Dogwalkers cancelling due to heat

[blanketsnuggler]

I'm wondering if I'm not thinking straight here.
Obviously it's too hot to take our dogs out for a walk at 1pm.
We have a dog walker twice a week and if the temp goes up to 26c she offers home visits rather than a walk.

Would you expect a reduction in fee's to not?
As you can imagine, it's happening quite a lot lately. (If we cancel we pay either full fee if it's short notice, or 50% fee if longer notice.)
is this normal practice?

I’m a dog walker and charge the same for a visit as a walk as they’re actually more work and take up more time out of my day overall.

If a client wants to cancel completely and they do so with 24h notice then I don’t charge.

Mine doesn't charge if she cancels for heat but I always pay her anyway - it's out of her control and she is very good to us. I just see it as holiday pay.

Our dog walker did a visit instead, let dogs out in garden for a wee and sat with them on the sofa for a bit. Pay exactly the same.

I don't understand why you say she's cancelling? She's offering an amended service of a home visit instead of a walk which sounds like the best compromise in the circumstances.

You can't surely expect to pay her less just because she's not walking the dog? She's spending the same amount of time doing her job in a way that prioritises the wellbeing of the animals in her care.

Another perspective might be that a walk potentially enables the walker to pick up several dogs and walk them together, and a home visit means time with each one individually, so really screwing the timing up.

People who are reliant on walkers because they are at work need the dog letting out and not being alone the entire day. This weather throws a spanner into all of that.

My dog walker usually expects full fee for cancellations but this week gave us the option to cancel for no charge. For dogs with no one home she’s offered to take them to her home for some enrichment activities. She 100% puts the dogs health first

I do feel bad she’s making no money this week.

Some walkers locally are doing 7am walks.

Id not expect a reduced fee if you are getting a home visit

She is still visiting and (responsibly) taking care of your dogs - of course you shouldn't expect to pay less!

Retired dog walker here. I did home visits when it was too hot to walk and I charged the same. I would much rather have been out walking than sitting in someone’s house but for the safety of the animals in my care when it was too hot (anything above 21 degrees and lower for certain breeds) that’s what I did. I took puzzle games, disinfected between each dog, and planned other enrichment games for each dog I visited. Always ensured fresh water was given, washed food bowls and changed over cool mats. If you had tried to pay me less for my services I would have been peeved and actually probably suggested you found a new dog walker!

My dog walker does this and never crossed my mind to pay less. Her time is the same.

My dog walker is walking them at 9am today, cool coats on, shaded woods, much shorter and plenty of water. If she doesn’t walk, she doesn’t charge, but i’d have offered to have paid her anyway. Sensible thing is not to walk them, but if owners at work all day, dog needs walking. Maybe she would be better just letting them all out in their gardens or very quick toilet trip if in a flat. It’s difficult as they need to earn a living. She did cancel a few weeks back when we had the last heatwave one day, but guess she can’t afford to keep doing that. Up to owners if they want to keep their dog off I guess, fortunately for me, my job is flexible so I can WFH or come home at 2ish, walk him and log back on.

Edited to add - sorry re-read, no I wouldn’t expect reduction in fees. I feel that’s pretty mean to want to pay less. There are times walks are cut short, I am not demanding a refund.

I hope she has a license if she’s taking dogs into her home!

If you are not at home and the dog needs company and letting out - pay, your still getting a service you need.
If you are at home and can do that yourself - cancel the visit and don't pay

I'm a dog trainer so all of my outside classes are cancelled this week.

This is exactly why I charge the same amount for a short visit as I do for a full walk.

I hate doing home visits - I would much rather be out walking but if it’s too hot, it’s too hot. Doing home visits means I spend way more time in my car, it means I can only see one dog/household at a time and it means I’m often having to fit 4-5 visits into a walking slot.

I’ve cancelled all my walks for the remainder of the week - I can’t start early as I also have cat visits and other jobs to do and by the time I can get out, it’s already too warm. I hate it and I’ve lost over £100 already but it is what it is. Luckily it’ll be back to normal next week!

