How to Find a Great Dog Walker
There’s more to good dog-walking than just holding one end of the leash. Here’s what to look for in the person you trust to take your dog out – and what to avoid.
Jolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA
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How to Find a Great Dog Walker
You’re looking for a dog walker. You ask around at the dog park, maybe check the bulletin boards at your vet’s office and pet supply store, you get a couple of names … now what? Most guardians probably just hire whoever was recommended and makes a good impression in person. I say, “Whoa Nelly!” This week, how to find a walker who’ll show your dog a good time and look out for her well-being, not just slap a leash on and haul her around.>
Of course you should get references – and actually talk to a couple of them! It’s usually also advised that your dog walker have liability insurance and be bonded. Certainly, all other things being equal, insurance and bonding are desirable. That having been said, I don’t think I’ve ever had an insured, bonded dog walker; apart from pet-service outfits with multiple employees, it’s the rare walker who has her papers all in order. Whether you insist on bonding and insurance probably depends on how much risk you perceive and are willing to accept. My main focus here will be on finding someone who takes good care of your dog.
Herewith, 5 tips on what to look for when you interview your next dog walker:
Tip #1: Your Dog and His Walker Should Like Each Other
The relationship between your dog and his walker doesn’t have to be Instant Love Affair of the Century, but look for someone whose behavior toward Zippy is warm and inviting. Affection for dogs is a requisite for anyone involved in their care, just as warmth toward children is a requisite for a nanny or a teacher. Because I work from home, I often have the chance to watch my dog walkers interact with Juniper; their obvious enjoyment of his personality, and his wiggle-butt delight when the door opens, reassure me that I’ve made a good choice.
If your dog is generally shy or slow to warm up, look for a walker who knows not to push him but rather lets him set the pace.
Tip #2: A Dog Walker Isn’t a Trainer – Unless She’s a Trainer
In my work with behaviorally troubled dogs, I sometimes find myself up against someone who’s been walking dogs for however long and on that basis fancies himself a behavior expert. And, sure, long experience and observation of dogs is one component of a trainer or behavior specialist’s expertise. But other components are essential too. There’s a lot to know about animal learning, canine behavior, and scientifically sound methods of behavior change, and that information doesn’t just upload into your brain because you’re holding a leash.
If your prospective dog walker says she’s a trainer, ask about qualifications! My episode on choosing a good dog trainer explains what to look for.
Tip #3: Look for a Walker Who Takes Direction
Maybe your dog has a tricky digestion and reliably gets diarrhea whenever he eats freeze-dried liver treats. Maybe she’s uncomfortable around children or other dogs. Maybe his hips bother him and it takes him some time to go up and down your porch stairs. One thing a walker does not get to do, and that is substitute her judgment for your own. No deciding that Zippy really can handle walking past the playground when you clearly stated that he doesn’t like kids. No hurrying him down those stairs because the walker is running late for her next appointment. No “forgetting” that freeze-dried liver comes out Dogalini’s back end even faster than it goes in.
A corollary: When a client and I set up a behavior plan, the dog walker can be an important part of carrying it out. But even a qualified dog trainer who’s walking your dog shouldn’t be conducting behavior modification on her own initiative. Her job is to show your dog a good time and keep her out of trouble, period.
Tip #4: No “Pack Walks”
I often see a walker with 3, 4, or 5 dogs – occasionally some daredevil with even more. This is almost never good. A look at the dogs’ body language tells you why: they’re all walking as far apart from each other as they can get, and their eyes are anywhere and everywhere except on one another. They might as well have a sign over their heads reading “We Are Socially Uncomfortable Together.”
Yes, dogs are social animals. It does not follow that all dogs like all other dogs, or that dogs are automatically at ease with each other as soon as they meet. I don’t even really like the term “pack walk,” because it hints that any number of dogs will instantly fall into a stable social structure just because the same person is holding their leashes.
And another thing: How are these walkers organizing pickups and dropoffs? Are they leaving some dogs tied up outside, with no one to watch over them, while they pick up another? Are they bringing dogs into one another’s homes? That’s a situation with high conflict potential unless the dogs are already good friends.
Multiple-dog walks are okay if and only if the dogs already have a friendly relationship and their guardians agree. By “friendly relationship,” I don’t mean that the dogs tolerate each other – I mean that these are buddies, dogs who greet each other happily, whose body language together is relaxed, who maybe play together. (Many dogs, especially older ones, can be good friends without playing.) And I’d suggest 3 as the maximum-size group. Once you get up to bigger numbers, it gets tricky to give each dog attention. While Dogalini gets into a staredown with a passing Zippy, Max is at the curb licking antifreeze.
What I hate even more than I hate seeing one person walking 6 dogs: one person bringing those 6 dogs to the off-leash play area. People! No human has enough eyeballs or enough legs to supervise that many animals.
Tip #5: Ask About Emergencies
I confess I have never asked any of my walkers whether they have dog first-aid training, but it would be a good idea! Do ask how your prospective walker would handle a health or other emergency. Assuming you like the answer, make sure she has your vet’s contact information (and let your vet’s office know of her existence, too).
Tip #6: Test Drive!
When you’ve found someone you and your dog feel comfortable with, take him for a test drive – pay him for a walk, and come along. Of course the walker will be on his best behavior, but what a person considers his best behavior can be telling indeed. The walker whose idea of showing off her chops is frog-marching your dog, with plenty of neck yanks and sharp “commands,” just dropped herself off your list. The walker who engages with your dog, lets him enjoy sniffing and poking around, and encourages desirable behavior rather than coercing it – that walker’s hired.
Secure in the knowledge that your dog is in good hands, come visit me on Facebook. You can also write to me at dogtrainer@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email. I usually can’t reply personally, but check out past articles – I might already have answered your question. Thanks for reading.
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Dog walker image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Jolanta holds professional certifications in both training and behavior counseling and belongs to the Association of Professional Dog Trainers and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. She also volunteered with Pet Help Partners, a program of the Humane Society of the United States that works to prevent pet relinquishment. Her approach is generally behaviorist (Pavlovian, Skinnerian and post-Skinnerian learning theory) with a big helping of ethology (animal behavior as observed in non-experimental settings).