A Dog Trainer’s Guide To Choosing A Dog Walker

What better way to kick off 2022 than to celebrate National Walk Your Dog Month! The coldest and shortest days of the year can make walking with your best friend less than ideal, and many of us struggle to find the time to prioritize pulling out the leash and cruising the neighborhood with our dogs. Have you made a New Year’s resolution to get Fluffy back to the trail? Is family, work, or life in general leaving you with limited time on your schedule? You may benefit from hiring a professional dog walker! How do you even start to look for someone you can trust to have your dog’s safety and best interests at heart? We have some ideas!

1. KNOW YOUR DOG – We can’t emphasize this enough. Even the most well-behaved, well-trained dog still has personality and it’s important that it meshes well with another handler. Throw in reactivity to dogs, people, or other stimuli, and walks can be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. Make sure you’re honest with yourself about the needs of your dog so you can be confident in your selection.
2. ASK FOR REFERRALS – Network, network, network! Talk to your dog’s veterinarian. Bug your friends and neighbors for information. Reach out to the kennel where your dog stays when they’re not with you. When interviewing candidates, ask for a list of referrals from their current and past clients. Trust and safety are the two most important factors when it comes to choosing the right dog walker, and a personal recommendation is a stellar indication that you’re on the right path. Don’t be afraid to ask references questions about punctuality, following simple directions, or any other factor that’s important to you.
3. CONSIDER YOUR NEEDS – What is your budget? Do you need a structured schedule? Would you prefer to work with someone who’s available on the fly? Prepare yourself to clearly articulate expectations so you can maintain a clear line of communication. Once you open that line with a candidate…
4. ASK ALL OF THE QUESTIONS – Does this walker have experience with your training tools? Is that one licensed and ensured? What emergency protocols are in place? What method of communication works best? You may find that some answers take a second if they’ve never been asked, but even lapses in conversation can reflect well or poorly in the grand scheme of things. During these conversations…
5. ANSWER ALL OF THE QUESTIONS – Expect a reputable walker to do their best to make sure it’s a good fit for them, too! You want them to know as much information as possible about your dog, but the right person should be able to extract exactly what they need by making the right queries and painting an accurate picture of how their services can benefit you and your dog.

From there, it all comes down to making your selection! Once you’ve finished interviewing, make sure to evenly weigh the pros and cons of each contender. Have further questions popped up since you’ve spoken? Did another walker mention a detail that you’d overlooked? If your walker is the right fit, they’ll happily double back to assure you that your needs and those of your dog are met!