How to Leave Rover and Start Your Own Pet Care Business

If you're a pet sitter or dog boarder on Rover, you've probably done the math. You charge $45 a night, Rover takes 20%, and you walk away with $36. Multiply that across a month of bookings and you're handing over hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars to a platform that's doing less and less for you every year.

More and more pet sitters are making the switch to running their own independent business. Not because it's trendy, but because it makes financial sense. This guide walks you through exactly how to do it — step by step — without losing the clients you've already built relationships with.

First, Let's Look at What Rover Is Really Costing You

Rover's fee structure is straightforward on the surface — they take 20% of every booking. But the real cost goes deeper than that.

And that's just the sitter side. Rover also charges pet owners a service fee on top of your rate — typically around 11%. So if you charge $45, the client actually pays closer to $50. They think you're more expensive than you are, and you're earning less than you should be. Rover is taking from both sides of every transaction.

But money isn't the only cost. Here's what else you give up on Rover:

• You don't own your clients. If Rover deactivates your account — and they do, sometimes without clear explanation — you lose access to every client you've built a relationship with. Their contact info, booking history, reviews — all gone.
• You can't set your own terms. Rover controls the cancellation policy, the review system, and increasingly, the pricing. Their algorithm pushes clients toward cheaper sitters, creating a race to the bottom.
• Support has gotten worse. Rover has shifted heavily toward AI chatbots. Sitters report spending hours trying to reach a real person when something goes wrong — a payment glitch, an emergency with a pet, a dispute with a client.
• The review system is one-sided. Clients can review you, but you can't review clients. That aggressive dog that destroyed your couch? No way to warn the next sitter.
• Your earnings fluctuate based on their algorithm. Rover decides who sees your profile, who gets recommended first, and how visible you are. One algorithm change can tank your bookings overnight.

What Going Independent Actually Looks Like

Leaving Rover doesn't mean going back to pen-and-paper scheduling and chasing payments over text. It means building a real business with the right tools. Here's exactly what you need — and it's simpler than you think.

Step 1: Get a Proper Booking System

This is the foundation. You need a way for clients to book online, see your availability, and pay — without calling or texting you. This is what Rover provided, and it's what you need to replace first.

Pet care booking software like Book'n gives you an online booking calendar, automated email confirmations and reminders, payment processing through Stripe, pet profiles with vaccination tracking, and daily photo updates you can send to pet parents during their stay. Your clients get a clean, professional booking experience — and you get a dashboard to manage everything.

The key difference from Rover: you own everything. Your client list, their contact info, booking history, pet profiles — it's all yours. No platform can take it away.

Step 2: Set Up a Google Business Profile

This is free and it's one of the most powerful things you can do. When someone in your area Googles "pet sitter near me" or "dog boarding in [your city]," Google Business Profile is what shows up on the map.

Go to business.google.com and create your listing. Add your business name, the area you serve, your services, photos of happy dogs in your care, and a link to your booking page. This replaces Rover's search function — except now clients find YOU directly, not a platform that takes a cut.

The biggest thing: ask your clients to leave Google reviews. Five-star reviews on Google are worth more than fifty five-star reviews on Rover, because Google reviews follow you forever. Rover reviews disappear if you leave the platform.

Step 3: Create a Simple Website or Landing Page

You don't need anything fancy. A single page with your name, services, pricing, a few photos, and a "Book Now" button that links to your booking system. That's it.

If you use Book'n, you can embed the booking widget directly on your site with a single line of code — or just share your booking link. Clients click, pick dates, and book. No phone calls, no back-and-forth texts.

Free website builders like Wix, Squarespace, or even a simple Facebook page can work as a starting point. The goal is to have somewhere to send people that isn't a Rover profile you don't control.

Step 4: Get on Facebook and Instagram

This is where most independent pet sitters find their first non-Rover clients. Here's the playbook:

• Create a Facebook Business page for your pet care business. Post photos of dogs in your care (with permission), share your availability, and make it easy for people to book.
• Join local pet owner Facebook groups. Almost every city has groups like "[City] Dog Owners" or "[City] Pet Services." Don't spam — be helpful, answer questions, and mention your services when it's relevant. This is how most independent sitters build their client base.
• Post on Instagram. Pet content performs incredibly well on Instagram. Happy dog photos, before-and-after grooming shots, dogs playing in your yard — this builds trust and attracts new clients. Use local hashtags like #[YourCity]PetSitter or #[YourCity]DogBoarding.
• Ask clients to tag you. When pet parents share photos of their dog after a stay with you, ask them to tag your business page. That's free advertising to all their friends who also have dogs.

Step 5: Tell Your Existing Rover Clients

This is the part people worry about most — and it's usually the easiest. Your regular clients already know and trust you. They chose YOU, not Rover. Most will happily book with you directly, especially when they realize they'll save money too (no more 11% Rover service fee on their end).

You don't need to make a dramatic announcement. Next time a regular client books, mention that you've set up your own booking system and that they can book directly next time. Give them your booking link. Most will switch over naturally.

Important: Rover's terms of service prohibit soliciting clients off-platform while you're actively using Rover. The smart approach is to transition gradually — as clients come to you directly, serve them through your own system. Don't delete your Rover profile overnight. Let it wind down naturally as your independent business grows.

Step 6: Get Reviews on Google

On Rover, your reviews are trapped on their platform. When you leave, they stay behind. That's why building Google reviews from day one is critical.

After every booking through your own system, send a quick message: "Thanks for boarding Bella with us! If you had a great experience, we'd really appreciate a Google review — it helps other pet parents find us." Include a direct link to your Google review page.

Even 5-10 Google reviews will put you ahead of most local pet sitters in search results. And unlike Rover reviews, these are yours permanently.

The Math: Rover vs. Running Your Own Business

Let's use the same example — 10 dogs per month, $45/night, 3-night average stay — and compare what you actually take home.

And that gap gets bigger as your business grows. At 20 dogs per month, you'd save over $4,000 per year. Rover's percentage-based model means the more successful you are, the more they take. A flat-rate subscription means your software cost stays the same whether you do 10 bookings or 200.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Your Transition Checklist

Here's the step-by-step plan to go from Rover sitter to independent business owner:

• Sign up for pet care booking software (Book'n offers a 30-day free trial)
• Set up your services, pricing, and availability in the system
• Create a Google Business Profile with photos and your booking link
• Set up a simple website or Facebook Business page
• Create an Instagram account and start posting photos of dogs in your care
• Join 3-5 local pet owner Facebook groups in your area
• Start telling regular Rover clients they can book with you directly
• Ask your first 5 direct-booking clients to leave a Google review
• Share your booking link on your social media profiles
• Once most regulars have transitioned, let your Rover profile wind down

The Bottom Line

Rover made sense when you were starting out and had zero clients. It gave you visibility and a steady stream of bookings. But once you have regular clients who trust you and rebook with you, you're paying 20% for a service you no longer need.

Going independent isn't about burning bridges — it's about building something that's actually yours. Your clients, your reviews, your pricing, your business. The tools to do it are affordable and simple to set up. The only question is how much longer you want to share your hard-earned income with a platform that's giving you less and less in return.