Wag

Wag Review:

Wag used to be primarily a service that enlisted freelancers to do dog-walking. But has since updated its services to add pet-sitters and animal trainers, too. However, some of the concerns we had when we first reviewed Wag years ago appear to have gotten worse.

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Our biggest concern: Wag takes a huge chunk of the dog-walking/watching fees. And, where the site used to be fairly transparent about its 40% cut, it has recently updated its terms to obscure just how much it gets. The site’s fee — still 40% — is a discouragement to both workers and clients.

To add insult to injury, freelancers now need to pay $30 to sign up to work here, too.

How it works

But you won’t see anything about these fees when Wag induces you to sign up.

If you click to become a dog-walker or pet-sitter, it will ask you to fill out a profile that tells the site about you. You’re also supposed to plug in “endorsements” — i.e. other people who can vouch for you. And take a pet quiz. This process will take the better part of 15 minutes, according to Wag.

At that point, the site will tell you that you need to pay a $30 sign-up fee to go further. Naturally, you’ve invested a lot of time, so you’ll probably pay the fee.

Next step? A background check. If you pass, you’ll presumably be approved to be a Wag-walker within about two weeks.

Getting work

When customers come to the site, they also need to answer a bunch of questions to tell the site what they’re looking for and when. But they actually have to book and pay for the service — let’s say it’s a dog walk — before they can see who is providing it. Wag then apparently assigns the walk to people who are available nearby during that time.

Lack of transparency

This system lacks transparency for the client, but it appears to be equally murky for freelancers.

Walkers say they sometimes end up watching aggressive dogs, without the slightest warning about what they might be getting into.

Setting your rates

Notably, while this site tells freelancers that they’ll be able to set their own rates, there is no option on the customer side to select a particular caregiver — nor to pay anything but a set rate.

If you go through the process as a customer, you’re told that a 20-minute walk costs $15; 30-minute walk, $22; one-hour, $33. Because Wag takes a 40% fee, the freelancer gets $9 for the 20-minute walk; $13 for the half-hour and $20 for the hour.

It’s unclear what would happen if a freelancer wanted to charge different rates, as Wag maintains they can through their “dynamic pricing” feature.

Getting paid

Wag pays pet caregivers once weekly for the jobs completed in the previous week. Payments are made through Stripe directly to your bank account.

However, walkers complain that Wag gives out coupons that reduce walker earnings. And the site is poor about providing walker support when they have problems with animals in their care — or have problems getting paid.

Referral fees

Where pet caregivers can make good money with this site is by referring clients here. If you work here, you can send a $25 Wag credit to a customer. When a first-time customer uses the credit, you’ll get a $50 bonus. Get friends to work for Wag, and you’ll get a $10 bonus.

Recommendations:

Pet sitting is a great gig. But Wag’s main competitor, Rover, is a much better place to provide it. Rover takes just a 20% commission and really (truly and in reality) allows you to set your own rates.

You can also build a regular clientele on Rover because people have the ability to see your profile before they agree to a service. Rover also won’t charge you a fee to sign up. And, it connects with twice as many customers as Wag.

You can sign up for Rover here.

What their walkers say (from Glassdoor):

“With one client and I found out that their three walks a week were breaking the bank. This is when I realized they were paying $20 a walk plus tip and I was only getting half of that. They said that they loved having me walk for them and that I was the only reason that they use the app anymore.”

“Working with many dog breeds and personalities is fun! You can set your own schedule, including early morning and late night walks; Some owners tip very well (I have a few clients who tip 50% on a $12 walk). If you wear Wag gear and put a Wag bandana on the client’s dog you get a $1 advertising bonus per walk; dog sitting/boarding is worthwhile in terms of payment….But, the app does not give you enough info on the dog(s) before you accept a walk.

Big commission

Wag takes 40% of what the owner pays (major downside!).  Owners should be informed how much the walker actually receives so they are more likely to tip.

Provide more support for the walkers. You should also consider paying out more to walkers that have walked a lot. I walked my 350th dog and I was still making only 60%.

They don’t care

I’ve used wag on and off for dog walking for 5 years. The pay isn’t great. they don’t care if you get attacked by a dog, or really care about anything. But they’ll come for you with finders fees if you try to take pet owners off the app. Horrible, exploitative and if I didn’t need money here and there over the years I wouldn’t bother.

Terrible pay. Terrible walker support. Extremely competitive. Not transparent about policies. Many of the customers set you up for failure by not giving clear communication about what you are walking into.

Over-saturated with walkers at this point, or just no longer enough customers. Customers leave low tips because their cost was high. But Wag eats most of the cost.

*Updated 1/31/2023