What's the protocol for dog walkers returning dogs caked in mud?

[8tjr9jk47h]

I saw SO many dogs absolutely caked in mud today in the woods. There were many dog walkers as usual and it got me thinking what happens when they get home? I wondered what the contract might be? I don't have a dog myself though I'd like one one day. Do owners just have to suck it up & hose the dog down in the garden? I'm not sure owners would let their dogs have a free-for-all mudbath, but maybe they would?

I have an area at the back of the house with concrete that slopes to a drain and a mixer tap with a hose attached. Water for lots of mud, water and dog shampoo for anything worse.

My dog walker recommends they were an equifleece to keep the mud off and will roughly towel dry off when back at her van.

they don’t have free run of the house so if they come back muddy it’s restricted to the kitchen which is mopped daily anyway

My dog walker will towel dry my dog before returning. I think she probably has some water in the van if she needs to wash.
I quite like it when I notice he has dried mud on him as I know he’s has a great time!

If they roll in something really gross then I think she takes them to the nearest DIY dog wash.

I'm a dog walker. I won't take on clients who are fussy about mud/sand/wet dog as it's impossible to keep them clean - especially at this time of year. Even on pavement walks the dogs get filthy from passing cars, puddles etc.

I ask that all my clients leave towels by the door and I do my best to get the worst of the muck off, then the dogs are generally left somewhere "safe" - in their crates or shut in the kitchen or utility area so any leftover mud can be cleaned up easily when the owners get home.

If the dogs are solo/same household, I'm happy to cut the walk short by 5-10 minutes to give them a more thorough cleaning, but for group walks it's not that simple as I have other dogs waiting in the car and I'm not happy to leave them for longer than 2-3 minutes really.

Clients can buy equafleeces/coats and I'll always use them if provided.

My dog Walker rinses him off and brings him back in a heated wrap thing( in a cage obv)
I joke we have joint custody as she loves him as much as I do!)

Will add I don't actually care about him being muddy at all.. sign of a good time.. I used to be the same with my DS's

My brothers dog walker has a portable hose thing in her van and brings all the dogs home immaculate.

We use a Karcher portable washer, mud daddy’s are rubbish x

Ours rinses off the dog, it's not immaculate, but she's not a groomer.
I wouldn't use someone who didn't

We have a hot water tap out the front that feeds from the kitchen and you can mix with cold to give a nice warm hose down. Rub alll over with a towel after.

Our dog walker chooses a route with a stream at the end, so she can get the dogs to run through that before getting back in her van. She towels them down (her own towels) and also has a spray bottle with water/ diluted dog shampoo that she uses if they've rolled in something gross.

She will also WhatsApp me to tell me if the dogs proper mucky and ask if I want windows opened in the kitchen/her closed in her crate etc (my dog loves to roll in fox poo 😫so can be stinky despite all these measures!)

Our previous walkers had a fancy hose attachment as part of their van, all custom fitted.