Does anyone have a dog walker, if so how much do they charge for one dog. Does anyone know. All replies welcome.

I have one come in on a Thursday as I work for 5 hours.  I pay her £8 to walk both my dogs and give them a game in the garden.  The cuddles are free.

Bev

Thank you for your reply bevb, how long does the dog walker take them out for?

Approx 20-30 mins as my youngest is only 6 months old so don't want her out any longer.  She then also gives them a game in the garden and some cuddles before leaving them.
She also clips nails and microchips if required for a small extra fee and she left them both a christmas present too.

Bev

My neighbour gets charged £12-50 an hour or part there of. She has one small dog which is a cocker cav cross. The walker takes it out in a larger group and it gets half an hour for that fee.

Another walker in the area, which I met and spoke to charges £8-50 per hour for a straight forward walk no training or special treatment but if the owner wanted her to take a young dog she would charge more and do some training or games with it, which would be around £15-00 per hour.

Mine don't go out with any other dogs, its just them.

I pay £5 a walk and the dogs are walked for approx 40 mins. Mine used to be picked up first and dropped off last and be out for 2hrs but now she's last in and first to go so out for approx 1hr.  I hadn't realised what good value I got until I read this thread.  I pay approx £125 per month for 1 walk mon to fri and cannot fault my dog walker in any way.  She is great and my dog was introduced to her at approx 7wks as my walker used to come and let her out in the house and play with her for an hour when I was at work and she was too young to get out with other dogs.  She is 1 in a million and I would be devastated if she was to give up dog walking as she has such a bond with my dog and has put loads of effort in with her training too.

i walk some peoples dogs and i get paid £10 for a walk which may last for up to 2hrs.
this price is what they offered to pay me but for a good walk i would probs charge £8 but then i am not a professional dog walker
anna

Just out of interest, do dog walkers have insurance cover?

should do to cover themselves.
i don't as i walk my friends dog and it is only one dog.
anyways i have heard that they do have insurense
anna

My dog walker is insured.

I don't know if mine does but all the dogs she walks are fully insured.

My OH says it's only in posh parts of London that people use dog walkers - do people find that any area will have people willing to pay though? I am thinking of doing part time grooming and part time dog walking, but don't know if many people in North London would be interested! :-)

I like the idea of offering basic training too!

Hi Lucy, I'm in Dundee in Scotland and am definitely not rich or posh   I would not be able to keep my dog without having my dog walker as I only get 1/2hr lunch break - on the days when I get one - and don't think its fair to leave the dog in the house all day on her own.  If you price it right and focus on a small area geographically you will be able to keep your own overheads down and have a very rewarding job too. 

Hi,

I live in Kensington, London which unfortunatley for me a very expensive area for Dog Walkers. I don't currently use one as I have a friend walk my dog as she works part time. I walk her dog in the morning and she walks mine in the afternoon which works very well and is alot cheaper.

Before we moved to Kensington I did alot of research into Dog Walkers and was horrified how expensive it is. One guy that walks up to 8 dogs at a time mostly off lead and charges £15 for a hours walk ( don't mind him as a person but wouldn't let him walk my dog as he walks mostly large dogs and I've seen him been quite hard on the dogs ). There is another couple who are very nice but charge £20 for one hour one to one, they don't pack walk which is much better but £20 is alot for one hour. Kensington is a well to do area unfortunatley for me I don't have a Kensington salary!

Personally I'm not a fan of Professional Dog Walkers in my area most of them ( not all ) walk 8 dogs plus sometimes off lead and have no control of them. There are a couple I have got to know who only walk 3 - 4 dogs at a time which is ok but by the time they come and collect your dog and take it for a walk how much time walking does your dog have??

We used to live in Streatham, South London and it was alot cheaper out that way between £7 - £9 pounds for an hours walk. I used a really nice women who was great with Bert he just loved her and she was £8 for an hours walk and he did get an hour sometimes more and he was very happy with her.

I can certainly suggest to anybody needing a dog walker please check them out throughly and occasionally check on them ( I know it sounds silly but I did, did feel a bit silly hiding behind a tree at the park ) but worth checking.

One poor guy at my Dog training club used an awlful women who did Doggy Daycare and his poor dog shut in a crate all day and was hyper and stunk of pee when he picked the dog up every day. Needless to say we found him another Dog carer for his dog, so be very careful of people like that, I don't think Doggy Daycare is nessacary unless you have a puppy. :)

OMG that guy has an hourly rate of £120 - slightly above the national minimum wage  I wonder if he does it all cash in hand rather than legitimately.  If he did 3 walks per day 5 days a week he would be earning £1800 a week (I think) tax free and could still be claiming benefits and housing benefit etc.  thats shocking but not as shocking as the people who are daft enough to pay him

I pay £11 for at least an hour walk (it's often a lot longer). 

ahh id love to be a dog walker.. if anyone wants me i'll do it free :D !!