Choose a dog walker by asking how your dog's actual walk will work, not just whether a time slot is available. Meet the person who will handle the dog, agree on routes, groups, transport and communication, and review a first outing before making a long commitment. This is a selection guide, not a local directory.
Describe the gap you need help with
Write a short brief: when help is needed, where collection happens, what the dog enjoys and what currently makes a walk difficult. Distinguish a toilet visit from an exercise outing and a walk from training. A provider cannot give a useful answer to a request that changes between those services.
Include practical constraints such as a lift, stairs, a door that needs careful closing or a dog who needs space from others. Avoid promising that your dog will adapt to a large group simply because the group price is lower. Ask whether the proposed service can meet the brief as it stands.
Meet the actual handler and ask for evidence
Dogs Trust recommends checking a walker's training, insurance, references and relevant local requirements. Dogs Trust: finding a dog walker Ask who covers absences, whether substitute handlers meet the dog first and how you are told about changes. A company profile may not describe the person arriving at your door.
Review documents yourself and contact a reference through an agreed channel. Do not treat a platform badge, social-media following or confident description as a substitute for answers. Requirements differ by location, so verify current rules with the relevant authority rather than assuming one country's guidance is universal law.
Compare what happens before the walking starts
The same advertised duration can describe quite different days. Ask where each part of the dog's time occurs.
| Service format | Question before booking | Owner decision |
|---|---|---|
| Solo walk from home | Who handles the dog throughout? | Whether individual pace is available |
| Group walk | How are dogs introduced and grouped? | Whether this group suits the dog |
| Drive to a walking area | How long is pickup and travel? | Whether transport is acceptable |
| Short home visit | What activities are actually included? | Whether this meets the care gap |
Make permissions specific and limited
The joint professional dog-walking guidance calls for owner permission for off-lead walking and for food offered during walks. RSPCA and partners: professional dog walking guidance Write down what is permitted; silence should not become agreement to a new route, food, attachment or training method.
Supply familiar equipment and demonstrate how it fits. If the walker uses rewards, identify the allowed food and amount. A plain-chicken reference can accompany that choice, but the dog's own feeding instructions remain primary. State how unused food and packaging should return, so several caregivers do not unintentionally add separate portions.
Walk through collection, trouble and return
Practise the door sequence with the dog present and enough time to repeat it. Agree how keys or access codes are handled without including them in a publicly shared note. The home-sitter safety handover can help with the household access portion, but the walking agreement should remain short enough to use.
Specify whom to call if a dog is missing, ill or injured, where veterinary help can be sought and what authority the walker has if you cannot be reached. Ask how incidents and changes are recorded. Also agree what happens after an early return, missed collection or weather cancellation; an empty slot in a calendar does not care for the dog.
Review a trial using concrete observations
For the first outing, arrange a way to observe the initial handover and discuss the return. Ask for the route, actual group, transport time and anything that changed. Compare the account with the plan, including whether the handler can describe your dog's needs rather than only report that the walk was completed.
Revisit the arrangement when your schedule or dog's needs change. Walking two dogs together explains why group size is not the only compatibility question. If a provider proposes machine-based exercise instead, use the mobile-service questions. The care planner supplies preparation prompts; keep contracts and personal contact details separately.
Frequently asked questions
Is a group walk automatically better social time?
No. Ask how this specific group is formed and whether your dog is comfortable in it. A solo walk can be the appropriate service even when the dog enjoys some other dogs.
Should a walker also change my dog's behaviour?
Only if that is an explicitly agreed service within the person's relevant qualifications. Do not let an exercise booking become unapproved behaviour modification or unfamiliar handling.