Professional Dog Walker: Weekends?

[Anonymous]

I don’t want to use Rover, I want a professional dog walker but I need them for weekends. All I can find are companies that offer weekdays.

Anyone know of any companies, especially ones that really exercise the dogs like going for hikes, that provide weekend walks?

[Anonymous]

You need to find someone off Rover and then hire them outside of that app.

[Anonymous]

I hired off Rover and it was fine. I found two people who work at a well known dog daycare/boarding facility in my area.

Also, I worked as a dog walker in college for a very expensive professional service in NYC. My regulars were rich as hell. And my only qualifications were that I had free time. This post made me wonder if they thought they were getting someone with actual training or certifications. They hired through the owner and never met me.

[Anonymous]

Hi this is OP. Interesting re: working for a professional service and having no training!

My dog can be stubborn and he has sometimes just sat and refused to walk for people off Rover. You have to be an experienced walker to know how to get him going. He can smell someone who is too meek to control him from a mile away and will take advantage.

My 10 year old nephew walks him with no problem, because the dog knows the kid is confident. It’s not like he is a bad dog but he will take advantage.

Also I would love someone who could take him out in the woods and really give him exercise, not just a walk around the block. He needs to burn off the excess energy.

My wife and I are both runners and he gets tons of exercise. But we have weekend plans and he is going to need a chance to get the zoomies out. The family member who is watching him won’t do it, so we promised to find someone to run or hike him.

[Anonymous]

Where are you? KSR Petcare in Northern VA is fantastic and they do have weekend availability -- but it might only be for established clients. They are great, 10/10. But they are on the pricey side. I'd contact them if you are in their service area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi this is OP. Interesting re: working for a professional service and having no training!

My dog can be stubborn and he has sometimes just sat and refused to walk for people off Rover. You have to be an experienced walker to know how to get him going. He can smell someone who is too meek to control him from a mile away and will take advantage.

My 10 year old nephew walks him with no problem, because the dog knows the kid is confident. It’s not like he is a bad dog but he will take advantage.

Also I would love someone who could take him out in the woods and really give him exercise, not just a walk around the block. He needs to burn off the excess energy.

My wife and I are both runners and he gets tons of exercise. But we have weekend plans and he is going to need a chance to get the zoomies out. The family member who is watching him won’t do it, so we promised to find someone to run or hike him.

How much are you willing to pay? Are you in the DC area? Patrick's pet care in Dc does enrichment walks but expensive. https://patrickspetcare.com/

Also check out Your dog's friend https://yourdogsfriend.org/ for resources under dog walking/exercise

[Anonymous]

You should hire them for at least two walks when you are present to teach them all the tricks to getting your dog moving. Then you can judge if they’re a good fit. If your young nephew can learn, so can anyone at a service or from Rover.

[Anonymous]

Where are you looking, OP? I have a couple options, but they only do specific neighborhoods/zip codes to save on travel costs, so likely not useful.

[Anonymous]

One of my bffs is a dog walker and only does 2x weekday walks. Weekends are for her family.

[Anonymous]

Walk in the Park is who we use.

[Anonymous]

We use Walk in the park also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to use Rover, I want a professional dog walker but I need them for weekends. All I can find are companies that offer weekdays.

Anyone know of any companies, especially ones that really exercise the dogs like going for hikes, that provide weekend walks?

Unless you or your partner have jobs that require you to work on a weekend, why do you even have a dog? You seem to be passing off the responsibility to others.

[Anonymous]

New to pets, what is downside of Rover other than costs extra that goes to company v the dog walker/sitter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t want to use Rover, I want a professional dog walker but I need them for weekends. All I can find are companies that offer weekdays.

Anyone know of any companies, especially ones that really exercise the dogs like going for hikes, that provide weekend walks?

Unless you or your partner have jobs that require you to work on a weekend, why do you even have a dog? You seem to be passing off the responsibility to others.

+1
And as a “professional dog walker” myself I can’t believe the expectations of some owners regarding their dogs. No I cannot train your dog when I see them for 30 minutes a day at most.
If you have a high energy dog that needs rigorous exercise but you don’t have the capacity to provide it even on the weekends, why did you decide to get that particular dog?
Dog ownership has become something entirely different than it used to be and I say that having been in this field for 10 years.
People putting dogs in strollers, backpacks, calling themselves moms and dads, putting dogs on anti-depressants, it’s just truly insane and I feel bad for these animals. Because they’re ANIMALS. Not animatronic stuffed dolls.
Sorry, rant over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to pets, what is downside of Rover other than costs extra that goes to company v the dog walker/sitter?

I prefer an established business that is bonded. I trust the owner of my dog walk company, and they have backup walkers who have met my dogs should the regular walker not be able to make it. I don't trust Rover because I just don't trust a random person to show up and care for my dogs adequately -- I've heard too many horror stories. In this gig economy you have all kinds of folks who have no experience with dogs and who aren't the most reliable people in general putting up profiles on Rover. If I had a Rover sitter/walker recommended to me by someone I know, that would be different. I don't have a problem with Rover, per se, I am just cautious about walkers I don't know with no overarching safeguards/training/accountability in place. And my pet care company has sophisticated software that allows me to schedule, get walk reports, and communicate with my walkers and the office staff easily via app or website. I pay for all of that -- our walks are a bit more expensive than the average Rover walker charges, and our overnight dog sitting is way more expensive -- but it is worth it to me.