How To Create A Dog Walking App In 2022

Last Updated on January 31, 2022

Dogs are very precious and loved by their owners. 

Not just their owners but everyone in general — people love dogs, playing with them and everything else.

Perhaps that is the reason for the recent rise in pet ownership. And this, in addition to the rising costs, has contributed significantly to the expansion of the industry over the years.

However, today, the landscape is changing as several new names have emerged, challenging traditional dog walking services with technologically advanced mobile apps. Some of the major players in the industry include establishments that provide dog walking services to homes. 

For those of you who don’t know, the dog walking services industry is worth $1.1 billion in 2021 and is up 1.2% from last year (source). Additionally, pet owners spend more than $60 billion every year on pet-related goods and services — treating their four-legged companions like part of the family.

Studies show that the demand for dog walkers will increase through 2023 due to the expected stability around the primary labor market, followed by the increased working hours. As a result, the industry’s revenue is expected to grow. 

If you want to impact this industry, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll walk you through what it takes to build an industry-leading on-demand dog walking app in the next few minutes. 

Let’s get started!

Why Do We Need An On-Demand Dog-Walking App?

Yes, dogs are fluffy and cute, we agree. But having a dog in your house means having additional responsibilities on your shoulder.

Because you have to consistently take care of them, feed them, make sure they exercise, care for them, take them to the vet, play with them, and most importantly, rejuvenate them all day at home. 

And most importantly, you need to take them for a walk. 

So while it is not possible to outsource all these tasks, you can outsource the essential task of taking your dog for a walk. With a variety of on-demand dog walking services available — people nowadays can put their dogs in the competent hands of these dog walking service attendants who take care of their dogs like their own. 

These dog walking services work like a charm, especially if you are a professional with tight work schedules or a new parent who has to take care of their offspring. 

Therefore, dog owners who have a hard time finding time to spend with their dogs should try these dog walking apps.

So What Exactly Is An On-Demand Dog-Walking App?

The on-demand dog walker app is a two-way marketplace.

Let’s define it in a step-by-step manner.

• So in the first step, the dog owner sends a request to go for a walk with the dog.
• One of the dog handlers operating the app accepts requests in real-time and confirms the booking.
• Now, when a dog goes out for a walk, it’s easy to track its location via geolocation services. He can even request the handler to provide real-time updates about the dog via photos.
• After a leisurely walk, the dog handler returns the dog to its owner and receives payment for his service via the app. 
• In the final step, after the payment, the dog owners can even rate dog handlers and even write reviews according to their performance.

How Do These Apps Work?

The operational flow of the on-demand dog walk app is fairly routine and easy to perform. 

First, the dog owner needs to register enough information about him and his pet. You, as the owner, will always have the option to add more details about your dog, such as harnesses, collars, medicines, and vets. 

After registering, you have to search for dog handlers or walkers in your surrounding area. If you find a match, you can arrange a meetup, where you let them take your dog for a walk and then drop it off when they’re done.

There is a reason why dog-walking apps are becoming more and more popular among dog owners these days and are the perfect platform for not only making money but also spending time with dogs for the people who’d join as the walkers.

Market Overview

Before entering a business, it is of utmost importance to look at current and future statistics and figures to determine if it is worth investing in. Nevertheless, the business of running dogs on demand is growing rapidly and becoming more popular, so you need to look at two different types of statistics. 

The first is the number of households with dogs, and the second is the average working hours for each week of the month. Jumping into the APPA survey reveals another statistic that 63.4 million households in the United States have dogs, and at least 40% of workers spend more than 40 hours a week.

Now, summarizing these two statistics, we can see that the owners of these dogs work more than 8 hours a day. In addition to working hours, they have to find time to do social and household chores so they don’t have enough time to spend with their lovely dog.

According to another American Pet Product Association study, American citizens total $ 23.4 billion for dog food, over $ 15.73 billion for veterinary care, $ 14.39 billion for consumables and OTC drugs, and 5.2 billion for pet services. So, they are spending $ 40 million approximately. This includes grooming, eating, and buying $ 2.19 billion for home pets.

