Should You Pay Per Piece Or Hourly For Your Pet Care Team? | Ep. 151

Should you pay your dog walkers and pet sitters per visit or by the hour? I’ve used both models, and while I prefer hourly pay for most team-based pet care businesses, there are situations where I would leave a working per-piece model alone.

In this episode, I explain how pay structure affects labor costs, the applicants you attract, and compensation for training and additional responsibilities as your company grows. I share what changed when I moved my own team to hourly pay, plus what to consider before changing yours. These are general business principles, not legal or state-specific HR advice. Please verify the requirements for employee pay, time tracking, and mileage reimbursement in your state before making changes.

#PetCareBusiness #EmployeeCompensation #DogWalkingBusiness

⏱️ Timestamps

0:00 - Hourly vs. per-piece pay and important considerations

2:12 - A hiring resource for owners starting to build a team

3:20 - My experience moving from per-piece to hourly pay

4:52 - When I would leave a working per-piece model alone

5:58 - Comparing per-visit payouts with hourly labor costs

8:27 - How pay structure can influence the applicants you attract

9:44 - Anchoring compensation to time instead of individual tasks

10:55 - Paying trainers for assessments and follow-up work

11:55 - Building a pay structure that supports employee progression

12:46 - Digital Summit tickets close September 30th

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Evaluate your pay model through labor costs, compliance, hiring quality, and employee retention

• Switching to hourly pay reduced labor costs by about 12% in my own business

• A compliant per-piece model that supports healthy labor costs and a stable team may not need changing

• Compare per-visit pay with its hourly equivalent, accounting for drive time and service volume

• Consider how your compensation structure communicates the type of job you are offering

• Clear expectations around availability help you understand staffing capacity and plan for new clients

• Hourly pay anchors compensation to working time rather than a separate payout for every task

• Additional responsibilities should come with additional pay, including when employees become trainers

• Training assessments and follow-up work need a clear place in your compensation model

• Think ahead about how field, trainer, admin, and management pay fit together as your team grows

🚀 Join Me Digitally at the DogCo Business Summit

In-person ticket sales are closed, but digital tickets are available until September 30th for the DogCo Business Summit, October 2nd-4th, 2026, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I’d love for you to take advantage of the education and bring new ideas back to your pet care company. Explore your digital ticket options 👉 dogcosummit.com

-M