We all love our pets – dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, goldfish, snakes, lizards, whatever our preference is! But the fact is they can be a little on the expensive side – especially given how tempting it is to spoil them.
So why not make the most of them in ways that can earn you a little extra cash?!
It’s not like you’d be doing them any harm – many of our ideas will result in your pet being blissfully unaware of your endeavours and they’ll enjoy the ones that actively involve them!
So, without further ado, let’s look at twenty-five ways you can make money from your pets…
25. Make Them Instagram Famous
You know, it isn’t just celebrities and “influencers” making money on Instagram – pets of all shapes and sizes (and their owners) can make money from the popular platform by building a following and taking advantage of it with sponsored posts, free products and sometimes even their own merchandise.
One such real life example is Darren and Phillip AKA The Blue Boys – they’re a pair of Staffordshire Bull Terriers from Australia with more than 600,000 Instagram followers and a line of products that includes leashes, collars, calendars, dog sweaters and T-shirts.
While the average person’s pet might struggle to get that popular, it’s still worth a try to make a little extra cash!
24. Make YouTube Videos
It’s great to add videos of your pet to your social media accounts and blogs, but another way to earn money online courtesy of your furry friend is to put them on YouTube.
To do this, simply create a YouTube channel and start uploading those videos! Add a fun description, include your pet’s social media links and share it on other sites, such as Reddit or a specific species Facebook group!
You can monetize the most popular videos courtesy of the short ads played before they start, as well as connect your YouTube channel to a Google AdSense account, which is how you make money from Google ads – just make sure the videos are entertaining, funny, informative and/or cute!
23. Start A Pet Blog
You can also make money off your pet by starting a blog for them. It’s not necessarily easy to pull off the monkey-making side of this, but it can definitely be worth the effort if you succeed.
Just like with an Instagram account, a pet blog could translate into money once you accumulate lots of followers, because as with social media profiles, pet bloggers typically get paid by big brands to promote their products – and you can also include referral links and get paid when you refer people to products they actually buy.
Having a blog can also help your pet get more exposure in addition to social media. You can sell advertising on your blog, place affiliate links on your blog and earn commission on sales you refer.
22. Train Your Pet To Act
Some pets – dogs in particular – are unconditionally obedient. They do whatever they’re asked – bless their little faces!
So, if your furry best friend is particularly good at following instructions, why not have them trained to appear in television shows and movies?
Obviously it costs – and you’ll have to join an agency – but if your pooch (for example) turns out to be the next Lassie, Beethoven or Benji, you’ll be raking the cash in!
21. Train Your Pet To Model
Of course, we all think our pets are the cutest of them all, but some of our furry friends do actually get paid for their adorable appearance!
You could make money off your pet by having them trained to model – yes, really!
Obviously – as with acting – you’ll have to pay to have them join an agency and whatnot. Also, be wary, pet model salary varies, so it can depend on specific circumstances whether or not it’s worth it.
20. Sell Pet Photos
If you have a good quality camera and a keen eye for photography, a number of stock photography sites – such as Shutterstock – will happily pay you royalties for your photos.
Photography sites of this nature reach millions of people and have an enormous number of subscribers – and those subscribers want new photos (including those of adorable pets) for their own websites.
So, if your pet is photogenic and doesn’t mind holding a pose for a few moments, why not give it a try?
19. Walkies
If you have a dog, you obviously already take it for walks (and if you don’t, you should!!), so why not get paid for it?
Set-up a dog walking business and, while you’re walking your own dog, take your customer’s pups along with you as well!
Heck, if you have space in your house, you can even start boarding dogs during the day or overnight – it’s a great excuse to give your pet more social interaction and you can make a little cash from it!
18. Help With Market Research
As is the case with all industries, pet-focused companies need to know as much as possible about their target market, in order to deliver good products and services. Given that pets (obviously) can’t provide that feedback themselves, you can step in and be their voice – and you can get paid for doing it.
An easy way to do this is by completing paid online surveys focused specifically on pet products. The best way to go about it is to sign up for survey sites, such as Swagbucks, LifePoints and Nielsen Panel.
It’s a great way to make a little extra cash with very little effort – although it won’t be an amount you can live on, by any stretch of the imagination.
