Finding a local dog walker
From time to time dog owners will find that they can’t take their dogs out for walks as often as they’d like. Demands on our time from work, social lives and even ill-health can result in dogs spending a lot of time alone, or cooped up indoors. If you find yourself in that situation, a professional dog walker is the solution.
There are plenty of local dog walkers in Essex so finding one shouldn’t be a problem, even if you live in a rural area.
What do dog walkers do?
Many of the dog walkers you come across will be individuals, but there are also a growing number of companies which employ people to walk dogs. Some dog walkers are happy to offer individual dog walking services, while others tend to walk dogs together in small groups, collecting them in a car or van and then taking them to a convenient location to walk them. It usually costs less to have your dog walked in a group than if he/she is walked alone. Almost all dog walkers will offer a standard one-hour walk, but many offer shorter walks for less active or elderly dogs.
Unless your dog is well-known to your dog walker and is known to respond well to recall, dogs are usually walked on-lead. The reason for this is fairly obvious, for a dog walker, runaway dogs are like speeding tickets to a taxi driver. Even one a year is one too many.
Once your dog is home again, walkers will give him/her fresh water and food as required, before leaving. If you employ a dog walker to exercise your dog while you’re away from home, you’ll need to provide a key and instructions for alarms, etc so that the house can be left secure when they leave. To cover this, professional dog walkers will have a specialist insurance policy that covers them for things like damages, public liability, key loss and so on.
How to choose a dog walker
As always, personal recommendations are useful when making a choice, but if you find several dog walkers who cover your area and offer similar terms and services, it all boils down to personal preferences. Dogs, like people, will take an instant liking to some people and dislike others. Ideally, you want to choose a dog walker who both you and your dog are relaxed with, who you are confident can handle your dog even if he/she has a bad day, someone reliable who will be there come rain or shine.
We would always, without exception, tell you to meet the actual person who will be walking your dog. This can occasionally be difficult if you deal with a company with many walkers as opposed to a sole-trader, but most companies are happy to comply with this. You’re paying for a personal service, after all.
Most dog walkers will be dog owners themselves, and all will have been regular long-term owners. Dog walking isn’t like the average 9-5 office job. You need to understand and love dogs to be able to be a professional dog walker in the long term, and means that your dog will be treated the way you’d expect.