Dog walkers

Cinnamontoast

Cinnamontoast

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The OH's working hours are going to change from October. His commute will be much further. The dogs will be left 7-5/6 daily when I'm working. This has never happened before. We're going to need a dog walker and next door neighbour will have them at hers for parts of the day.

I know it's how long is a piece of string, but can anyone give me a ballpark figure for prices and will a dog walker be happy to do different days each week? Also, I'm worried about Zak, obviously. He can't be loose around other dogs. Am I better off looking at them going to doggy daycare?
 
Personally I think doggy day care is the work of the devil.
Could you not invest in some decent kennels and leave them at home? It may be that walks outside of those hours are impossible and there do seem to be good walkers about, a friends daughter does it and she is very flexible.
 
I found it hard to find someone who would vary days. I'm not a million miles from you and paid £15 an hour for both of them I think. It was that sort of figure anyway
 
Clodagh said:
Personally I think doggy day care is the work of the devil.
Could you not invest in some decent kennels and leave them at home? It may be that walks outside of those hours are impossible and there do seem to be good walkers about, a friends daughter does it and she is very flexible.
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Day care for my greyhound is her ideal day. She gets a couple of short walks, plus a long one, chance to play in the garden with their own labs then she spends the rest of the time sleeping on a comfy bed while the husband works on his laptop and the wife does her other dog walks for her non day care dogs.

Our day care/walker is perfectly happy to do changing days, she walks for lots of burses/police officers and other shift workers.
 
If you go down the doggy day care route, please remember it is a licensable activity and ensure who you use is fully licensed and insured. Your local Council will give you a list of licensed premises.
 
I think dog walker would be best- I know all the doggy daycares round my area (staffs) have multiple dogs.
I have a dog walker for 2 dogs and I pay 7.50 for half hour or 15 for an hour. The previous dog walker let them off lead, new one will walk on lead as she prefers to- I don't mind as they get 2 off lead walks from us anyway but in time they will be off lead once she is confident with them (they are gun dog trained and as such recall etc for anyone using the right commands).
My walker is flexible for days as I do work shifts altho tend to let her know a month in advance which days unless an emergency pops up
 
my dog walkers are a husband and wife team and very flexible, they will even have him overnight if need be. Charge £12 for a walk, supposedly an hour but he's usually gone longer, or £25 day care. We tried doggy day care first, reputable company but dog refused to get in the van after 1st try. My boy's old now but if he was younger and more adaptable I'd teach him to kennel and I could afford 2 dogs :)
 
CrazyMare said:
Day care for my greyhound is her ideal day. She gets a couple of short walks, plus a long one, chance to play in the garden with their own labs then she spends the rest of the time sleeping on a comfy bed while the husband works on his laptop and the wife does her other dog walks for her non day care dogs.

Our day care/walker is perfectly happy to do changing days, she walks for lots of burses/police officers and other shift workers.
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Yours sounds good, the ones I have heard about seem to be a license to print money, 20+ dogs running amok in a securely fenced field, I would never put my dogs in one.
 
They're fine being in boarding kennels, but the one we use is half an hour away via the M25 and in the wrong direction for both our jobs, so not practical. I wouldn't want the old lad off lead, he's deaf. Youngsters are fine off lead in a field and with a tennis ball on which to focus. They live to retrieve. I'm thinking 20 minutes, given Zak's HD.

Do dog walkers usually come out with you to see how to recall/engage them?
 
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WorkingGSD said:
Would it be possible for kennel/run set up during the day, with your neighbour or a friend letting them out a couple of times a day?
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Don't know. They like their comforts, these boys! It's something to explore. The neighbour is becoming extremely frail and won't, I fear, be around for lots longer. :(
 
cinnamontoast said:
They're fine being in kennels, but the one we use is half an hour away via the M25 and in the wrong direction for both our jobs, so not practical. I wouldn't want the old lad off lead, he's deaf. Youngsters are fine off lead in a field and with a tennis ball on which to focus. They live to retrieve. I'm thinking 20 minutes, given Zak's HD.

Do dog walkers usually come out with you to see how to recall/engage them?
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I meant could you put secure kennels in your garden?
 
Clodagh said:
I meant could you put secure kennels in your garden?
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Yes, sorry, being thick. Whilst there's no access to the green except via the house, I know the OH (and me!) would be worried about them being outside/escaping. They were boudin is when younger. I'm pathetic, I realise!
 
MY big dog is kennelled during the day (at home ) as she is just too unreliable with other dogs.

Puppy goes to day care one day per week - that's enough as any more he'd become a hooligan I think. He goes to day care on the day we're working 7-6 and the day care lady also does home boarding so I like to know he's comfortable with her and her home. The other days he gets picked up by his walker at ~ 2pm and gets dropped off again at 3.30/4ish (I have a GPS tracker on him so I know what he does and when!). Both use a long line or lead as needed and will also let him off lead in secure areas. His recall is pretty good but he's 7 months old so who knows what his brain is doing at any given time.

Day care I pay £25/day including pick up/drop off so I can just leave in the morning. He gets picked up and then goes to pick up all the other dogs and they all go for a walk. Then some get taken home again and the day care dogs all go to her house for the rest of day until afternoons walks (where new ones get picked up again). She is super flexible on days unless fully booked as won't take more than 3 for day care, but can usually squeeze in a walk if needed.

Walking I pay £27/week for 3 walks and she is flexible on days within reason and with enough notice.
 
Houdini, not boudin! They are not sausage dogs!

