How To Develop An On Demand Dog Walking App?

Why Do You Need An On Demand Dog Walking App?

Dogs are fluffy and charming, but they also come with additional duties. You must consistently look after them, feed them, teach them, groom them, take them to the veterinarian, play with them, and, most importantly, take them for a walk after being at the house all day.

You can’t outsource all of your obligations, but you can outsource the most essential one, which is taking the dog for a walk. The availability of different on-demand dog walking apps allows consumers to leave their dogs in the capable hands of these dog walking app attendants, who will care for them as if they were their own.

With other on demand services like food delivery, grocery delivery, home services, etc. a dog walking app will do great in the market. These dog walking services are especially useful for professionals who have a busy schedule. So, if you’re having trouble finding time for your dog, consider one of these dog walking apps.

According to another poll conducted by the American Pet Product Association, Americans spend $23.4 billion on dog food, $15.73 billion on vet care, $14.39 billion on supplies and OTC medicine, $5.24 billion on grooming and boarding, and $2.19 billion on acquiring dogs for their families.

These numbers are staggering, indicating that American households are too fond of pets, particularly dogs. Working hours and other obligations, on the other hand, function as a barrier between people and their dogs.

Essential Features For Your On Demand Dog Walking App

Let’s be clear: this is not a single app. In reality, a dog walking app has three primary components: a customer app, a dog walking app, and a dashboard. Let’s have a look at each component and its capabilities.

Customer’s App

• Search & Filter: This tool assists clients in locating suitable dog walking services that meet their needs. The consumer may look for a certain service, agency, dog walker, dog walking prices, or area by using the search bar. Filters enable pet owners to weed out inappropriate dog and pet walkers and select the one that best suits their needs.
• Profile: Pet parents should be able to check out the profiles of dog sitters using the dog walking app before reserving one. This profile can assist them in doing virtual background checks and making educated judgments about entrusting their cherished pets to pet care.
• Photo Updates: This tool allows dog and pet owners to receive updates and confirmation of their dog’s health and treatment. Photographs of dog walkers’ activities with pets can be taken and sent to the dogs’ and pet owners.
• Real-time Tracking: This is a must-have feature in any on-demand dog walking app. Wag and Rover, two of the most popular dog walking apps, both include this function. The GPS tracking feature allows dog and pet owners to know where their dogs and dog walkers are in real-time, providing a sense of security.
• Reports: This tool will allow dog and pet owners to keep track of all their reservations, walking distances, dog and pet walker performance, and payments in one location.

Dog Walker’s App

• Profile Creation: Dog and pet walkers may build a profile to display their prior experiences and provide a brief description of how they care for dogs and other pets. They can include a photograph of themselves as well as any kind of identification for dog owners to verify before entrusting their pets to walkers.
• Accept/Reject Requests: When dog or pet owners make requests to dog and pet walkers, they may go over the work description to see how many pets there are if they need to sit the dogs, take them to dog parks, or look after them in any other manner. The dog walker can then accept or reject the offer through the dog walking app.
• Schedule: A calendar or scheduling tool assists dog and pet walkers in organising their dog walking duties and arranging their appointments systematically. This also makes it easier for them to keep track of forthcoming appointments and payments from dog owners.

Dashboard

• Manage Customers & Walkers: The admin is in charge of the dashboard and has access to dog owners’ and on-demand dog walkers’ information. The administrator oversees the details and handles any difficulties that arise.
• Allocate Jobs: The administrator is in charge of the job requests filed by dog or pet owners. On the dashboard, both automatic and manual work assignments must be possible.
• View Reports: The admin will also have access to all of the created reports, which will aid him in keeping track of the app’s actions. The statistics detail everything from the number of appointments made to how many are accepted, cancelled, or fulfilled.
• Manage Payments: The administrator can keep track of his commission from the service charge and make payments to the dog and pet walkers as needed.

Steps To Build Your On Demand Dog Walking App

We’ve outlined five stages for creating a dog walking app like Rover and Wag. If you’re an entrepreneur searching for the simplest solution, this is for you. Check out all five stages to creating your dog walking app like Rover or Wag.

Business Strategy

Creating a business plan that matches your present and future company goals is the first step in establishing an on-demand dog walking app. You can work for a pet-walking or pet-care firm, or you can establish your own dog-walker service aggregator company.

If you want to grow your business and generate more money, you may add other services like dog care, dog training, and pet grooming. Make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew, though. Concentrate on what you do well first, and then gradually extend to additional pet-care services.

Decide Your Monetization Strategy

The next step is to devise a monetization strategy for your company. You may make money with the on-demand dog walking app in a few different ways.

Dog-walking Service – If you own an agency, monetization is straightforward. You’re effectively automating the entire process with the dog walking app. Your technique of earning will be quite similar.

Aggregators’ Guide–

• Transactions Fee: You can deduct a percentage from each payment made in return for services booked through your app.
• Paid promotions: You may charge dog walking companies or independent pet walkers to be included in your app. You can charge a premium for highlighting their services in a certain location.
• Paid advertisements: Many pet-related businesses will pay you to display their advertisements on the app. 
• Surge Fees: Surge fees are comparable to those charged by Uber. Due to high demand, many dog and pet owners are unable to find dog walkers in their region. Through your dog walking app, you may supply a dog walker to such dog owners at a greater fee. This is beneficial to you, as well as dog and pet walkers to earn more.

Market Research

To make this process easier to understand, we’ll break it down into three sections.

Recognize the Market Environment: To begin, gain a fundamental grasp of the market. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Who do you want to reach out to?
• What are the issues they’re dealing with? What are your options for resolving them?
• What are the current pet-care trends, and how can you bring value to the industry?

After analyzing the answers to all these questions, you must be able to gain knowledge about the competition in the market for your dog walking app.

Examine your competitors: You must determine who your competition is. What is the name of the most popular dog walking app? What types of services do they provide through their dog walking apps? What marketing channels do they employ, and how well do they succeed in the market? 

Find Business Partners: A business that benefits both sides is more likely to succeed. In addition to analysing your rivals, you should look for firms that are similar to yours but not competitors. Veterinary hospitals, pet food companies or stores, pet grooming, and training institutions are just a few examples.

You may collaborate with such companies to increase the number of people who use your dog walking app. In the case of aggregators, you must locate and contact independent dog and pet walkers, as well as dog walking agencies, to collaborate.

Make a list of features: After you’ve compared and contrasted the rivals, you’ll have a good notion of what features are critical for building the greatest dog walking app like Uber for dog walkers. Make a list of all the features you’d like in your on-demand dog walking app.

Conclusion

On the plus side, the emergence of an on-demand dog walking app is a plus because many pet owners find it difficult to care for their pets. It helps dog walkers in the sense that it creates good-paying jobs for them, as well as the pet owners.

If you want to make a dog walking app after reading this article, you must get in touch with a mobile app development company to start with your on demand dog walking app development.