August 26, 2024
Editorial Guidelines
Experts in this article:
Lainie Bolinger is a pet sitter with 15 years of experience. She has extensively used the Rover app, with over $40,000 in...
Holly is a freelance writer with 8 years of experience and six-figure yearly earnings. Her client base includes major...
If you’re looking for a pet-sitting or dog-walking gig, you don’t have to rely on personal connections or hang flyers around your neighborhood. With the Rover app, you can easily and quickly find clients who need someone to look after their pet.
Before you jump into this side hustle opportunity, here’s what you need to know about the Rover app and how it works, Rover’s fees for dog walkers and pet sitters, how much you can make, and what you can expect when working for Rover.
Rover is an app and web platform that connects pet parents with pet sitters and dog walkers. As a Rover worker, you can use the app to easily find and schedule clients, get payments sent directly to your bank account, and find helpful resources and a support system for all your side hustle needs.
Getting started on the app is easy. First, you complete your profile, offering useful information regarding your services and experiences to help you attract potential clients.
Once you’ve met Rover’s requirements and created your profile, you’ll indicate the types of pets you want to care for and the services you can offer, as well as your rates and the dates you want to work. Rover will display these options to potential clients, who can then send you a request for services, which you can accept or reject.
The more services you offer, the more opportunities you’ll have to make money through the Rover app. Below are the options you can choose from:
In addition to these services, Rover now also offers dog training through their subsidiary app, GoodPup. However, GoogPup operates as a completely separate app, and it’s not suitable for finding gig work.
You can use the Rover app just about anywhere in the US. However, like the case with most gig apps, popularity may vary from one location to another. It’s possible that another pet care app may be more popular where you live or that there’s low demand for pet care services in your area.
Rover is an international platform. In addition to the US, it’s available in the following other countries:
Rover isn’t free for workers offering pet care services, but this isn’t uncommon for a gig app. You’ll need to pay two main fees to use the Rover app:
Rover claims that the service fee covers marketing costs, app support, and costs related to The Rover Guarantee (which provides insurance benefits protecting both pet owners and pet sitters). However, the protection offered is very basic, and you’ll still be best off getting your own insurance.
In order to be eligible to work for Rover as a pet sitter or dog walker in the US, you’ll need to meet several basic requirements:
As long as these basic requirements are met, anybody can sign up to be a dog walker or pet sitter with Rover.
On Rover, it’s up to the pet parents to choose their own dog walkers and sitters. They’ll browse through available pet caregivers in their area who meet their search criteria, and then they’ll send a booking request to the caregiver of their choice.
As a pet care provider, you then have the option to accept or decline a client’s booking request. You have 72 hours to respond before the booking request expires.
You can’t normally apply for jobs on Rover, unless you’re enrolled in RoverGO. There is little information about this program on the Rover.com website, but it appears to be a special program (available in select locations) that allows you to use the Rover app to bid on nearby pet sitting and dog walking jobs.
This has certain advantages, but there is one notable drawback: RoverGO users have to sacrifice a 25% cut of their earnings instead of Rover’s standard 20% commission fee.
If you live in an eligible location, you can potentially stand our from the crowd by becoming a Star Sitter. To qualify, you’ll need to meet several criteria:
Rover will notify you by email if you’re eligible. Star Sitter status won’t impact your visibility in search rankings (unless pet parents filter search results to only see Star Sitters), but it will distinguish you as a high-performing caregiver.
You get to set your own rates on Rover, although you’re not allowed to charge more than $250 per unit. Each type of pet care service on the platform has its own going rates. In general, you can expect to make around $15–$20 per hour, after taxes and fees.
The table below gives a breakdown of what you can expect to earn for different pet care services on the Rover app.
| Type of Service | Duration | Base Rate | Add-ons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overnight pet sitting / house sitting | 24 hours | $40–$100 | Additional pet: +$10–$25 Holidays: +$10–$30 |
| Drop-in visit | 0.5 hours | $15–$30 | Additional pet: +$5–$10 1-hour visit: +$10–$15 Holidays: +$5–$15 |
| Dog walking | 0.5 hours | $15–$30 | Additional dog: +$5–$10 1-hour walk: +$10–$15 Holidays: +$5–$15 |
| Pet boarding | 24 hours | $30–$100 | Additional pet: +$10–$25 Holidays: +$10–$30 |
Note: These estimates do not factor in Rover’s 20% cut of your pay.
