• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tailster Blog

Tailster

  • Dogs
  • Cats
  • Walkers & Sitters
Tailster / Pet Businesses / Dog Walkers / Do Dog Walkers Need A License?

Do Dog Walkers Need A License?

When you decide to turn your passion for dogs into a business, things start to get a little more serious.

Contents hide
1 Do Dog Walkers Need A License To Operate?
2 What Do We Require Of Tailster Dog Walkers?
2.1 What Qualities Are Most Important For Dog Walkers?

Being a dog walker is demanding and you’ll soon realise the challenge of treating every dog that’s in your care as though they’re yours.

It is, however, hugely rewarding and not at all difficult to get started…

Wilma Dog Walking Outside London

Do Dog Walkers Need A License To Operate?

In the UK, there are currently no universal minimum requirements to start a dog walking business. This means that anyone can legally operate as a dog walker.

If a part of your business consists of boarding dogs then you will need to obtain a license from your local council. If you’re simply walking dogs, however, there is no need to apply for any kind of license and you can hit the ground running with your new venture.

Katsu Dog Walking Outside Tailster

What Do We Require Of Tailster Dog Walkers?

Here at Tailster, we fully vet all applicants that come through our site to ensure that they are appropriate for the job at hand. Whilst we don’t require any formal training or qualifications, we do conduct extensive checks to ensure that they have the skills and attributes necessary to undertake the job successfully.

Whilst formal training is not strictly necessary, it can be of benefit to the walker, with many owners opting to book their dogs in with those who have more training/qualifications.

See also  Why dog walking insurance is so important as a dog walker.

These may involve:

  • Animal behaviour
  • Animal care
  • Animal first aid
  • DBS check
  • Any other relevant certificates/experience

Wilma Dog Walking Outside

What Qualities Are Most Important For Dog Walkers?

It is, of course, vital that dog walkers are proficient at what they do and capable of tending to the number of dogs that they have committed to.

The most important quality that we look for in our dog walkers, however, is passion and devotion to what they do. Anyone can learn to control a group of dogs, attend training courses and build up a profile of skills and abilities, but it takes a true animal lover to really understand the essence of what it takes to become a top-quality dog walker.

If you think that you have the skills and qualities necessary to become a dog walker, click here for more details on how Tailster can help get your business up and running.

As the kids head back to school and the summer comes to an end, Tailster has all of your pet care needs sorted! Whether you’re looking for regular, daily walks or someone to pop in occasionally to check on your pets, we’ve got you covered. Click here for more information on Tailster’s pet walking and sitting services. 

20th August 2021

Footer

  • Book a carer
  • Become a carer
  • About
  • Contact

Affiliate Disclosure

We believe in being as transparent as possible when it comes to this site. With this in mind, please be aware that we may receive remuneration for some of the products we review on this site.

Tailster is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com (and other Amazon programs).

We will also list ads from time to time. You should be able to see these as text links or blocks of ads which have a small notation indicating “Ads by Google” or “AdChoices”.

Our mission is to help our visitors, but this is also very clearly a for-profit site and you should realize as much. We include only those products that we believe could benefit you, some of which we may get a commission if you purchase them. However, we also provide links on the site to information resources for which we receive no compensation.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please contact us using the "contact" option on the site menu and we will be happy to answer any questions.

Trademark Dislosure

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.

In addition, any other trademarks and logos we mention on this site are also the property of their respective owners.

Copyright © 2025 Tailster