I have only ever come across two "professional" dog walkers - the first I meet occasioanlly with a variety of different breeds but only one or two at a time.

The second I came across last week and she had ten dogs running loose with her - weim bitch, SBT, Flatcoat and a variety of smaller terriers and terrier type dogs.  She had one rope lead and one flexi with her and that was it.  I was in a park for an obedience lesson and had to put my pup back in the car until they had gone past.  Is it normal for a dog walker to have ten dogs pile out of a van when they open the door?

Fagan goes to doggy day care and she wont have more than five dogs at a time and as a rule doesnt walk them all together.  10 dogs must be very difficult to control.

I really feel that is awful :( I doubt whether the owners knew that she had that many out with her :(

We had a dog walker that used the fields next to us for several years, but she had at most 6 dogs with her. That sounds a lot, but virtually all of them were mature or elderly dogs and were well behaved. Sometimes she might have one younger dog, but that was it. Also, she walked them at lunchtime when it is very quiet here - not a park, just fields. She was a very pleasant person who seemed well in control of all the dogs (which were mostly labs or retrievers) and always put them back on lead if she wasn't certain of a strange dog or well before the road/van. She never caused a problem that I am aware of.

Daisy

Only my opinion, but surely no one can control 10 dogs - I have enough trouble with one!

A dog walker might be experienced, but they only need to get one nightmare dog (Copper for example!) and they could have a major scrap on their hands.

I think two or three at the most.

CG

Our 7 get walked in groups of 2 + 1 (+ 1 always being Purdey :D )  - unless we are going out on a "family walk" which could consist of me, OH, daughter husband + 2 kids, No 1 son + partner & family, JH and friend, elderly friend & her little dog - and then we'll take the whole bang shooting match - plus whichever cats decide to prance along in front/behind/ just beyond reach of lead..... until the dogs get off the leads (and then we might not let them all off lead at the same time - half on, half off means more control :)

Margot

I have done a bit of paid dog walking in my time and the most i could cope with has been 5, thats my two and 2 jack russells and an elderly dachsie from the same family. I tended to walk other dogs seperately as i have found that i can only really trust my two as i know how they will react to certain things. 10 is definately too much in a public place.

Hello
There is a man who occasionaly comes to the park I go to and lets 8 (I think they move so fast it could me a couple more) out of the back. Various dogs but majority Rotties and Mastiffs or X's but occasionaly a mongrel or lab in the mix. I never get near enough to check. He has been coming for a good few years now and I have never seen anyone empty a much used public park so quickly. He never walks himself but sits with his feet up on the dash reading the papers.

Sad thing is his "pack" consist of at least 3 that wear muzzles and barge at other dogs sometimes knocking them down. We rarely see him so I "assume" as do others that he works away. He seems to have his life in the van. 

I just hope he is not a dog walker charging people to walk their dogs.

Karen 

I bumped into a lady where I walk my dog and she had about 6 dogs - 2 of the labradors came bouncing up to my puppy, they were barking and growling, then another 2 came following doing exactly the same.  She also had one on the lead.  She found it quite difficult to get the first two dogs back.  My dog was quite frightened by this, but I was also as one of the labs was getting pretty nasty - but she found it difficult to get her lab as she also had one dog on the lead.

I walk up to 6 dogs at a time as a dog minder. If I have difficult ones, I take them to a field nearby where I can walk 2 at a time & keep an eye on the rest in the car. I much prefer to take 4 as it seems to be a good number to manage. I also try & keep them all away from other people & dogs by going for a walk when it is quite as I don't know how they will react and some of them have virtually no recall if there is something more interesting going on. It is a nightmare if one of the dogs has to stay on a lead as it makes it more difficult for me to run after any dog who is misbehaving. I'm sure that sometimes I look quite chaotic but once they are all off lead & I have reminded them that I have liver cake in my pocket & that my whistle means come back NOW most of them are pretty good. Today I only have 3 but one is a lab who has to stay on a lead so it will be a difficult walk especially as he doesn't know how to walk on a lead. I hope that the people I meet on my walks have no complaints with what I do or how I manage my dogs. If they do then I am not doing my job very well.