Dog walkers

[smileygrapefruit]

If anyone is a dog walker or hires a dog walker please could you let me know how much holiday you/they take? I've been going 4 years now and have only had the odd day off. I'm feeling burnt out and think I need to have a think about booking myself a week or two off a year but worried about losing clients.

Our dog walker takes around three - four holiday periods a year I think. Some are a week,some are two. She does give us a lot of notice (months) . You can't have no time off OP.

Disclaimer: I am not a dog-walker.... Just pondering about the possibility of having a reciprocal agreement with a nearby dog-walker for holiday cover, ie, you do theirs, they do yours. Obviously elements of trust involved, but you would quickly know if there were issues. You need a holiday, everyone does!

Book it well in advance, so you give plenty of notice. Every walker I've had does this.

Another also dropped a day a week, as she had regular hospital appointments, and worked with two walkers so they shared cover for holidays and illness. It was brilliant.

Thanks for the quick replies. I have quite a few walker friends and we do help each other out on occasion but unfortunately (or fortunately for business) we're all working at capacity so couldn't physically have all our dogs plus another walkers while one was on holiday.

I would expect a walker to take as much holiday as anyone else (4-5 weeks a year, broken up). Provided I was given plenty of notice to plan something else for my dog, it wouldn't put me off that walker.

I know how you feel, OP. I run a dog daycare/holiday business and worked for just over two years, without a single day off, including Xmas and all other holidays. The first weekend I took off, my own wee dog died. 😢 I then worked for another year, before taking a week off. It was only when I took that week off, that I realised how exhausted I was. I swear I slept for 12hrs for three nights in a row.

You just reminded me, I was supposed to put out a request that all my clients send me their holidays before the end of the month, as I will be booking time off this year. A fellow dog sitter books four holidays a year, but always at the same time, so her clients know from one year to the next, when they can book their holidays.

Our dog care gets her adult daughter to cover regularly, the dogs know and love them both. You need a back up! Time to find a partner/employee ? I'd only be put out if they needed to close if we weren't given proper notice.

If you can't offer cover, you can't offer it. Give everyone at least 2 weeks notice this time, but state you'll give at least a month's notice in future maybe?

Do you have a contract with people or is it ad hoc?

Our dog walker sends a list of all holiday dates at the start of the year - it never occurred to me that they wouldn't take a holiday.

My dog walker gives me plenty of notice of regular holidays and as much as she can for emergency time off. She takes bank holidays, Xmas and around three weeks off per year so the usual amount.

You need time off OP just like everyone else. Honestly if you lose the odd client then that's better than losing them all when you burn out.

Mine is going on holiday in June. She's given us months to make alternative arrangements and with my mad collie on her books its a well deserved rest!

Thanks so much. I've just had a bit of a cry reading these responses, don't really know why, I guess relief that it's ok for me to do it. I think I'll send a letter out to clients explaining that from now on I'm going to take 3 weeks a year and give at least 2 months notice. I love my job but it is both physically and mentally hard work, especially with this relentless horrible weather and the mud that comes with it. On top of having three young kids, never having taken maternity leave and trying (in vain) to keep on top of housework, I'm exhausted.

Our dog walker “shuts down” over Christmas as it’s a time when the majority of her clients don’t really want to pay for the service as they are mostly home anyway.

Not a dog walker, but I feel your pain, I work in Korea and 10 days holiday a year is standard here - even then, I could only take 5 days last year (basically no labour laws so if I'd taken all my leave, I'd have lost my job).

Our dog walker lets us know well in advance that she's going to be taking time off - we have a couple of alternatives for when she does. I don't think it's a big problem, especially if you're at capacity.

OP you said yourself that you and other dog walkers are running at capacity. Honestly it is perfectly acceptable to take holiday without any guilt and even if you had someone leave (which they would be unreasonable to think you shouldn't have time off) I am sure you would easily fill their place as good dog walkers are to be treasured.

Not a dog walker myself, but I'm a self employed cleaner and I manage to have a couple of weeks holiday a year at least. I have never lost clients over it.
They kind of expect you to have some time off!

"good dog walkers are to be treasured"

This cannot be said enough, imo. I don't know about it taking a village to raise a child. Somedays I think it needs a village to raise a dog

My dog walker takes a couple of weeks of holiday but usually finds someone to cover - one of her (teenaged)children/a friend, so I'm very lucky. Currently, she's got some family issues going on so she has found another lady to fill in for her who is also good and usual walker may walk my dog again when she feels ready.

In our case we are fortunate she has a partner so is cover just less space as only one working

But even if not I would expect them to have holidays.Christmas to new year she stops dog walks but does still have couple of home boarders

I book my holidays around my dog walkers/home boarder availability value them that much