Dog walkers

[ShirleyPhallus]

Does anyone else have dog walkers in their area who seem to walk 26 dogs at any time and walk in packs with other dog walkers? I have bumped in to a number of badly walked dogs by various people who have been rude to my dog (not be called back, steal her ball and the dog walker can’t get it back etc). They don’t let dogs properly off lead but just drop the leads instead so the dogs wee on them and I would be worried they’d get tangled up / injure themselves.

Today I walked my dog and then returned to the car park past a van full of crated dogs with the dog walkers branding on, gave the baby a BF and made a phone call in the car so there for about 30 mins, the dogs were still all in there for all that time.

do you get this around you?

I'm a dog walker myself - luckily there's nobody in our area that's quite that bad, but some do walk 6-8 dogs at once and I do wonder what they'd do if a fight broke out or a dog got injured.

Personally I only do small groups - a maximum of four dogs but most days it's 2-3 dogs at once. I don't feel safe walking lots of dogs alone - I had one dog cut his foot once and it was hard enough getting him and his brother back to the car safely, I couldn't have done it with 6-8 of them!

Yes, I often wonder how long the customer’s dog actually spends out on a walk v sat in the van. Especially on a hot summer’s day.

I believe some councils now have a limit on the maximum number of dogs that can be walked at any one time.

There is one near me who I always see walking six dogs - three leads in each hand. It seems irresponsible to me and I always wonder if the owners know what their dogs are getting.

5 ddog limit in our area. Doesn't stop them. Once got followed by 2 huge ddogs off lead on the beach.. Shouted of the man to come get them as my ddog is too big to lift out of the way! He cared not one jot and waltzed off with at least 4 more.

I have a dog walking business.

All our walkers wear body cams and all walks are put on our private page for owners to view if they want to. We have total transparency on our walks. Owners can see length of walk pick up times and drop off times etc. They can see how their dogs interacts in the small groups.

(body cams also protect the dog walkers from accusations from other dog walkers or owners)

We do not walk large groups ever not even on our own private land

The trouble is that it is pretty much an unlicensed way of making money.

I shudder when I see the way some dogs are transported by some dog walkers, their lack of training knowledge (we may not train the owners but we need to be able to train the dogs we walk for us and safety of others!) and lack of basic understanding of dog language.

If you are getting a new dog walker, ask to see their insurance, go out for several walks with them.

Try to walk with different groups.
Ask to check out their vehicles, ask about the type of crating in the vehicles and check it is crash tested.
Check they have first aid qualifications and check the qualifications - there are rubbish ones around.

Ask for references, ask what they do if the dogs do anything they dont like - a good way to see how your dogs will be handled.
Ask about size of group and how they work out who goes in which group.

Hopefully not just by timing and closeness of the dogs.

I personally would not let my dogs go in a vehicle on only seat belts.

Anyone who enquiries with us will be bored to death with me explaining all of the above.

Yes I have seen this. 3 dog walkers in a forest near me -10 dogs each. Fairly off the beaten track, and pretty invisible to the council who ‘suggest’ a limit of 6 dogs per adult? They were not walking together but would inevitably encounter each other. One of the first 10 followed me and my 2 in a totally different direction. Dog walker totally unconcerned - ‘ I knew you would bring her back’.
Some on leads - apparently grumpy. God knows what dog walker would have done if it kicked off.

You sound fab, where are you based?

@DogwalkingDotty You sound amazing!!

Yes we all want to know where you're based!

Dog walkers around me are mostly shit. Too many dogs, not enough knowledge. I've used some and was really unimpressed. Increased my dog's reactivity. What a mistake.

It isn't well regulated and demand seems massive. I'm in an affluent area so we have lockdown pups needing walking now owners have returned to work... the walkers seem to be women who don't need to work. Very much a hobby business with cute names but very little skill.

I've been considering using a dog walker again but every time I scratch the surface I'm not happy with what I see

I used to see a dog walker park up, let dogs out to poo everywhere, then put the dogs back in his vehicle. When I returned from my hour's walk he would still be sitting there, fiddling with his 'phone.