These numbers are enormous, suggesting that American homes love pets, especially dogs. Dog and cat blogs are also becoming more popular. But working hours and other important things are the hurdles between them and their pets. 

This creates a great opportunity for on-demand dog walker apps, and people are growing with these apps. There are many reasons why you might like these apps. But some of the main reasons are its time savings and efficiency, the rapid growth of dog sitter and daycare businesses, and the simple and effective way to make money.

So How Do You Build Your Dog-Walking App?

• Decide Your Business Strategy

Want to know how to start a dog walk service?

The first step in developing an on-demand dog walk app is to create a robust business strategy in line with your current and future business goals.

You can be either an animal management/pet care agency or an entrepreneur planning to start a dog walking aggregator company. If you want to grow your business and increase your income, you can also add new dog sitting, dog training, and pet grooming services. 

However, be careful not to chew more than you can. Focus on doing your best first, then slowly expand to other animal care services.

• Do Your Market Research

We have divided this point into three major sections, which are:

• Understanding the market situation: First, understand the basics of the market. Answer the following questions before developing an on-demand mobile pet care app solution. 

• Who is your target audience?
• What’s the problem?
• How can you solve them? 
• What are the trends in the pet industry, and how can you increase their value?

• Competitor Research: You need to know who your competitors are. What is the most popular dog walking app in your locality? What services do they offer through their app? The type of marketing channel they use and their performance in the market. Next, you need to see what features you have in your dog sitter or dog walking application. 

However, this does not mean that you need to copy them.

This is strictly for understanding and inspiration purposes only. You need to follow others and follow your path to stand out from the crowd. Think of what you can do better than them. Be sure to develop an on-demand or dog walk app that is the best dog walk app for dog and pet owners and strollers. 

• Finding Business Partners: A mutually beneficial business to the two parties is more likely to succeed. Besides comparing competitors, you need to find a relevant company, not your competitors. For example, animal clinics, pet food brands and stores, animal care and training institutions.You can partner with such a company to get more business with your dog walking app. If you are an aggregator, you need to find, contact and cooperate with freelance dogs, pet pedestrians and dog pedestrians.

• Jot Down The Features You Wish To Include

After comparing and studying your competitors, it might be easier for you to see which features are important while developing the best dog walking apps. But, first, you should note all the features you want to use in your on-demand dog walking application.

• Hiring App Developers 

The final step in developing an on-demand pet or dog walking app is hiring the best developer for your project. You can find and hire developers from various sites like Upwork, AppFutura, Clutch, and more. There are hundreds of thousands of application developers in the database of these sites. 

However, you should choose a company with experience in dog walking applications or on-demand solutions and has developed similar applications in the past. This will increase the reliability of their work, and their experience will also help make your project better.

How To Monetize Your Dog Walking App?

• eCommerce Integration

E-commerce integration means that e-commerce software is combined with other software solutions such as CRM & ERP. It automatically creates channels between systems for exchanging data such as sales offers, customer contacts, and orders. 

It is an e-commerce business that buys and sells goods over the Internet. The exchange of price and stock-related data also occurs via e-commerce with online transaction completion. 

• Commission 

Commissions are a great way to earn money and have been equally successful on new and existing platforms. The commission income model receives a significant portion of all payments made directly to the official website. Therefore, this income model easily works and is the most profitable of all income models. 

• Promotional Sales 

Another easy way to monetize your app is to show relevant ads to available users of your app. A quick and easy way is to get paid partnerships with several companies in the dog food and dog toys market.

And of course, it is obvious to tell you that you have to make sure that the companies you are partnering with are reliable and do not promote harmful animal products.

Basic Features To Include In Your Dog-Walking App

Let’s make one thing clear. This is not one application. The three main components of a dog walking application are the client application, the dog walking application, and the dog walking software control panel. So let’s check each component and function. 

