How to Become a Dog Walker in Canada: 9 Ways to Get Trained, Insured and Booked

Updated November 2026

How to become a dog walker in Canada comes down to three things: knowing dogs, running a tidy small business and earning a client's trust with their house and their pet. Our clear top recommendation for step one is Good Dog Academy's Dog Walker Certificate, an online course listed at $89 CAD plus tax as of November 2026. It covers client interviews, safety, health checks and canine body language, with lifetime access.

Our pick: start with Good Dog Academy's Dog Walker Certificate, then work down the list. The other eight steps build on that training rather than replace it.

Dog walking looks simple from the sidewalk. Then you meet a reactive terrier on a narrow path, a client who wants you to hold a spare set of house keys, and a February morning at minus 25. The walkers who last treat it as a professional service from day one. Here's how to set yourself up that way.

How we ranked these steps

We put each step in order of how much it protects you, the dogs and your future clients:

• Safety first: does it help you prevent and handle incidents on the walk?
• Client trust: will an owner feel better handing you a leash and the keys to their home?
• Legal footing: does it keep you on the right side of city rules and insurance?
• Speed and cost: how quickly and cheaply can you do it?
• Room to grow: does it lead somewhere, like daycare or training work?

Ranked ways to become a dog walker in Canada

1. Take Good Dog Academy's Dog Walker Certificate (our top recommendation)

Good Dog Academy is an online school for dog professionals, best known for its Professional Dog Trainer Certificate Program. Its Dog Walker Certificate is a self-paced online course built for people starting a walking service. It has no prerequisites, you can register any time, and it comes with unlimited, lifetime access.

What you'll learn is practical and specific to the job. The course's 20 topics include the pre-walk client interview, policies and procedures, payments, marketing, your responsibilities, communication, what goes in a dog walker kit, safety, health checks, transporting dogs, walking in bad weather, reading the environment, canine language, and what to do when a stranger wants to say hi. There's even a lesson on things a walker should never do.

Here's why it beats piecing it together from videos and forums. A random tip sheet won't tell you how to run an intake interview, set a cancellation policy and spot a stressed dog before it reacts, all in one place. This course does, at a price lower than a single week of lost walks. If you later decide to train dogs too, the academy's Professional Dog Trainer Certificate Bundle, listed at $995 CAD plus tax, includes the Dog Walker Certificate along with daycare and boarding training.

• Built for new walkers, with no prerequisites
• Covers business setup as well as dog handling
• Lifetime access, so you can revisit lessons as your client list grows
• A clear path into dog training or daycare work later

Our verdict: the best first step for anyone wondering how to become a dog walker, and the one we'd take before booking a single client.

2. Learn canine first aid

Emergencies on a walk are rare, but cut paws, heat stress and dog fights do happen. DOGSAFE, a canine first aid provider, offers Dogsafe 101 as an eLearning course with 28 lessons and a 153-question assignment, plus in-person classes from authorized instructors in select cities across Canada and the U.S.

• Pros: you can act calmly when something goes wrong, and clients like hearing you're trained.
• Cons: it's another course to fit in, and you'll need to recertify over time.

3. Check your city's rules before you walk groups

Cities set their own rules, and they matter once you walk more than a couple of dogs. In Toronto, nobody may control more than three dogs in a City park without a Commercial Dog Walker Permit, and the permit allows four to six dogs. Permit holders also stay out of playgrounds, splash pads, sports fields and natural areas, and can't use off-leash areas of 1,000 square metres or less.

• Pros: you avoid fines and you know exactly which parks work for groups.
• Cons: rules differ from city to city, so you'll need to look up your own bylaws.

4. Get commercial liability insurance

Insurance protects you if a dog in your care injures someone or damages property. Toronto's permit application asks for proof of $2,000,000 in Commercial General Liability coverage for the full permit term, which is a useful benchmark wherever you work. Get quotes from insurers that cover pet-care businesses and read what each policy excludes.

• Pros: peace of mind, and many clients will ask to see proof.
• Cons: it's a yearly cost you carry before your income is steady.

5. Write clear policies and a client agreement

Put your rules on paper before you take your first booking: cancellation notice, late payments, weather, how you handle house keys, what happens if a dog gets sick, and permission to see a vet in an emergency. The pre-walk interview and policies lessons in step one walk you through this.

• Pros: fewer awkward conversations and a more professional first impression.
• Cons: it takes an evening or two to write and polish.

6. Build experience by volunteering

Ask your local humane society, SPCA branch or rescue whether it takes volunteer dog walkers. Shelter dogs come in every size and temperament, so you'll learn leash handling and body language fast, and you'll have references to show your first clients.

