Are my DH DS wrong/unreasonable re dog walker

[2dogs2kids1cat]

Hi first world problem I know but still a little annoying. I use a dog walker on an ad hoc basis. She is meant to walk my dogs for 1 hour a day. Last year I used to pay her in advance because it was easier say 5-6 walks and then txt her the night before I wanted them walked but for no particular reason I wondered if they were being walked; so on two occasions I left the leads in an odd arrangement and they obviously hadn't moved but when I casually mentioned this she said she always uses her own. So I now pay her on the day, I leave the money on the side so I know she definitely comes to the house. Yesterday she was meant to walk them, my DH and DS got home from work first the money had gone but both dogs were busting to do a pee and more importantly weren't muddy, and there was no mud on the kitchen floor, we live in the countryside and it's currently very muddy here. When I got home from work they both started saying the dog walker is just taking the money and not walking the dogs etc. I defended her saying maybe she walked them round the roads.
I have tried to find other dog walkers but I work shifts and I often have to change at very short notice and therefore need a walker who is happy about this. The only other one I could find who would even remotely consider it wanted £35 for 1/2 an hour she promised me she was very reliable I'd be reliable for that kind of money.
The dogs are monumentally lazy by nature don't seem fussed, she doesn't charge a fortune and when I meet her when I'm out they rush over to see her wagging their tails so maybe my DH/DS are unnecessarily suspicious

[Mummyme1987]

Organise it for day you are home. Stay upstairs and see if she does take them for a walk or not.

[BarbarianMum]

In your position I think I'd at least be open to the idea that she's not walking them, or maybe just giving them a quick walk, although I'd be surprised if she doesn't at least let them out to per if she's come over to collect money.

Maybe ask her where she walked them

[ReasonablyIntelligent]

She sounds a lot like she's taking you for a ride tbh

[angelnix]

Pop a cheap camera up and record her

[Holland00]

I'd be suspicious, especially after the lead trick.

[Ineedmorelemonpledge]

It doesn't sound good does it?

Sorry op but I don't think she's walking them from the evidence you've given.

[Graceful1]

Get a tracker and fit it to the collar. There are some really cheap/unobtrusive ones available nowadays.
I would be suspicious as people can be extremely devious and not at all who you think they are.

[lilybetsy]

my dog walker always uses his own leads.. I think that's quite common

[Wolfiefan]

Camera. Do you have one on a laptop?
TBH I wouldn't use someone I couldn't trust. I have a PFD!

[SnoozyCunt]

She sounds like she's taking you for a ride.

Set up a camera and see what she does.

[LurkingHusband]

Pop a cheap camera up and record her

or a dummy one she can obviously see ?

Can you fit a canine equivalent of a dashcam - sort of poochpal - to the dogs ? As protection for the walker, of course, in case of any allegations involving the dogs.

[WillWorkForShoes]

Have you any neighbours you can ask if they saw her?

Certainly sounds like she may not be walking them, but maybe she didn't want to get muddy so stuck to the roads. Although, if I were paying someone to walk my dogs I'd be a bit annoyed if they were stuck on the lead on the roads all the time.

[Cherrysoup]

Camera, for sure, or pop in when she's meant to be out with them. A colleague had this, walker claims she couldn't find the dog when she went round!!

[PuddleJumper01]

How old is your DS? I ask because I pay 14yr old+ children to walk my dog for me. They love it (they love my dog) and it's extra pocket money for them. Do you know any local kids who'd help you out?

Have you got a local noticeboard/shop window where you can advertise?

[Witchend]

Wouldn't you expect a dog walker to clean the mud off the dogs afterwards anyway?

[Cakingbad]

Maybe she uses her own leads and wipes their muddy paws. I would.

[taptonaria27]

If you have an iPad that stays home you can download an app called Presence for free. It is movement activated and records too so if you put it near her the door it would capture her going in and out.
It does sound like she's taking you for a ride though

[hmcAsWas]

My dog walker posts pictures of her daily dog walks (featuring her canine charges) on Facebook ...

I must admit if both dogs were clean as a whistle that is suspicious. I live in the country too - and even after a thorough rub down bits of grit and dirty smears are left in the dogs wake after a dog walk - their beds generally look grubby post walk

[Cherryskypie]

I walk my dogs and bump into a lot of dog walkers. Over time I have come to know several to chat to. They all seem like pleasant people. There is only one I would trust to be responsible for a dog and even they are sometimes guilty of spending too much time chatting while the dog sits next to them on lead.

Check up on them. Many dog walkers use their own leads but I'd be suspicious that they are just collecting the cash and letting your dog into the garden for a quick wee.

[Cherryskypie]

Yes to signs of having been out. Mine had remarkably clean paws yesterday but several burrs in their fur and one needed their head hosing after they stuck it on something rank. There's a scent in the kitchen air when they've been outside. I try really hard not to think about what it is.

[Sandalwearingdoglady]

A friend of mine was using a dog walker because neighbours were complaining about them barking during the day. However the complaints continued so she installed an app on her iPad to record every time they barked.

Only because if this did she discover that the dog walker was coming BUT was only taking the dogs out for 10 minutes instead of 1 or 2 hour walks.

She was so convinced there must have been a mistake that she began texting him asking how the walks had gone and he was replying regaling her with tales of great long 2 hour walks through Greenwich park etc.

The signs all seem to be there OP.

[GinIsIn]

Our dog walker does use her own leads and always de-muds the dog before she drops her back so it is possible....

[PageStillNotFound404]

This happened to my mum, OP. She was in bed with flu rather than at work so didn't alter the standing arrangements with her dog walker as she was too weak and shivery to be capable of walking her dogs herself. In her case the dog walker didn't turn up at all! She sent a text asking him an innocuous question and he lied to make it seem like the dogs had been walked. When challenged he claimed a family emergency had prevented him from getting there that day. It was the lie that caused her to bin him off, and the fact he apparently cared so little for the welfare of the dogs in his charge.

Can you do similar - essentially hide upstairs on a day she's due and check whether and for how long your dogs go out?

[EssentialHummus]

I'd hide upstairs.

[Wishiwasmoiradingle2017]

I like the hide upstairs idea!! She needs naming and shaming if she is doing this to you I doubt you will be the only one.