So… what makes a good dog walker?
Nearly six years ago now, when I decided to quit my corporate job and take a leap of faith on a job that I knew absolutely nothing about, I can still remember what I then imagined the life of a dog walker to be like…
Have you ever seen the film Monster In Law? Well, J.Lo is walking about 10 dogs, on lead, on the beach… she manages to strike up a conversation with who turns out to be the love of her life, and the dogs patiently wait whilst this happens. It’s all very lovely, and exactly like what dog walking professionally isn’t! I mean, she is even sitting down at one point, reading the paper, whilst her pack of dogs sit around with her… Imagine paying a dog walker to exercise your dog and you see them doing this! You wouldn’t be giving them five star reviews, that’s for sure. It makes me laugh now, but, this is what I envisioned at the time. I’ve also seen lots of snippets of dog walkers in New York walking an army of dogs, on lead, in other films. You don’t tend to see the dogs exerting challenging behaviours, and Hollywood doesn’t seem to promote any other aspects of a dog walkers role outside of the physical walking. So like me, all those years ago, I think many people have a skewed view of what the life of a dog walker entails.
Due to this perception of the job being so common, many different types of people are drawn to the role, for an array of different reasons, as well as different desired outcomes. This, as well as how challenging a career in pet care can be, is why so many people apply for pet care opportunities, but most don’t last the year!
For some people, having their dog walked by someone else is an integral part of their day to day lives, and having someone come into their homes as well as being trusted with their fur babies, is a big deal! Dog owners want consistency, professionalism, and a warm relationship with their dog walker. They want peace of mind. And so, taking a leap of faith on an independent dog walker, getting used to them, and then them ‘ducking out’ within a few months, can be very distressing, disheartening and frustrating. Yet this is the most common experience that people have with dog walkers, mostly due to new dog walkers just not understanding the commitment, flexibility and dedication needed when they start.
My main motivation for beginning Pawesome Walkies LTD was to offer a solution to this challenge.
A good dog walker is someone that is organised, personable, physically fit, has a positive attitude, can build professional relationships, be flexible, can problem solve and think on their feet, doesn’t mind getting wet, cold and muddy, can financially support themselves in the first couple of months, is driven by their love of animals, and most importantly has an unwavered desire to learn and develop themselves in this field. You’d be surprised, there isn’t actually that many people with all of these attributes. And therein the problem often lies.
Pawesome Walkies LTD is dedicated to developing and growing our team of people that check every single one of these boxes. We educate our walkers on exactly what the role entails before we bring them on, and we offer ongoing support and guidance in order to increase the likelihood of their committing to the role long term. Our having a team, as well as our values and our commitment to this in tern offers clients peace of mind that we have you covered long term, and they can expect a high level of quality service.
As a company our clients have the peace of mind that within a mostly unregulated industry, they can seek comfort and security in the knowledge that all of our walkers do need to adhere to regulations set by Pawesome Walkies LTD. These regulations maintain a standard of professionalism, safety, and reliability. Whilst our walkers too, can benefit from security and peace of mind within their role, instead of being isolated, and bearing a large weight of responsibility and uncertainty, with no support.
Our clients can expect free initial consultations, followed by electronic consultation forms, and electronic terms and conditions that can be signed via the platform that we provide. They are then provided with the option of a free meet and greet session, of which their walker will take the time to get to know them and their pet, and make sure, that following the initial consultation process, everything is covered and considered. Our varied price guide means that regular clients are offered reduced rates, whilst we are still able to accommodate ad-hoc and emergency bookings. We team up pack walk doggies with dogs that they get on with, and we work with our teams availability and clients preferences to assign dogs to the pack walks that they can get the most out of. Unless a unique situation means that a solo walked doggy benefits from being street walked, and this is the clients preference, then we never street walk our dogs, and instead, we travel to a variety of beautiful locations amidst nature for them to enjoy. Where applicable we are also licensed to walk in these places. We upload pictures and videos of every walk, straight to the story feature on social media, so that clients can enjoy seeing what their pets are upto in real time. We then also celebrate all of our pawesome pets by uploading some of our best pics to the feed on social media. We hold competitions and opportunities for our clients to utilise on a regular basis to show our appreciation. We invoice clients at the end of each month online, in a professional and transparent manner, to enable clients to cross check bookings if they wish to, and also to keep a record should they need to. We have policies and procedures for instances such as emergencies, holidays and sickness, to enable clients to not be left stuck or without options. Basically, we have our clients covered in every regard, as well as their pets, and we have created an environment in which our walkers, clients, and pawesome pets, can flourish!
