hi, im just wondering if you can help me. im 14 and and currently dogless, but i would really like to do dog walking, does anyone know how to get involved in this(with like rescues and things) or starting my own mini little business. thanks for your help liverdottie xx ps-im in manchester

you can go to your nearest vet newsagents and ask to put ads up in their window this normally works

thanx rottie...i know its probably a silly question but should i, or how much should i , charge for a walk /or a week of walking...rescues are voluntary aren't they?liverdottie xx

if you are doing it for a rescue like rspca or battersea dogs home ther are voluntary but you can claim some money i think wouldn't advise it though i dont personally think its right to take money from a charity no matter how little.
i would say if you were going to do it for a private owner you might want to charge per walk tried this myself and ended up with a bad experience coz i charged over a large amount of time when i found out the woman had a broken leg and expected me to walk her yorkies 4-5 times a day wasn't best pleased i can't really give you a specific amount but what ever seems right to you and the owner is the best i can say don't be extortionate and dont undercharge are you just doing it for your hollidays then good luck

thanx 4 ur help again rottie!...yeh im just planning on doing it during the hols and maybe after school or something like that...has any one else got any tips? liverdottie xx

I used to do dog walking and dog sitting when I was at college, it all happened through word of mouth, people asked me or heard about me from others because I was doing a college course on animal care, worked in a pet shop and had 3 dogs of my own - two of which were large.  To be honest you might not have a lot of luck walking peoples dogs because of your age and lack of experience, I dont mean to be patronizing when I say this but it does take a lot of trust to let someone take your dog out, but obviously it depends on the dogs owner - and the dog ;)  The other thing these days is insurance, if you are going to advertise and charge people they will expect you to have some sort of insurance if you dont and something goes wrong you could be sued.  And again I dont mean to be patronising about your age but you have to be careful these days about whose door you are knocking on, there are too many dodgy people about.  I personally think your best bet would be to contact a rescue centre and see if you can help out in any way, although they may have an age limit.  Sorry I havent been much help, but good luck :)

thanx...will contact a rescue centre liverdottie xx