17. Enter Shows
If your pet is particularly cute and well-groomed, you could enter him or her in competitions and shows – many of which have prize money, not only for finishing first, but also for finishing in the top two, three, four or even five.
And we’re not necessarily talking about elite shows like Crufts – that takes real dedication and special breeding – but lesser shows that are more fun and less competitive. Even they have cash prizes more often than not!
Just do a web search for “local [insert animal species] shows” (depending on what type of pet you have). You might be surprised what you find!
16. Raise Chickens And Sell Their Eggs
When you think of pets, you tend to immediately think of the classic domesticated animals like dogs and cats, but other classes of animals can be kept as pets too! Chickens, for example!
Raising chickens is a good way to make some extra money, because they cost very little to buy and can produce eggs on a surprisingly regular basis.
Just make sure you keep them in good conditions – such as in a back garden with a coop or pen, as opposed to keeping them horrendously and needlessly cramped.
15. Gourmet Pet Meals
Now, while this idea doesn’t really involve making money directly from your pet, your animal buddies could come in very handy when it comes to perfecting your ideas.
Basically, if you’ve got a higher-end clientele in mind, why not make custom gourmet meals for pets and sell them? Many pet owners are willing to pay a premium for handmade pet food – and that should be seen as an opportunity.
Your own pet can try out your recipes and your “feedback” will come in the form of whether or not he or she gobbles it up enthusiastically!
14. Pet Clothing And Bling
Again, this doesn’t involve directly using your pet to make money (there’ll be a few more like this on our list), but you could utilise the services of your animal friend to help you with this endeavour.
The family pet has definitely received a fashion upgrade in the past couple of decades – and people are now more than willing to dress their pets up in outfits in what is an ever-growing industry.
You could start to create your own pet attire and sell it online, with your own pet acting as your model!
13. Animal Trainer
If you want to be an animal trainer, you obviously need the right certification if you’re going to formally teach in an animal training institution – but you can at least start by using your own pet to practise and, ultimately, earn good money for it.
Plus, training animals is fun and you don’t need a qualification to post videos of you training your own pet on YouTube – which could also earn you money from advertising and so forth.
So, either qualify as a trainer or post videos of yourself training your own pet – or even do both! They’re both great ways to utilise your pet in a money-making adventure.
12. Breeding
One very obvious (and lucrative) way to make money from pets is by using them to breed and selling the offspring to other animal lovers.
If your pet (especially in the case of dogs and cats) comes from a good lineage, then you could make exceptional money by becoming a breeder – as long as you are comfortable with the idea (letting go can be hard, you’ve been warned), you can sell puppies for an average of $400 to $2,000 a pop, for example.
But we must stress, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with breeding – and you should never only own an animal for the sole purpose of breeding with it – so make sure you research responsible breeding before you get started. Do everything humanely and by the book.
11. Rent Your Pet
So, you know how we’ve already discussed the idea that taking people’s dogs off their hands for a while – perhaps to take them for a walk – can be a money-making business? Well so can the exact opposite!
Some people will actually pay YOU to rent your dog for a short amount of time – perhaps simply because they’re lonely. It also applies, to a lesser extent, to other animals, but the bigger market is for dogs.
Shelters do this, so people who don’t have the time to own a dog can take their dogs for walkies, but there’s no reason whatsoever why you couldn’t put your own dog up for rent for an hour or so at a time – assuming, of course, the customers prove themselves to be trustworthy and your dog is comfortable around strangers for short periods.
10. Pets As Therapy
A more lucrative way to rent your pet out – rather than just letting someone take your dog for a walk, for example – is by renting them out as therapy pets.
Dogs and cats in particular have a proven ability to assist people with their mental health – and your pet could become a therapy pet which, in turn, could result in you being paid quite a hefty sum of money.
Of course, you’d have to have your pet trained for such a task – you can’t just claim any pet is a therapy pet – but it could be worthwhile in a number of ways to a number of different parties (including you).
9. Pet Art
If you love drawing and painting or have artsy skills, but are struggling to find inspiration, why not use your pet to find it?
What could be more inspiring than your adorable furry best friend?
If you’re looking to sell your art online – whether than be on eBay, in an Etsy shop or otherwise – drawing or painting your pet would be a great way to start. Frankly, if you’re talented, any pet-themed art is likely to sell well.
