Definitely speak with your insurance agent to determine the types of
insurance you need to protect yourself and your business. However, other
important factors to consider are how will you market your business? Will you
watch dogs at your own home, or just do pet sitting services in the owner's
homes?

Best of luck with the dog walking start up. I have a friend who moved from San Diego to New York and ended up in the same line of work. Getting yourself some real insurance in the event of one of the dogs being lost or biting someone, each other etc is a good idea. I think this is an easier business in more urban setting because it cuts down on travel costs and should allow multiple dogs at once. Other then insurance, how are you planning on advertising? Where do dog owners near your target market hang out? Are there MeetUp groups for specific breeds?

The Main thing is how to find clients Find out your prospective market for customers. You will have to do a some of research to find out where your customers are located.   The best customers for a dog walking business are elderly people, handicapped individuals, those who go on regular vacations and people with long work hours. Once you get an idea of your prospective customers, you also need to determine who your competition is and what they charge. You can do a survey online to get this kind of information.    

I'd do a keyword search for dog-walking and grab a domain name about dog-walking that people are already searching for on line. That is a good start.

There are several associations for pet sitters and similar businesses. You can find them by doing an internet search. Some of them offer insurance for a nominal fee. If you are dog walking for anyone other than family, definitely register a business, preferably an LLC, and get insurance.

There are major liability issues whenever you are in charge of someone elses property, especially if that property can casue injury to third parties. You'd really need to establish some solid liability waiving contracts (professionally drafted) as well as making sure you have plenty of liability insurance in place. Still, it's a pretty low cost start up business if you go into it with your eyes open.

See I can give you small advice. Start from a small business. You should start from your neighborhood. I am sure you will get many digs there. Later on, you can make a big company.

I recently wrote an article on the topic of getting new customers.  This is a copy of the key points from that article, some of which you might want to consider... If you are looking for a website traffic, then click on my profile name, where there are many more options.  Hope it helps. Some old fashioned ideas that come to mind are:1. Send a postcard via snail mail. Postcards announcing your new product can be sent to everyone on your email list - even your buddies.2. Print business cards and make sure they come with your business name - and URL - in large bold text. Drop them in fish bowls at restaurants - sure. But place them on bulletin boards at stores convenience stores and gas stations as well. You may be surprised how effective this can be.3. Create flyers. Pass them out at public events and ball games - just don't create a bunch of litter by placing them on cars and trucks - that will blow up in your face.4. Place an add in the business section f the news paper. Sounds crazy - sure, but folks still read'em.5. Promo items. Pencils, note pads, golf tees, and other stuff with your URL can be handed out after sporting events, rock concerts, etc. Come on - you've seen these things - they really work. Recall - you can't tell someone who isn't looking - to go to your site, but you don't even have to convince a person 'who is looking' to go to your store - It's all about numbers.

I agree to Fireplace-Guy you have to make sure that both party/parties are on both good side, meaning doing business should have some guidlines or simply the contract. With this, the clients would understand your business the guidelines and other that you want to include,   Now to be a good Dog Walking Business man   1. Consider how big you want your dog walking career to be 2. be prepared for running a business 3. Set the amount you want to charge 4. Print some stylish business cards 5. Advertise 6. Get a Good Website 7. Consider value-adding with other services 8. Love and understand your canine clients 9. Understand your human client 10.Learn some basic dog first-aid 11.You also need to take into account the times you will be walking - in winter it will be darker than summer

Sadly, the above information isn't very accurate. Dog walking is a successful buisness if you 'protect' your personal liability. Remember, you'll be walking their dogs and you would be responsible if that dog was to bite another person, along with the owner. You will also be responsible for any injuries the dog may substain while the animal is in your possession. I recommend that you do the following if you seriously plan to do this type of buisness. 1. Register the buisness as an LLC to you can seperate personal asset liability from buisness assets. 2. Look into insurance providers that would insure such a buisness, this will protect you if you get hurt or have any liability issues. 3. Get an attorney to great a valid contract that customers will sign that will attempt to wavie any liability from damages to the animal or done by the animal. Remember, what seems like a simple easy to do buisness can be a legal nightmare in the future.