Become a Professional Dog Walker

Attend the Dog Walking Academy course online

Course options Course details Why attend Student reviews

You’re serious about a fun, profitable dog walking business. We’re serious about getting you there.

We’ve set the bar for professional dog walker training courses since we created the first ever course for dog walkers in 2004.

Attend the original online dog walking course from the comfort of your home.

You get

On-demand expert dog walker training instruction
1:1 training field trip in your local area
Professional dog walking certificate seal

Answers to all your dog behavior questions
Answers to all your business questions, too
Course presentation materials
The Business of Dog Walking training course book

Start a new career

Trade in your stressful, stale, or unsatisfying work for a living doing something you love—spending time with dogs.

Grow your business

Already walking? Learn a few new dog tricks, gain a marketing edge, solve pesky problems, and grow your business to new heights.

Get the best staff

Save training time, set your company apart, and get more from your dog walking, pet sitting, dog daycare, and boarding kennel staff.

The Dog Walking Academy is the most comprehensive, complete dog walking training course available. online If you’re serious about walking dogs professionally, this is the class for you.

Dog Behavior
Get all your “Why does he do that?” and “What does that behavior mean?” dog questions answered through deep dives into canine learning theory, reading canine body language, and understanding canine aggression and behavior issues.

Walk Management & Training
Get all your “How do I fix that?” and “What do I do when…?” questions answered through deep dives into basic dog training for dog walkers, walk management, and handling.

We’ll cover basic training cues like sit and wait, polite leash walking, and recall. You’ll learn how to handle all sorts of behavior issues, too, such as dogs who jump on you or others, or who lunge, bark, or grown

l at other dogs while on leash or who don’t get along in your walking group. You’ll also master the safest and most effective way to hold a leash—whether you’re walking one dog or multiple.

Walk Safety
Feel safe, knowing you know what to do no matter what happens. You’ll earn your Canine 1^st Aid certificate, get key emergency protocols, and learn how to predict and avoid common emergency situations and triggers.

1:1 Supportive Field Training
Enjoy a fun, hands-on learning experience with a highly qualified Field Trip Coach in your local area. Try out all you’ve learned, show off your skills, ask questions, get coaching on anything you want to feel more confident about.

The Business of Dog Walking
Learn the most effective dog walking business practices from the industry expert who literally wrote the book on how to run a successful dog walking business.

Whether you’re starting a dog walking business or growing an existing one, you’ll get key tips into all areas of your business, from setting (or raising) your rates and crafting your policies to protecting your revenue, to marketing to draw the best clients, to building a smooth onboarding process for both human and canine clients. You’ll get plenty of opportunity to ask questions, too.

Staff Training
Got staff you want to be able to fully rely on? Send them to the Dog Walking Academy! Our grads regularly send their walkers through our training course. They love knowing—and bragging to potential clients—that their team has been through the best dog walking training course available. You have the option of your staff skipping the business portion of our curriculum.

DWA Tuition

Dog Walking Course Dates

Our on-demand online dog walker training course is ready when you are. Start now and match your pace to your current schedule and responsibilities.

California Bay Area dog walkers: Attend the Dog Walking Academy dog walker training course in person in San Francisco!

Dog Walking Course Tuition

Online DWA Tuition

Dog Walking Academy tuition
Business of Dog Walking book

$950 USD

Dog Walking Package A

Dog Walking Academy tuition
Business of Dog Walking book
Business Toolkit for Walkers & Sitters download link

You save: $100

$1,150 USD

Dog Walking Package B

Dog Walking Academy tuition
Business of Dog Walking book
Business Toolkit for Walkers & Sitters download link
5 hours of Business Consulting

You save: $150

$2,000 USD

Quick answers to our most common questions:

The minimum age to attend the Dog Walking Academy is 18.

The course is for both experienced and new dog walkers.

Payment plans are available. Email [email protected] to set yours up.

Is the DWA Right For Me?

Our students are a diverse group of dog lovers:

20-somethings starting their first career

More SF Bay Area dog lovers these days are following their passion and choosing dog walking as their first career, becoming certified dog walkers right out of high school or college.

30-40-somethings looking for a career change

Lawyers, accountants, tech workers, ad execs, baristas, teachers, political consultants, writers, engineers, retail workers, waiters, HR directors—we’ve seen SF Bay Area dog lovers seeking dog walking certification for their second (or third or fourth) careers from virtually every industry you can think of.

60-somethings seeking a retirement career

Whether for extra income or personal satisfaction and health, CA Bay Area dog-loving retirees are choosing an active retirement as certified dog walkers.

Highly experienced dog walkers

Professional dog walkers understand that growing up with and loving dogs isn’t enough. They choose to augment their hands-on experience by becoming certified dog walkers armed with up-to-date, science-based learning about dog behavior and handling.

Dog business employees & job seekers

Many dog walking, dog daycare, pet sitting, and boarding companies send their employees to the Dog Walking Academy to become certified dog walkers and fast-track their training in dog behavior, handling, and safety. And many of our students attend to better compete for these jobs.

Our instructors are expert dog trainers with deep experience and top educational credentials.

Dog trainers teach our courses because professional dog walkers skilled in canine learning theory, body language, basic training, and walk management are better prepared to understand and address dog behavior. And that means safer, easier, more enjoyable walks for dogs and walker alike.

