Rover.com is a popular dog-walking and pet-sitting app in Canada and the United States.
Similar to platforms like Wag and GoFetch, this application makes it super simple for pet owners to find caregivers for their furry friends and for pet lovers to find pet sitting or walking gigs that fit their schedules.
On average, you can earn $35 to $70 per day through the pet-sitting gigs available on this platform.
This Rover review covers how this platform works, its pros and cons, and how to make money with dog walking and pet sitting in your area.
Rover.com Summary
Rover.com
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Ease of Use
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Compensation
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Sign-up Process
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Time Flexibility
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Redemption Options
Overall
Summary
Rover.com is an application that connects people who need someone to temporarily take care of their furbabies to those who need pet sitting or walking gigs. Operating in over 14,000 cities in Canada and the United States, this platform offers transparent pricing for both workers and clients, insurance that covers pets during the service, and multiple helpful services to pet owners. Rover manually approves every application of pet sitters on the platform, giving customers the peace of mind that their pets are in good hands when selecting a caregiver from this application.
Pros
- Sign-up for free
- Set your own prices
- No experience required
- Fun job opportunities for pet lovers
Cons
- Work availability varies on your area
- Rover deducts 20% of your earnings
- You won’t be compensated for damages or losses incurred during the job
Rover.com Overview
What is Rover.com?
Rover.com was founded in 2011 and is the world’s largest network of dog walkers and pet sitters. The company operates in Canada and the United States with a presence in over 14,000 cities and more than 200,000 local sitters. In 2017, Rover acquired its main competitor, DogVacay.
The Rover app makes it easy for pet owners to find sitters who can either stay at the owner’s home or care for the pet at their residence.
Pet sitting rates are transparent, and a Rover Guarantee protects the dog (pet) from accidents that may occur while in care.
For pet sitters, the Rover app makes it possible to get paid for playing with dogs and other pets.
Services available through Rover.com are:
- Dog boarding
- Dog walking
- Doggy daycare
- House-sitting and Drop-ins
How To Make Money With Rover.com
If you love animals, consider monetizing your free time using Rover. You can earn real money caring for other people’s pets, walking dogs, house-sitting cats, and more. To get started,
- Visit Rover.com to open an account.
- Complete your profile and highlight your love for pets, the types and sizes of pets you are comfortable with, references (if available), photos of your pets, and the space in your accommodation. No special formal qualifications are required.
- Wait for Rover to manually approve your application.
- Specify your availability, daily rates, and other details.
- Receive payments via PayPal.
It is free to sign up with Rover, list your services and start accepting gigs. When you complete a walk or pet-sitting task, Rover takes a 20% cut from your earnings.
Dog Boarding: Provide overnight care for a dog or cat in your home. Dog boarders earn the most on Rover.
House Sitting: Pet-sit an animal in its owner’s home or stop by on a schedule to check on it and get paid.
Dog Walking: Accept requests to take a dog for walks during your spare time.
Dog Daycare: Provide care for one or more pets in your home during the day.
Rover Guarantee for Pet Sitters
With the 20% cut that you give to Rover, they also give you some benefits back in return.
Rover sitters and walkers receive free support that is available 24/7 and includes veterinary assistance. Your services are protected for up to $1 million (covering property damage and third-party injuries), and the app makes running your pet-sitting business a breeze.
In addition, Rover provides sitters with free continuing pet education.
How Much Money Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters Make
A 30-minute walk on Rover costs $20, while a one-hour walk costs $30 on average. Pet sitters charge anywhere from $35 to $70 daily/night.
The amount of money you make on Rover will depend on whether you decide to use the platform on a part-time or full-time basis. It will also depend on how high the demand for pet-sitting services is in your area.
Based on Indeed.ca reviews, the average salary reported by pet sitters and dog walkers is $1,000 per week.
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Is Rover.com Legit and Safe?
Rover is a legit business that connects dog sitters with clients who are looking for pet-sitting services. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and on TrustPilot, their TrustScore at the time of this writing is 4.6/5.
While they do have a Rover Guarantee that covers some potential costs or damages that may arise, both pet owners and sitters still need to vet each other to be sure they are comfortable working together.
Based on the reviews and rating system offered through the app, pet owners can get an idea of how reliable a sitter is. For pet owners, it’s also advisable to do a ‘meet and greet,’ and for pet sitters, make sure a friend or partner knows of your whereabouts.
Overall, I think Rover is much safer than using general online boards like Craigslist.
Benefits of Rover.com for Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
Some of the advantages of using the Rover.com app for your petsitting business are:
- It is free to join
- You get paid via PayPal or check
- It is an easy-to-use and versatile mobile app
- You can set your own price
- No previous formal job experience is required
- It’s fun work if you love animals
Downsides of Rover.com for Pet Sitters and Dog Walkers
Some of the common complaints by sitters and walkers are:
- Limited work availability in some areas, which means you may not be able to depend on Rover as your main source of income
- No other work benefits, and 20% of your earnings go to Rover
- No compensation for damages to the sitter’s property or possessions
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You can deliver as many or as few hours as you want on your schedule and cash out earnings easily. You also keep 100% of the tips you get. This side gig is a great way to bring in extra income.
Is Rover.com Worth Your Time?
If you want to leverage your time to make extra money and don’t mind pets, this gig is worth trying out.
On Rover.com, you set your own schedule and prices, which makes it easy to factor this side hustle into your normal daily routine. For example, you can choose to pet-sit or walk dogs only in the evenings and on weekends.
Part-timers can easily make $1,000 per week on Rover, and if the demand for pet-sitting services is high in your city, you can even manage to make a six-figure income!
Be upfront with pet owners about the services you provide, what you are comfortable doing and what not to expect from you. While on a gig, provide updates through photos and text via the chat function in the Rover app.
As the positive reviews and re-bookings pile up, so will your opportunities to make good money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Visit Rover.com to register and complete your profile. Rover manually reviews applications (takes about a week or less), and once approved, you can start accepting requests.
You set your own prices. Based on sitter reviews, it is realistic to make $1,000 per week if you are providing services on a part-time basis. On average, dog walkers earn $20 per 30-minute walk, and pet sitters can charge up to $70 per day, with overnight stays costing more.
Rover provides a basic background check that confirms the sitter’s social security number and address. It also checks that they are not on a sex offender’s registry, terrorist watchlist, or listed on the National Criminal Database for “disqualifying” criminal offences. Sitters also have the option to complete an “enhanced” check which is more detailed. A badge on the sitter’s profile indicates to pet owners that they have completed the enhanced background check.
No, sitters can also accept requests to care for cats, fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, goats, and other animals.
You can earn $30 per hour walking dogs via Rover.
The popular dog-walking apps in Canada and the United States are Rover, Wag, GoFetch, Swifto, and Spot.
Rover offers a $1,000,000 liability insurance to protect your services. However, damage to the sitter or walker’s property is not covered. So, you may want to buy additional business insurance.
Yes, it will take some work, but it is totally doable.
Rover.com is free to use; however, they take a 20% cut from your earnings.
You are an independent contractor and are responsible for your tax payments. Pet sitters who receive over $600 via check during the year will receive a 1099 tax form from Rover by January 31st of the year following the applicable tax year. If you withdraw your earnings via PayPal, they do not send you any tax documentation. You can always view your total earnings for the year on your Rover account dashboard.
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