How Does Rover Work? - Financial Panther

If you’re looking to get started dogsitting with Rover, you might be asking yourself – how does Rover work?

Or maybe you’re a client looking for someone to watch your dog for you while you’re on vacation.

I’ve been dog sitting on Rover since 2015, so I have a lot of experience dog sitting and watching dogs through Rover. It’s been a great side hustle.

Indeed, over the years, I’ve been able to earn well over $10,000 from watching dogs in my spare time with Rover. Of all of the side hustles I do, it’s probably my most passive one too. I already have a dog, so watching another dog doesn’t add much additional work to my plate.

In this post, I’ll go over how Rover works, looking at it from the point of view both of dog owners looking for a sitter and sitters looking to get clients and start up a side hustle or full-time business. I’ll also look at some other services that you can get using Rover too.

How Does Rover Work As A Client

At the outset, it can be helpful to briefly explain what Rover is. I like to think of Rover as an Airbnb for dogs. It’s a platform that you people can use to find dog sitters or cat sitters. Conversely, people that are looking to offer their dog sitting or cat sitting services can create a profile and list themselves on Rover.

If you’re a client looking for someone to watch your dog, you have two options with Rover. The first is to board your dog at someone’s house. This is when you find someone on Rover to watch your dog at their house.

The second option is to find someone to watch your pet at your house. In this situation, the pet sitter would stay at your house for however long you need them. Which option works best for you will depend on your situation. Some people would prefer their pet stays in their own house. Others might not worry about that. Fortunately, there are enough good sitters on Rover that you shouldn’t have a problem finding someone to suit your needs.

To find a sitter, open the Rover app or go to the Rover website, then select the service you’re looking for. Below is a screenshot of the different services you can find on Rover.

Next, you’ll put your address and the dates you’re looking for. Rover will then show you a list of available nearby sitters for the dates you selected.

One thing to note is that the list you get isn’t necessarily the closest sitters to your location. I’m not sure how the Rover algorithm works, but it doesn’t always show the most convenient sitters to you. If you want to search by location, you can click the map icon and then search for sitters based on the map.

Each sitter will have a profile, reviews, and pictures, which can give you a good sense of what type of sitter they are. You’ll also see how much they charge per night so you can see if they fit within your budget. It’s important to read each sitter’s reviews and carefully review their profile to make sure that the sitter is a good fit for you and your pet. In particular, you’ll want to know what the living situation is like for each sitter and how much experience they have. More reviews are better, although everyone does have to get started somewhere too, so not having a lot of reviews shouldn’t be a deal-breaker.

Once you find a sitter that you’re interested in, you can request a sitting request. Good sitters will require a meet and greet before accepting your request, where you can meet the sitter and make sure that you’re a good fit for each other.

If everything looks good from there, both of you can confirm the sitting request, then arrange for drop-off. And that’s it! You should be good to go. The Rover app will show you how much you’ll be paying for the stay, including any booking fees that Rover charges (unfortunately, to maintain their app, Rover charges a small fee to pet owners, but even with the fee, most Rover sitters will be cheaper than a traditional kennel).

Rover Guarantee

One thing you might be worried about is the safety of your pet during the stay. After all, you’re leaving your dog with a stranger. Rover has received some bad press in the past with dogs being harmed during their stay, usually from escaping or from an inattentive sitter (see, for example, this news story from February 2022).

Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about these worst-case scenarios. Rover runs background checks on all sitters, but even then, mistakes happen. Most sitters aren’t trying to cause harm to any dogs and even in a professional dog kennel, dogs can escape or worse.

The best thing you can do is make sure your dog is well-suited for staying with a sitter on Rover. If your dog tends to run away, for example, you probably should stick to a professional kennel that might be better suited to working with a dog like yours. If your dog is aggressive or doesn’t do well with strangers, again, a kennel is probably your best bet. I find that dogs that are friendly, generally calm, and get along well with people and other dogs are best suited for Rover.

Rover does have something called the Rover Guarantee, which is an insurance program that will cover you in the event something happens to your dog. Rover claims that every booking is backed with up to $25,000 in vet care reimbursement, as well as 24/7 support if something does happen. How easy it is to get Rover to cover these costs is unclear – anecdotally, I’ve heard it is not easy. That being said, it’s at least there if something does happen.

How Does Rover Work For Dog Sitters

If you’re a dog sitter, you can create a sitter profile and start watching dogs via the Rover app. Creating a profile is simple. You’ll need to pass a background check and go through a short onboarding process where you review some information and complete a safety quiz.

The safety quiz is a short quiz that you’ll need to take before you can start watching dogs. You watch a few videos and answer some multiple-choice questions. It’s not difficult, so you shouldn’t have a problem with it.

The background check isn’t difficult either. However, the background check is not free. You have two options here. The first is a basic background check that costs $25. The second is an “enhanced” background check that costs $35. When I signed up, I chose the enhanced background check because I wanted the enhanced background check badge, but in practice, it probably doesn’t make much of a difference since most pet owners probably don’t notice it.

After you’ve completed your profile and paid for your background check, Rover will then review your profile. Assuming there aren’t any issues, you’ll likely be approved within a day or two. Your profile will then be visible and clients will be able to reach out to you and have you watch their dogs.

There’s a lot more than goes into being a Rover sitter, and I’ve written a detailed post that goes over how Rover works and the strategies you can use to make Rover a great side hustle (or full-time business) for you. I recommend reading that post if you want to delve deeper into Rover: Rover Pet Sitting – How To Make Money Dog Sitting With Rover.

You can sign up to be a Rover sitter using this link.

Other Rover Services

In addition to dog sitting, Rover also offers cat sitting, drop-in visits, doggy daycare, and dog walking. They’re all fairly self-explanatory, so I’ll briefly touch on each service.

Drop-in visits are primarily geared towards cats. This is when you have a sitter come to your house for a short time to feed your pet. I do a decent amount of cat drop-in visits in my neighborhood where I go to the cat owner’s home, feed their cat, and change the litter. Most drop-in visits are 30 minutes long.

Doggy daycare is when a pet parent drops off their dog at your house for the day. I don’t offer this service, but I imagine you could make some solid income with this service if it works for you.

Finally, dog walking is when a dog owner gets you to walk their dog. Most walks are 20-30 minutes long. You’ll usually get directions on how to get into the house. The app tracks your location as you walk the dog so the pet owner can see where you went.

Final Thoughts

For dog boarding, I find Rover superior to a professional doggie hotel or kennel. It feels far more like dropping off my pet at a friend or family member’s house, rather than an impersonal kennel. For my clients, dropping off their dog at my house gives them a good, family environment, no different than how my dog lives.

Rover is also far cheaper than a traditional kennel. Most kennels charge extra for dog walks and other services, which can add up. Rover sitters, by contrast, aren’t charging for things like walking your dog or playing with them while they’re in their care. Again, it’s like dropping off your dog at a friend or family member’s house.

Hopefully, this post gave you some good information about how Rover works. After years of using Rover, both as a sitter and as a dog owner, I can say I’ve been very happy with Rover. It’s easily a side hustle I can continue doing for the rest of my life.

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Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
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Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
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More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
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If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
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Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.