Useful Info for Dog Walking Clients

Before your dog walker arrives …

Dog walker Bridgwater happy dog with stick

We ask that clients check they have the following ready for their dog walker:

Collars

The dog should have a suitable collar/harness, which is in good condition (not frayed, torn or chewed) – where your dog is a ‘puller’ a force-free harness is preferred to minimise damage to their neck. Dogs can become quite excited on walks (all those new smells and canine pals!) and we wouldn’t want them to hurt themselves. Please note that we will not walk dogs with choke collars – Somerset Dog Walking are positively force-free dog walkers!

ID Tags

In the UK, the Control of Dogs Order 1992 states that any dog in a public place must wear a collar with the name and address (including postcode) of the owner engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag. Your telephone number is optional (but we would recommend this). Please note that we are unable to walk dogs without ID tags.  

Where we have arrived to collect the dog for the walk and discovered there is no tag, we reserve the right to charge the full walk fee at our discretion.

Leads

A non-extendable lead should be supplied – we are unable to walk using extendable leads. Where the only lead available is an extendable lead, we will attempt to provide an alternative from our own supply in order to carry out the walk. All leads should be in good condition (not frayed, torn or chewed). Again, where the lead supplied is not in good condition, we will attempt to provide an alternative in order to carry out the walk.

Treats

Your Dog Walker will provide treats on walks – but if your dog has any specific dietary requirements, such as food intolerances or allergies, please provide suitable treats for us to use. As we are ‘force-free’ dog walkers, we use treats during our walks to reward good behaviours, to  keep the dogs engaged with us and wouldn’t want a dog to miss out on the yummy goodness!

Towels

We will always clean off mucky dogs to the best of our abilities, but would ask that additional towels are left out if the weather is bad so we can give them a final rub down with a clean, dry towel. After all that mud and water, we can’t guarantee that ours will last the day!

Water

All that walking is thirsty work! It helps to ensure your dog has a good supply of water. Where the water bowls are empty, we will refill them but ask that they are deep enough to ensure a decent drink!