What should the maximum number of dogs that a professional dog walker should be responsible for at one time be?

[P3LH]

I agree that dogs have a hierarchy, especially among those that live together in multiples, but in my experience it’s also fluid, in that there isn’t one “top dog” in all situations. I don’t believe dogs see humans in that set up but mine definitely respect me as the boss/leader/she who must be obeyed. I do reward my dogs when training new things (a mix of toys, food, praise) or for a job well done.

Definitely. I’ve always found it really interesting with all of mine over the years to see how dynamics change given differing circumstances.

 

[Melandmary]

I don’t think the size of the dog matters rather than how obedient it is. I am not up to date with current rules but as an ex professional dog walker my insurance stipulated how many I could walk by myself ( 4) and I would imagine that has not changed therefore all dog walkers with over that number would be in breach of their insurance. 4 is a manageable number if they are all well trained and it is the duty of the dogwalker to make sure that they all have excellent recall if being let off the lead and that they are well socialised otherwise they should be kept on the lead. One of the reasons I gave up was there was an increasing amount of people starting up that had no clue or real care for doing the job properly, many unsafe and cruel practices and then under cutting prices. If you are thinking of using a dog walker I would go out with them on their walks…you should be able to do that at anytime with no notice so you can see what your dog is actually doing and whether they are happy in their group. Also check their insurance and if your dog is being transported, make sure they have insurance for that and that they are being transported safely. Travelling in the boot of a car or van uncaged means insurance is void.

 

[maya2008]

Regarding dominance, my JRT has been the undisputed boss of my friend’s pack for the last 8 years. Second she turns up, she struts into the place, swaggers up to the usual ones in charge and makes her statement. They all defer to her, despite being many times her size. She has a vicious warning snarl and bark, but has never connected with any of them. She says move, they move though! She’ll claim the best chair, the best human, the treats …and they all wait for whatever she leaves ?!

 

[Clodagh]

Regarding dominance, my JRT has been the undisputed boss of my friend’s pack for the last 8 years. Second she turns up, she struts into the place, swaggers up to the usual ones in charge and makes her statement. They all defer to her, despite being many times her size. She has a vicious warning snarl and bark, but has never connected with any of them. She says move, they move though! She’ll claim the best chair, the best human, the treats …and they all wait for whatever she leaves ?!

Your friend is very tolerant, I’d not have the dog in my house ?

 

[skinnydipper]

Regarding dominance, my JRT has been the undisputed boss of my friend’s pack for the last 8 years. Second she turns up, she struts into the place, swaggers up to the usual ones in charge and makes her statement. They all defer to her, despite being many times her size. She has a vicious warning snarl and bark, but has never connected with any of them. She says move, they move though! She’ll claim the best chair, the best human, the treats …and they all wait for whatever she leaves ?!

You are describing a bully, not a natural leader.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Once again people are confusing dominance with insecurity.

There are very few truly dominant pet dogs out there.

 

[maya2008]

Leaving this here: https://thebark.com/content/study-dogs-preferences-praise-versus-treats

For anyone who wonders ever what they would do if they didn’t use treats.

 

[marmalade76]

Leaving this here: https://thebark.com/content/study-dogs-preferences-praise-versus-treats

For anyone who wonders ever what they would do if they didn’t use treats.

I've never used treats as a way of motivating my dog, she naturally does as she's told 'cause she's a collie. That's not to say she doesn't get treats, she does, randomly and usually at home and that's also not to say she wouldn't choose to eat something tasty if she came upon it, if I called her away, she'd still try to scoff what she could before coming back to me. I think it's unwise to rely on treats, what if you run out? Also reminds me of a video I saw, a trainer gave a dog the choice of a whole cooked chicken V chasing sheep, the dog chose to chase the sheep. Pretty sure my dog would choose the chicken in any situation (she wouldn't chase the sheep but might try to herd them if there weren't too many, after eating the chicken).

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Our 11 month old 'pointy dog', was very keen on treats for recall when we got her, aged 5 months. On off-lead walks she checked in every 30 seconds at first. She gave the impression that she had never been taught to 'sit' and jumped up every time she came to us.
We used the treats that she was seeking to teach 'sit' and then to introduce the idea of maintaining the sit (still a work in progress but getting there).
Now that she is more confident about playing with the others, she has weaned herself off the 30 secs return. Her recall is still excellent but she usually waits to be called now. She is very motivated by praise, too. We don't treat for every little thing that she does around the house but she loves to be told that she is a 'good girl' and has learned a lot about how to be a pleasant companion in the house.

 

[CorvusCorax]

**looks at trophy cabinet and performance record**

I'm good, thanks ? learn what drives your dog and use what motivates him or her to get the best performance. My young female wraps my leg to get her normal dry food til I'm black and blue. I'll take that

 

[TGM]

I think it's unwise to rely on treats, what if you run out?

