Here at Mutty Professor, we are passionate about providing top-notch pet care and enjoy working alongside others who share our dedication. Anyone can set up as a dog walker, and I (Roz) did over seven years ago with no qualifications and very basic experience. I made quite a few mistakes along the way. Thankfully, nothing drastic happened, but I quickly realised that there was an awful lot to learn about dog behaviour and keeping them safe and trouble-free. Hence, my journey to where I am now began with intensive studying. I didn’t start off with the intention of becoming a dog trainer; it just ended up heading in that direction, and I became somewhat obsessed with dog behaviour.
This industry is completely unregulated, and I firmly believe it is in dire need of regulation. While we wait for this to happen, you can help regulate it by knowing what to look out for in a pet care service.
Group sizes and dynamics
When evaluating a pet care service, focus on the quality of the group rather than the quantity.
Numbers of dogs
- Poo picking: Groups of dogs sometimes simultaneously poo, and some dogs go off to poo in private. The more dogs you walk, the harder it is to find every poo in these situations. We adopt the karma approach: miss one, pick up the next one you see—even if it’s cold.
- Different personalities: The more dogs that walk together, the greater the chance of a clash in personality. This doesn’t have to be outright aggression; even different play styles can cause fear-related behaviours in some dogs and bully-like behaviours in others.
- What if something goes wrong? What if a dog bolts, there’s a fight, or a dog gets injured? How effectively can a pet carer cope if there are multiple dogs involved?
- More dogs to control: Recalling and keeping 4-5 dogs (our ideal group number) under control is hard work enough. Can a pet carer keep larger groups under tight control?
- Transport: How are these large groups of dogs transported to their exercise location? Dogs that do not live together should absolutely not share crates in vans. We ensure dogs are transported comfortably and safely to their location.
Insurance
Check that your pet carer is insured. We have a policy with Pet Business Insurance that covers all our walkers. The main insurers for this industry only cover up to six dogs per person. Consider whether your pet carer may be operating without insurance due to breaking their terms.
Attitude and vigilance
Assess your pet carer’s attitude to their job. Are they vigilant and responsible? Join them for a walk to see things firsthand.
Red flags
- Allowing dogs to rush around car parks off-lead
- Allowing dogs to approach and harass on-lead reactive dogs
- Using phrases like “They can sort it out amongst themselves” or “That’s how dogs play” (as another dog pins one down)
Handling injuries
Injuries can happen, but they should be rare. Pet carers should be able to explain with detail what happened. If a pet carer can’t tell you which dog caused a bite injury to yours, something is very wrong.
Continued professional development
Ask your pet carer about their recent CPD (continued professional development) and whether they have up-to-date first aid training. A passionate pet carer should always be learning and fine-tuning their skills.
Training methods
Your carer should use kind, positive reinforcement-based, and force-free training methods. They should set dogs up to succeed by managing them to prevent undesired behaviours and deal with problems calmly and gently. If your carer justifies behaviour using dominance or pecking order, it may be worth using someone who is more up-to-date in their practice.
Puppies
Puppies are easily overstimulated and need loads of rest—18-20 hours a day ideally. Due to this, we do not group walk dogs less than six months old and are always ready to switch youngsters to solo walks as needed. Adolescents can bully younger dogs, so all dogs under two years of age require constant monitoring to ensure no one is being a bully or being bullied.
Socialisation
Socialisation is about quality, not quantity. It is not a race, and things can go very wrong if pups are immersed in overwhelming situations. It is easier to instil fear than it is to teach a dog not to be fearful.
Knowing when to say no
Pet carers should recognise when a dog is unsuitable for social situations and either accommodate appropriate care or refer to someone who can. A good pet carer will have the confidence to say ‘no’ when necessary, showing they genuinely have your dog’s care in mind.
Service details
Questions to ask
- How long are the dogs in the car for?
- How long are they walked for?
- Are they walked in small, busy public parks? If so, how big are the groups?
Evaluating the service
Don’t be afraid to ask your chosen pet carer lots of questions about their practice. If you’re not sure about something, don’t feel bound to use that service. We do intro walks with clients for group walks so we can see how their dog behaves in that context.
Continuous improvement
No business or person is perfect. We have evolved and tweaked our service over the years to make it the best it can be. We are forever reviewing practice and protocol, and we admit that we make mistakes and are not perfect. However, incidents should be uncommon and handled efficiently. It’s important to admit mistakes and consider what could be done differently as part of the learning process.
Conclusion
We are very lucky in this country to be able to walk small groups of dogs in public green spaces. With the huge increase in professional dog walkers, there is a big risk for this privilege to be lost. Professionals have a duty to practise their profession sensibly and fairly.
Biggups to all other companies who fulfil the above criteria and work hard to keep standards high!
