How to Hire the Best Dog Walker
Hiring a reliable dog walker is an essential decision for pet owners who seek the best care for their furry companions. In this guide, we’ll explore the steps to ensure that you find the perfect dog walker, one who will provide the utmost care and attention to your four-legged family member. Throughout this blog, we’ll emphasize the importance of hiring a reliable dog walker to provide the best care for your pet. Careful consideration of “hiring a reliable dog walker” is pivotal in ensuring your dog’s happiness and health.
Having a dog walker could improve your relationship with your dog
Imagine this, you get home after an exhausting and stressful day of work. Your dog is elated to see you and prepared to give you SO MANY kisses and cuddles. There is no mess from boredom related destruction, no trash ripped into or furniture chewed on out of frustration due to anxiety. No accidents are on the carpet because you made sure that your precious baby could have a potty break in your absence. Now you just get to enjoy a calm and happy pup without any of the stress, mess or guilt associated with being away from home for too long.
Regular walks = A Happier Dog: Here’s How
Lower Risk of Health Problems
Regular dog walks have a positive effect on your dog’s health. Firstly, exercise is very important for helping to maintain a healthy weight. Moreover, it can also help lower the risk of heart disease and arthritis as they get older. Walking helps dogs maintain strong muscles and flexible joints.
Provide More fun for Your Fur-baby
Dogs love attention. Additionally, a nice stimulating walk in the neighborhood or hiking new and exciting trails with their favorite dog walker leads to less boredom. Furthermore, more exercise and fun activities in your dog’s day can have the added benefit of lowering the risk of behavioral problems that can occur when your dog is bored.
Help to provide more socialization
Socialization is crucial to helping dogs lead healthy, well-adjusted lives. Even if your dog isn’t a fan of other dogs, or is dog selective, it is still very important that your dog gets to be involved with new places and faces outside of the four walls of your home. Consequently, this helps your dog to feel confident and happy in all sorts of situations.
Now that we’ve covered some of the benefits that a dog walker can provide. Let’s talk about how to chose the best dog walker for your dog.
1. Recommendations and referrals
First, seek Recommendations and Referrals: Begin by asking friends, family, neighbors, or your veterinarian for referrals. Personal recommendations, for instance, are a fantastic way to discover a trustworthy dog walker.
A good dog walker should have plenty of client success stories that indicate their consistency to provide excellent service!
2. Experience and background
Second, Assess Experience and Background: Look for a dog walker with experience in walking dogs similar to yours, whether they are large, reactive, senior, or puppies. Inquire about their training and handling skills by checking references.
You will want to get to know about your dog walker’s experience. Does your potential dog walker have experience walking dogs like yours? Example: large dogs, reactive dogs, senior dogs, puppies? Are you looking for someone that has experience training dogs, or help working on behavior issues? How long have they been walking dogs? How will your dog walker handle an emergency? Also, If something goes wrong will you have to work with a customer service representative at some unknown call center or will you be able to talk to your walker or their manager directly?
3. What about technology?
Dog walking and Pet Sitting apps have taken the country by storm! But they aren’t just for App based companies such as Wag or Rover anymore. Dog walking software allows you to book walks, view and pay your invoice and see a detailed report of your pup’s dog walking appointment.
You probably wonder how your dog is faring at home during the day while you’re at work, but understandably you may not have the luxury of being able to sneak away and let your pup out for a potty break at lunch. This is where a dog walker’s app-based technology really shines as real-time updates can be provided and viewed at your convenience – see if your dog went number one and number two, how long they walked, where they walked, if they ate and more!
Outward Bound Hound clients love the Time to Pet app!
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4. Insurance
Next, make sure your dog walker is insured and bonded. Many of the app-based dog walking services’ insurance policies do not cover the dog walker’s personal property or health meaning not only are they liable for their own personal property (i.e. cell phone damage), but they will not receive workman’s compensation in the event of an accident. You want to make sure all parties – and pups! – are covered if anything should happen which most professional dog walking companies will provide proof. Inquire About Handling Emergencies:
5. Approval of Your Pup
And last, but certainly not least, make sure that you feel the walker is a good fit for you both! Schedule at least one meet and greet before you officially hire a dog walker to ensure that you feel comfortable letting them take care of your dog – and of course to make sure your dog will feel comfortable going on walks with them!
Following these 5 tips will assure that you when hiring a reliable dog walker that you are your fur- kid BOTH love!
What Pet Parents Are Saying About Outward Bound Hounds:
Hiring the best dog walker significantly impacts your dog’s well-being and your peace of mind. To assist you in selecting the right dog walker, consider these key steps:
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