- Make sure they are insured
- Ask what their experience is with dogs.
- If your dog has certain needs see if they are able to deal with those needs. And what their thoughts on how they would deal with the dog’s needs.
- Do they do private walks or do they only do group walks. When dog walker walks dogs in groups then there is risk to that which can entail dogs not getting on and then problems arise.
- What training does the dog walker have? Example they should have taken Pet First Aid course and is it up to date.
- What is their thoughts on when they are walking a dog and the dog does something that is not good behavior . How do they go about correcting a bad behavior .
- Dealing with communication with your dog walker every dog owner is different . Some owners only want to hear from their dog walker about their dog if their is issues on the dog walk. Other owners want to daily report from their dog walker about their dog on their walk . So this must be communicated to the dog walker. Also what method does the owner want used to communicate example text, email , Whatsapp etc. If the owner has a puppy or dog that has issues (example afraid of other dogs , trouble walking , other problem behaviors etc) then it would be helpful for the dog walker to video or take pics on walk so that owner and dog walker can follow progress of the owner’s dog.
- Make sure your dog likes the dog walker which is very important.
- Ask what area to the dog walker will walk your dog. Will it be near your home etc. Also will they be taking your dog to dog park . If they take your dog to dog park this will be a risk to your dog of the unknown as when anyone takes a dog to dog park the dogs are off leash and any dog can go their so risk of injury,communicable diseases etc. If you do not want to take that risk tell the dog walker that you do not want your dog to go to dog parks.
- Choosing to go for independent dog walker or company that has dog walkers . A company usually are more focus on group walks and charge a lot more for private walks.. Also a company the dog walker walking a dog will not always be the same dog walker.Where as Independent dog walker will be same person walking the owner’s dog every walk so more chance to develop a close relationship with the dog walker / dog / owner. Also usually Independent dog walker is usually more flexible in walking owner”s dog during weekend and odd hours.
- Check to see if they have a website and that could give more information on if they would be good to walk your dog and which would give more insight into them. Also check their Google rating and check reviews clients have written on their experience with the dog walker.
- References from dog walker can give the owner of the dog a sense of the dog walker as a person especially if the reference is from a person that dog walker has taken care of the reference’s pet. But the dog owner’s gut instinct should be more important.
- Experience is good for a dog walker to have but does not necessarily the winning factor to choose a dog walker. A good rapport with dogs/animals can be more important.
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