LT Taylor

LT Taylor is formerly the Behavior & Training Supervisor for San Francisco Animal Care & Control. She has also served as the Humane Education Coordinator and the Dog Volunteer Trainer at the San Francisco SPCA, and lent her expertise to the Adoption, Intake, and Shelter Medicine divisions there for 7+ years.

LT’s background in dog behavior and training, her love of teaching humans, and her experience as a dog walker and dog daycare attendant—all here in San Francisco—make her a perfect Dog Walking Academy instructor. Students love her depth of knowledge, enthusiasm for the subject matter and for sharing it, ability to tackle the thorniest of questions and solve the trickiest of situations, and the way she does it all with humor, skill, and kindness.

Constantly on the hunt for the latest information about dogs, dog behavior, and training, LT is currently a Junior in the world-renowned Academy for Dog Trainers and will obtain her CTC designation by the end of 2022.

As a passionate supporter of the Rural Area Veterinary Services, LT spends many summer weeks volunteering on native reservations to support veterinary professionals serving animals and their people in underserved areas.

LT holds her degree in English Literature from SFSU and is a proud long-time San Francisco resident.

Veronica Boutelle

Dog Walking Academy creator, DWA Online Instructor, Business Instructor for In-Person course

The author of How to Run a Dog Business and The Business of Dog Walking, Veronica also writes business columns for multiple dog pro industry journals, including PPG’s Barks from the Guild and APDT’s Chronicle of the Dog. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and dog training schools across the country and internationally, teaching dog pros how make a living working with dogs in countries ranging from North to South America, Europe to Down Under.

Veronica holds a masters degree in education and has made good use of her previous career as an educator, university lecturer, and curriculum developer to bring more effective education—like the Dog Walking Academy—to the dog industry.

On the dog side, Veronica got her start in the industry as a dog walker, owning and operating her own dog walking company before turning to training. She served as the Director of Behavior & Training for the San Francisco SPCA, and was an early valedictorian graduate of Jean Donaldson’s Academy for Dog Trainers, long considered the Harvard of dog training schools.

Veronica founded dogbiz (then dogtec) in 2003 in response to fellow Academy graduates’ struggles to master the business side of their important work to change dogs’ lives. She created the Dog Walking Academy with co-founder Mik Moeller in 2004 to provide top-notch professional dog behavior and business education to dog walkers. It has remained a central passion project and we are thrilled to offer it to serious dog walkers worldwide seeking professional dog walker training and certification.

“What a terrific way for people to learn to start a dog walking business or, like me, improve the one they already have. I’m proud to be a dogbiz grad!”
– Mandy Thompson, K9 Fife Dog Walking & Home Boarding, Fife, Scotland

“Such a well-rounded class, with information about the business aspect of the job as well as dog behavior and training. I now feel prepared for so many situations.”
– Suzy Arrington, Ms. Manners for Dogs, Fairfield, NJ

“I learned so much and am using that knowledge daily. I hope the DWA becomes a requirement for all dog walkers someday.”
— Matt Williams, San Francisco, CA

“Graduating from the DWA… led to improved client retention, dog safety, and ultimately enjoying my work more than I already did. Your class was brilliant… worth every penny.”
—Paige Tuhey, The Netherlands

Why attend the dogbiz Dog Walking Academy

Love what you do

Whether you’re just starting as a dog walker or have been walking dogs for a decade, we’ll help you get the most from every moment. Walk with confidence and ease, enjoy safe control of your dogs, and let go of your business worries.

Bypass business hassles & make more money

Learn how to sidestep and fix the common start-up, marketing, rate, and policy mistakes that keep dog walkers from making a strong, reliable living walking dogs. Why learn from your own mistakes if you don’t have to, or make less money than you could?

Solve perplexing dog problems

Ever wondered why dogs do what they do? Found yourself unable to get a dog to start or stop doing something? Struggled with a stressful behavior problem? You’ll leave class with answers and solutions to all your canine dilemmas.

Set yourself apart

Stand out to potential clients, referral sources, or employers by investing in the “Harvard” of dog walking schools. Your CPDW (Certificate in Professional Dog Walking) seal proclaims your professionalism and commitment to the best possible care of the dogs entrusted to you.

Maximize safety

From canine first aid/ CPR to emergency protocols and understanding how to avoid and break up dog fights, arm yourself with the understanding, skills, and confidence to handle anything that comes your way.

Be a pro

In an unregulated industry, anyone can be a dog walker. But to be a professional dog walker requires professional education and training. We’ve continued to set the bar for dog walking education since we launched the first class of its kind in 2004.

What our grads say

“This course has inspired me to breathe new life into something I’ve been doing for years, and take it to the next level. I absolutely recommend the DWA to experienced and inexperienced dog walkers.”
–Sara Munro
Santa Barbara, CA

“I was determined to follow my passion and work with dogs… but it wasn’t until the Dog Walking Academy that I felt confident to turn my passion in to a true endeavor.”
–Nick Carrel
San Francisco, CA

“The DWA was a life-altering experience for me. You provided me with more ‘ah-ha’ moments in those three days than a lifetime with dogs.”
– Glynis Dewing
Pacifica, CA

“There is so much to learn in this business, and your program covered everything! You gave me the knowledge and confidence to start my own dream business.”
–Jill Merjeski
Delray Beach, FL

Looking to start a dog walking business or elevate your current one?

Ready to take dog walking—and your confidence—to a new level?