How Much Do Dog Transporters Make? | CitizenShipper

CitizenShipper CitizenShipper · Updated February 23, 2024

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With the gig economy being what it is, more and more people are looking into pet transportation jobs. We get many driver-curious people asking questions every month, and potential earnings interest them the most. How much money is there in this racket anyway? The odds are that question has brought you to this article too!

If you googled “how much do dog transporters make”, you might’ve also ended up on a page like this one. These calculators give you a modest figure representing the average earnings of a dog transporter in the US. The reality is that they can make between $8,000 to $10,000 a month, even if they complete 15 to 20 jobs per month, according to Penny Hoarder. But let’s go through some facts and more specifics.

Fact #1 — Not Every Driver is a Pro Transporter

It’s a sad fact of life, but you rarely make the big bucks working for someone else. Most dog transporters start off as employees/contractors at a shipping company. They’re either on a salary, or the company takes a sizable chunk of their earnings. You can make a living that way, but it’s nothing to write home about.

Those types of jobs go into the statistics linked above. That’s how they come up with figures ranging from “$15 per hour” to “1,200 per week”.

On the other hand, you have independent transporters. Being your own boss is a completely different story in every way imaginable. According to CitizenShipper’s internal statistics, your average dog transporter clears between $8,000 and $10,000 per month. And that’s just from a single online marketplace — we’ve no data on how much they rake in elsewhere!

Don’t get too excited, though. Next, we’ll look into how all that revenue is spent.

Fact #2 — Expenses Can Cut Deeply Into Your Profits

The downside to being an independent transporter, of course, is that all expenses are yours to cover. Fuel and food are the most obvious ones, but there are also tolls, maintenance, insurance, and more. How much does that stack up to? Well, we’ve polled drivers using the CitizenShipper platform extensively on this. According to them, over 30% of what they earn goes toward covering expenses.

That’s a considerable percentage, no two ways about it. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways of optimizing your profit margins. The two links above can clue you in on the details, ranging from shipment-stacking strategies to fuel-saving apps.

But if we could recommend just one way of increasing revenue and decreasing expenses? It’d be sheer persistence!

Fact #3 — Veteran Dog Transporters Make Much More Than Beginners

The quality that dog owners and breeders most commonly look for in a driver is experience. When they receive two similar quotes, nine times out of ten, they’ll go for the driver that has more experience. In this context, “experience” means more reviews and better feedback from previous customers.

Many new drivers find it difficult to build up a reputation for the quality of service they provide. Instead, they often seek to underbid the more experienced competition, driving down the prices for everybody. But after just a few successful bids and five-star reviews, things tend to pick up quickly! Within a couple of months, those same drivers find the customers much more receptive to their bids.

Veteran drivers with a solid reputation have little trouble queueing up dog transport jobs. With careful route planning, they minimize their fuel expenditures and gradually increase their margins. In time, they start making $20,000 to $30,000 per month. Many of them report clearing a hundred K per year after expenses.

Still, not everyone has the sticktoitiveness required to make it through those lean months early on. Many people drop off after their free trial period ends, going back to their day jobs. But those committed animal lovers who manage to push through never look back!

Interested In Becoming a Dog Transporter?

So, if the question is how much do dog transporters make, the real answer is it depends. What amount of experience do you have? How good are you at bidding? Can you build a rapport with customers quickly? How good are you at advertising your business?

There’s plenty of money to be made in dog transportation, but the job isn’t for everyone. If you think you have what it takes, sign up for free at the CitizenShipper online marketplace. And give it a shot!

For additional guidance, you can always contact us at support@citizenshipper.com.

10 thoughts on “How Much Do Dog Transporters Make? | CitizenShipper

  1. I am a retired K-9 instructor I also do mobile dog washes boarding and doggie daycare looking to do something different possibly travel see a little bit of the country while camping approach and making a couple of bucks reached at 202-717-2651 let me know the process and hopefully things pan out stay safe

  2. This fell into my lap and took me about 2 weeks to get going as I am also an Uber/Lyft driver. First week part time 5 stops, cleared $800 in 4 days and also while still in Cali, ended up ridesharing as well. So theres that. $800 in 3 days. Where theres a will theres a way.

    1. Hello Paul, most of the transporters that handle pet deliveries are not exposed to heavy lifting, as they get to choose which listing do they want to place their bids on, and each of them hold information on the pet’s weight, that way allowing you to transport only lightweight puppies and kittens in case larger weight is an issue. Please let us know if you need more information, and once you’re ready, please visit https://citizenshipper.com/register to sign up! We don’t charge any commission fees on your quotes!

      If you want to know more about how our marketplace works, we suggest you to sign up and complete our new drivers guide – https://citizenshipper.teachable.com/p/the-new-driver-s-guide-to-citizenshipper.

  3. Ok im an animal girl (lions and tigers and bears oh my not kidding) h
    East coast how do I get in

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