AI assistants recommend dog groomers, walkers, sitters and boarders when they can see what you do, which dogs you take, where you work, what it costs and that you're licensed where the law requires it. Publish those facts in plain text, display your council licence and star rating if you board dogs or run day care, and collect reviews that mention dogs' breeds and temperaments. Owners are handing over a family member, so the evidence has to be checkable.
Key takeaways
- Owners describe their dog, not your service ("groomer for a nervous cockapoo who hates dryers").
- In England, home boarding and dog day care businesses need a council licence, with a 1 to 5 star rating. Walking, sitting in the owner's home and grooming don't.
- Licensed boarders and day care businesses must show their name and licence number on their website.
- Grooming qualifications aren't a legal requirement, so stating yours sets you apart.
- Check monthly what assistants say when asked for a dog business like yours nearby.
What do dog owners ask AI when they're looking for a groomer, walker or boarder?
They describe the dog, the dates and the area. The prompts below are illustrative examples of the kinds of questions people ask, not measured search volumes.
| Intent | Example prompts (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Urgent | "Dog sitter available this weekend in Brighton", "emergency dog boarding near Guildford, going into hospital tomorrow" |
| Comparison | "Kennels or home boarding for an anxious rescue dog?", "mobile groomer or salon for an elderly dog?", "group walks or solo walks for a reactive dog?" |
| Local | "Groomer in Leamington who's good with nervous cockapoos", "dog walker in Clifton who does solo walks", "dog day care near Didsbury with a secure field" |
| Price | "How much does a full groom cost for a cockapoo?", "dog walker prices per hour in Leeds", "home boarding cost per night near me" |
| Trust | "Is [business name] licensed?", "how do I check a dog boarder has a council licence?", "what insurance should a dog walker have?" |
Where does AI get its answers about dog care businesses?
From council licence registers, marketplaces, Google and business websites. Google says its AI Overviews and AI Mode use pages that are indexed and eligible to show a snippet, with no extra technical requirements (Google Search Central, 2025).
| Source | What it is | Why it matters for dog businesses |
|---|---|---|
| Council licence lists (England) | Councils' lists of licensed animal businesses | Statutory guidance says councils should keep a list of licensed businesses and their star ratings on their websites (GOV.UK, n.d.). |
| Your website | Services, dogs you take, prices, licence, insurance | Licensed home boarders and day care must display licence details here (GOV.UK, n.d.). |
| Google Business Profile | Listing on Search and Maps | Google says complete information and more reviews help local ranking (Google Business Profile Help, n.d.). |
| Pawshake | Pet care marketplace | Sitters can offer boarding and day care at their home, house sitting, home visits and walks, and the site says sitters are vetted by its Trust and Safety team (Pawshake, n.d.). |
| Business Companion | Business guidance on trading standards law | Explains which animal activities need a licence in England (Business Companion, n.d.). |
The 7-step plan to get your dog business recommended
Check whether you need a licence, and display it if you do. In England, a council licence is needed to provide or arrange boarding for other people's cats or dogs, including home boarding, and for dog day care. Sitters who look after dogs in the owner's own home don't need one (Business Companion, n.d.), nor do businesses whose trading income is below the HMRC trading income allowance (GOV.UK, n.d.). For licensed home boarding and day care, the licence holder's name and licence number must be "clearly and prominently displayed on any website used" for the activity (GOV.UK, n.d.). In Wales and Scotland, a business that boards other people's dogs or cats needs a council licence, renewed every year, even if it only looks after a few animals at home (GOV.UK, n.d.).
Show your star rating and explain it. Licensed businesses in England are rated from 1 to 5 stars, and only those meeting the higher standards in the guidance can get 4 or 5 (GOV.UK, n.d.). Put the rating, the issuing council and the licence expiry date on your website in text, and link to the council's list.
State your insurance and qualifications. Say what cover you hold, such as public liability and care, custody and control, and with which insurer. For grooming, the College of Animal Welfare notes that a qualification is not a legal requirement, and describes City & Guilds accredited certificates as widely regarded as the industry benchmark (The College of Animal Welfare, n.d.). Name yours, plus any canine first aid or behaviour training, with dates.
Describe the dogs you take and how you handle them. Breeds and coat types you specialise in, size limits, whether you take puppies, elderly dogs, reactive or anxious dogs, dogs that aren't neutered, and how many dogs you walk at once. For licensed home boarders, the guidance says no more than six dogs can be walked at the same time (GOV.UK, n.d.). These details match the way owners actually describe their dogs.
Publish prices and areas. Groom prices by size and coat, walk prices by length and group or solo, boarding and day care prices per day or night, extra charges for matted coats, late pick-ups or bank holidays. List the towns or postcodes you cover and your pick-up arrangements.
