Cicero, IL

Earn on your schedule walking dogs in Cicero

Of Cicero's 36,574 commuters, 14,554 head out before 7 a.m., so dogs in Grant Works and Parkholme wait for a midday walk. Walks in Cicero run $15 to $25 per 30 to 60 minute walk, and you keep up to 90% of every booking.

Prefer to apply from a laptop? Start your application on the web

Pet sitter spending time with animals
$15 to $25
per 30 to 60 minute walk in Cicero
Up to 90%
of every walk kept by the walker
$22,000
Protection Plan on every booking
4.9 / 5
average sitter rating on Petme

Everything you need to succeed

We provide the tools, support, and protection you need to build a thriving pet care business.

Set Your Own Rates

You decide what to charge. Our pricing suggestions help you stay competitive while maximizing earnings.

Flexible Schedule

Work when you want. Accept bookings that fit your lifestyle. No minimum hours required.

Petme Protection

Every booking includes up to $22,000 through the Protection Plan. Care for pets with confidence.

Easy Booking System

Our app handles messaging, payments, and scheduling. Focus on what you do best: pet care.

Local Visibility

Get discovered by pet owners in your area. Our search helps clients find the perfect sitter.

Fast Payments

Get paid within 2 business days after each booking. Keep up to 90% of every booking.

A local edge

Local know-how pays off in Cicero

Cicero's July normal high is 85 degrees at the Midway airport gauge. That gauge counts 19.8 days a year that hit 90, eight of them in July, so summer walks start before 8. January is the other hard month. Its normal high is 32.7, and 39.2 days a year never climb past 32. Salted sidewalks mean a paw wipe at the door.

When demand peaks

Cicero leaves for work early. Census commute data puts 14,554 of Cicero's 36,574 commuters on the road before 7 a.m., and their dogs need a midday walk. Five inbound BNSF trains stop at the Cicero station before 8 each weekday. Walk bookings thin out over the Morton District 201 winter break, which starts December 21.

Know your Cicero routes

Grant Works Park and Parkholme Park sit between Roosevelt and Cermak Roads, east of Laramie Avenue. The town plan calls that area a mix of bungalows, two-flats, apartment blocks and gable-front cottages. Renters hold 11,103 of Cicero's 24,432 occupied homes. Clyde Park and Warren Park give a west-side route some grass.

Breeds you will meet in Cicero

Owners here mostly keep French Bulldog, Golden Retriever, Bulldog, Labrador Retriever. Knowing how those breeds behave, and saying so on your profile, is what turns a first booking into a repeat client.

Bilingual owners book faster

A Cicero sitter will field plenty of messages in Spanish. Of 78,649 residents aged five and over, 61,970 speak it at home (ACS table C16001). For the 26,467 who speak English less than very well, care notes in Spanish are the easier read.

The work itself

What a dog walking job in Cicero actually involves

Code 18-41 keeps a dog from running loose on streets and alleys, or in hallways two families share. Section 18-52 keeps a dog on a leash anywhere off a fenced part of the owner's lot. Section 18-4 makes whoever has custody pick up after the dog on a public way. The town's leash-free dog parks admit only dogs with a Cicero dog park permit on file.

Before the first walk

You meet the owner and the dog, agree the pickup time and the route, and check the harness, the leash and whether the dog pulls or reacts to other dogs. In Cicero that meet-and-greet is where most repeat clients are won.

During the walk

Leash on, waste bagged, water offered on longer loops, and a check of the pavement before you head out on a hot afternoon. Owners want to know the dog was walked, not driven around a parking lot for twenty minutes.

After the walk

Paws wiped, water topped up, the dog settled inside and the door locked as you found it. Then a photo and a line about how it went. That message is what turns one booking into a standing weekly slot.

How it works

From sign up to your first booking in just a few simple steps.

1

Create Your Profile

Download the app, add photos, write your bio, and select the services you want to offer.

2

Get Verified

Complete our verification process. Once approved, your profile goes live.

3

Set Your Services

Choose your rates, availability, and the types of pets you're comfortable caring for.

4

Start Earning

Accept booking requests, provide great care, and build your client base.

See what you could earn

Adjust the sliders to estimate your potential monthly earnings.

