Don’t hire a dog walker before reading this

By Dan Shemetoff

This is the age of dog walkers. Finding someone to give your dog a trot when you can’t is as easy as doing a quick web search or flipping through an app. Or is it?

Anyone can call themselves a dog walker, but let’s be real– not all dog walkers are created equal. Some of them technically walk (and walk while holding the leash of a dog), but that does not a dog walker make. Social media and the news is filled with stories of “dog walkers” losing dogs, stealing dogs, or even inadvertently killing due to mistakes and negligence. As a former lost pet specialist myself, I can tell you that a large majority of lost dogs are a result of pet sitters or dog walkers. It doesn’t have to happen to you if you do your homework.

The dog walker in NYC you want is someone who is professional, skilled, trained, insured, and is just as good with people as they are with dogs. But how you get them? Well, you could drag potential candidates into a dark alley and threaten them with their lives if anything happens to your pupples, or you can come up with a good screening process. And by “good”, I mean, “somewhere between an SVU interrogation room and Fortune 500 conference room.” And it all starts with the questions.

1. How long have you been walking dogs?
2. What brought you to the job?
3. What keeps you here?
4. What’s your experience with [insert any special needs here, like “reactive dogs”, “senior dogs”, etc]?
5. How do you deal with a loose dog approaching you during a client walk?
6. What’s your method/style of walking and dog handling?
7. Do you do pack walks? How many dogs do you walk at once?
8. What steps do you take to prevent my dog from getting lost?
9. What’s your emergency plan if my dog gets accidentally loose, lost, or hurt while on a walk with you?
10. What backup method/system do you use? Carabiner? Coupler? Double leash?
11. Are you licensed, bonded, and insured?
12. Can you provide me with references?
13. What’s been the scariest experience you’ve ever had while dog walking? How did you handle it?
14. What’s your plan if you become ill or otherwise unable to walk my dog?

Okay, so that should be enough to start your inquisition–I mean, interview. Did I leave any good questions off? What are your must-asks? Comment below!