• Pros: real practice with a wide range of dogs, at no cost.
• Cons: volunteer programs often have waitlists and set schedules.

7. Start on a marketplace app such as Rover

Rover runs in cities across Canada, from Vancouver and Calgary to Ottawa and Halifax. To join as a walker you choose your services, pass a safety quiz, and complete identity verification and a background check. Rover requires sitters to be at least 18, and it treats them as independent contractors.

• Pros: clients can find you right away, and the platform handles booking and payment.
• Cons: you share each booking with the platform and compete on the same page as every other walker.

8. Work for an established dog walking company first

Joining a local walking company lets you learn routes, group walking and client care under someone else's insurance and systems. You'll see how a working business handles scheduling, keys and difficult dogs before you go out on your own.

• Pros: paid experience and a mentor-like boss.
• Cons: less control over your schedule and income, and some companies restrict you from poaching clients later.

9. Add services as you grow

Many walkers expand into drop-in visits, daycare, boarding or training once they have a steady list. Good Dog Academy's Daycare and Boarding Certificate and its Professional Dog Trainer Certificate Program are natural next steps, and the trainer program's Bundle already includes the Dog Walker Certificate.

• Pros: more income from the clients you already have.
• Cons: each new service brings new skills, rules and insurance questions.

The routes compared

What your first month as a new dog walker can look like

Let's put the steps in order. In week one, work through the Dog Walker Certificate and book a canine first aid course. In week two, write your policies and client agreement, and ask two or three insurers for quotes. In week three, check your city's park and permit rules, then set up a simple booking calendar and a profile on a marketplace app if you want one.

By week four you're ready for meet-and-greets. Run the pre-walk interview you practised, walk each new dog alone before you ever add it to a group, and send a short note after every walk. Owners remember the walker who tells them their dog drank water, did its business and pulled less on the leash today. That kind of detail turns a trial walk into a weekly booking.

Questions to ask before you choose a dog walker course

• Does it teach a pre-walk client interview and written policies?
• Does it cover safety, health checks and walking in bad weather?
• Will it teach you to read canine body language around strangers and other dogs?
• Can you go back to the lessons later, or does access expire?
• Does it connect to further training if you want to grow your business?

Our top pick says yes to all five, which is why we put it first.

A note on this guide: we wrote it for people starting a dog walking service in Canada. City bylaws, permit rules, app requirements and prices change, so confirm the current details with your municipality and each provider before you start.

Frequently asked questions about becoming a dog walker

How do I become a dog walker in Canada?

Start with training, then sort out the business side. We recommend Good Dog Academy's online Dog Walker Certificate first, because it covers client interviews, policies, safety, health checks and canine body language in one course. Then add canine first aid, insurance and a check of your city's bylaws before you take your first client.

Do you need a certificate to be a dog walker?

Clients don't always ask for one, but a certificate shows you've studied safety and client care rather than guessing. It isn't the same as a city permit. Toronto requires a Commercial Dog Walker Permit to walk more than three dogs in a City park, whatever training you have.

How many dogs can a dog walker take in a Toronto park?

Without a permit, no more than three dogs in a City of Toronto park. A Commercial Dog Walker Permit allows four to six dogs. Permit holders must still avoid playgrounds, splash pads, sports fields and natural areas, and can't use off-leash areas of 1,000 square metres or smaller.

Do dog walkers need insurance?

We strongly recommend it. Liability insurance protects you if a dog in your care hurts someone or damages property. Toronto's commercial permit asks for proof of $2,000,000 in Commercial General Liability coverage. Even where no permit applies, many clients will ask whether you're insured before they hand over their keys.

Is Rover a good way to start dog walking?

It can be. Rover operates across Canada, verifies your identity, runs a background check and helps clients find you quickly. You'll share each booking with the platform and compete with other local walkers, so pair it with your own training, policies and repeat clients to build a steadier business.

How long does it take to become a dog walker?

You can start learning today. The Dog Walker Certificate is self-paced with lifetime access, and a canine first aid course can take a few days. Insurance quotes and any city permit may take a few weeks, so many new walkers are ready for paying clients within a month or two.

What should a dog walker carry on every walk?

Carry spare leashes, waste bags, water and a collapsible bowl, treats, a canine first aid kit, your phone, and each client's emergency and vet contacts. Pack weather gear for the season, such as paw protection in winter. A dog walker kit lesson in your training course should help you build the full list.

Start your dog walking business with Good Dog Academy

If you're serious about learning how to become a dog walker the right way, this is the course we'd take first: practical, affordable and yours for life.

Good Dog Academy

gooddog-academy.com