18 bookings20

Based on typical boarding rates in the United States

Estimated Monthly Earnings
$866
per month
Per pet rate: nearly half of our clients have multiple pets
Rate per night$25
Bookings per Week8
Weeks per month4.33
Monthly total$866
Actual earnings depend on your rates, services offered, location, and availability. Many sitters earn more by offering multiple services.
Rates in Cicero

Choose your services, set your own rates

Typical Petme rates in Cicero. You set your own price for each service, and keep up to 90% of every booking.

Dog walking

$15 to $25 per 30 to 60 minute walk

Drop-in visits

$16 to $25 per 20 to 30 minute visit

Run the numbers on Cicero. Three standing clients at four walks a week is 12 walks; at $20 a walk that is $240, and you keep up to 90%. Most of that comes from the same three doors every week.

Where demand is strongest

Cicero areas that book the most

Dog walking in Cicero fills a midday gap, because 14,554 of the town's 36,574 commuters leave home for work before 7 a.m.

No Illinois license exists for walking dogs or for drop-in cat visits. Under the state Animal Welfare Act, the Department of Agriculture issues kennel and day care operator licenses. Cicero Code 18-41 forbids letting a dog run loose in public places or shared hallways. Section 18-40 allows three licensed animals per home, five if it has 1,000 square feet. Under section 26-31, every business or occupation in town needs a town license. Pet-care income is self-employment, reported on Schedule C.

Grant WorksParkholmeMorton ParkWarren ParkClydeHawthorneDrexelBoulevard ManorHawthorne Works54th Avenue Industrial Corridor
What gets you booked

What Cicero owners look for in a walker

Owners read profiles the way they read reviews of a daycare. Four things get you the first booking.

Named neighborhoods

A profile that says which Cicero neighborhoods you cover beats one that says "anywhere". Owners search for someone close, and a short travel time is what makes a recurring walk work.

A regular slot

Owners want the same walker at the same time each day. Say which weekday windows you can hold, and you will be chosen over a walker with a wider but vaguer calendar.

Dog experience, stated

Which breeds you have walked, whether you are fine with a strong puller or a reactive dog, and what you do when one dog will not walk. Specifics win. So does a photo of you with a dog.

Frequently asked questions

Dog walking on Petme in Cicero runs $15 to $25 per 30 to 60 minute walk. You set your own rate, and you keep up to 90% of every booking.

No. Petme sitters must be 18 or over, so under-18s cannot take bookings yet. From 18 you need a smartphone with the Petme app, to pass ID verification, and a profile that describes the pets you have cared for, including your own.

Dog walking in Cicero fills a midday gap, because 14,554 of the town's 36,574 commuters leave home for work before 7 a.m. You walk where you already know the parks, the quiet routes, and the local leash rules.

Yes. You decide where to walk, when, and for how long. No assigned routes, no minimum hours, no shift rosters. Many Cicero walkers build a regular loop through Grant Works and Parkholme and accept or decline requests as they come in.

It works as flexible income alongside a job or studies. You pick your availability and scale bookings up or down, and a compact route around Grant Works keeps travel time low between walks.

Every confirmed Petme booking, including walks, includes $22,000 in Protection Plan for the dog in your care, at no cost to you or the owner. The same cover applies whether you walk in Grant Works or Parkholme.

Yes. Petme recruits sitters across Cicero year-round, from Grant Works to Parkholme, and owners send booking requests directly to sitters in their area. There is no vacancy list to wait on: you create a profile, set the areas you cover, and accept the requests you want.

June through August. Midway's weather station records 19.8 days a year reaching 90, and eight fall in July. Dog walking in Cicero then moves to the hours before 8, before the sidewalks around Morton Park and Clyde Park heat up.

You need to be 18 or over, have a smartphone with the Petme app, and pass ID verification. Owners choose on reviews, availability and a complete profile, so it is worth describing the pets you have looked after, including your own, and naming the Cicero areas you cover.

Owners in Cicero mostly keep French Bulldog, Golden Retriever, Bulldog, Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd Dog. Saying on your profile which of those you have walked helps owners choose you, because most are looking for someone already comfortable with their dog's size and energy.

Petme for Creators

Make your pet a Petfluencer with Petme

It's easier than ever. Discover why thousands of pet parents are joining the community to grow their audience, land brand deals, and monetize their content all in one app.

Discover Why
Petfluencer Program

Ready to start earning?

Download the app and create your profile today.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play