If you are training with treats correctly, then that shouldn't be a problem! My whippet's recall was trained using treats, but she still comes back when I don't have them. The idea is not that you wave a treat at them and then ask them to recall - you recall them and when they arrive back you take the treat from your pocket and reward them. This way they don't know whether you have treats or not until they come back to you, but they have learned over time that there is a high possibility of you rewarding with a treat. If I don't reward with a treat I use lots of praise instead, but given I have a breed that is not renowned for brilliant recall I like to reward recall with treats frequently. I always hide treats in my pocket and don't use a bumbag as I don't want a visual signal of whether I have treats or not!

But I do agree that there are other forms of positive reinforcement that can be used, it is case of knowing your own dog and what suits them best.

 

[CorvusCorax]

Once we're out of food (not treats, it is literally kibble), we go home/stop the session that could be after two minutes, that could be longer, depending on what I am working on.

An old Bol pot's worth of dry food and a clay pigeon shooting vest from Decathlon, it's not difficult IMO.

I don't see how it is any different than using a toy, praise, etc, but it's the method I see dunked on most, for whatever reason, when eating to live is the primary drive of most canids and that is why they chase prey (a ball) in the first place. However I also have rules, which is important, it doesn't just rain food whether the work is good or bad.

 

[Moobli]

I've never used treats as a way of motivating my dog, she naturally does as she's told 'cause she's a collie.

I use rewards (food, treats, ball, game, praise and a mix of them) to teach my dogs new behaviours and to reward them for a job well done. Collies need motivating/rewarding the same as any other breed imo. The working sheepdogs are all trained as pups to recall, lie down, walk to heel through reward of one form or another. Their biggest reward once training on sheep is to be allowed to continue to work/train and usually a quick fuss and verbal praise is then enough.
It’s not about bribing dogs or having to have pockets full of treats at all times. Once the dog has been taught a new behaviour I wean away from food rewards and might simply use praise/a game with a toy or whatever. Once learned, the dog doesn’t simply stop following cues because there aren’t food rewards for everything.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Pretty sure my dog would choose the chicken in any situation (she wouldn't chase the sheep but might try to herd them if there weren't too many, after eating the chicken).

I have one here who would sit politely drooling and giving me the glad eye until I told her she could have the chicken. The other would be a dot in the distance chasing the damn sheep, and she wouldn't be trying to carefully herd them either, her intentions would be playful at best, but more likely lethal. Yes true confession time, I am very much a failed owner when it comes to that little madam. But in my defence she is never, ever allowed to get that sort of opportunity. ?‍?

 

[misst]

During a lovely (all sensible owners with dogs on and off lead in various areas and situations) we came across a regular dog walker.
He is a very pleasant man and looks professional in his manner and clothing. However my OH pointed out that he has never seen him with a poo bag -ever, so does he pick up?? More importantly he had his usual number of 6 medium to large dogs. Retrievers, labs, large spaniel x type and large terrier cross type. I have also seen him walk 5 GSDs. All dogs were friendly socialised and he seemed to know where they were at all times. One was on lead and kept to the side to pass other dogs - a bit reactive but well handled. However I wondered what would happen if one ran off or kicked off. He is a nice man but surely that is too many dogs to handle safely in all situations.

We have have a lot of "silly" owners lately with over friendly bouncy dogs of all sizes who are "just being friendly", as well as a couple of dogs that I personally avoid like the plague, a "wolf dog" who lunges on the lead and a bull terrier type usually on a lead but not always who has caused issues for people in the past. How on earth do you allow for meeting dogs like this with 5 off lead dogs and a reactive dog on lead? I believe you would not have a hope in hell of supervising any of them.

 

[sakura]

Honestly? Two. And then only if they know each other.

 

[misst]

Well yesterday was interesting! At one point on our walk we pass some houses in a small lane and I put Ruby on a lead as she tends to run into the gardens which are huge and be a general pain. So we are walking along nice with Ruby on lead and Moti trotting at my heels. A little same size terrier came dashing up from nowhere. Ruby and him are always friendly and like to play if possible Moti ignores him totally. His owners are older and were a long way behind him.

He dashed up to Ruby who would have played if she wasn't on lead. Because he got no joy with her he jumped at me to get attention. He then snuffled my pockets where there are training treats. Ruby growled and showed her teeth - she can be jealous of me giving other dogs attention - ie. pushing them out of the way etc but is not allowed to do this. I think she showed her teeth because Leo was trying to get in my pocket for treats. So I told her off quite strongly.

Within a few seconds Leo was snarling back at her and they were at each other. I grabbed his harness and then pulled Ruby and had one in each hand waiting for Leos owners. At this point Moti who can be reactive with big dogs or dogs in his space shot into the middle of them both and started on Leo with lots of noise but no teeth. Ruby and Leo sounded as if they wanted to kill each other and I was shoving Moti out of the way with my foot. Eventually Leos owners arrived and put him on lead, I then put Moti on lead and we all calmed down. Somewhere in the middle I got a small nip on a little finger which I think came from Ruby! It was not deep and I think it was not intentional as very superficial and likely just caught when I stuck my hand in the middle stupidly.

Each of these dogs weighs less than 6 kg - the moral of the story is more than one can be too many! Imagine if they had all been big dogs.....