u/Street_Card410

Observations of a Dog Walker Part 2:

I have been involved with many different types of pet care jobs for quite a long time now. I have recently stepped back from dog walking and pet sitting except for long term established clients that I have had for a long time.

Now that I have distanced myself from the daily stresses of trying to drum up dog walking clients while making sure that I am practicing good protocol with both the dogs in my care and their owners; I have realized that there are two behaviors that I have noticed among pet owners that has an extremely negative affect on the joys of being a pet care provider.

These two situations are listed below:

1.      The first situation is regarding potential clients.

 I have noticed that a large percentage of potential clients often contact a pet care provider and ask way too many personal and inappropriate questions that have nothing to do with pet care or the services that are provided by the individual pet care provider.

I have also learned that you must be very careful what you post on social media regarding your pet services and personal history. I have experienced almost stalkerish type behavior from individual s posing as “potential clients.”

2.      The second situation is regarding pet owners who allow their dogs to be off leash for regular dog walks.

I cannot even begin to count the number of times within the past six months that I have had negative encounters with off leash dogs and their owners. An few examples of these encounters are listed below:

·         Dogs off leash come running up to dogs that I am walking with no pet parent in sight. These dogs often scare or intimidate the dogs that I am taking care of. (Many of the dogs that I care for are senior dogs and they are often skittish and afraid of other dogs that they do not know well.)

·         Unleashed dogs that come uninvited to a rest/snack time with the dog that I am walking, and their owner does not come and retrieve them, often ignoring the fact that their dog is in another dogs safe space.

·         Unleashed dogs that approach my dogs aggressively which causes extreme anxiety for myself and the dogs in my care.

When these encounters happen, 90% of the time the pet owners will not take accountability and instead say things like, “Oh, he/she doesn’t usually act like that.” Or “He/She is just so excited to see a new friend.”

It is because of incidents like these that I have become an advocate for ALL dogs being leashed for their regular walks.

I have been in and seen way too many unleashed encounters go wrong or have a high potential to do so.

It is very important that pet owners be responsible and take accountability for their pets well being and care. It is important for their safety, their pet’s safety, and the safety of others and the community as a whole.

All of us need to work together to make sure that the dog walking experience is safe and enjoyable for everyone. 😊

Happy Walking!!

 

I started dog walking when my husband and I relocated to Hawaii almost six years ago. We have lived on three islands (Maui, Kauai, and Oahu).

In the beginning I only provided services for friends that I knew personally. When we moved to Oahu, I got a job working at a doggy daycare about which I was really excited. The job was great, but the business only lasted two months before it shut down. I wanted to keep working with animals, so I decided to take my love of dogs and see what I could do with it. 

When I first started walking and pet sitting on my own, I had an advantage because I had a lot of clients that were also clients from the doggy daycare at which I had worked. Most of my clients lived in my neighborhood and already knew me well.

Things were busy at first but then my clients started moving and then I moved and it has been much harder to establish myself in my new neighborhood and make new connections. I have been posting on social media, and I have received a lot of inquiries, and I have even gone to a few meet and greets, but the process has been slow, and I am finding that you really have to be careful with how much and what you post on social media. I have had more than a few odd encounters on both Facebook and the Next-door App. 

At the current time, I am trying to reestablish myself through in person contact and word of mouth like I used to, but I am realizing that social media is the predominant way that everyone advertises and connects these days unfortunately. 

With all that said, I would like to share some of the especially important things that I have learned in the past year in my dog walking and pet sitting adventure… 

 Things that I have learned since I have begun dog walking:

·         Always schedule a meet and a greeting before agreeing to walk or pet sitting with a dog. It is important that both you, the pet parent, and the dog are comfortable with each other and that it is a fit for everyone.

I have found this to be an important step. I did not do this when I first started dog walking, and I just took any dog walking job that I was offered, even if I had not met the pet yet.

By not scheduling a meet and greet beforehand, I often ended up with dogs that were not professionally trained and with clients whose expectations far exceeded both what my experience was at the time and the services that I could realistically provide. 

By implementing a solid policy for a meet and greet before any services are rendered; I have saved myself and my potential clients a lot of time and avoided any many understandings or obligations that I could not meet. 

 

·         Keep communication open. Make sure that you have a contract that clearly states your rules and services.

Your contact should include the following:

·         Payment and collection policies 

·         Rules about treats and feeding 

·         Ask about vet information, fears, allergies, and triggers that the pet might have 

·         Pet’s daily routine 

·         Discuss your insurance and exactly what your insurance does and does not cover 

Note: If you provide photos, ask the client if it is ok to post the photos on social media. If not, provide an opt-out for your client within the contract. 

·         Contact information for Emergency Contacts in case an enemy arises while pet walking or sitting. 

These lessons that I have learned within the past year while I have been learning the ins and outs of dog walking and pet sitting have provided me with a lot of useful life information about myself, animal behavior, and human behavior as well and this is knowledge and skills that I can take with me so matter what venture I decide to do next.

Happy Walking everyone!