Thankfully, you’ll get to keep 100% of any tips you receive. Rover doesn’t charge their 20% commission on tips, meaning they can substantially boost your earnings.
Bolinger says there is very little overhead when it comes to working for Rover. The biggest cut to your earnings will be Rover’s 20% service fee. Nevertheless, it’s rare to find a job with no expenses.
Several factors can detract from your income from Rover:
These factors will all affect your actual earnings with any pet care app, not just Rover. But they’re still worth considering to determine whether Rover is really worth it for you or if you’re better off staying off apps or choosing a new side hustle altogether.
In terms of how much you can make as a Rover dog walker, an important consideration is the amount of time you’ll spend traveling. If you book a gig that requires three visits per day and your client is a 15 minute drive away, then that’s an extra 1.5 hours of travel time per day that you’re not getting paid for (plus the cost of gas).
Also bear in mind that some services require additional work. For example, if you’re doing long-term pet sitting, the pet parent may expect photo updates.
Most sitters charge more for sitting dogs than cats or for sitting multiple pets in one household. Additionally, clients are often willing to pay more for sitting in larger cities or for sitting over the holidays.
The app will calculate your earnings on your behalf, adding up how much you can expect to be paid based on both completed and future booked services. Rover uses Stripe to process payments via direct deposit into your bank account.
Stripe automatically processes payments from your Rover clients, as they’re available. It can take up to 5 business days for your payment to be deposited into your bank account after you’ve completed a job. One Rover app worker we spoke to says that payments usually take around 2–4 business days to process.
Last-minute cancellations can be a threat to your earning potential as a pet sitter or dog walker. Thankfully, Rover allows you to choose your own booking cancellation notice period from four options: same day, 1 day, 3 day, and 7 day. If a client cancels a booking without sufficient notice, you’ll be entitled to partial compensation.
Here’s an overview of what happens when a client cancels a booking with you on Rover:
The only exception is for recurring clients—these recurring bookings are automatically set to the same-day cancellation policy.
To sign up and get started on Rover, you’ll need to download the app, create your profile, and undergo verification. The whole process is pretty simple and straightforward. Here’s what it involves:
Rover says the application review process takes 5–10 business days, but actual Rover app users confirm say you can get approved in under 1 week. After that, you’ll be able to start signing up for pet care gigs.
We spoke with Lainie Bolinger, a pet sitter and dog walker who’s been using the Rover app since 2021. Here’s a look at her experience using Rover, including its best and worst features and what you can expect as a new app user.
All bookings for pet care services on Rover are requested by the pet owner. An owner will send you a request that includes their requested dates and times, the services required, and a little note about the pet or what they’re looking for. You can accept or reject their request, but you can’t search and request clients on your own.
When it comes to setting your availability, you can’t select specific times or customize your availability depending on the day of the week. You can only select a predetermined time block, which will apply to all of the days you’ve marked that you’re available for bookings.
For example, let’s say you work a full-time day job during the week. You won’t be able to use Rover to fill out your weekends since you’ll only be able to set your availability to before or after your typical working hours.
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You also can’t customize your service radius according to the booking type. This means whatever distance you’re willing to travel for check-ins and dog walks will also apply to pet sitting and house sitting gigs.
Bolinger says that Rover uses certain metrics to rank your profile. The better you perform, the higher up you’ll appear in search results when someone in your area is looking for a pet sitter or dog walker.
All the following factors affect your standing in the Rover app:
You need to understand these metrics to succeed on the Rover app and avoid making mistakes that could make it harder to find work.
When Bolinger gets offered a gig she wants, she replies right away to ask a few clarifying questions and propose a meet-and-greet within the next couple of days. To her, the meet-and-greets are pretty much essential, and she rarely takes bookings without one.
Meet-and-greets are the company’s way of making Rover safe for dog walkers and pet sitters, and failing to properly vet your clients could put you at risk. The best thing you can do is trust your instincts and reject the booking request if the client is giving off weird vibes.
It may seem counterintuitive, but Bolinger says when it comes to using Rover to book pet care gigs, the animals are the easy part—it’s dealing with clients that she finds the most challenging.
In particular, she says clients sometimes have poor communication when it comes to sharing their address, remembering to provide door or lockbox codes, or giving feeding instructions. They may also forget to leave keys for you to enter their home.
Depending on the types of assignments you take through the Rover app, you could find yourself working as a pet photographer, personal assistant, and even house cleaner.