The hobby business mentality is part of the problem. If it's a professional service, that involves physical labour abd skill for an hour people should expect to pay £12-15ph minimum (if walks are shared with one other dog) for labour plus overheads. Where I live too many expect a dogwalk to cost £5 and can't do the maths that the only way that is economical for the walker is if they have at least six and often more dogs. I am lucky to have a great but expensive dog walker. They do exist but it can't be an easy business to be in. Plus I have noticed some of the wealthiest people I know are happiest to cut corners with their pets - it's always weird to me that it's the people in the massive house down the road who want me to walk their labs when they go away for a weekend in exchange for a bottle of wine rather than put them in kennels. Whilst people on low incomes really cannot afford what a decent dog walker costs.

Yes totally agree about hourly rate. Also most people want their dog walked around midday so that limits the availability.

It's like childcare though isn't it? People will try and be frugal but it's such a false economy in the end.

Haha we are S/SW .

I agree that there are a lot of hobbyist dog walkers. " I had a dog once" so I can be a dog walker. Dog walkers need knowledge and expertise and also a eye for detail. They need to offer a professional safe service. Often this is very lacking.

We have no trouble with getting clients and always have a waiting list. We are not the cheapest in the area but people are happy to pay our rates.

Yes! In Wiltshire, Corsham, Box woods and Chippenham it's awful for dogs off leads everywhere and these so called 'professional' dog walkers walking 15 off lead dogs at a time !! Particularly down VERY narrow paths where you have to pass one another within inches. They walk through you not politely around you. Not caring about these dogs charging into peoples personal private space or at dogs ON LEADS! No apologies, no recall they just think if no dogs have had a fight or no one died that day it's ok. The laziness is astounding. It's mainly because they cant control them. They hide behind a smirk and arrogance because they have no recall skills, worst bit is everyone else copycats the mentality because it's been done to them some that are a bit wet round the ears then just join in and have their dogs run a muck too. No manners whatsoever the locals, its appalling for such a lovely area they've really pulled themselves down here

No, I genuinely don’t. All the dog walkers I see seem focussed and rule abiding - four dogs only is the council regulation in my area. There’s a very large common area where I regularly go with my own boy and sometimes they do meet up there and will have 12 dogs between three of them. We do steer clear of that many because I don’t feel comfortable with that, for my own dog’s sake, but it’s not something I see so regularly as to be problematic as so many claim to on here.

👋🏻 @Wiseoldyoung , you must live near me! My dog walker won’t walk more than 2 or occasionally 3 together because she says it’s impossible to safely manage more than that number at a time.
i give a wide berth to anyone walking more than 3, it takes very little to set off a pack of dogs.

Yes. Bloke opens normal estate car, dogs not legally restrained. Seven or eight dogs crap around car park. Bloke packs them back in. Sits in his car for the hour of my dog walk playing on his 'phone. And half a dozen or so people are paying £15/hour or more for this.

Strict rules in our area on limits ,but yes some seem not evr have the basics covered and get defensive if asked about insurance when they advertise

Am lucky ours is great insured ,first aid trained,vehicle with appropriate fitted crates and dogs carefully matched ,Yes costs more but worth it

There are some very good walkers in my area who walk 4/5 dogs at a time I’ve never seen the ones with huge groups.
Personally I prefer it to doggy daycare which scares the life out of me - 20/30 dogs with like 3 staff members in an enclosed space with toys about. That’s a huge fight waiting to happen

They’ve always been ok in my area until the last couple of months. I saw two women yesterday walking together with 13 dogs. 13 dogs together I think is too many even for two people to manage, and my dog was really visibly intimidated just seeing them coming through the woods. He’s not a timid dog, he’s sociable and confident, I dread to think how more nervous dogs would feel.

I’ve had bad incidents in the last couple of weeks where walkers have had reactive dogs on leads on narrow pathways. One had six dogs on a waist/lead contraption, and I saw and heard her panic when they all kicked off at my dog. Quite right to panic when 6 medium/large dogs could pull you over at any second.

I deliberately walk in really quiet, rural woodland, but I’m seeing big groups of 7/8+ every day now.

I say all this as someone who is a lifelong dog owner and who would happily spend the day with only dogs and never people(!) Dog sceptics must hate it. I’d never use any of these walkers by choice.