So, if you are reading this and want a dog walker, but you’re not in an area that Pawesome covers, then how do you identify a good dog walker?
Firstly, you often get what you pay for. As mentioned previously, the pet care industry is barely regulated, and there is a continuous, huge wave of people interested in the industry, for a variety of reasons, which often aren’t the ‘right ones’. People will get themselves insured (or not in some cases), set up a page on social media and begin advertising themselves… off they go, ready to make all of their mistakes and go through their learnings curves on your watch. Of course, they don’t look as appealing as the established businesses, with consistency, professional websites, teams and structure on their side, and so they get clients by undercutting their competition. The problem with this is, that pet care providers generally aren’t money motivated, and so there is a reason that they have set their rates to be what they are. In most instances, the rates are the lowest that they can be, whilst sustaining the quality of service that clients want, and often need. So to reduce these rates, you are likely settling on some or all of the following; less reliability, no sustainability, local street walks to save fuel costs, and a desperate walker taking on every client available to them, challenging behaviours or not, bundling dogs all together in a car, and causing your pet anxiety and negative experiences, no procedures in place should unpredictable events occur, and nothing to insure accountability or responsibility should they suddenly decide it’s not for them, not show up, or absolute worst case scenario, should they lose or injure your pet.
Ask the following questions to gain verbal commitment from your potential dog walker, and expose the quality and sustainability of the service that they can provide:
Always check whether your pet care provider is insured, and security checked?
Ask them what they would do if they became sick or had an emergency, and how much time they plan to take out for holidays?
What do they plan to arrange when they take holidays?
What do they do on very hot days, or in dangerous weather conditions?
How long do they plan to be a pet care provider for?
Why are they a pet care provider?
If you are going to be a regular client of theirs, and will have times of not needing the dog walks for a couple of weeks, are they busy enough to sustain themselves?
Do they have policies and procedures in place should you not be happy with their service, or something unpredictable happens?
Can all dogs join pack walks?
Have they dealt with challenging behaviours in dogs before?
What do they do if a new dog that joins a pack displays challenging behaviours, in order to keep all dogs safe?
How do they distinguish which dogs can walk together?
How do they enable dogs without great recall to still get the most out of their walks safely?
Would they let your dog approach other dogs that they don’t know?
Where do they walk the dogs?
Are they licensed to walk in local areas (where applicable)?
There are a lengthy amount of questions that you can ask, and should ask, especially if your potential pet care provider is not part of an established company. These are just a few that should be unveiling in regards to the safety of the walks, and standard of service that you can expect. An array of different scenarios can and will come into play when working with a pet care provider. It’s best to understand how these things will be dealt with, and what quality of service that you can expect, from the beginning, and potentially save yourself and your pet a lot of stress and inconvenience down the line when you may be very much dependent on this person and the service.
Your dog walker/pet care provider is to be trusted with not just your home, but also your fur baby. They can either greatly improve your quality of life, or result in additional strain and upset, which lets face it, we could all do without! It is standard for you to ask questions, and any pet care provider worth their salt will be happy to answer them.
I hope this offers you all some insight into how things work within this fairly new industry, and equips you with the tools to distinguish between reliable and good quality pet care providers, and those winging it, so that you can keep your doggies safe. As well as helping you to understand the importance and value of good quality pet care providers, and the part that they can play in yours and your dogs quality of life.