5 Reasons to call in a Professional Dog Walker
“Why have a dog if you can’t walk it yourself?” – if I had a pound for every time I’ve heard that being chuntered while I’ve been out working and minding my own business…
There are many reasons to call in a professional dog walker. I’ve had lots of clients who have booked my services, who never thought they’d ever need any help with their dog.
Life can get really busy. Life can be really challenging at times too. I once had a client who booked me to walk her lovely Labrador, so she could spend maximum time at the hospice with her husband during his final weeks. She told me that during that awful time, knowing the dog was getting his walks and being cared for, meant one less thing to have to have to worry about…
I’m going to run through 5 reasons to call in a professional dog walker and touch on briefly, why sometimes though, they are not the right pet professional to contact.
Call in a professional dog walker when you dog is home alone
Work commitments and the like, can mean long days out of the house. Most dogs need access to outdoors to toilet, along with some stimulation and company in order to prevent stress and boredom and the related, unwanted behaviours that may come along with not meeting your dog’s needs. You know your dog best, a dog walk over the middle of the day might be enough to break the time up, though for younger dogs or puppies, two shorter visits or walks might work better. Discuss and agree with your dog walker a suitable timeframe for them to come along for your dog while you are out.
TOP TIP if you’ve got early starts or hectic mornings with the school run or daily commute – take the pressure off by booking a dog walker to do the dog walking for you. While most professional dog walkers offer services over lunchtime, some run ‘Breakfast Club’ outings and start early!
Call in a professional dog walker when you are injured or unwell
If you have suffered an injury, had surgery or you’re unwell, consider calling in a professional dog walker to pick up the dog walking for you. It will not only ease any guilt around not being able to get out with your dog (and you don’t need to feel any worse when you’re already under the weather), it’ll give you the chance to rest, recuperate and probably recover quicker and it’ll also take away the risk of any set back or further injury on slippy ground or with a pully dog.
TOP TIP upping the enrichment activities and brain games you provide your dog will help tire them out mentally without anyone leaving the house.
Call in a professional dog walker when you need a break
It’s not something every dog owner will understand, but if you have a dog that is fearful, reactive, becomes over stimulated or over excited and difficult to manage – walks can be stressful, physical, embarrassing and altogether draining at times. I’m a big fan of rest days for our dogs, but for owners working hard to walk their tricky dogs in a responsible and an appropriate way, they can be a massive help for them too. An experienced dog walker, who will be able to manage triggers and exercise them safely, can provide owners with some well-deserved respite.
If you are struggling to keep your dog safe and under control, your dog is stressed or anxious or you are worried about their behaviour and your safety or the safety of others, your first call should be to a qualified positive reinforcement canine behaviourist. They will be able to give you the knowledge to understand why your dog is doing what they are doing and put a plan in place to help you both. A dog walker isn’t going to be able to change the situation around for you on their own. If your dog walker is doing one thing with the dog, while you continue to do what you’ve always been doing – you’re not going to get the results. As an owner you will spend more time with your dog than your dog walker (even if they are coming every day), so you will have far more influence over your dog’s behaviour.
Call in a professional dog walker when your dog has no mates
Seriously though, expanding your dog’s social circle, whether that be people or other dogs, can be great for building your dog’s confidence. Sending them out with someone they can trust, to have a lovely, positive time can be a really useful thing to do. With puppies, that positive time with someone outside the family unit can help owners to raise an optimistic, confident dog. An active social life has also been linked to increased life longevity and for older dogs, a steady social life has been shown to help slow cognitive decline.
Call in a professional dog walker when there aren’t enough hours in the day
Particularly as the nights draw in and the days get shorter, it can feel like there isn’t enough time to fit everything in. Or you can be limited to on lead walks, relying on a head torch, flashing collars, hi viz gear and praying that you don’t get run over! A professional dog walker can take your dog out, during day light hours and give them the chance to have a nice long sniffy walk, a run with some other dogs, brush up on some training or play some games, whatever best suits your dog’s needs. And they should bring them back home ready for a snooze and to settle in their bed.
Dog walking services from Good Karma Canines are available from Easingwold to Sheriff Hutton to Wigginton (including the surrounding villages – Huby, Crayke, Brandsby, Stillington, Whenby, Sutton on the Forest, Farlington etc). You can read more about our solo dog walks, puppy walks and small group walks HERE.
Qualified Canine Behaviourists in North Yorkshire I would recommend – all have either Masters or Bachelor degrees (in the related area) along with a wealth of experience –
Kate Robinson https://clickingwithcanines.co.uk/
Kim Grundy https://www.poochesgalore.co.uk/
Katie Bell https://www.katsdogstraining.co.uk/