--- title: "Adding dog training to your dog walking business" description: "Already walking dogs and thinking about one-to-one training? What you need in the UK, what sessions cost, and how to sell and track training packages." canonical_url: "https://woodle-app.com/guides/adding-dog-training-to-dog-walking" last_updated: "2026-10-19T09:04:15.441Z" --- Walk the same dogs every week and sooner or later someone asks: "Could you do a bit of work on his pulling?" For a lot of dog walkers, one-to-one training is the obvious second string. You already know the dogs, the owners already trust you, and an hour of training earns more than an hour of walking. A few things work differently, though. ## Do you need a licence? In the UK, dog training itself is **unregulated**: there is no licence you must hold to train dogs or coach owners. That cuts both ways. Anyone can call themselves a trainer, so owners look for signals that you know what you are doing. - **Qualifications and membership** of a recognised body – the IMDT, the APDT UK or a trainer registered with the ABTC – are the usual signals. - **Licensing still applies to the rest of your business.** If you board dogs or run day care, that remains licensed by your council under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 or the rules that apply in Wales and Scotland. Training does not change that. ## Check your insurance Many dog walking policies cover walking and "care, custody and control", but not training activities. Ask your insurer to confirm in writing that dog training is covered before your first paid session – especially if you plan to work with reactive or fearful dogs. More in the guide on [public liability insurance for dog walkers](/guides/public-liability-insurance-dog-walkers). ## What a session costs One-to-one training in the UK typically runs at **£40–£80 per hour**, with London and the South East at the top. Specialist work – reactivity, separation problems – sits higher. Two things people forget when setting the price: - **Preparation and follow-up.** An initial consultation, a plan, messages between sessions. All of it is your time. - **Travel.** Training usually happens at the client's home or local park. Count the drive honestly, or your hourly rate is lower than it looks. The [rate calculator](/guides/how-much-to-charge-dog-walking) helps. ## Sell packages, not single sessions Training is almost always sold as a package – five sessions for a package price, paid up front. A dog does not learn in one hour, and an owner who has paid for five turns up for the third and fourth. Put three rules in your terms: 1. **Expiry** – three to six months is normal. 2. **Rescheduling** – how much notice before a session counts as used. 3. **Refunds** – what happens to unused sessions if someone stops. ## Keep walking and training apart on the invoice When the same client books both – three walks a week plus a training session every fortnight – bill them as separate lines with their own names and prices. That matters most for clients on a monthly walking rate: training does not belong inside the flat rate, or you are giving it away. A short report after each session – what you practised, what the homework is – helps everyone. Owners know what to work on, and you have a record of how the dog is progressing. ## The short version Training is a natural add-on for a dog walker: a higher hourly rate, clients you already know, and sessions that slot in between walks. Sort your insurance first, then your prices and package terms. ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.