Pet Sitter & Dog Walker
“Get paid to hang out with dogs and cats in pet-crazy Singapore.”
Monthly Earnings
S$200 – S$3.5k
Startup Cost
S$0 – S$500
First Earning
1–3 weeks
Difficulty
Beginner
Hours/Week
5–20
What is Pet Sitting as a Side Hustle in Singapore?
Pet sitting covers a family of services: dog walking, home visits (feeding, litter, playtime while owners travel), house-sitting with pets, and daycare. Singapore's pet population has boomed — pet ownership surged after 2020, HDB legalised cats in flats from late 2024, and pet spending keeps climbing. Meanwhile, the people who bought those pandemic puppies have returned to offices and resumed travelling, creating steady demand for reliable pet care.
The economics: dog walks go for S$15-30 per 30-60 minute walk, home visits for cats run S$15-40 per visit, and overnight sitting or daycare commands S$30-80 per night. Platforms like Pawshake and PetBacker handle discovery, booking, and payment (taking 15-20% commission), or you can build a direct client base in your neighbourhood. Because pet care stacks — two walks plus two cat visits in an evening is realistic once clients cluster near home — hourly yield beats most casual gig work.
Take Aisyah, a 26-year-old nurse in Sengkang who works shifts. On her off days she does morning dog walks for three regulars in her estate (S$20 each) and cat visits during travel seasons. School holidays are her peak: June and December are fully booked with daily visits for travelling families. She earns S$700-1,200 in a normal month and up to S$1,800 in December — all from clients within 15 minutes of her flat, found through Pawshake reviews and a neighbourhood Telegram group.
Legal & Compliance in Singapore
AVS Licensing — Know Where the Line Is
The Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) licenses commercial animal boarding establishments. Walking dogs, visiting pets at the owner's home, and occasional house-sitting need no licence. The line you should not cross casually: regularly boarding multiple animals at your own home for payment starts to look like an unlicensed boarding business — and in an HDB flat it will also breach housing rules. Stick to walks, visits, and sitting at the owner's home unless you're prepared to do boarding properly.
AVS animal-related businesses →HDB Pet Rules Affect Your Service Design
HDB flats allow one approved-breed dog, and cats became legal in flats under the Cat Management Framework from late 2024 (licensing required). Larger dog breeds are only allowed in private housing. Why this matters to you: boarding a client's dog in your HDB flat can put you and the owner in breach, and knowing the rules makes you more credible with clients navigating them.
HDB pet ownership rules →Dog Licensing and Leash Requirements
All dogs in Singapore must be licensed with AVS, and dogs in public must be leashed — as the walker, you are the responsible party during a walk. Scheduled breeds have additional muzzle and handler requirements; as a beginner, simply decline scheduled-breed assignments. If a dog you're walking bites someone, liability lands on you, which is why insurance and platform coverage matter.
Liability and Insurance
Pawshake and PetBacker bookings include some insurance coverage for vet bills and third-party damage during bookings — one of the strongest reasons to start on-platform rather than direct. For direct clients, consider personal liability coverage, and always have a written agreement covering vet emergencies: who you call, which clinic, and a spending cap you're authorised to approve.
Tax Obligations (IRAS)
Pet care income — platform payouts and cash from direct clients — is self-employment income and must be declared to IRAS. Deductibles include transport between clients, pet-care supplies, and platform commissions. Net trade income above S$6,000/year triggers Medisave contributions.
IRAS self-employed income →Employment Contract Check
Standard moonlighting check applies: if you're employed full-time, confirm your contract permits outside income. Pet sitting rarely conflicts with any employer's business, so approval is usually a formality — but get it in writing if your contract has a clause.
How to Get Started (Step-by-Step)
- 1
Decide your service menu and radius
Start with the services that need no licence and no special setup: dog walks, drop-in visits for cats and small pets, and house-sitting at the owner's home. Set a tight service radius — 15-20 minutes from home — because travel time is the silent killer of pet-care margins. Density beats distance: five clients in your estate out-earn ten scattered across the island.
- 2
Get the basics that make you bookable
Complete a pet first aid course (Singapore providers run half-day certifications for around S$100-150) — it's the single strongest trust signal on a new profile. Learn basic dog body language and cat handling from AVS's free resources. If you've never handled reactive dogs, say so and decline them; your safety record is your business.
