Dog walkers

[jibbe]

Is it time to review the amount of dogs a walker can walk all together?
its 6 where I live

Due to one very tragic incident?

It should be a maximum of Two, there is no way you can safely control anymore

That has played a factor but also in my observations over the years out walking my dog. A large pack of dogs running at my dog has happened on numerous occasions, i have often asked for them to retrieve their dogs but tricky for them to do so.
I don’t think 6 dogs should be allowed off lead in these situations

Three is plenty. And at a tenner a dog, that's £30 for the walk , I imagine three sets a day at least with travel could easily be done and part time too. Walkers with half a dozen dogs filming one on their phone, bouncing around the park to send to their owners at work, while their other dogs are shitting, totally unnoticed, all over parklands and football pitches is something I've seen a bit too often.

6 German Shepherds is very different to 6 Dachshunds.

And do you only limit official dog walkers? What about dog owners that have 7 pet dogs?

How can someone walk 6 dogs at a time? I've never heard of or saw such a thing. If all the dogs decided to run at the same time, surely the strength of all 6 (unless they were all very small and light) would pull a human being over? Is this a countryside thing? I don't live in the countryside so perhaps that's why I've never seen it. The most I've seen is two dogs on leads.

No not in the country a large city in West Yorkshire

Yes. I had a nightmare on Wednesday when a dog walker with 8 dogs (3 on lead) couldn’t manage to retrieve two of hers that kept running back after mine to hump him. This went on for several minutes and we’d managed to walk away for about 50 metres before I ended up in the middle of 6 dogs with an awful lot of growling going on. She had no control whatsoever and was completely useless as she had 3 pretty large dogs (one big strong 11 month old) on the lead and no free hand. And were in the middle of rural woodland, so if something had gone wrong it was a long way to get help.

It is the first time I’ve had an incident with a dog walker pack but I see groups of 6/7/8 frequently in my local area, and it really doesn’t take a lot for it to go wrong. I certainly wouldn’t want my dog walked by someone with that little control.

I think the difference would be that as the actual owner of the dogs you would have a better understanding of your dog’s temperament and personality

The bad professional dog walkers give the good ones a bad name. I walk up to 6 at a time (my industry specific insurance dictates this number not council).

When I see people (with or without dog) approaching all my dogs are recalled effectively. I’ll then call to them and see if we’re ok to approach off lead. I can tell from a distance the human and dog body language if I should ask or simply go another way.

Please don’t tar us all with the same brush.

I’ve spent hours and thousands of pounds on my business and (dog training qualifications) and very good at what I do. I help others set up these business and encourage and empower them to run their business (welfare over profit first and foremost) compassionately and responsibly. I want myself and these others I’ve helped to shine and succeed in an unregulated industry.

All dogs are met before hand and assessed. Kept on lead for first walks if need be. Any unruly behaviour is not tolerated.

Dog walkers cannot currently be licensed as there is no legislation. So the councils cannot enforce anything. I’ve begged my council for a solution. They hear me but can’t do anything about it. But even if there were legislation and then licences, you’d still get the people who would do it unlicensed. And you’d still get licensed people doing it badly.

Group (NOT pack because dogs aren’t wolves and don’t work in packs) dog walking is very different to walking one, two or even three dogs. It’s a whole different kettle of fish they very few people (even experts) know much about. Which is maybe why it’s so difficult to legislate.

I have my own thoughts on the person who sadly died at the hands of her group of dogs. Don’t believe everything you read in the press.

Not wishing to tar you with the same brush, I think it definitely needs regulating but I think 6 is still too many. I have to time my walks when I know the dog walkers won’t be out yet .
A group of dogs is still commonly called a pack

Four where I live and I think that’s fine.

In my county its a criminal offence for a single person to walk more than 4 dogs at a time. I still think that's too many. A lot of people can't even handle one or two.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the accident. I read an article which said that for the dogs to have reacted like that it was highly likely they were all in an anxious state already.

I'm not a fan of big groups of dogs unless all characters are known and specifically put together as a group. I've seen dog walkers with a number of dogs where it is clear that at least one dog is very uncomfortable with such a large number and not coping - which unfortunately can lead to reactive behaviour.