I think this is more a "give and take" one where both sides need to respect one another. I'd expect them to;

• if they cancel either not charge or offer a walk in credit
• if they visit, spend the same amount of time with the dog as they would on a walk if they charge the same fee, and maybe do something weather appropriate (water play, frozen treats etc)

I'd expect you, as a loyal customer who likes their dog walker;

• to offer to pay anyway despite the heat/cancellation
• not to begrudge the downgrade in service because they're doing it for your dog

As an example, we still paid our cleaner but told her not to do a full clean, it's too hot, she still came but sorted some shelves instead. My business has a laundry service and I pay for fast turn around of sheets (b and b) and she is closing shop early each day so they'll be late - I'm not asking for a refund on the turnaround time, it's not fair to expect them to iron at 2pm in 38 degree heat. Similarly, I normally do kick boxing, the teacher is also trained in other stuff so she has said we will do pilates/yoga style instead of kick boxing to reduce the stress (no reduction in fee) or cancel for a class in lieue (not a refund but a freebie another time).

I reckon you should defo pay her. You won’t want your dog walked so effectively you’re cancelling at short notice. Shes offering to still come and entertain and let out your dog, presumably he’ll still need that so it’s a no brainer if it’s full fees for short notice cancelling?

Mine goes in the garden...like she does when she needs the loo and it's not walk time...

Would a portable aircon work for you? I'm a dog groomer in a converted garage and have been able to keep grooming with a portable unit that was just under £400. I hope next week goes ok, dog grooming is an exhausting job as it is without a double number of appointments!

I asked my dog walker what she wants to do, given that her T&C's say she won't walk above a certain temperature AND I don't want my dog out in this heat. She has options for the garden, cooling games/activities and offers home visits too (I guess we're slightly different in that we have a slot for a one dog walk, so she's not losing money/time on having to come to one home rather than walking several dogs at once).

The reason I love my walker is that she puts the dogs welfare first ALWAYS. And so, in return, I consider hers. I wouldn't want to walk in the middle of the day today, why would I be grumpy that she doesn't either?

I think some people forget that you're also people. You provide services that make dog owners lives much easier, and I pay for that, time with my dog when I'm (usually) in the office, not for the one specific activity.

I would say a good reliable dog walker is worth paying in circumstances like this.
Ours is brilliant. £12 a walk and always out for an hour plus. We just annualised the amount and pay by monthly direct debit. If we are on hols, or if she is, she tries to make up the walks.

No I wouldn’t expect a reduction in fees because visiting dogs one to one is more time consuming than a group walk. If your dog is walked 1:1 for an hour usually and a visit is only 15 minutes then maybe I would expect a reduction as a 1:1 walk is much more expensive than a group.

If she is still providing some form of service then you should surely pay - best check the terms of your contract though.

My dog walker is just doing visits. I’m completely on board with that and will be paying the usual rate. I wouldn’t want my dog walked in such high temperatures. My teenager took him out for a good walk at 5.30, the dog walker will come during the day and spend half an hour with him in the garden, having a fuss. Were still getting the dog walker’s time and that should be paid for.

Presumably you've budgeted to spend the original amount of money? So why do you feel you should benefit from the weather (which is out of anyone's control) by saving some, while she loses out? It's not like you're paying for a quantity of items and being provided with fewer, you're paying for an ongoing service for your dog's wellbeing.

f you think she's providing a good ongoing service and you want to keep her as your dog walker, I would pay the full amount.

No of course not. They are still giving their time (and coming out in extreme heat to do so).

We've had so many of them over the years and they just never seem to manage when the temperatures get too high for some reason! I paid almost £400 for one last year and it's like a fart in the desert 🤣 I went in on Monday and by lunchtime it was already 30 degrees, despite having the air con unit and two fans on. We need to invest in a proper unit really, but i'm looking to get out of grooming, so ideally don't want to spend thousands on that and then leave. We are literally in the hottest part of the country though, so maybe that's why the portable units don't work. Thank you for the suggestion though 😊 I'm already dreading next week, i'm looking to leave because my body feels broken, so I think after next week i'll be a mess, it'll be like Christmas week in the summer 🤣