If you want to change careers or launch your own business as a pet service professional, gaining animal handling and business experience is key to feeling confident in your skills—but gaining relevant experience can seem overwhelming when you’re starting out and don’t know where to look.

Read on to learn 6 ways you can gain the hands-on experience, knowledge, and skills you need to be a successful pet service professional.

1.   Sign Up for an App-Based Dog Walking or Pet Sitting App

This is one of the easiest ways to dip your toe into the world of pet services because the app does a lot of the heavy lifting of marketing for you.

There is a variety of dog walking and pet sitting apps available for you to try, but the two most common apps are Rover and Wag. You can also sign up as a pet sitter on sites like Care.com to offer your services.

When you sign up for these apps, you simply create a profile where you share how passionate you are about caring for...