Dog Days Dog Walking
& Boarding Service
Pet Sitting, Home Sitting,
Walking & Boarding.
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Are you a Housewife? Retired? Returning to work but don’t want that office job back? Home worker or part time looking for extra income? Perhaps your just need a complete change? Do you own a dog or have you been a dog owner in the past? Are you looking for part time work with a friendly company? Is a fun, healthy and enjoyable lifestyle important to you? In this section you can learn all about the roles of a home & pet sitter with Dog Days and find answers to questions like;
There are three basic roles at Dog Days, these are dog walker, home boarder and home sitter. In the following section there is information about each role to help you decide which one is right for you.
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What is the role of a Dog Walker? A Dog Days walker will typically be a dog owner past or present and will have a genuine desire to work with animals. What are my working hours? Typical working hours are 2.5 hours a day, over the lunchtime period, 5 days a week, Monday to Friday and Dog Days is looking for applicants who can support this work schedule as a minimum. However we are sometimes able to offer longer hours and greater rewards for applicants who require this. Dog Days likes to work with walkers on an individual basis and agree workloads tailored to their needs. Where will I work? Each walker looks after their own immediate territory which can be thought of as a circle around their home, the edge of which is no more than 5 miles in any direction. To keep travelling expenses down, our walkers (as a general rule) are assigned the clients that are closest to them, but this can vary depending on the mix of dogs. Dog Days has a good understanding of the best places available for group walks in all territories and as part of your training you will be shown these walks. However, our walkers are always discovering new places to walk and we encourage our staff to continue to do this. How many dogs will I walk? Dog Days employees do not walk any more that 4 dogs at a time. Each social walk is "up to" 4 dogs. Group walking is a different discipline to walking a dog one to one and new employees are introduced to their group gradually over time. Backup and support is on hand at all times & coaching is provided. Where does your walking service cover? Dog Days Dog Walking Service is currently available throughout most of central Berkshire, North Surrey and the Eastern corner of Hampshire. Specifically we cover Ascot, Bracknell, Reading, Twyford & Wokingham in Berkshire & we also cover Camberley in Surrey and Hook in Hampshire. If you live in and around these regions we are interested in hearing from you. We are not currently able to deal with applications from other regions. How much can I earn as a Dog Walker? As a member of Dog Days team you will be paid £5.00 per dog walked. Average monthly income is typically in the region of £350 - £400 for a commitment of around 2.5 hours each day (over the lunchtime period). This is equivalent to one walk per day with up to 4 dogs. Will I get holiday pay? Yes - Dog Days pays its staff 28 days holiday pay per annum and this is paid "pro-rata" according to the amount of work done. Can I work longer and earn more? Yes - Dog Days walkers are able to increase income by participating in general pet sitting duties at other times of the day such as home visits to look after smaller pets, cats, rabbits etc and the option also exists to take on home boarding assignments, however these additional duties are entirely optional and depend on your individual requirements and circumstances. Will I incurr any expenses? You will need to have your own vehicle large enough for the safe transportation of up to 4 dogs. Dog Days will provide all the equipment you need in order to equip your vehicle for the safe transportation of animals including dog guards, crates, pet carriers and seat belts. However, you will, on average, drive around 20 miles each day to collect and return your dogs to their owners homes. The cost of fuel & any other costs associated with running your vehicle are not reimbursed by Dog Days. How will I know what work I have on a daily basis? All Dog Days staff have access to our unique on-line scheduling system where they have their own personal on-line diary. All diaries update in real time which means that as soon as we receive a cancellation or a booking, the diaries reflect these changes immediately. Staff diaries also show individual staff members what they will earn on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. All information in respect of the client, the pets you are looking after and the nature of the work requested is also available from the on-line scheduling system. How will I get paid? Dog Days pays its staff monthly. All staff receive and email once a month telling them about their proposed pay details, this is then followed by a payslip about 10 days later. Salaries are paid directly into bank accounts on or around the 25th of each month.