- 3
Set up on Pawshake and PetBacker
Create profiles on both platforms with real photos of you with animals, your first aid cert, and specific service descriptions ('30-min leashed walk with photo updates' beats 'dog walking'). Price at the platform's suggested band initially — reviews matter more than rates at the start. Enable the smallest services (drop-in visits) to accumulate first bookings fast.
- 4
Over-deliver on the first ten bookings
Reviews compound harder in pet care than any other gig — owners are trusting you with a family member and their house keys. Send photo and video updates every visit without being asked, leave the home tidier than you found it, and write a short handover note. Ten five-star reviews with photos is the threshold where bookings start finding you.
- 5
Build repeat clients and holiday waitlists
The business model is repeat customers: the same three dogs walked weekly, the same cats visited every travel season. After a good booking, tell owners your June and December calendars fill early — holiday pet care is the industry's harvest and books out weeks ahead. A simple reminder message in April and October fills your peak seasons.
- 6
Go direct in your neighbourhood
Once you have platform reviews, add direct channels: neighbourhood Telegram and Facebook groups, a simple name card at the vet clinic and pet shop (ask first), and word of mouth at the dog run. Direct clients skip the 15-20% platform commission — but keep new-client meet-and-greets structured (meet the pet first, agree emergency terms in writing) since you're leaving the platform's insurance umbrella.
Tools & Platforms You'll Need
Free tools to start
- ✓Pawshake — The biggest pet-sitting marketplace in Singapore — booking, payment, and insurance included (commission applies)
- ✓PetBacker — Second major platform — run both to maximise early booking volume and reviews
- ✓Neighbourhood Telegram/Facebook groups — Where direct, commission-free clients come from once you have reviews to show
- ✓AVS resources — Free guides on dog licensing, leash rules, and animal handling — knowing the rules is a selling point
- ✓Google Calendar — Recurring walk schedules, travel-season bookings, and medication timings in one place
Paid tools worth investing in
Half-day certification covering choking, heatstroke, and emergency response — the strongest trust signal a new sitter can have
S$100-150 one-time
Spare leads, treat pouch, poop bags, collapsible water bowl, and a portable fan for Singapore heat
S$50-100 one-time
Coverage for direct (off-platform) clients — protects you if a dog in your care causes injury or damage
From S$100/year
How Much Can You Realistically Earn in Singapore?
Starter
(First 3 months)S$200 – S$600/month
Building reviews on Pawshake and PetBacker with drop-in visits and walks at entry rates. Bookings are sporadic until you cross roughly ten five-star reviews. Use this phase to learn which services and which animals suit you — and to survive your first key-handover logistics.
Growing
(6-12 months)S$600 – S$1.8k/month
Repeat weekly walk clients plus travel-season visit blocks. Your first June or December holiday season roughly doubles a normal month. Direct neighbourhood clients start replacing platform bookings, lifting your effective rate by the 15-20% commission you no longer pay.
Established
(1-2 years)S$1.5k – S$3.5k/month
A dense repeat roster within your estate: daily walk regulars, standing travel-season clients who book you months ahead, and premium services (puppy visits, medication administration, overnight house-sitting at S$50-80/night). Your calendar, not demand, is the constraint — the next step up is choosing between keeping it a side hustle or going full-time with boarding licences.
Real Example
Javier, 33, is a civil servant in Punggol with a golden retriever of his own. He walks three neighbourhood dogs on weekday evenings (S$20-25 per walk, all within 10 minutes of his block) and does cat visits and house-sitting during school holidays. Normal months bring S$900-1,100; last December he earned S$2,100 with fully-booked holiday visits and two overnight house-sits. His entire client base came from Pawshake reviews plus the estate's dog-owner Telegram group. His costs are near zero — a walking kit, an annual insurance policy, and the pet first aid course he took in month one.
How to Scale & Monetise Further
1. Own the holiday calendar
June and December are to pet sitting what exam season is to tuition — demand outstrips supply and rates rise 20-50%. Open holiday bookings months early, take deposits for peak weeks, and offer bundled daily-visit packages for travelling families. Two well-managed holiday seasons can equal four normal months of income.
2. Add premium services
Medication administration, senior-pet care, puppy visits (owners at work with a new puppy pay for midday breaks), and overnight house-sitting all command premium rates over basic walks. Each requires a bit more skill and trust — which your review history and first aid cert already establish.
3. Route-stack your neighbourhood
The real margin lever is density: three walks and two visits within one estate is S$85-140 for an evening with zero transport dead time. Prioritise clients within your radius, politely refer distant requests to other sitters, and become the sitter for your specific neighbourhood.
