the Cost of Dog Walking

When doggie day care services did not meet our expectations we hired a dog walker to come to our home. The dog walker charged $30 a session and required a minumum commitment of three sessions a week. The one hour session consists of 45 minutes of activity tailored to the need of the dog and 15 minutes of feeding and watering, clean-up, etc. Our dog is older and is fed outside the session hour so she just requires a 20 to 30 minute walk, fresh water, and some companionship for the rest of the hour. The walker leaves a daily check-list of what they did during the session and brings her own organic treats for our dog. The walker works out of an agency and the agency is insured and bonded. Prior to the first session the walker assigned to us came to our home to meet us, Krissy, pick-up the keys, get familar with our house and yard, and go over a plan for the sessions.

At first I was not too thrilled with the idea of an agency having the keys to our house and it was more expensive service than the day care option but this has been a great experience, we should have done it sooner. I had been concerned about the back yard gate being left open, my house unlocked, someone forgetting to come, etc. but after a month absolutely nothing has gone wrong. Krissy usually has the same walker everyday and they have their little routine which in Krissy's case is a 15 minute walk around the block, 15 minutes of easy play in her back yard, and then 15 minutes of hip and back massage. And treats, plenty of treats. There are always comments on the daily checklist and when Krissy had loose stools the walker called and left a message just in case I didn't read the comments.

We contacted this agency after noticing one of their walkers taking dogs around our neighborhood during school vacation week. If you have some time home during the week I would watch and see who walks by and how they handle the dog, whether they drag it along or seem engaged in the walk, etc.