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You’ve decided to open a pet-sitting business. Now what? One of the very first things to do is to name your business. Selecting the perfect name for your pet-sitting business can be tricky. You can’t pick just any name for your pet-sitting business.

With the ever-increasing number of pet-sitting companies, some business names have already been trademarked, which means these names can’t be used. Although hiring an attorney may involve some expense, it is a wise initial investment to find out if you have the RIGHT to use a specific business name.

For example, a pet sitter in Florida had been doing business under a certain name for more than a year. She had established an excellent reputation and developed a devoted clientele. Then out of the blue, a letter arrived from an attorney in the Midwest informing her to cease and desist use of her business's name immediately because it was federally trademarked by his client. To make a long story short, the Florida pet sitter had to hire an attorney to look into the matter, only to find that indeed, she did not have the right to do business under her current name.

Her innocent mistake ended up being a very costly one. It was expensive to change all of her forms, stationary and business literature. Having to notify her clients of a new name was awkward as well. It would have been less expensive to go through all the proper name-checking channels at the outset - not to mention the headaches she would have been spared.

How can you select and protect your pet-sitting business name?

When brainstorming business names, consider incorporating your city or community name, your own name or something specific to you to avoid selecting a name that’s already taken.

Once you’ve narrowed down your name selections to a few favorites, you’ll want to take the necessary steps to ensure you pick a final business name you can actually use.

If you are operating your pet-sitting business in the U.S.:

1. Check with your county clerk’s office to see if these names are in use by another business in your community.
2. If the name is locally available, the next inquiry should be to the Secretary of State’s office to determine if anyone in your state has registered your preferred business name.
3. Next, check to see if your preferred business name has already been trademarked with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. You can determine if there’s a federal trademark on the name by checking registrations through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or by hiring a patent and trademark attorney to do this verification for you.
4. Once you’ve decided on a business name, be sure to protect it. Register and trademark your business name to ensure that another business doesn’t, which could prevent you from using it down the road.

In Canada? This article provides additional information on registering your business name in your territory or province.

Choosing your company name is one of the five main steps to starting a pet-sitting business. This free Ebook from PSI details the five must-do steps you should take to start a successful pet-sitting business. 

How do other pet sitters choose their business name?

Naming your pet-sitting service is not a decision to be taken lightly. It sets the tone for your business and it’s included on all of your company’s materials from your website to business cards and fliers. Recently PSI posed this question on its Facebook page: “How did you select the name of your pet-sitting business? Knowing what you know now, would you have kept the same name for your business?”

Some pet sitters used their city or state in their business name:

Christina B.: I named my business Connecticut Pet Sitter LLC. It was the best decision I ever made and I was even lucky enough to get www.ctpetsitter.com as my website domain.

Others incorporated their own pets’ names into their business name:

Elise N.: “It took me a while to think of my business name, but I finally went with a nickname I use for my dog: Bandito Pet Sitting. It is definitely a lot different than any other pet-sitting business name in my area!”

Many pet sitters mentioned that they selected their business name with a desire to evoke a certain emotion or feeling:

Emery F.: “My name is Emery and people frequently call me ‘Em.’ I wanted clients to have a warm and fuzzy feeling when seeing my business name to create a comfort level. So, the name I chose was Auntie Em’s Pet Sitting & Dog Walking.”

Some selected a name that identified their specific pet-sitting clientele:

Executive Pets: “I selected the business name Executive Pets because I am targeting the executive market—business people who travel regularly for business or pleasure.”

Tracey B.: “My pet-sitting business caters to clients who are wealthy and travel often. So, I chose the name Jet Set Pet Sitters. My motto is ‘when you jet set…we’ll pet sit!’”

Others incorporate their own name into their pet-sitting business name:

Laura W.: “I have an easy last name so Woods Pet Sitting was a no-brainer decision for me. I changed my business name to Woods Pet Care two years ago. As I told my clients, we do more than ‘sit’ with your pets.”

For one pet-sitting company, the business name was a family tradition:

Copy Cat & Dog Care: “I get asked a lot about my business name. My cousin was interested in starting a pet-sitting business in 2005. Her sister had a successful pet-care business in another city at the time and she wanted to try starting her own. She wanted a unique business name. As she was sharing possible business names with her teenage daughter, her daughter accused her of being a ‘copycat’ since she wanted to do the same thing as her sister. My cousin ran with that idea and named her business Copy Cat & Dog Care. When I took over the business in 2008, I kept the name since I, too, was a copycat. It ends up we’re just a family of copycats!”

How did you choose your pet-sitting business name?

Do you have a creative name for your pet-sitting business? Or a simple name that works well for your business and your pet-sitting clients? Tell us your pet-sitting business name and how you chose the name in the comments section below.