4. Become the content-creating pet sitter
Pet content is the most shareable genre on the internet. With owners' permission, post walk-and-care clips on TikTok and Instagram — it markets your service, fills your waitlist, and can grow into its own revenue stream through the Content Creator playbook. Several SG pet sitters get their entire client pipeline from social media.
5. Go licensed if you want the big step
The ceiling for casual sitting is your calendar. The step-change is licensed home boarding or daycare (AVS licence, private housing or commercial premises, real insurance) where S$40-80/night across multiple animals compounds fast. That's a business, not a side hustle — but successful sitters have made exactly that jump with a client base already in hand.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ✓Near-zero startup cost and no licence needed for walks and visits
- ✓Genuinely enjoyable work if you love animals — the rare hustle that reduces stress
- ✓Strong recurring revenue: the same weekly walks and travel-season clients repeat for years
- ✓Holiday peaks (June/December) can double or triple a normal month
- ✓Flexible around any schedule — walks fit before work, visits fit lunch breaks and evenings
Cons
- ✗Physically outdoor work in Singapore heat and thunderstorms — walks happen rain or shine
- ✗Real responsibility: emergencies, escapes, and bites are on you, and reviews are unforgiving
- ✗Earnings ceiling is your calendar — you sell time slots until you scale to licensed boarding
- ✗Holiday peaks collide with your own holiday plans — December income costs December travel
- ✗Key handovers, cancellations, and anxious first-time owners add invisible admin time
Related Side Hustles
Private Tutor
The other classic beginner service hustle — some pair weekday-evening tuition with weekend and holiday pet care.
Content Creator
Pet content is the most shareable niche online — your daily walks are a content pipeline with owners' permission.
Urban Farmer
Another hands-on, outdoors hustle for people who'd rather be moving than at a screen.
Build the Skills for This Side Hustle
If working with animals turns out to be the job you actually want, explore the Veterinarian career path on SkillUp — it maps the full journey including NUS's veterinary degree, clinical skills, and honest salary data. Many vet techs and animal-care professionals started exactly here: pet sitting on weekends and realising they never wanted to go back to a desk.
FAQ
Do I need a licence to be a pet sitter or dog walker in Singapore?
No licence is needed for dog walking, drop-in pet visits, or house-sitting at the owner's home. AVS licensing applies to commercial animal boarding establishments — so regularly boarding multiple animals at your own home for payment is where you'd cross into licensed-business territory, and doing it in an HDB flat would also breach housing rules. Stick to walks, visits, and sitting at the owner's home as a side hustle.
How much do pet sitters earn in Singapore?
Typical rates: S$15-30 per dog walk (30-60 minutes), S$15-40 per drop-in visit for cats and small pets, and S$30-80 per night for house-sitting or overnight care. Part-time sitters with a dense neighbourhood roster earn S$600-1,800/month, with holiday months (June and December) often doubling that. Platforms take 15-20% commission; direct clients pay full rate.
What happens if a pet is injured or escapes while in my care?
You are the responsible party during a booking, which is why coverage matters. Pawshake and PetBacker bookings include insurance for vet emergencies and third-party liability; for direct clients you should carry personal liability insurance and agree emergency terms in writing before the first booking — which vet to use, who to call, and the maximum vet spend you can authorise. A pet first aid certification prepares you for the critical first minutes.
Can I board pets in my HDB flat for money?
It's a bad idea on two fronts. Regular paid boarding of multiple animals can constitute an unlicensed boarding establishment under AVS rules, and HDB flats have strict pet limits (one approved-breed dog; cats require licensing under the Cat Management Framework since late 2024) that a rotation of boarders will breach. If boarding is your goal, that's the licensed-business step — private premises, AVS licence, proper insurance.
How do I get my first pet sitting clients in Singapore?
Start on Pawshake and PetBacker simultaneously — they provide discovery, payment, and insurance while you build a track record. Complete a pet first aid course and put it on your profile, price at the platform's suggested band, and over-deliver with photo updates on every booking. After roughly ten five-star reviews, bookings start coming to you, and neighbourhood Telegram groups plus word of mouth at the dog run convert into commission-free direct clients.
Do I need to declare pet sitting income to IRAS?
Yes — platform payouts and cash from direct clients are self-employment income and must be declared. You can deduct transport between clients, supplies, insurance premiums, and platform commissions. If your net trade income exceeds S$6,000/year, Medisave contributions apply.