How To Earn More Money As A Canine Care Professional 

Unless you are lucky enough to earn a highly affluent wage, you, like many others will be looking for ways to maximise your earnings right now to cover the ever-increasing cost of living.  

While being a rewarding career for people who adore dogs, Canine Care Workers know all too well how their income can fluctuate depending on client demand. So, how can you earn more money as a Canine Care Professional to continue reaping both the intrinsic and financial rewards of this career? 

Is Animal Care a Good Career? 

First things first, if you’re thinking of starting an animal care career, specifically one that works with canines, you will no doubt be wondering if this is the right type of job for you.  

Canine care careers have many benefits depending on how and where you work, these include: 
 

• The ability to align your job with animals you adore 
• A chance to help improve the lives of dogs 
• Plenty of opportunities to work for yourself 
• Flexibility, so you can juggle work and other commitments 
• Increasing demand as more people are too busy to care for pets alone 
• A sociable role where you can meet and interact with all manner of people 

How Much Do Animal Carers Get Paid?

With so many benefits to canine dog care careers, you can see why they are so popular with animal lovers. Though, before you dedicate your time to developing the skills and knowledge you need to get started, you need to be sure it’s financially viable for you long term.  

So, the question remains, how much does animal care pay?  



In terms of the Canine Carer salary, this depends on what avenue of canine care you work in and the skillset you possess. Some people stick to one form, others provide a multitude of services so they can provide a custom canine care plan to their clients, which no doubt will earn them more money.  

As a guide, a few examples of what a Canine Carers can earn are: 
 

• Dog Walker – between £21,500 and £36,000 
• Dog Groomer – between £20,688 and £28,600 
• Kennel Worker/Dog Boarder – between £22,338 and £48,750  
• Canine Massage Therapist – between £18,500 and £65,000 
• Canine Nutritionist – between £18,000 and £50,000 

It’s worth noting that some of the highest salaries will require years of experience and advanced level qualifications.  

What Canine Care Jobs Are There? 
So, if you’re ready to start a career that revolves around caring for dogs, the best thing you can do to earn a substantial living in this sector is to get skilled in multiple areas. Having numerous strings to your bow means you can upscale and adapt your business or service offering in line with client needs and your income requirements.  

But what jobs can you do with animal care? Specifically in terms of canine care? Well, you’ll be pleased to know there are canine care jobs to suit every interest and Animal Courses Direct can help you get qualified for them! 

Dog Walker

All dogs require exercise to stay fit and healthy, though some have higher activity levels than others. In any case, many dog owners find exercising their pet to be an increasingly difficult task. This could be due to their diminishing ability to walk them as they age, or simply the struggle to find the time outside of their busy work schedule.  

As a Dog Walker, you can provide these essential active canine care services and help owners to exercise their pets. If you’re self-employed, you would typically have a set rate you would charge for each half-hour or hour-long walk. As you gain more confidence and multiple clients in the same location, you can walk two or more dogs together at one time, maximising your earning potential! 

Animal Courses Direct provide an Ofqual regulated course that focuses on dog walking, so you can learn how to operate a business providing this vital service.  

Dog Groomer

Like humans, dogs have hair that needs to be cleaned and nails that need to be trimmed. If these and many other hygiene-related tasks aren’t done, they could become susceptible to any number of health or skincare conditions.  

As a Dog Groomer, you perform canine skincare services by professionally grooming each breed in line with its specific hygiene needs. With each type of dog having such different features, providing specific canine coat care is vital to ensure each one gets what it needs to thrive. 

Through Animal Courses Direct, you can study a Level 3 Diploma in Dog Grooming, to get the skills and knowledge you need to provide hygienic canine care.  

Dog Sitter

Though most dog lovers do their best to take their dogs wherever they go, there will be times when pet owners require someone else to take care of their beloved animals while they are away from home.  

This could be for work purposes, a much-needed holiday or otherwise. As a Dog Sitter, you can make sure their pet is safe and well during this time. You could run a home boarding service for dogs or provide this service in a dedicated animal and canine care housing facility.  

Online canine care courses like this one will help you get the skills and know-how to provide everything dogs need during long and short stays away from home. This online Diploma in Kennel and Cattery Management will also help you understand what’s required to run a facility that houses dogs and cats for periods of time.  

Dog Massage Therapist

Like us, dogs suffer from aches and pains and experience injuries throughout their lives. An excellent way to alleviate soreness in dogs, among a host of other things, is through professional canine massage.  

By becoming a Canine Message Therapist, you can help dogs to: 
 

• Strengthen their immune systems, so they can overcome serious illnesses like kidney or heart disease 
• Identify injuries through physical touch 
• Help dogs heal faster 
• Promote positive chemicals in the brain 
• Help them rid their bodies of toxins 
• Assist dogs recovering from surgery through faster systemic processing of anaesthetic and medications  
• Reduce stress, improve their health and overall wellbeing 

Animal Courses Direct can help you learn to provide canine joint care through an online Level 3 Diploma in Canine Massage.  
 

Dog Nutritionist

Canine Nutritionists offer dietary advice and diet-based treatment plans for dogs. They use their scientific knowledge to advise pet owners and animal food businesses on the impact of diet and nutrients on a dog’s health and wellbeing. 

With the necessary training, you can promote the need for good food for dogs to reach optimum health, wellbeing, and productivity. You can help pet owners realise how much a bad diet can influence a dog’s behaviour, and why they need to pay attention to exactly what they are putting in their pet’s bodies.  

This online canine care nutrition course is designed to explore the most up-to-date research and practice within the canine nutrition arena. 

Dog Trainer

There are a number of ways you can work with dogs in a behavioural sense. You could help dog owners build a better relationship with their dogs to overcome challenging behaviours, or even provide canine trauma care to dogs who have suffered past bad experiences. 

You could even help train dogs to assist humans with certain needs overcome or better manage their own challenges. This could be as an assistance dog or providing emotional support through Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI). Through Animal Courses Direct, you can study numerous online courses relating to canine behaviour.  

Dog Transporter

Another additional canine care service you could offer as part of a complete canine care package is the transportation of dogs from one place to another. You might want to train assistance dogs and then deliver them to their new owners or collect the dogs you board from their owner's homes before they go on holiday.  

There are so many reasons why a dog would require transport. With the right training, you can learn how to reduce stress in companion animals during transportation and how to appropriately handle and transport companion animals experiencing fear, pain, and distress.  

Study Canine Care Online

If you want to make the most out of your career in canine care, getting canine care certified is the best way to prove you have the diverse skillset pet owners are looking for.  

Animals Courses Direct provide numerous canine care qualifications that are regulated and officially recognised by the government’s Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. So, you know you’re getting the best head start when it comes to training for jobs that work with canines.  

Find out more today by calling our Course Experts on 01202 006 040 or speaking with us online. Alternatively, you can read more in our blog or click below to view our online canine care courses in more detail.