Pass on national dog walking apps
By Dan Shemetoff
You’re in a lurch. Your boss just told you that report actually needs to be done before you leave today; not tomorrow. You take a quick glance at the clock. It’s already 4:00, and there’s at least 3 hours of work ahead of you before that report is done. And all you can think of is your poor dog, starving and crossing his legs. It’s tempting to grab your phone, click on an app, and have a dog walker dispatched to your home within minutes. It seems like an easy, fast solution to a real problem. But stop for a second to consider: what if it causes more problems?
Today’s world is filled with apps that do all sorts of things for us, and for the most part, they are super helpful and make our lives so much easier. But there are some apps that don’t. And even worse–there are some that can be downright dangerous. I believe dog-walking apps fit into that category, and here’s why.
No real relationship
Typically, you don’t get to meet or establish a relationship with your walker ahead of time. Some apps offer a meet and greet option, but most bookings happen without having done one, which means you have no real idea who is coming into your house and taking care of your best friend. This alone is enough for me to never use the app. Instead, I ask for personal recommendations from friends who have dogs, and from my dog walker friends. We then meet with them in our home and screen them multiple times. We give them a chance to see our home and our animals in person, and for our animals to meet them. We get to see in person how they communicate and what their personalities are like.
Training questions
Another issue with dog-walking apps is that you don’t know how much–if any–training your walker has. This is a serious concern for me. As a former lost pet specialist who has consulted for various dog care companies, I can tell you that there is very little to no training these massive companies offer their caregivers. This leads to lost dogs, injured dogs, and even deceased dogs. The apps make it seem like–by virtue of the walkers just being on the app–the walkers have gone through major skills-building and have demonstrated competency in dog-handling, dog psychology, safety, and other areas. And while some may have this experience, most of these apps are not transparent about what they do or do not provide to or require of their walkers. Instead, I like to first find out from whomever recommends a potential dog walker what they know about them. Then we talk to our candidates in person to discuss their history and experience. We ask them to tell us about their strengths as a walker and we tell them about our dogs quirks. We also have them multiple times to do real-time orientations and trainings. We take them on walks with our dogs so they can see what they are like, and see if they feel they are a fit.
Safety concerns
We also spend a lot of time talking about safety and how to prevent and respond to lost pets. In general, one of the most common times for a pet to get lost is when they are being watched or cared for by someone who is not the owner. This is true of national companies, local companies, and family and friends. The dog is just naturally out of sorts, and the caregiver isn’t as used to the everyday routine as you are. This alone creates a greater risk. But then if the caregiver doesn’t use your prevention methods–or any at all–the risk goes even higher. All you have to do is a web search for “dog walking app lost dog” to see the stories. And those are just the ones that made it into the news. There are so many more. Instead, we talk frankly with our potential dog walker. We ask them what their experience is with lost dogs. We ask them what they already do to prevent loss, and we show them how we use our tools. We also discuss and provide in note format what to do if our dogs do get lost. Open and immediate communication is vital in the recovery of a lost dog, and many national dog-walking companies are too concerned with their image and reputation to be properly communicative. Instead of focusing on training their walkers to prevent it in the first place, they are more willing to pony up money for recovery efforts because that shows better in the news.
Special needs may be an issue
Not all dogs are plug and play. We love them, but let’s be honest–a lot of our best buds have varying degrees of quirks, idiosyncrasies, and special needs that require a caretaker that understands them and knows how to best serve them. I mean, if you need someone who knows how to handle a dog who is reactive outside on leash but wants to hug you when you’re inside on the couch…or you need someone who knows what to do when your dog pancakes on the sidewalk out of fear, how are you going to find that person on an app? Instead, when I’m looking for a new pet sitter or dog walker, I include any special needs in the original call/search. Then, when my friends and associates provide recommendations, they are already done with that in mind. To follow up on that, we are very honest during our in-person meetings. We talk about the 5 million meds our heart patient is on, we discuss how one of them growls but never bites if the other dogs get too close to her couch cushion, and all the crazy neuroses we deal with (or maybe cause? haha). And of course, we provide all of our caretakers with our “dog sitting document”, which is up to about 8 pages now. We pay very well, so we don’t feel badly, but we could never expect that level of care from an app-based sitter because there are too many unknowns and not enough opportunity to suss them out.
The walker’s not fully on the hook
In the end, full responsibility and liability falls into a grey area when you use an app-based provider. The walkers aren’t employees, so they aren’t beholden very much to the company. The relationship between the company and provider is almost entirely virtual, so there’s no actual foundation or working relationship. If something goes wrong, the walker can blame the company and wash their hands of the situation by going offline. And since app-based companies consider the walkers independent contractors, they also aren’t liable for what they do. When the dog poo hits the fan, suddenly no one owns the service being provided. It’s a very grave situation for a dog and his guardian to be in. Instead, independent dog walkers who own their own businesses rely on providing excellent service and stepping up to the plate if something goes wrong. They cannot afford to shirk their duties if the unforeseen happens because their livelihood depends upon it. Not only that, but they usually have long-term, repeat clients who have become friends they actually care about on a personal level. The dog walkers and pet sitters we hire truly care and are invested in everything that happens.
Like everything in life, this isn’t black and white. You can definitely luck out. It is possible to find a great provider on an app, but the chances are not as great as if you went the other route. It takes a little longer to find a pet care provider my way, but I think it’s totally worth it. So what do you think? Have you used an app-based provider? What was your experience?
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