What canine Walkers Can Do during a recession

Hi, it’s Lindsay and Barbara! We have both worked as canine walkers and pet sitters for several years and know how challenging the COVID-19 situation is for everyone, including those in the pet service industry.

So, we chose to write this short article with ideas on what canine walkers can do during a recession to try to maintain or find new clients. These ideas also apply to pet sitters, canine trainers, groomers, breeders and other company owners. We live in the U.S., so this short article is written with that in mind.

We certainly don’t have all the answers, so please add your own ideas or support for others in the comments. Or just let us know how you are doing. – Barbara & Lindsay

What canine Walkers Can Do during a Recession

We have experience as canine walkers and pet sitters but we feel these ideas will also be valuable for:

pet groomers
dog trainers
breeders

Here are our ideas on what small pet companies can do during the COVID-19 pandemic or during a recession in general.

1. canine walkers ought to apply for the Paycheck protection Program

Paycheck protection Program – for small businesses, including sole proprietorships

During the current COVID-19 Pandemic, the U.S. small company administration is providing forgivable loans to small businesses, including sole proprietors, independent contractors and people who are self-employed.

The Paycheck protection Program is a lending developed to help small companies keep their workers on the payroll.

From the SBA’s website:

“SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

“You can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit report union, and farm credit report System institution that is participating.”

We recommend you apply right away if you haven’t already. If you have questions, ask your accountant and/or banker.

2. offer gift cards and pre-pay options

If you don’t already offer gift cards or gift certificates (physical or digital), now is the time to do so! These don’t have to be physical gift cards, you can simply offer people the option to pre-pay for future services through your site or PayPal.

For example, Lindsay emailed the canine daycare she typically uses for Remy (they’re temporarily closed due to COVID) and asked if she could pre-pay for 10 nights of boarding.

This local company is essential to her because they are client with her maniac canine and are very prepared to feed him his raw diet.

Photo: Bark City canine Daycare

Your clients may want to support you in this way as well, but in some cases they need to be aware of the option. Don’t be scared to put it out there for them!

3. create an email list and send newsletters to your canine walking clients

We believe an email list is so essential for canine breeders, trainers and groomers too and we’re amazed how numerous don’t have an email list.

Just having an email list can really put your company ahead of others! and it’s so easy to do. Don’t depend on Facebook and Instagram to get your messages across. use email to directly connect with your customers.

We use Mailchimp and it’s totally free for up to 2,000 contacts and easy to use. At the very least, send a personal email to every single client you have ever had because the existence of your business. (Use canned reactions in gmail to save some time.)

Keep your email brief and just tell the client hi, ask if they are doing ok and let them know you appreciate them and you’ll be here when they need you. then offer them the chance to pre-pay for future services or purchase gift cards.

4. What to put in your email “newsletter”

We recommend you send out an email to all your clients every three weeks or so. This is your chance to keep your company on their minds and to offer them the opportunity to pre-pay or purchase gift cards.

Don’t be scared that you’re bothersome your clients if you’re only sending them an email every two to four weeks.

Ideas of what to put in your newsletter

Options for purchasing gift cards or gift certificates
Pre-pay options
Discounts
Dog training ideas
Links to your blog articles or videos
Links to your books, ebooks, any other products
Perhaps an option for suggestions or donations if you feel it’s appropriate
Links to your social media accounts
Encourage clients to leave reviews
Ask them to recommend you to their friends
Give clients the opportunity to ask questions

You can also offer your clients some important training articles you’ve written or link to valuable articles from other sites like That Mutt or K9s Over Coffee!

This is Barbara’s recent email design template for her canine walking and pet sitting clients:

Subject: Covid-19 Update

Hi {CLIENT_FORENAME},

I hope that you and your fur babies are doing well during these incredibly challenging times!

I wanted to check in with you and make you aware of the impact Covid-19 has had on my business. some of my clients have asked me whether or not I can still come walk or entertain their pup(s) in their yard or neighborhood, so I’d like to address this topic. I currently don’t offer any pet sitting check outs as there’s simply no demand for it due to our travel ban. 

***Dog Walking***
I’m still providing canine walking services on a Monday – Friday basis for clients who are interested. I’m able to keep the 6 ft social distance from clients who are home and limit my time spent inside client’s homes. I carry hand sanitizer on me and frequently use it before, during, and after visits. I currently don’t leave my typical report cards in an effort to reduce touching anything that isn’t necessary.

***Pre-Payment for Future Services***
This option is available for anybody who’s interested. You can do this within your client portal by doing the following: click on “go to portal” -> click on “make a payment” -> enter the $$$ amount you’d like to pre-pay -> click “next” -> click “submit payment”. Your account will then be in credit report for the amount you chose, which will be put towards any future services (dog walking, pet sitting, overnight stays, and pet taxi rides).