8. Truffle Sniffers
If you’re not aware, truffles are the fruity part of an underground fungus that grows on the roots of certain trees. They’re ugly, but they’re also a delicacy and can be worth $1500 per kilogram.
Pigs are famous for sniffing out truffles, but dogs can be trained to detect anything, provided it has a scent – although only a handful of canine breeds are officially defined as truffle hunters.
If you had a pet dog or pig and could train it to sniff out truffles, they’d be in major demand – as are people who can teach animals this valuable skill. You could earn a lot of money! It’s worth pointing out that, these days, dogs are more popular than pigs since they don’t eat the truffles they find.
7. Wool
Yeah, sheep are an obviously source of wool, but did you know that alpacas – which are becoming increasingly popular as pets – also provide top quality specimens of the material?
Alpaca fiber is a genuinely hot commodity now – and it’s used by garment makers to create all sorts of items from blankets to couture gowns.
Alpacas range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, but they yield between five and 13 pounds of fiber annually (depending on the size of the animal), which can result in a tasty income over the course of the animal’s life.
6. Offer Horse Rides
Horses make wonderful pets for people who love the great outdoors – so why not share them with others who aren’t lucky enough to be in a position to own one?
If you have a horse who’s tame and used to being ridden, why not offer your equine friend out for riding experiences for children?
Parents will pay a good amount of money for a single riding experience – and if you’re experienced enough, you could even offer riding lessons to teach budding riders to become as good as you!
5. Clip Shows
In the YouTube age, it’s easy to forget that good old-fashioned clip shows still exist on television – and they can still earn you a nice sum of money!
If you have a funny pet who does silly things, record him or her and send the video in to shows like Animals Do the Funniest Things, The Planet’s Funniest Animals and/or You’ve Been Framed!
You’ll make a few bucks and the whole world will get to see what a hilarious little friend you have!
4. Be A Pooper Scooper
Now, again, this isn’t exactly making money directly from your pet, but we suggest you at least own a dog if you’re going to do it.
Picking up dog mess is a dirty business, but we all have to do it when we own a canine. However, some people hate doing it so much that they’re prepared to pay others to do it for them.
So, if you have a dog (it would perhaps be a little weird if you didn’t), why not offer your services to pick up other people’s dog’s mess while you’re out and about on walkies? There really IS a market for it these days – it generally involves going to people’s houses and picking up the mess in their garden – and if you already have poop bags or a pooper scooper tool in your home for your own dog, it’s an easy way to make a little bit of extra cash.
3. Start A Petcast
See what we did there? Petcast? Podcast? Never mind…
If you’re a pet expert and your own pet(s) give you enough to talk about on a regular basis, start a podcast about your life with your cherished animals!
In order to make money, you’ll need sponsors – and the way to get successful enough to attract them is to be consistent. Like everything in life, consistency is key when it comes to making a podcast popular. Find a schedule you can commit to – and make sure you fully commit to it. Your listeners want to know they can rely and depend on you to come out with a podcast on a regular basis – and, of course, you’ll have to make it entertaining too!
If you manage that, you’ll have pet brands fighting to sponsor you!
2. Write A Book
If your pet-owning life has granted you all the wisdom required to pass it on to others in the most academic way possible, why not write a book about it?
Use your pets as inspiration to put your knowledge down on paper and write a book on pet ownership – whether it’s about dogs, cats, rabbits, goldfish, another animal or a combination of them all!
Obviously this will require a lot of hard work on your pet – but what better inspiration that your lovable animal pal? Just look to your pets and use your experiences with them to let those words flow – and, assuming you’re a good writer, sell that book in hard and digital formats and watch the cash roll in!
1. Rent Your Guard Dog Out
You know those intimidating looking dogs that guard properties and businesses? Well, at the end of the day, they’re still just doggos with owners – they just so happen to be doggos who know how to deal with intruders.
If you’re the owner of a breed with a good solid guard dog reputation, you could have it trained to become a guard dog and rent it out occasionally – you know, if you’re prepared to do that with your best friend!
Currently guard dog rental rates are in the range of $40 to $60 per eight hours and include delivery and pickup of the dog. If you think your pooch (and you!) have what it takes for that, go for it!