The DoggyDesk blog

Sitters & walkers

Practical help for dog sitters and walkers: running your business, finding clients and getting the most from The DoggyDesk.

Our previous dog Rooster, on the Queen Mary 2 ship coming back from Canada
Sitters & walkers

Who is The DoggyDesk?

How The DoggyDesk started, who is behind it, and how we make our money, explained plainly by the people who built it.

Pinned 2 min read
Taking credit card bookings for dog sitting App
Sitters & walkers

Why your Stripe balance is a little lower after a refund

When a card booking is refunded, Stripe keeps its fee. What you will see, why your next payout can be slightly lower, and why a released hold costs nothing.

3 min read
Guest booking dog walking app
Sitters & walkers

Guest booking vs Regular Booking

The two types of booking on The DoggyDesk: regular online bookings your clients make, and guest bookings you add yourself. How each one works.

4 min read
A claymation terrier standing in green hills and holding a large blue credit card
Sitters & walkers

What card payments can cost you: cancellations and chargebacks

Check a booking before you accept it, what happens to the fees if it is cancelled, and what to do about chargebacks. The honest costs of card payments.

5 min read
dog sitting booking calendar private and public booking feature
Sitters & walkers

The booking calendar - Private & Public Days

Open weekdays to everyone and keep weekends for regulars whose account you have set to “Trusted” status. How private and public days work for dog sitters and walkers.

3 min read
A claymation phone showing three booking cards: two online bookings labelled No card deposit landed and a guest booking labelled Deposit link ready to send, with a question mark in a speech bubble on either side
Sitters & walkers

What do the deposit labels on your bookings mean?

Every deposit label you can see on a booking, in plain English: what it means, why it appears, and whether you need to do anything.

4 min read
A claymation dog walker with muddy paw prints on her jumper kneeling beside a muddy terrier while holding a banknote
Sitters & walkers

Deposits and cancellations: how a card booking works

From the owner’s request to your payout: how card deposits, the 72-hour reply window, balances and cancellations work on The DoggyDesk.

4 min read
Claymation sticky notes with dog names and dates piled on a small table, with notes flying across into a phone that shows a sitter booking calendar for December
Sitters & walkers

Add existing bookings you have with Guest Booking Feature

Add your regulars’ bookings in minutes with guest bookings: no account needed for them, a message ready to send, and a payment link if you want one.

3 min read
A claymation woman with a puzzled look and question marks around her head, a dog on each side saying Please take me, and a calendar with two paw-print days and a question mark
Sitters & walkers

How your booking calendar stops double bookings

How The DoggyDesk splits every day into before 2pm and after 2pm, why requests never block your calendar, and how same-day handovers work.

3 min read
A claymation signpost reading Doggy holiday home this way, with a robin on top and a biplane towing a banner that says Doggy parents gone on holiday
Sitters & walkers

How to block off a holiday without pausing your bookings

Going away? Mark those days Unavailable instead of pausing your booking link. Here is the difference between Open, Paused and Unavailable.

2 min read
A claymation woman holding a large profile card with five gold stars while her terrier trots beside her
Sitters & walkers

Set up your profile and get your booking link

From signing up to sharing your booking link: what to fill in, in what order, and why your profile needs a few details before it goes live.

3 min read
A claymation signpost in green hills reading Dog Walking Business this way, with a butterfly on top and an orange lead hanging from the post
Sitters & walkers

Keep card fees low: charge once, not every time

Stripe charges a fixed amount plus a percentage on every card charge. Here is how charging once, not every time, keeps the fixed part to one.

2 min read
A claymation woman pushing a full shopping trolley through a supermarket while a speech bubble beside her says new booking has been made
Sitters & walkers

A dog walking or dog sitting booking calendar you can use anywhere

Stop answering “when do you have space?” messages. Send your booking link, share it anywhere, or show your calendar on your own website.

2 min read
A claymation dog walker looking at her phone while a small terrier trots beside her on a country path
Sitters & walkers

Control your own card payments

How card payments work on The DoggyDesk: what merchant of record means, what it costs, how money is protected, and how to set it up.

4 min read