***Tips for entertaining your active dog***
I’ve dedicated an entire blog post to this topic and am adding the link to it below. simply copy and paste it into your browser to access the entire blog post. My ideas include playing games, nose work, trick- and obedience training, grooming sessions, exercising indoors, providing interactive puzzles and long-lasting doggie chews:

10 ways To Entertain Your canine When You’re Stuck Inside

Please feel totally free to reach out to me with any questions you might have! thank you so much for being a valued client.

With best wishes,

{STAFF_FORENAME} {STAFF_SURNAME}

{COMPANY_NAME}

5. directly ask canine walking clients to recommend you to their friends

The best way to get new clients is through your existing clients!

Word of mouth is so essential for canine walkers, pet sitters, breeders and trainers!

Several, or maybe even all, of your canine walking clients will cancel their appointments for now. As hard as this is, it is understandable from their point of view.

One thing we suggest is you politely ask them if they have any pals or co-workers who may be interested in your services. In fact, they may be very thrilled to recommend you! Your clients could either introduce you to a pal by email or possibly they would be prepared to give you the friend’s contact info.

Some of Lindsay’s past canine walking clients

Also see our post: how to get canine walking clients

6. communication can make (or break) your business

This is so simple. but you’d be amazed how some small companies are really, really bad at communicating with their customers! They are slow and unclear about answering questions, they don’t check in or confirm appointments and they make the client feel like they are somehow an inconvenience.

Have you ever experienced this in any type of service industry? You’re certainly not going to be faithful to that company or recommend them.

Lindsay started her canine running company Run That Mutt during the 2008 recession. one of the reasons she believes her company did so well during that time was because she communicated so well with her clients and acted professionally.

Lindsay’s past canine running client, Nina

She was very organized with all her paperwork and appointments, called or emailed people back promptly, sent photos of the animals to her clients after each appointment and communicated clearly about any scheduling issues such as holidays or extreme North Dakota weather. many of all, she was simply very polite and caring.

Make sure to go out of your way to make your clients feel special and appreciated! answer their questions clearly and quickly. predict potential issues ahead of time and address them. Leave occasional notes or gift. say thank you. Don’t leave mud all over their entryway after a canine walk, etc.

7. offer online canine training

Since in-person gatherings are not recommended or even allowed best now, lots of canine trainers are providing one-on-one or group training sessions through Zoom or Skype. You could offer totally free sessions or charge a fee.

If you decide to do the latter, you could either charge per training session or offer a longer course with multiple sessions for a slightly discounted price.

There are a few different options for collecting your payment:

PayPal or other digital payment platforms like Venmo or Zelle.
Your regular credit report card processing system such as Stripe. That’s what Barbara uses for her canine walking and pet sitting business.
USPS still delivers our mail, so technically you could also accept paper checks, although this option is certainly going to be the slowest way of receiving your payment.

8. offer new services through your canine walking business

Hopefully we’ll all be out and about back to “normal” sooner rather than later. When the economy is flourishing and demand is high for canine walking, etc., it’s easy to “pick and choose” your clients and to offer the services you like the most.

When the economy is not doing well, we have to get a little much more creative and offer a larger range of services. For canine walkers, that might imply offering:

In-home boarding
That’s when your client’s dogs stay at your home while their owners are out of town. You’ll have to guarantee that their dogs get along with your local pups, so you ought to schedule doggie meet & greets beforehand, ideally in a neutral location such as on a walk. We also recommend you add the suitable liability insurance coverage to this service just in case something were to happen to your canine guest while they’re staying at your place.

In-home boarding with Levi, buddy and Ace!

Overnight sleepovers at the client’s house
Some dogs don’t do well when left home alone, which is why their owners will gladly pay you to spend the night at their place. You can expect to sleep in a guest bedroom, although some clients may also require you to sleep in their bed, along with their dogs.

You’re essentially getting paid to recreate the dog’s routine. Overnight sleepovers typically last 12 hours, somewhere between 7 pm and 7 am.

Nail trims or baths
If you’re good at trimming nails and don’t mind giving baths, this is an easy add on to your existing services. clients delight in a one-stop-shop kind of service, especially when it can happen in their own home.

Bathing one of Barbara’s client dogs at his home

Care for horses, birds and other animals besides dogs and cats
If you expand your pet sitting services to a larger clientele, you’ll certainly attract much more company opportunities. However, make sure that you’re really well-informed in offering care for other animals before providing this service.

Offering basic canine training
“Sit,” “down,” “stay,” and “come” are commands that are fairly easy to instruct and can even be incorporated into canine walks and/or backyard playtime sessions. All you need is a treat bag and high-value treats!

Taxi service for dogs
You can offer the service to take dogs to the vet, the groomer’s, or their boarding facility.

Barbara provides pet taxi services and has even had the request to simply drive around with someone’s dogs while their home was being shown. For liability reasons, you ought to always protected your taxi guests either with a crate or a canine safety belt and harness.

Husky Milo catching a ride in Barbara’s pet taxi

House sitting (no actual pets)
This is an attractive option for people who travel a lot and will be gone for multiple weeks at a time. Some people will have you stay at their home full-time, others simply want you to check in once or twice a day to alternate lights and blinds, get the mail, and water