’s hard for them to get their dogs out and about for their daily exercise. They’ve turned to outsource dog walking which is great for anyone offering that service.

How Much Do Dog Sitters Make on Rover?

This can vary greatly for a variety of reasons but you can easily make $1000/month being a Rover sitter.

The amount you are going to make will be determined by 3 main factors:

• How much you charge for your services
• The services you offer
• Your availability

There are so many factors a client can take into consideration when deciding who they want to leave their pet with but these are the factors that you control.

Pricing

When you are newer and trying to build up your clientele, I’d suggest looking at what other people charge in your area and sticking closer to the lower price range.

You have no clients and no reviews. You may be awesome but nobody knows that yet.

As I gained clients and some reviews, I slightly raised my prices. Enough to help increase my income but not so drastic that people didn’t want to utilize my services any longer.

Holidays are also a great opportunity to charge more. Rover allows you to set a separate rate for holidays and the price will automatically apply during any holiday. (During certain holidays this rate will also apply to days leading up to and after. It simply depends on what holiday it is).

Here is a peek at what this page looks like. Keep in mind, this page will look different for each service.

For example, this is the page to set your rates for dog boarding.

Another great option is to offer extra services during a stay. So maybe you charge more per night but you can also include bathing, grooming, pick-up, and/or drop-off services along with their stay.

Again, these are all options inside your profile settings. If you’re really looking to gain clients, I suggest you set the price to $0 for these additional services and be clear they are included.

Some people will jump at this option and some may not. It can’t hurt to test it out and see if it possibly gets you more clients and more money.

Services

This is pretty simple. The more services you offer, the more opportunity you will have to make money.

When you limit your services, you’re limiting your potential clientele pool and lowering your chances of making more money.

Availability

This may be a personal preference or you may be limited due to a full-time job or other commitment.

The beauty of this job is its flexibility but again, the more you work, the more opportunity you have to make more money.

Figure out which services you want to offer and this may determine your availability as well.

What Percentage Does Rover Take From Sitters?

Currently, Rover keeps 20% from every completed service you provide for a client.

Some people think that’s a lot but personally, I don’t think it is.

Keep in mind, they are doing the marketing, they are funneling the new clients to you, they provide the customer service, they collect and process the payments and all you need to do is focus on taking care of your new furry friend.

I’m happy to pay them 20% to take all of that hassle off my hands.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes?

Yes. You will be required to report your income on your taxes just like any other job.

There is a designated spot on the Rover website that you can go and download a copy of your 1099. Rover will also email you and alert you on the app when they are available to access.

It will be your responsibility to claim this income on your taxes.

Why I Chose to Become a Rover Dog Sitter

The most obvious reason is to make extra money.

What I enjoy the most is the flexibility. I decide the services I provide, which dogs I watch, and how much I charge.

My dogs get along with every dog imaginable so I see it as a great opportunity to make more money. My dogs get to always meet and play with new fur-friends and my bank account reaps the benefits.

My Thoughts

My honest review of Rover is… I love it! This is the perfect opportunity for almost anyone as long as you like animals.

The fact that you can work as much or as little as you want is ideal. You are in complete control of how much earning potential you have and decide what you want to do.

How many jobs give you that much flexibility?

This is an opportunity to definitely consider whether you’re looking to do it full or part-time. Give it a try and see if it’s for you. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it.

If it’s not a good fit, no problem. Simply delete your profile and look for another side gig that better suits you.

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