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 would ask them to do the home visit and pay them as normal. If they're reliable and good at their job, I wouldn't want to lose them.

My dog walker has started walks at 5am this week with all finished by 8. Mine went out 7am-8am today. I do feel for her as it’s an early start.

I would pay for a home visit but I would expect them to offer an early walk.

Your post isn't clear, but if you value your dog walker, pay her fairly. This is her career, and like it is for you, walking your dog is at times weather dependent.

Mine is worth her weight in gold and I don't mess her about, because vice versa, and I would hate to lose her.

They're really stuffed in hot weather because they've got a limited amount of time ie 6-9am to fit in a whole days work, so clients have to be flexible and accept changes.

If she's still coming, you should pay normal price. Not anyones fault the heat plus it stops ill feeling. You want to save literally a few pounds over a good, trusting relationship with someone you let into your house and obviously cares for your dog? Not worth it!

Presumably she provides this service so you can work. If she is still enabling you to go to work by visiting the house then she should be paid.

We have a dog walker twice a week and if the temp goes up to 26c she offers home visits rather than a walk.

So you knew when you signed up that you would get home visits at >26c?

In that case, you would be very unreasonable not to pay her.

She can't control the weather!

If you no longer want to continue the arrangement then give her notice. 4 weeks would be fair, if there is nothing in the contract.

Ultimately it depends on the T&Cs within your contract, but it also depends on how much you value your dog walker.

Would you feel it was fair if you didn't get paid when you couldn't work due to issues out with your control?

Your dog walker will be losing a lot of money at the moment and will be feeling the pain of the hot weather far more than you.

If everyone cancels or pays a significantly reduced fee, I suspect she won't be in business much longer.

Absolutely this. I would be very shocked to see a dog walker out doing a group walk in the middle of the day in temperatures like this! Owners who employ a dog walker could always set their alarms for 5 am & go for a walk then so they know their dog has had exercise for the day and then the dog walker can just pop in for 30/60 mins etc and let dog out to the loo, play in paddling pool etc.

You should pay the same for the home visit.

Pay your dog walker the usual rate. By not taking your dog out they are actually looking after them and not taking risks with their health.

OK ok.

Having thought it through, yes it's fair to pay her if she spends the time with our boys.
I guess I'm just irked as her T and C's have just changed to include the 50% charge if we cancel. As we work in schools as freelancers, (yes, I'm losing tons of money this week as I have to offer refunds as the schools are closed) it now means we have to pay 50% all through the school holidays, whereas before she was happy to just charge on a pay as you go basis.

I think it's maybe that addition that's irking me.
What to other dog walkers do if you don't need their services for a while?

Find a different dog walker?

Our dog walker works on a pay as you go basis. Generally we only have one walk a week but if we don't want it we don't pay, and we wouldn't get charged for cancellation due to heat as we have no need for a pop in visit. I work freelance too, so it was important for me to have flexibility, I wouldn't have gone with a dog walker where we had to tie ourselves in to a walk on a certain day of the week every week.

If you want them to keep the spot open for you you pay them to keep the spot whether you use them or not

I think if she’s visiting letting the dog out and spending time with it pay full fee, if she’s just letting it out I’d say half. But it might help to know our nursery isn’t waiving any fees and they are fully closed! If it became a regular occurrence they’d have to put in place a proper policy that considers the impact on all concerned (customers, dog walkers and nurseries)

As long as I know in advance that your dog will be off during all the school holidays, I won't charge as I can fill your spot with ad-hoc dogs, pet-sits and small animal visits.

However I can afford to take the hit as our household isn't reliant on my full income to pay the bills. Other people can't and amend their T&C's accordingly.

My dog walker knocked £1.50 off the usual price to let my dog out for a wee and spend time with him rather than walk him.

I was expecting to pay the same tbh.

Hey. More dog walkers are moving to this model now because it gives us a more reliable income. If we keep a regular space available for a client who then doesn’t need us for a prolonged period, we’re effectively unable to offer that place to another dog and can end up losing income as a result.
The retainer is usually there to guarantee that your space will still be available when you need it again, a bit like how a childminder charges to keep a place open.
That said, it’s understandable to feel frustrated if you’re paying when you’re not using the service. Does she offer the option of switching to an ad hoc arrangement instead? That would mean you only pay when you book, but the trade-off is that there’s no guarantee your usual slot will still be available, as it may have been filled by another dog in the meantime.

In my opinion a walker is not only a walker- she is doing a wellbeing care call - usually a walk, as a walk is what is best and preferred.

In the event it is too dangerous for a walk (heatwave or lightening are two things that come to mind) then the dog atill gets attention/interaction/stimulus for that time or at least a portion of that time.

Both are payable according to the time spent.

It's like the difference between a childminder and a babysitter. If you want a guarantee that they will have availability when you want it you might have to pay a retainer when you don't as they have no guarantee of being able to fill ad-hoc spaces that become free. Whereas a babysitter you go with their availability.

Perhaps she is shifting from it being a side income to a main income and needs the reliability. Either way she did what was needed to make sure your dog was safe and cared for so you could work which is what you wanted her to do so she should be paid.

Yeah I get it.
it just sucks that I loose money/ can’t work because of the heat but still have to pay 50% of dog walker cos I don’t need her.
maybe I should change my terms and conditions!
my next MN thread will be “should you pay for music lessons if the school closes due to hot weather?”

I might look around for a new dog walker I think.

This

"This" my a@se.

A dog walker charges £30 an hour, if you have that kind of money to throw away fair enough, but for us mortals it's a fair chunk of a wage.
It's not a blooming fiver this is about.

You should still be charging parents, though - it's not your fault the school is closed.