Most pet parents will expect photos of their pets and detailed updates, so this is something you’ll have to get used to. “Sending cute pictures is important, and I have gotten quite good at being an animal photographer,” says Bolinger. The photos you take are sent to the owner in what’s called a “Rover card,” which is like a report card for the visit.
If you’re pet sitting or house sitting, you may also be asked to water plants, bring in the mail or packages, or take out the trash. For house sitting, it’s worth noting that there is no “Rover card,” so you need to send updates and photos to the pet owner directly.
Bolinger has plenty of experience using the Rover app, and she’s figured out the best ways to maximize her earnings. Here are her top tips for new Rover workers.
The wider your availability, the more bookings you’ll get. In particular, being open to working weekends and holidays is a great way to maximize your earnings. Just be careful not to open yourself up to more work than you can handle.
Bolinger warns that although “It is very important to book as many requests as possible to maintain your search position,” you’ll harm your ranking if you have to reject requests or cancel on a client you’ve already booked with. This is why it’s important to ensure your schedule is always up-to-date.
It’s important to respond to requests as soon as possible (within minutes). Rover advises clients to send out multiple requests for pet care, so you’re not guaranteed a gig you’re offered.
“It often comes down to who is the quickest to respond,” Bolinger says. Keep an eye on your app notifications and act quickly to claim the gigs you want.
Reviews are very important to your ranking on the Rover app. Getting good reviews will boost your ranking and increase the number of requests you receive.
Reviews from first-time clients have a particularly high influence on your ranking. When Bolinger is working with a new client, she usually reaches out after the booking and asks for a review if they were happy with her services.
According to Bolinger, pet sitting and boarding are the two “biggest money makers,” but offering multiple services is a great way to maximize the money you make. This way, you’ll show up in more search results, and clients you’re already working with regularly can easily book you for other services they might need.
The number of repeat clients you have will show up on your Rover profile for potential clients to see, and each one attests to the quality of your services and satisfaction of your clients. “Repeat clients make up almost 80% of my bookings,” says Bolinger.
But securing repeat business isn’t the only benefit of pursuing good working relationships. You could also significantly increase your income by earning tips, which aren’t subject to Rover’s 20% service fee.
Rover is arguably the most popular dog-walking and pet-sitting app, and this popularity adds to its appeal—after all, a high number of users means more job opportunities. The main drawback for pet caregivers is Rover’s hefty fees, but the earning potential you’d get may be enough to make the cost of Rover worth it.
If you have some availability during the week, you should be able to earn enough through the Rover app to make it worthwhile. And regardless of whether you want a casual side hustle or you want to start your own pet care business, Rover may be the best place to start your journey.
There are certain things sitters and walkers like and dislike about using the Rover app. Considering these advantages and disadvantages will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you or if you’re best off going with a competing pet care app or offering your own services without help from any gig app.
Rover’s main competitor is Wag!, which is another pet care app that you can use to find dog walking and pet sitting jobs. They offer slightly different work options—Rover allows you to do doggy day care, and Wag! offers dog training.
However, Wag! has its own pros and cons. For example, Bolinger told us she doesn’t use Wag! because they require you to accept bookings without meeting the client first, which she isn’t comfortable with.
If you’re not sold on Rover, don’t fret. There are several other similar apps that you can use to find dog walking and pet sitting jobs.
| App Name | Types of Pet-Care Gigs | Fees | App Cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rover | - Dog walking - Pet sitting - Pet boarding | $49 signup fee | 20%–25% |
| Wag! | - Dog walking - Pet sitting - Pet boarding - Veterinary care - Dog training | $25–$65 signup fee | 40% |
| Meowtel | - Cat sitting | None | 15%–30% |
| TaskRabbit | - Dog walking - Pet sitting | $25 signup fee | None |
| Sittercity | - Dog walking - Pet sitting - Dog training - Dog grooming | None | None |
| UrbanSitter | - Pet sitting | $34.95/yr membership fee | None |
Some of these sites and apps also offer opportunities to sign up for other types of gigs, which may appeal to you if you want to do more than just pet care.
We asked Ariella Lisker, a different pet caregiver who’s tried using both Rover and TaskRabbit, which app she preferred using. She told us she prefers Rover since it specifically covers pet care. “That’s their whole business,” she added. TaskRabbit, by contrast, is a more general gig app. She also likes that she has more control over her territory map and rates.
Alternatively, if you’re thinking pet care might not be the ideal side hustle for you, then rest assured there are plenty of other types of work you can do. For example, you could try out other caregiving-related side hustles, like becoming a caregiver or babysitter.
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