I have just sorted a dog walker for when I am away and three of my mine can be let off lead but I have to sign a from that says

'I agree to release and hold harmless (name of walker) from all liability, should my dog become lost, injured or otherwise harmed as a result of off leash walking; likewise, I release and hold (name again) harmless should my dog suffer any injury not due to any negligence on (name again) while walking off leash'

Does this sound a normal contract for off leash walking??

I wouldn't sign it as they should have third party liability insurance

I've never used a dog walker but it seems sensible to me. To be honest, I would never even consider a stranger being allowed to walk my dogs offlead, it just seems too dangerous to me. A perfect recall might not be so perfect when it isn't the owner the dog is being called to.

They have insurance but I have not signed a form like this before with my previous walker I don't think.

My dogs have good recall to the whistle and sausage and follow who ever has taken them out. Plus I am doing another walk with her before I go. We live in the new forest so walks are away from the roads and my dogs know them inside out.

It was just the wording that sounds like they won't take any responsibility so thought I'd ask on here as some use walkers and some are walkers.

My dogs have good recall to the whistle and sausage and follow who ever has taken them out. Plus I am doing another walk with her before I go.

But do you know that for CERTAIN? I.e. that they will come back no matter what if they are with a stranger or almost stranger and you are not there. A trial walk with you there isn't the same. Sometimes dogs just don't work the way we think. Only last night at dog training my husband was going to do a recall with one of our dogs and she simply would not go to him no matter what -I hadn't realised at all until then that she only comes to ME, as with me she has an excellent recall. And that's despite being called by somebody in the family.

Well I can't be dead certain but they have always been ok before and she said she would only let them off once she felt they responded to her.

I was just needing to know about the permission form and if it's usual wording.

Mine dont require any kind of form like that signed and he is insured . Perhaps ask to see a copy of her insurance so you can really see what is covered

perhaps you could PM Parrysite, he is a professional dog walker and should know the usual procedure

It was just the wording that sounds like they won't take any responsibility so thought I'd ask on here as some use walkers and some are walkers.

I wouldn't be happy with that contract, as its saying that u agree if anything happens to your dog while being off lead its your own fault. That's what there insurance is ment to be for but as your dogs would be more at risk being off lead they don't want to risk having to make a claim if something happened. So that would mean if something did happened u could have a vet Bills,lawsuit ext to pay. Yes it says they you will still be covered if the dog got hurt threw there negligence but as you won't be there you only habe there word for what happened so if say the dog was let off too close to a road and it got hurt they could say they were thurther away and your dog ran off so not there fault.
Accidents can be so easy to happen, only the other week my dog knocked another owner over as she was playing with there dog running about while we watched and chatted with another owner then my girl ran inbetween us all and straight into the other owners leg. Lucky I was next to her so caught her befor she fell right over. Had this happened with your dog and this walker and the owner decided they wanted compensation for injury it would be you paying out for it.

Allthough I agree with goldmali I wouldn't let a stranger walk mine off lead, what would happen if something spooked your dog and they panicked, I doubt it would run back to the new walker.

Mmm I am going ask what her insurance covers & might just say keep on leads!

That is the right wording as I was questioning this myself as I'm in the process of setting my own business up. If say something happened then you can seek legal action and this wouldn't be an issue if the said walker has insurance.

Most of the dog walking sites like Narps and APdW recommend this type of legal wording which have been put together by a solicitor

The only person I ever trusted to walk mine off lead apart from live in the house family members was a friend anne who use to live four doors down.

The reason she had a pup of ours and she walked the pups mum dad sisters and they would follow her pup back as the bond with her mum and family was never broken they saw each other all the time and she would dog sit if needed also

Suejaw what exactly does the wording mean then? Am I rsponsible even if not there and walking them?

Normally my son would walk them but he is a postie and three of the days I am away he is on longer shifts leaving at 6am. I have my stepson coming to see them in the afternoon and my daughter will come in after work but that's too long to wait for walk I think. Wouldn't trust my stepson to manage as he has no understanding of dogs.

`> Am I rsponsible even if not there and walking them?

I think you have the responsibility because it is you who requested off lead walking.  I'm used to training a steady recall but would not want responsibility of dogs off lead when they're not my own.  If I was a dog walker I'm afraid that I would refuse clients wanting off lead walking.  Nobody can be sure of obedience with dogs they didn't train themselves.

Have to admit that if I used a dog walker I would want to be sure that my dogs stayed on lead.

For me,  the worry wouldn't just be whether my dogs would recall,  it would be whether the dog walker would know WHEN to recall my dogs.

Another person may not be as in tune with your dog as you are,  and may not spot the time to recall in order to avoid a situation.

> For me,  the worry wouldn't just be whether my dogs would recall,  it would be whether the dog walker would know WHEN to recall my dogs.

This is it for me - the timing, reading the body language too.  For that reason NO-ONE is allowed to walk my dogs on or off lead except me!  Paranoia maybe, but as I tend towards the dogs with issues I just can't risk it.  If I ever get to go on holiday again (snort) they will have a home sitter as a friend does it and I know she will follow instructions and is good at reading them, but she will absolutely not be allowed to walk them and she is fine with that.

I have walked other peoples' dogs, and off-lead - I have someone's dog here during the day every day - but they don't go off unless we're somewhere secure with no-one else around, and only then after I've done recall training with them.  Any hint of someone else appearing and they go straight back on.

>This is it for me - the timing, reading the body language too.

Yes! 