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What is the role of a Home Boarder? A Dog Days home boarder will typically be a dog owner past or present and will have a genuine desire to work with animals. What are my working hours? This job is totally flexible. You can work when you like although the more available you are the easier it is for dog Days assign work to you. When you have a dog staying with you, the normal rules of dog ownership apply ie
How much can I earn as a Home Boarder? As a member of the Dog Days team your total employment benefits are worth £10.00 per day for each dog boarded. If a dog is with you every day of the month then you can expect to earn around £300.00 however most of our boarders have breaks in between assignments. We do not pay an hourly rate. Will I get holiday pay? Yes - Dog Days pays its staff 28 days holiday pay per annum and this is paid "pro-rata" according to the amount of work done. Where does your boarding service cover? Dog Days Home Boarding Service is currently available throughout most of central Berkshire, North Surrey and the Eastern corner of Hampshire. Specifically we cover Ascot, Bracknell, Reading, Twyford & Wokingham in Berkshire. We also cover Camberley in Surrey and Hook in Hampshire. If you live in and around this region we are interested in hearing from you. We are not currently able to deal with applications from other regions. Can I take on more work and earn more money? Yes - Dog Days boarders are able to increase income (if their house and circumstances permit) by taking on another boarding dog (we generally do not board more that two dogs per family). In addition, home boarders can also participate in general pet sitting duties such as home visits to look after smaller pets, cats, rabbits etc, (each visit lasts 20 minutes) however these additional duties are entirely optional and depend on your individual requirements and circumstances. Will I incurr any expenses? Any equipment you require to enable you to enjoy your boarding assignments, such as safety gates, crates, feeding bowls and beds etc will either be provided by Dog Days. You will not be required to drive to collect and drop off clients dogs unless you elect to do this in which case you will be paid for your time and your mileage. Will I be insured? Yes - you will be covered by Dog Days comprehensive insurance policy which includes cover for employers liability and pubic liability. How will I know what work I have on a daily basis? All Dog Days staff have access to our unique on-line scheduling system where they have their own personal on-line diary. All diaries update in real time which means that as soon as we receive a cancellation or a booking, the diaries reflect these changes immediately. Staff diaries also show our staff members what they will earn on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. All information in respect of the pets you are looking after is also available from the on-line scheduling system. How will I get paid? Dog Days pays its staff monthly. All staff receive an email once a month telling them about their proposed pay details, this is then followed by a payslip about 10 days later. Salaries are paid directly into bank accounts on or around the 25th of each month.
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Are you recently retired? Perhaps you have a lot of free time and you are experienced in the care of animals. Are you interested in a change of scene? For people in the right circumstances, home sitting can be a rewarding experience. It provides an opportunity to change your surroundings without the associated cost of a holiday. There is free time each day when you will be able to explore the surrounding area or just put your feet up and whilst on assignment, you are usually able to enjoy the full facilities of the home you are staying in (and get paid for doing it). |
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Our typical clients own one or more pets, and so home sitting provides an opportunity to look after a wide variety of different animals without the tie of ownership.
Home sitting also includes light domestic duties such as watering plants and picking up post etc and there is usually some security procedures to follow. Home sitting does not however entail any heavy duty work or long daily chores. It is domestic life, lived elsewhere. what do I need to become a sitter? Successful candidates will...
We are based in Berkshire and we cover London & the entire South East Region. Payments. We pay £24.00 per day to our home sitters and we make additional small payments if you are looking after a larger number of animals. We also provide 28 days paid holiday which is accrued and paid on a pro rata basis.
For each assignment you take on, you will be required to attend the client’s house to complete a pre-assignment questionnaire which sets out the daily duties of the assignment. In order to do this you will incur travelling expenses which are reimbursed at 34 pence per mile. Travelling expenses to and from the assignment itself will also be reimbursed at the same rate. How do I apply? If you are interested in becoming a home sitter, please complete our on-line application form Apply Here. If we decide to take your application to the next stage, we will contact you for a telephone interview. We are always very busy recruiting so please bear with us - it can often be some time before we are able to get back to you. After a telephone interview, the next stage is to take up your references and perform a disclosure (which we ask you to do). This will provide proof that you do not have any criminal past. Once these final checks are complete we like to meet all our home sitters for a face to face interview before any offer of employment is made. An offer of employment and our employment contract will be sent to you after your successful face to face interview. When these are signed and back with us, we can start to offer you work.
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