Keep marketplace profiles consistent with your own site. Use the same name, services, prices and licence details on Pawshake, any other platform and Google. Your website should hold everything, because it's the record you keep if a platform changes.
Ask every client for a review, with no incentive. After the first groom, the first week of walks or the first stay. Google prohibits incentives (Google Business Profile Help, n.d.) and selectively soliciting positive reviews (Google, n.d.). Since 6 April 2025, UK law bans fake reviews and reviews that conceal an incentive (CMS, 2025), so "a free nail trim for a review" is out. Reviews that mention the breed and temperament help most, but don't script them.
Add LocalBusiness structured data with your name, phone, website, hours and service area; schema.org's LocalBusiness list has no grooming, walking or boarding type (Schema.org, n.d.), and Google says AI features need no special markup. Also check that robots.txt and any firewall allow OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search (OpenAI, n.d.), PerplexityBot (Perplexity, n.d.) and Claude-SearchBot (Anthropic, n.d.).
Mistakes that keep dog businesses out of AI answers
- Boarding or day care without the licence on your website. In England the statutory guidance says licence details must be on your website, and it's the strongest trust signal you have.
- "Fully insured" with no detail. Say what kind of cover, so owners and assistants can compare.
- Everything on Instagram. Photos are great, but prices, areas and policies need to be on a web page as text.
- No mention of difficult dogs. Owners of nervous or reactive dogs ask very specific questions, and businesses that address them get named.
- A star rating with no context. "3 stars" with no explanation can read as average. Say what it covers and when it's renewed.
- Asking only the happiest owners for reviews. Google prohibits selective asking.
How do you check whether AI recommends you?
Ask the assistants what dog owners ask, and record the answers monthly.
- Choose 10 prompts from the table, using your area, services and the dogs you specialise in.
- Run each in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google (AI Overviews and AI Mode), Gemini, Claude and Copilot, in a logged-out or private window where possible.
- Note whether you're named, whether your services, prices and licence are right, which businesses or platforms appear instead and which sources are cited.
- Fix wrong facts at the source: your website first, then Google and your marketplace profiles.
- In Google Search Console, AI feature traffic is included in the Performance report under the "Web" search type (Google Search Central, 2025).
SearchCrow runs these checks for you. It asks the main AI assistants the questions owners ask about dog groomers, walkers and boarders near you, shows whether you come up and which sources they rely on, and suggests what to fix first. It's priced for sole traders and small teams.
FAQ
Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my dog business? Usually because owners ask about details you haven't published. They ask "groomer in Leamington who handles nervous cockapoos" or "licensed home boarder near Guildford for a reactive dog". If your website doesn't state services, breeds and temperaments you take, areas, prices, your licence where one is needed and your insurance, a business that spells these out is easier to recommend.
Do I need a licence for dog walking, sitting or grooming? In England, not for walking, for sitting in the owner's own home, or for grooming as such. A council licence is needed for businesses that board dogs or cats, including home boarding, and for dog day care. Businesses with trading income below the HMRC trading income allowance don't need one. Wales and Scotland have their own boarding licences. Check with your council.
Do I have to show my licence on my website? Yes, for licensed home boarding and dog day care in England. The statutory guidance says the licence holder's name and licence number must be clearly and prominently displayed on any website used for the licensable activity, and a copy of the licence displayed at the premises. Put your star rating next to them, with the licensing council's name.
What does the star rating on a dog boarding licence mean? Licensed animal businesses in England get a rating from 1 to 5 stars, based on risk, compliance history and whether they meet the higher standards in the statutory guidance. Only businesses meeting the higher standards can get 4 or 5 stars. Councils should publish a list of licensed businesses and their ratings on their websites, which is a source assistants can read.
What structured data should a dog groomer or walker use? Schema.org has no dog grooming, walking or boarding type, so use LocalBusiness with your name, phone, website, hours and the areas you serve. If you work from home, mark up a service area rather than your home address. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special structured data, so markup confirms facts you already publish.
Sources
- Animal activities licensing: guidance for local authorities, GOV.UK
- Animal activity licensing process: statutory guidance, GOV.UK
- Home boarding for dogs licensing: statutory guidance, GOV.UK
- Dog day care licensing: statutory guidance, GOV.UK
- Licensing of animal activities, Business Companion
- Animal boarding establishment licence (Wales and Scotland), GOV.UK
- Do you need qualifications to become a dog groomer in the UK?, The College of Animal Welfare
- Pawshake, Pawshake
- LocalBusiness, Schema.org
- AI features and your website, Google Search Central
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, Google Business Profile Help
- Get reviews on your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help
- Fake engagement policy, Google
- No more faux five-stars: the DMCC Act bans fake reviews, CMS
- Overview of OpenAI crawlers, OpenAI
- Perplexity crawlers, Perplexity
- Anthropic crawler FAQ, Anthropic