What does a dog sitter do?
A dog sitter is primarily responsible for taking care of dogs while their owners are away. Their tasks include feeding dogs, taking them to walks or daycares, bathing or cleaning their ears, and providing owners with regular updates. Most dog sitters typically meet with clients beforehand to learn about the dogs and their needs, as some of them may require medicine or particular care. Should there be any problems, a dog sitter must report to the owners right away.
Dog sitter responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real dog sitter resumes:
- Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.
- Groom, trim, and clip animals' coats.
- Provide smaller services such as cleaning ears, clipping nails, and small scissoring around eyes and paws.
- Bath a variety of dog breeds, and provide basic grooming sanitary needs such as clipping nails and cleaning ears.
- Maintain professional relationship with pet owners and communicate through email and phone regarding daily pet behavior.
- Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.
Dog sitter skills and personality traits
We calculated that 66% of Dog Sitters are proficient in PET, Customer Service, and Dog Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Customer-service skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Dog Sitters that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PET, 66%
Provide daily and/or overnight care to pets - Foster a safe environment for dogs that meets the needs of pet parents
- Customer Service, 20%
Provided high-quality customer service in any way possible to maintain a good flow of customer revenue.
- Dog Care, 10%
Provide dog care services for 3 dogs including feeding, walking, grooming and bathing.
- Fresh Water, 1%
Clean up after and make sure he has fresh water.
- Clients Homes, 0%
Trusted to enter clients homes unattended in order to care for their pets while they are not home.
- Child Care, 0%
Front desk checking in members, paperwork, and making sure the club is running smoothly Child care for members.
Common skills that a dog sitter uses to do their job include "pet," "customer service," and "dog care." You can find details on the most important dog sitter responsibilities below.
Compassion. The most essential soft skill for a dog sitter to carry out their responsibilities is compassion. This skill is important for the role because "animal care and service workers must be compassionate when dealing with animals and their owners." Additionally, a dog sitter resume shows how their duties depend on compassion: "ensured patient safety and provided compassionate care. "
Customer-service skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling dog sitter duties is customer-service skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "animal care and service workers should understand pet owners’ needs so they can provide excellent customer service." According to a dog sitter resume, here's how dog sitters can utilize customer-service skills in their job responsibilities: "developed and maintained a long lasting and loyal customer base by providing top level customer service and care. "
Patience. dog sitters are also known for patience, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to dog sitter responsibilities, because "all animal caretakers and animal trainers need to be patient when working with animals." A dog sitter resume example shows how patience is used in the workplace: "deliver direct patient care to senior adults with varying levels of disabilities, while demonstrating patience and enthusiasm. "
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what dog sitters do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to dog sitter responsibilities because "animal trainers must be able to assess whether animals are responding to teaching methods and to identify which methods are successful." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical dog sitter tasks: "provided customer service and answered phones * provided answers and solutions for dog care and grooming. "
Reliability. A commonly-found skill in dog sitter job descriptions, "reliability" is essential to what dog sitters do. Dog sitter responsibilities rely on this skill because "animal care and service workers need to care for animals on schedule and in a timely manner." You can also see how dog sitter duties rely on reliability in this resume example: "execute reliability and compatibility with children when parents need someone to care for their kids while they are away. "
Detail oriented. While "detail oriented" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to dog sitter responsibilities. Much of what a dog sitter does relies on this skill, seeing as "animal care and service workers are often responsible for maintaining records and monitoring changes in animals’ behavior." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of dog sitters: "managed a detailed schedule for each pet sitter to maximize availability for client needs. "
The three companies that hire the most dog sitters are:
- CARE1,503 dog sitters jobs
- Rover Holdings Corp163 dog sitters jobs
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Compare different dog sitters
Dog sitter vs. Animal care technician
An animal care technician is an animal medical professional who is responsible for providing care to animals in the clinical or research setting. Animal care technicians take blood or stool samples from animals and run laboratory tests to determine the cause of an ailment. They often take charge of bathing and grooming animals as well as administer anesthesia before procedures. Animal care technicians are also required to speak to the pet's owners to help them understand the diagnosis and administer medication.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a dog sitter are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "dog care," "medication administration," and "fresh water." On the other hand, a job as an animal care technician requires skills like "patients," "animal husbandry," "pigs," and "patient care." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Animal care technicians really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,797. Comparatively, dog sitters tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $26,717.On average, animal care technicians reach similar levels of education than dog sitters. Animal care technicians are 0.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Dog sitter vs. Groomer assistant
An animal care provider is someone who provides care and attention to pets. Usually, this person is part of a veterinary clinic and offers all kinds of care pets ranging from grooming, medical attention, and hygienic care. The animal care provider is an essential contact person for animal lovers, which makes the position important. Part of an animal care provider's responsibilities is exercising animals, monitoring their health and nutrition, treating wounds, sicknesses, and other ailments, and giving owners advice on how to take care of their pets better.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real dog sitter resumes. While dog sitter responsibilities can utilize skills like "dog care," "medication administration," "fresh water," and "clients homes," groomer assistants use skills like "appointment scheduling," "teeth," "front desk," and "animal handling."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Groomer assistants tend to reach similar levels of education than dog sitters. In fact, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Dog sitter vs. Kennel worker
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from dog sitter resumes include skills like "pet," "customer service," "dog care," and "medication administration," whereas a kennel worker is more likely to list skills in "clean cages," "facility laundry," "animal handling," and "exam rooms. "
Most kennel workers achieve a similar degree level compared to dog sitters. For example, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Dog sitter vs. Animal care provider
Types of dog sitter
Updated January 8, 2025
