For those of you who walk dogs for a living can you please tell me if an hour's walk includes travelling time to the place where you are going to walk them?

Just wondering as I regularly see a van, and sometimes two vans, belonging to a local dog walking company at one of the places where I walk my dogs. Usually 6- 8 dogs in each van depending on the size of the van. A quick walk for my dogs at this venue takes 45 minutes - and I walk twice as fast as anyone else I know - and a longer walk is double that time.

The dog walkers walk 3-4 dogs each but only go a short distance - takes them 15 minutes to do the walk and return to their van. A couple of the dogs are obviously elderly so can understand the short walk for them but most of the others seem a lot younger, very active and in need of a longer walk. If I was paying someone to give my dog an hour's walk I would be very disappointed to discover they got 20 minutes maximum. Have looked at their website - they do a lot of different canine services - and it does say that dogs are walked for an hour but definitely not the ones I see on a regular basis.

There is no information on their site with regard to prices but they do say that their dog bus is an ideal way to socialise dogs - not sure my worried boy would like to be shut in a cage next to a dog that isn't keen on other dogs. The dog bus is the larger of the two vans parked in the car park where I walk.

Just interested to hear how many people would be willing to pay for an hour's dog walking but only get 15-20 minutes of exercise for their money.

OOooooo my huge gripe.     I could list so many 'tricks' that the majority of local dog walkers get up to and they take innocent people's money but I fear I may get cut & pasted so I will remain 'schtum'.  IMO, if you pay for an hour, that means your dog is walked for an hour not including travelling times.

The dodgy outfitters around here is well numerous.
They do what you say and more.
Anyone thinking of using a dog walker needs to check up and see what goes on before handing over their dogs... Cheap doesn't always mean a good deal!!!

As with what Christine has said an hour dog is that, travel and anything else is on top of time wise.

Thanks Christine - it's what I thought - pay for an hour and that's the amount of time the dogs should be getting for their walk. On so many occasions I have been tempted to ask them if the stroll along the path and back again is all  the exercise the dogs are getting but so far have kept quiet.

I have also never seen any of the dog walkers carrying a full poo bag and find it very hard to believe that not one of the 12 dogs has ever needed to go. The chap who was working for them a few years ago definitely didn't pick up after the dogs as I called his attention to the one he had "missed" and gave him a bag so he could pick it up. There is a poo bin in the car park and many a time mine have waited until we are right up on the hills before going and I have carried the bags for miles - just no excuse for not picking up as their dogs only ever walk on the multi-user path.

At the top end of the multi-user path there is a fenced field that the Woodland Trust have made just for dogs to be able to run  in and thus avoid any encounters with the sheep who sometimes graze the main field. The dog walkers walk as far as the gate that leads to it and then turn round again - if they walked the dogs for the whole hour they could walk round the field and come out the other side to rejoin the main path again and the dogs would have had a far better walk.

I suspect it's a classic case of greed. If they actually walked the dogs for an hour they wouldn't be able to walk nearly as many in a day, so would make less money. Better for them to fill the van with dogs, give them all a quick run and coin it in. Shame for the dogs and the owners who pay for this 'service'. I guess the owners probably don't walk the dogs when they come either as they think they've been

12 dogs?! No way that's a huge no no.
Not sure of any insurance company which allows for more than 6 to be walked by a dog walker at any one time on public land

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">12 dogs?! No way that's a huge no no.

There are two vans Sue with a dog walker in each van - they usually walk three each at a time and the other dogs wait in the van for their turn.

One local dog walker who reportedly walks for an hour at a time, two scheduled walks a day, is finished by 12.30pm most days. I haven't even started my second walk by that time!  There was another dog walker who let herself into people's houses, took the money, and left the dogs but maintained she was walking them!

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">12 dogs?! No way that's a huge no no.<br />There are two vans Sue with a dog walker in each van - they usually walk three each at a time and the other dogs wait in the van for their turn.

There's a walker like that here too.  She collects all her dogs and takes them out in batches at a local Woodland Trust.  I can walk around this wood in  30 minutes at a slower pace considering Curtis is almost 12.     One VN I know used this service and said this was the only one she recommended to clients who enquired about dog walking services!  Needless to say I told her exactly what the service entailed.

Leaving dogs unattended in a van?? Even in the really cold and hot temperatures? Leaving unattended OMG full stop...: I'd love these so called professionals outed!!!

Yep - and it was pretty warm there today.