It is still commonly called a pack, you’re right. But they’re not. They don’t act as a pack. I’ve done roughly 2600 group walks and never seen it.

I would never walk 6 St Bernard’s of course, and for example. My groups are well balanced. Biggest I take are Labradors. Although I do do 121 walks with larger breeds occasionally and when required.

People think it’s a quick and easy way to make money, and it is. But they don’t do it right and their reputation doesn’t last. The ones doing it right will be going for years (I’m in my 6th).

I’ve been round dogs in various capacities my whole life. I’ve done my training qualifications with the IMDT who are just fantastic.

I really feel for dog owners and other non professional walkers who come across the bad ones of us. Really sad.

Your Correct, One person cannot walk 6 dogs at a time under any circumstances.
I have had Rottweilers for over 15 years all from pups and 3 of the same age and 3 trust me is the most you can take out on a walk together as you have to be able to control them as they need a leader and you have to be it .Little pups grow up quickly and depending on the breed they can become very large and intimidating and need to be trained .

I think one dog has kicked off, the walker intervened and the dog turned on her. I think her screaming had made it worse and predatory drift has kicked in. I think the other dogs may not have been attacking her but more over her worrying. Licking blood and wounds maybe.

One anxious dog might wind up the others. Dog could be anxious for many reasons. I see anxious dogs all the time, they don’t come with me unless they’re confident. If they develop anxiety then their walks discontinue as it’s not fair. I’m completely and utterly honest with their owners. A usually confident dog can be anxious in that environment due to any number of factors- doesn’t like transport, doesn’t like being in a crate, adverse to a noisy van (crates banging, barking, whining etc). Not properly assessed initially. Separation. So many reasons. Dog walkers should at least be able to read the basic signs of stress to ensure the welfare of each and every animal. And stress will start on pick up.

Many professional walkers don’t want to let dogs go if they’re anxious as they lose out on money. Many don’t recognise the signs. Owners don’t either and want a solution for their dog that would otherwise be left home.

I’ve fallen foul of this several times. But my dogs so confident usually. But usually they’re walked alone with their owners from your home. An anxious dog is a risk. A flight risk. A bite risk. I’m not taking it. It isn’t fair tk the animal.

@ScabbersChin thank you, that is really interesting.

I have a rescue who was very anxious and reactive around other dogs. We are now able to enjoy walks but I have to be constantly scanning for potential triggers and then immediately react accordingly. There are only 2 dog walkers I would trust with my dog - both have known her since we got her and are very familiar with her particular needs. She regularly stays with one of them (who has her own dogs) and it is genuinely like a second family.

I just couldn't risk using another dog walker and potentially set mine back. I once had to complain to a local dog walking company about one of their dog walkers. A big off lead group of dogs who kept approaching mine, even though she was on-lead and it was pretty clear I was standing in front of her to provide a 'barrier'. The dog walker made no attempt to recall. If my dog had snapped and injured another it would have been the dog walkers fault entirely and I can't imagine the owners would have been impressed that she allowed their dogs to get into that situation!

@Auntiedear
she sounds lovely and friendly, is she a GS?

And large numbers of men

I agree that dog walkers need more regulation. There is a dog walker near me who has a few dogs who are ball stealers, they come over to my dog, my dog drops her ball to say hi and the other dog nicks it. The dog walker can never ever get it back. Today I saw her and she was pretending to offer one of the dogs a treat to get it back.

she also drops the leads when they’re walking instead of removing the leads, which I’m sure must be a recipe for a broken leg at some point

So she doesn’t remove their leads when they are running around?

Nope, drops them on the ground so I’ve seen one weeing on its lead but more concerned about injuries tbh

@ShirleyPhallus ,
forget if they wee on it as that’s the least of her problems if you let a dog runaround with a lead hanging off it.

Now that there are millions more dog owners than even ten years ago, everything to do with having a dog needs to be better regulated - buying, owning, supervising, the lot. The very notion of dog walkers doesn't sit too well really. I mean if you're too busy to even walk your own dog, never mind train it etc, the answer isn't to hand it over to some fool with a van and a facebook page. These are living creatures fgs. There are tighter controls on the people in charge of animals we kill for food.