My Neighbor’s Kid Can Walk My Dog…
A young person runs down a suburban road with a leashed dog. The leash is dangerously wrapped many times around the child's arm.
Reasons to hire a professional dog walker over the neighbor’s kid:
1, We pay a lot of attention to your dogs.
We noticed some abnormalities in one of her dog’s poop, and they were actually able to diagnose this dog with a rare disorder. This dog was always getting a little bit sick for seemingly no reason, and after we started walking their dogs, the vet was able to figure out a pattern based on my poop reports.
We are really interested in dogs, and we have a lot more education than the average person. Having a professional dog walker as part of your dog’s care team could make a big impact on their health.
2. Leash Safety
There are many dangerous ways to hold a leash. Who knew (well, we did)?
Lots and lots and lots and lots of regular dog lovers hold the leash in ways that can ~break their hand~ if a dog suddenly decides to lunge after a squirrel (or another dog or something else enticing). Will your neighbor sue you for their child’s medical bills? Are you insured for that?
True professionals know how to set protect themselves from serious injury, and will be insured in case our safety measures do fail.
3. Neighborhood harmony
We know we need to bring poop bags. We're not making your neighbors angry because we left your dog’s poop in their yard. We even pick up other poops we happen to find along the way (especially for our apartment-dwelling clients), hoping to make sure that your neighbors never give you the side-eye when they see your dog struttin’ down the street.
Can you really trust the neighborhood dog-lover to pick up the poop and keep the peace?
4. Loose Dogs
We know that not every dog is friendly. We know that loose dogs are a danger to the dog we are walking on a leash. We know that not every dog we see is a sweet angel-baby. We know just how much damage can be done if a loose dog is allowed to interact with the dogs in our care, and we have the skills to prevent many disasters.
Does your neighbor’s kid know that not all dogs will interact well together? Will your neighbor’s kid be able to keep everyone safe?
We take preventative measures, and we can see problems much earlier than the average dog lover because of our experience and education. If you want the safest experience for your dog and your neighborhood, you want to pick an insured professional.
5. Keeping a Level Head
There are lots of dogs that walk really nicely for their owners, but not so nicely for anyone else. So you want someone that knows this will be a possibility. Additionally, you’ll want your dog walker to be able implement some on-the-fly management and/or training. And that training should really align with your views on how your dog should be treated.
We don't use violence or coercion or threats to gain cooperation. Are you sure the kid next door can keep his cool when the dog doesn’t listen?
6.) Insurance
If your dog gets hurt, if your dog hurts someone, or if property is damaged, a professional will have insurance to cover these unlikely (but possible) events.
When the neighbor kid cares for your pet, who’s responsible when things go wrong?