1. For The Customer App

• Search & Filter: This feature helps customers find suitable dog walking services according to their requirements. Customers may be looking for specific services, institutions, dog walks, dog walk rates or locations. The filter feature helps pet owners sieve out unsuitable dog and pet walkers and choose the one that fits their needs. 
• Profile: Before booking a walker for your dog, you, the pet owner, should be able to check their walker’s online profile through the Dog Walk app itself. Therefore, this profile can perform virtual background checks and help you make informed decisions about keeping your favourite pets for pet care services.
• Photo Updates: This feature helps dog and pet owners to receive updates and evidence on dog care and health. Dog walkers can click on photos of pet activity to send to dogs and pet owners. 
• Real-time tracking: This feature is a must for any on-demand marketplace. The GPS tracking feature gives dogs and pet owners peace of mind by allowing them to know their location in real-time. 
• Report. This feature helps dog and pet owners keep track of all bookings, distance travelled, dog and pet walk performance and payments in one place. 

2. Dog Walker App 

• Profile Creation: Dog and pet walkers can create a profile to show their previous experience and briefly share how they care for their dog or other pets. They can add a profile picture and ID so dog owners can check before taking their pet for a walk. 
• Accept/Reject Request: When a dog or pet owner sends a request for canine and walking animals, they can see the job description, such as how many pets they have, whether they need to sit or take them to a dog park. This feature would allow the walkers accept or reject a request.
• Scheduling: Features such as calendar or scheduling help dog and pet walkers plan dog walking activities and schedule appointments in order. It also helps keep track of the dog owner’s upcoming appointments and payments. 

3. Control Panel 

• Customer and Walker Management: Administrators can manage the control panel and access information about dog owners and dog walks. Managers manage details and troubleshoot dog walking software. 
• Work Distribution: Administrators manage work requests submitted by dog ​​or pet owners. The control panel should be able to distribute jobs automatically or manually. 
• View report: Administrators also have access to all generated reports that can help track activity in the application. The number of bookings approved, cancelled or completed, all information is available in the report. 
• Payment Management: Administrators can manage their fees in Service Fees and pay dogs and pets accordingly. 

Must-Have Features For Your Dog-Walking App

Advanced features are an essential part of an on-demand dog walking app, as they not only improve functionality but also give the app an impressive look and feel to the platform.

Now let’s take a look at some of the important advanced features of the app. 

•  Social Registration/Login 

This is the page you will be greeted with when you enter your application form. For new users, you can register for the app by providing your personal information by checking your email or social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. If you are already a user, you can log in to your account by entering your username and password. 

• In-App Calls

As the name suggests, this feature provides users with the ability to talk to dog walkers on calls. This feature is unique in every way, as the needs and requirements of dog owners can be easily communicated over the phone. 

•  In-app chat 

This feature is very similar to the calling feature of the application, with the only difference being that it allows you to chat with the dog walkers instead of talking on the phone. Unfortunately, not all users are comfortable making phone calls, so this feature is necessary. 

• In-App navigation

With the help of built-in navigation, users can search for nearby dogs ​​lovers and guardians to walk their dogs. Geolocation is a must for any on-demand app, just like dog-walking apps. 

•  Real-time Analytics Dashboard 

Real-time dashboards are performance tools for analyzing, reporting, and tracking common company data in real-time through data visualization. All dashboards are automatically updated in real-time, giving users instant access to important data. 

•  Mobile Wallet 

The flexibility of a mobile wallet is a huge plus for dog walking apps. The more options you have, the easier it is for users to process payments. Also, since the app is used by users from different parts of the world, and mobile wallets are different everywhere, it’s good to have multiple mobile wallet options.

Wrapping Up

Dog walking apps are great when built with proper guidelines. The dog walking app is a great innovation for people who have dogs but are busy with their lifestyle. Dog walking apps allow dog owners to enjoy life without worrying about their pets.

So, in this transitional period in the online section, you should have the opportunity to create a dog walking app with the help of a reputable app development company.