I've suggested a run in the garden to the OH. He mentioned the neighbour, but there's no way she can be expected to live her life around the boys, she does still like to get out and about and she is very frail. We need a long term solution. Currently, she does 3 days a month for us.
 
I think if you had kennels/run they need to be super secure, against theft if nothing else. Proper metal runs with roofs and a good padlock would be needed. Like CC says, you can get them with sleeping areas too.
 
Clodagh said:
Yours sounds good, the ones I have heard about seem to be a license to print money, 20+ dogs running amok in a securely fenced field, I would never put my dogs in one.
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Thankfully they're not all like that. We have a maximum of four dogs. And like Crazymare's dog's day care, they have two good walks the opportunity for a play in the garden and importantly sleep time. There's no 'free for all', dogs are matched carefully and are supervised at all times.

I also do dog walking. I try to be as flexible as I can. But If you're a 'busy' walker (as I am) it can be hard to chop and change days.
 
Can you not ask friends and particularly dog walking acquaintances? I'm retired from paid work but if I lived near you I would happily take on walking your dogs, I would get insured and do it properly! I would enjoy the walking and the extra money and would be flexible!

I actually worked part time for a friend in her business for years, on an as and when she needed me basis, she only mentioned she needed someone in conversation. We are still friends!
 
wren123 said:
Can you not ask friends and particularly dog walking acquaintances? I'm retired from paid work but if I lived near you I would happily take on walking your dogs, I would get insured and do it properly! I would enjoy the walking and the extra money and would be flexible!

I actually worked part time for a friend in her business for years, on an as and when she needed me basis, she only mentioned she needed someone in conversation. We are still friends!
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I know two dog walkers. One has become a friend, she trained Zak, she's very gun dog focussed, but she's not near enough and I don't want to muddy the friendship waters. She does the kennels in garden with multiple dogs, which my lot would hate and Zak couldn't do. The other is also out of area. I need to get researching. There are loads out there, but I can't have them walked with others. Ideally, I want someone to come here to take them out.

I can't ask friends, they all work long hours too.
 
I would like to dog walk on an ad hoc basis, but not sure how to go about it. Do you need a special insurance or third party or what ? Also if only doing it on a casual basis it would probably be expensive
Dog walkers and sitters in my area are all extremely busy. Not sure about the multiple dog walkers, how much time are the dogs in the van being ferried about collecting and delivering ?
Any chance of a dog door being installed or have you got mahoosive dogs :D
 
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Clodagh said:
Personally I think doggy day care is the work of the devil.
Could you not invest in some decent kennels and leave them at home? It may be that walks outside of those hours are impossible and there do seem to be good walkers about, a friends daughter does it and she is very flexible.
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This!! Doggy daycare is ofetn a free for all leading to yobby, badly behaved dogs. The Gundog trainer I go to says they provide him with all his bread and butter work as he sorts out Labs and Spaniels that have been allowed to run riot!!!

A friend of mine does dog walking and charges £10 for 45-60 mins walk and takes into account dogs that don't get along with others etc...

I think the kennel idea is good - or if you are able to have your neighbour look after them that's great too, but I would seriously avoid daycare.
 
I agree with those who are not fans of doggy daycare, I have heard of far more bad ones than good I am afraid. I know of a couple of good dog walkers, who have trained dogs in various disciplines and seem to understand dog body language etc, but again it does seem to be something anyone can set up and do when their only real experience is that they have owned a dog. A dog walker local to me frequently posts pictures of dogs being walked on flexi leads attached to halti type headcollars ! I would definitely do thorough research before asking someone to walk my dogs.
 
I looked at multiple doggy daycares earlier this year-didst see one I would leave a dog with and none would take entire dogs older than 6 months anyway. There's one dog walker I would use round here-the others not and I had a bad experience with a dog walker years ago (and she now advertises herself as a dog trainer/behaviourist-I hope that was a good online course she enrolled with!). Dog walkers here are about £12-14 an hour per dog.

When facing a similar potential change in working hours a while ago, we were pricing up kennels and runs. We are very rural though, and I'd not be worried about security-we could have also have built internal kennels in an outbuilding. We've dodged that bullet for now luckily but it did make me think!

Are there any pet sitters locally that could come and spend an hour or so at home with your lot in the garden perhaps?
 
CorvusCorax said:
I know of a place that takes 40 dogs a day and the van is not caged out, it's just panelled and the dogs all jump in and travel loose. Freaks me out a bit.
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Indeed, I currently have a case on my desk for just this. Dog lost a leg in the scrap that kicked off in the back of the van.
 
Snuffles said:
Any chance of a dog door being installed or have you got mahoosive dogs :D
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We got rid of the dog flap when we replaced the back door. They broke multiple flaps, even the flexible ones, plus the draught was terrible! It's definitely an option, though, so they can at least go out for a wee. I think it's an idea if we can find a lockable one.

AdorableAlice said:
Indeed, I currently have a case on my desk for just this. Dog lost a leg in the scrap that kicked off in the back of the van.
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That sounds appalling :( Poor dog.

I've heard nothing good about the nearest doggy day care where apparently the dogs are shut in one huge room all day no lie on sofas watching TV! Another no-no for Zak who gets very wound up at dogs on there.

We've dismissed the idea of a kennel in the garden: they would hate being outside in the winter, no matter how cosy we made an internal box. Having had a chat, we want someone to come and lead walk them. We'd be too paranoid about Zak being off lead. All it takes is one loose dog coming zooming up or him to decide he won't listen. He's very well trained, but you need to watch him like a hawk.
 
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