But not only with my own dogs.   

I've had no end of experiences where people have said that their dog is great with others, and found that no, it's not.  Especially bigger/heavier dogs, which tend to bounce on  or 'Barge' smaller dogs, or try to dominate in other ways.  My own dogs are pretty robust, but they still get hurt if say a labrador or boxer physically bounces on them or a cocker barges them at speed!

Then there are the dogs who people say are fine and I'm not seeing a dog who is fine, I'm seeing a dog who is clearly displaying a threat!

On the hunt for another one now as the dog walking boss has come and said they are not suitable for my needs! This came after I asked what their insurance covered and what the wording meant and that I wouldn't allow my dogs In a car that has no guard or cage to keep them secure!

I know a lot of people don't use cages and guards but surely when you are transporting other peoples dogs as a professional dog walking service this is a MUST?! Where would their insurance cover them for a dog jumping on their lap and causing an accident.

I am just fuming as the actual walker was a nice lady, now back to square one and stressing. The dog walker I normally use is brilliant, has a van all kitted out with cages and towels etc and I never had an issue with her but very sadly she has cancer and can no longer continue😢

Sounds like you have had a lucky escape. I have always had my vehicles fitted with cages.

Dogs are safer in cages rather than loose on seats. Only the other day I heard of a dog loose in the back of an estate car when the tailgate flew open and deposited the dog on the road!. Fortunately he was not hurt but it could so easily been fatal for the poor thing.

On the hunt for another one now as the dog walking boss has come and said they are not suitable for my needs! This came after I asked what their insurance covered and what the wording meant and that I wouldn't allow my dogs In a car that has no guard or cage to keep them secure!

Hmmm  not liking your enquiry about insurance would be a deal breaker for me.   Maybe they don't have any,  or not of the right type?

I would have thought that insurers would require all dogs to be secured in cages whilstbeing transported,  in order to be covered?    Or am I being naive here?

Insurers are all about minimising the risk of a claim ;-)

Does sound as if you've had a lucky escape!

I doubt any insurer would insure a dog walker to have dogs off lead, not least because it is illegal to have any non working dog off lead because the dog is classed as being out of control off lead.

Maybe some council parks have written notices that dogs are permitted off lead but they would be taking huge chances if they did & if any damage was caused by an off lead dog would make them at least part liable.

I have never seen such a notice, what if a friendly dog went running up to an elderly or other person with a heart problem & they had a heart attack as a result, or caused an epileptic fit in someone subject to that, the epileptic cracked their head when falling & died or a friendly dog knocked a toddler off balance & the toddler died cause of the fall, etc, etc...if councils had it writing that dogs were allowed off lead they would share part of the liability if anything happened!
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Hethspaw I've just purchased insurance through Cliverton, they insure dogs to be walked off lead providing the owner has signed a consent form for them to be off lead, max of 6 dogs to walked in total

they insure dogs to be walked off lead providing the owner has signed a consent form for them to be off lead, max of 6 dogs to walked in total

Thats interesting, do they actually insure against any third party injury caused by one of the 6 dogs, or compensate an owner if their dog runs off & gets lost?? or things along those lines?
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wonder if they would insure against this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaYgY851Qbc

http://www.cliverton.co.uk/insurance-products/pets-animal-trades/dog-walking-pet-sitting-and-pet-taxi

What a shame when you live near the New Forest and your dogs are used to having the world as their oyster, I can understand why you feel more safe than most to allow a walker to have them off lead there, trouble is you can't guarantee that they will not be bringing a lot of other dogs too and vigilance and attention to yours alone would not be there.

Do you not have a relative or close friend who could stay at your home to look after your dogs and walk them Lorripop, or even hire trusted dog sitter to stay at your home? I wouldn't trust someone I didn't know well with my dogs. So hard to find really good dog walkers, seen a few myself and I wouldn't trust them with a goldfish I'm afraid. Hopefully if the other option is a no go, maybe someone can recommend a really good, reputable walker on here.

So frustrating for you..........

Do you know if it's possible to get insurance if someone is housesitting for a friend as opposed to as part of a business?

Is this regular or one off? It might be worth contacting Cliverton to see what they can offer

Being in the forest is fabulous and the walks are brilliant because you can get far away from roads and other walkers if you so wish! Dogs can just be free.

Children have come to the rescue and now going to work through their lunch and not take the overtime so both can be back by 3pm, stepson will sit with dogs for an hour in the morning before he goes to work.

I have found another walking service and they also run training classes and agility, vans all kitted out correctly and has offered to forward his insurance and his terms and condition for letting dogs off lead which he says they don't do initially until he happy with how the dogs are with him and his walkers.
Think I will meet with him as I would like someone for future times as don't want to be in this situation again.

We are saturated with dog walkers around here it would first appear but when you try getting them and start asking questions it's another story, plus they just seem to want easy dogs. One of mine is fearful of the ponies so goes ballistic, hates runners, bikes and cars on gravel (quite a lot of gravel tracks here) so my husband and I are the only ones who know where to let him off and when.

Anyway feeling happier about going in hols now!! Oh and I installed a wifi camera that I can log into while away just to check my boys and girl now and again😛

I'm not a dog walker as such - I home board but I do walk the dogs in my care. I belong to Narpsuk & they provide members with a similar form but so far I haven't used it. My insurance (you can check it out on the Cliverton website) just requires me to have written permission to let dogs off lead & even then I don't always let them off, it depends on how they respond to me as returning to owner is not the same as returning to me.