Some of those practises are appalling. My dog walker comes to the door and the hour which is often longer starts from when he walks out the front door but then I am lucky he doesn't take them by any sort of vehicle
The days mine go to doggy daycare is a bit different they pick them up at the agreed time and return them as agreed so they spend a maximum of 30 mins in the car on a bad day . That's fine as they are still looked after and are at the daycare for about 4-5 hours
My walker who doesn't use a van starts his day at about 8.30 taking his son to school on the way and then finishes by about 5-6 . e will also do weekends as his theory is he has his own dogs so extra walks are fine although not every weekend.
I am particularly lucky with him he is a real doggy person and I feel I can trust him. He thinks he walks about 30 miles some days

The dogs I walk are walked individually, and whether it's 30 minutes or an hour that is the walk the dog gets. Travel is in my time. I'm certainly never going to be rich unlike those that walk 6 at a time, but feel each dog warrants my individual attention.

I work for a local dog walking/pet sitting company and I work alongside four other employees (although generally we walk dogs on our own) If a certain dog cannot go as part of a group, or there are no suitable dogs to mix with a certain dog, then the dog in question gets their walk minus traveling time. Owners are made aware that if they want their dog walked on their own (or, if their dog is only suitable to be walked on their own) they get an hour's road walk so there is no traveling time taken away from their walk. If they prefer an off-lead walk, or a walk in a particular place then they understand the time traveling there and back is taken out of their walk.

If, however, they go as a group, the hour starts from when we get to our particular place of walking. Our clients find this acceptable as they understand that we are a business and would rather take this option than pay more for a walk. For an example, if I arrive at Dog A's house at 11:03, and he is walked on his own, I return back at 12:03. If I arrive at Dog A's house at 11:03, but need to pick Dog B up on the way to the walk, then the walk starts when I get to wherever I am taking them and the dogs are brought back to the car after an hour, so Dog A could be out of the house for up to 2/3 hours depending on the size of the group.

The biggest group I take on my own is 3, and they are exceptionally well trained dogs. Generally if I have this many than I am paired with another walker and we take two each.

That seems straight forward Josh but then I couldn't see you working with anyone whose practises were in question

It works great for both us and our clients as obviously my boss pays us hourly + travel & fuel allowance. If every dog was an hour plus travelling to/from a place go be walked, there's be very little profit margin once insurance, fuel, equipment  and wages had been factored on to the cost of an hour's walk.

>I am particularly lucky with him he is a real doggy person and I feel I can trust him

Sounds like you got yourself a good 'un.  :-)

I pay for travelling time although it is only a five minute drive to where my lot get taken but know they get good quality of lead walks where they go with the chance to have a swim in a safe lake as well so think it is good value for what they get ! 

I don't think there is anything wrong with charging for travelling time .

Plenty of walkers around here charge for travel or mileage, for me that over complicates things.. One set fee and we all know where we are at...

I only charge for travel if it's outside a 5 mile radius of my home.

My dog walker never groups dogs from different families. He takes mine out together and the hour is walking time not travelling. I know he includes travelling in the price within a 3 mile radius but does charge mileage for anything outside that. But the walks are for whatever time they are booked. 1/2 hr 45 mins or an hour its walking time. He is a one man band and is usually walking from 8am till 5pm. Hence when he comes to do a live in stay for me he shuffles his regulars and takes mine out first, then settles them and feeds them before he leaves at around 10am. Then I have another friend who is happy to come and spend a couple hours with them midday and he comes back 3pm and walks them again and stays overnight. Better that than a walker who I do not trust. I know he is right for us so we work round his regular walks just so I can keep him for  holidays etc.. I think lots of walkers stretch the limits of acceptance if only owners realised.
Aileen

As a dog walker myself I find it really interesting to see the vast difference in practice. Most of our clients are single dogs and they love the idea of them being paired up with another dog. They see them as having 'friends.' The odd one or two that don't get on don't get walked together but the vast majority of owners like their dog taken out as a small group.

Off the top of my head I can't think of a single client that prefers a solo walk for their dog. For example one owner a few days back cancelled their walk in favour of another day when I could meet a colleague and we'd have four dogs playing together.

I would always prefer a solo walk but then I have 2 dogs and they are happy in one another's company so don't need the company. Mine get lots of socialisation during normal every day walks with me. Its only when I am away the sitter takes them and he has a 100% NEVER off lead ruling from me. That way I never have to worry if I am away.
Aileen

Most of our households with two dogs in do prefer a walk with their two dogs on their own. Most others find that they are much more tired and contented after they've walked with another dog off lead as part of a group.

This thread sounds like a good topic for a Champdogs Article - What to look out for when employing a dog walker. The pitfalls etc. Would anyone like to write a piece? I am sure it would benefit many people who may be thinking of employing a walker at this time and don't have a clue where to start or what to avoid! :)

I did touch on it in the last blog I wrote, perhaps someone else would like to expand further? I feel I have a conflict of interest now that I work for a dog walking company.

