Terms and conditions for a dog walker and pet sitter

Dog walking and pet sitting terms have to answer three questions before anything goes wrong: who decides when the dog needs a vet, who carries the risk if the dog gets out, and what happens to the keys to an empty house. I draft customer terms around how your service actually runs, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Dog walkers, pet sitters, home boarders, day care operators and house sitters in England and Wales, trading as sole traders or through a limited company. Almost every client is a consumer, so the terms have to be drafted to be enforceable against a private owner rather than lifted from a commercial services contract and handed over at the meet and greet.

What matters in dog walking and pet sitting terms

Authority to get the dog to a vet

A dog collapses on a walk and the owner is in a meeting, on a flight or simply not answering. Your terms should record the registered vet, an alternative practice, and your authority to obtain emergency treatment where you cannot reach the owner. They should set an agreed limit above which you will try again to make contact, and say plainly that the owner is responsible for the vet's fees, including any you pay on their behalf. Without that in writing, you are arguing about a bill you have already settled.

Keys, alarm codes and an empty house

Key holding is the part most owners worry about and most terms ignore. Deal with how keys are labelled without the address on them, where they are kept between visits, who else holds one, how they are returned when the booking ends, and what you do if a key is lost or a lock has been changed without telling you. Cover alarm codes, what you do if you arrive to a burst pipe or an open door, and make clear that you are not responsible for events in the property outside the times you are booked to be there.

Off lead, group walks and the vehicle

Permission to let a dog off the lead should be given for that dog in writing, with the owner confirming recall, and you should keep the right to withdraw it if the dog's behaviour changes. Say how many dogs you walk together, whether you mix clients' dogs, and that you may decline a dog that is not suited to a group. If you transport dogs, set out how they are secured, that they are never left unattended in the vehicle, and what happens if a dog is sick or damages the interior.

What the owner has to tell you and warrant

The owner should warrant that vaccinations, flea and worm treatment are current, that the dog has no history of aggression towards people or other animals, and that no legal restriction applies to it. Behavioural problems, ongoing medication and resource guarding all need to be disclosed before the first visit. Give yourself a right to end the arrangement at once if the position turns out to be different, and make the owner responsible for damage or injury the dog causes to third parties while in your care, kept at a level a consumer can reasonably be held to.

Bookings, cancellations and holiday periods

Most of this work is agreed at the owner's home or by message, which brings it within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The owner has fourteen days to cancel a distance or off-premises booking, though a booking of £42 or less agreed at their home falls outside the rules, and the period can extend by up to 12 months where the cancellation information was never given. If you start visits inside that window you need the owner's express request. Set separate notice for regular walks and for block bookings over Christmas and August.

Boarding, overnights and your liability

If you board dogs or run day care from home, your local authority licence conditions and your insurer's requirements sit alongside the contract, and the terms must not promise anything inconsistent with either. Limit liability for loss or damage to the property you are sitting in, and exclude responsibility for an animal's pre-existing health conditions. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and you cannot limit liability for the service below the price paid, so the cap has to be set with that in mind.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I charge when an owner cancels a walk on the morning?

Charging a cancellation fee is perfectly workable, provided the amount reflects what you actually lose and the owner saw the term before booking rather than afterwards. A fee pitched at a punitive level falls foul of the consumer fairness rules and may not bind the owner at all. Set a clear notice period and apply it consistently.

Do I need written permission to let a dog off the lead?

Written permission for each dog, recorded on the booking form rather than agreed in a conversation on the doorstep, is what protects you. When a dog with unreliable recall disappears, the dispute is always about what the owner authorised. Note any location where you will keep the dog on lead regardless of the permission given.

The owner has not paid and I still hold their keys. Can I keep them?

Holding keys as leverage is not something to build into terms. It invites a complaint and rarely produces payment. The terms should instead take payment in advance for block bookings, fix a date for settling invoices, and give you a right to suspend visits and return the keys where an account is outstanding.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a dog groomer
• Terms and conditions for a mobile hairdresser or beautician

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.