Well today I phoned the company concerned and voiced my disapproval of the actions of two of their walkers.

I did a new walk today - a circular one around a nearby village. Pulled into the car park and the two vans belonging to the company were parked in there. I set off on my walk which took an hour - got back to the car park and the two vans were still there - both closed and walkers were on the recreation ground. There were 5 dogs and 2 walkers and all dogs were  running off lead but they did try to put them back on lead once I appeared with my dogs. It took a couple of minutes to get four of the dogs back but a Samoyed was running around with a retractable lead clonking at it's back legs and evading capture. The man managed to grab it and then lifted it by the harness so it was just on it's back legs whilst he sorted some cut grass that appeared to be caught up on either the dog or the lead..

The dogs were then taken back to the van and stopped to use a water bowl - the GSD was still drinking but was pulled away to go back into the van. Three other older dogs were then taken out of the van - all panting - and put on retractables ready for their stroll. The van doors were then shut and the walkers went off. I couldn't approach the walkers as I had my dogs with me one of which is reactive to other dogs in certain situations and I need to keep him at a distance where he feels comfortable - I wish I had now and am kicking myself for not saying something at the time. I had to leave the tailgate of my car open for a while to let the heat out so the dogs were comfortable so although it's not a boiling hot day the temperature inside my car was far too hot for the dogs.

I drove home and rang the company to voice my concerns over the things I had seen and spoke to an of'fice person as the owner wasn't there at that time. She told me the vans are ventilated by a system that extracts hot air from inside the vans so the dogs would be comfortable - I did mention that some of the dogs would have been in the van a good while awaiting their turn for a walk. Now I am also thinking that they probably don't have water available to them in the van as the water bowls were outside on the ground but have only just thought of that so didn't ask about it.

She did seem concerned about the GSD not being allowed to finish it's drink and also about the Samoyed and is going to ask the owner to ring me back so I will ask about the availability of water to the dogs when in the van and also how the ventilation system works in a parked van. I am not usually a confrontational person but couldn't not voice my concerns as to the welfare of the dogs in their charge.

Well done for being bold enough to voice your concerns :)

I am a strong believer that people should not own dogs if they work full-time. Yes, there may be some good dog walkers who give good walks to the dogs that they look after. I feel that often people who come onto this board intending to get a puppy and who work are told that it is OK as long as they use a dog walker. Harley's experience just shows the pitfalls. Unfortunately cost comes into this and many people would just not be prepared to pay the money to have 'proper' walks for their dog. People today think that they can have it all :( Why can't people realise that having a dog is NOT a god given right and that there are plenty of other 'hobbies' that don't involve keeping a living creature that not only requires regular walks, but the company and attention of a human throughout the day. No-one would leave their baby at home alone with just someone popping in a couple of times a day to feed, change etc - so why is it OK for a dog (particularly a young, active one) to be left regularly for long periods alone ??

Those air vents don't give sufficient on any warm day, they need constant air con if the engine is off and all doors and windows shut!!!! If they can't Walk all the dogs in one go then they should be doing 2 different walks to cater... Leaving a lead on the Sam is wrong... Sorry this outfit of a so called dog walkin business should be ashamed and those involved sacked

Ok here's a question.

One dog walker in Dundee has been seen hitting the dogs he walks by several people I know.  I haven't seen him do it, he is a one man band re; walking though.  So who do I tell, I don't know the dogs/owners he walks.

Animal cruelty. You need evidence and it needs To be presented to the Police, RSPCA and dog warden.
Get those who see him do this to get photos or film him.. He needs to be stopped! I honestly can't believe some people :-(

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">So who do I tell, I don't know the dogs/owners he walks.

Do you have a dog warden that you could mention your concerns to? I am still awaiting the return of my phone call - will give them until after the Easter break and will then ring again.

Daisy said "I am a strong believer that people should not own dogs if they work full-time. Yes, there may be some good dog walkers who give good walks to the dogs that they look after. I feel that often people who come onto this board intending to get a puppy and who work are told that it is OK as long as they use a dog walker. Harley's experience just shows the pitfalls. Unfortunately cost comes into this and many people would just not be prepared to pay the money to have 'proper' walks for their dog. People today think that they can have it all :-( "

You can also use doggy day care though (if you vet the place carefully first to make sure that the pup will receive sufficient rest periods and not be left to run willy-nilly with other dogs whose temperaments you don't know). The right place can be a god-send, allowing pup to receive appropriate socialisation, have human company and be fed/toileted during the working day.