Dog walking services
Discussion
That wasn't clear, I meant that they shouldn't be free of any liability in every case (e.g. negligence, as you point out). If they were walking my dog and an aggressive dog appeared from nowhere and attacked mine, then there is nothing the dog walker could realistically do. So in that case I wouldn't expect them to take responsibility for that, but equally I wouldn't expect them to wash their hands of the matter either.
As it happens, I've found a new dog walker with far clearer terms, all which are completely reasonable and sensible. They take responsibility for my dog, have the appropriate insurances and it is clear what happens in the case of an unlikely event. They seem far more professional overall.
As it happens, I've found a new dog walker with far clearer terms, all which are completely reasonable and sensible. They take responsibility for my dog, have the appropriate insurances and it is clear what happens in the case of an unlikely event. They seem far more professional overall.
dhutch said:
Indeed, but as said, practically it their business on the line, and typically they are dog/animal people and lovers. So there is huge incentive to do as you say, take sensible and cautious approaches with the dogs interest at heart, why would they do anything else?
Unfortunately, as I've discovered, there are some morons doing this job just like any other, because they think it is an easy way to earn some cash in hand for a short day. They will say they are dog lovers, they will turn up with the forms and insurance, but all they want to do is chuck 5 or more dogs in the back of the car, go and let them run riot in a park for an hour, then go and put their feet up with £60 in their back pocket.We use dog walkers and sitters when we’re away. We have 2 shepherds that expect 50 km of walks a week, so they don’t take kindly to being banged up.
Dog walkers should be a bit like dog breeders - they should be interviewing you (and your dog) as much as you are interviewing them. Ours wanted to walk and meet the dogs before taking on the work. They were very interested in how the dogs behaved. The rules for our dogs were agreed: the old dog is always on the lead. She’s grumpy and will try and kill anything smaller than her. The young dog can be off the lead as long as you’re properly in the middle of the woods - she will get distracted, and be gone for 5 minutes, but will always come back. The risk is that she gets distracted close to a road...
We get “dog videos” by WhatsApp of a few minutes of the walk, yes they’re in the woods, yes the dogs are having a good time. Now, it is possible that they are in a warehouse with a green screen and the dogs in cages, but the reaction of the dogs when the “dog van” shows up suggests this is not the case.
Dog walkers should be a bit like dog breeders - they should be interviewing you (and your dog) as much as you are interviewing them. Ours wanted to walk and meet the dogs before taking on the work. They were very interested in how the dogs behaved. The rules for our dogs were agreed: the old dog is always on the lead. She’s grumpy and will try and kill anything smaller than her. The young dog can be off the lead as long as you’re properly in the middle of the woods - she will get distracted, and be gone for 5 minutes, but will always come back. The risk is that she gets distracted close to a road...
We get “dog videos” by WhatsApp of a few minutes of the walk, yes they’re in the woods, yes the dogs are having a good time. Now, it is possible that they are in a warehouse with a green screen and the dogs in cages, but the reaction of the dogs when the “dog van” shows up suggests this is not the case.
rxe said:
Now, it is possible that they are in a warehouse with a green screen and the dogs in cages, but the reaction of the dogs when the “dog van” shows up suggests this is not the case.
I think that is a lot of it.We have daily mid-day walks, and tend to leave them in place even if we are off for the day (ill or catching up on life etc), and without fail the dog is more excited to see the do walker than he is when we get home. On a par with if you whip him up with 'were going on a walk' while putting on your boots. Leaping of the ground and doing loops on the floor.
We also get whatsapp photos/videos on a ad-hoc basis and think the lady in question si ace.
Daniel
Emanresu said:
If you need to hire someone to walk your dog, you shouldn’t have a dog.
What about people that love dogs and have to go to work during the day? What about people that are disabled and can’t walk far but love dogs? My partner and I both work full time, but both make sure we work from home a few days a week each.
Sidney has a dog walker twice a week. It helps us out if we are busy, plus it means he gets socialised with other dogs, spends time away from us. We take him out in the morning and evening every day as well, so I think we do just fine.
Not everyone can take dogs to work, or spend all day at home.
Emanresu said:
If you need to hire someone to walk your dog, you shouldn’t have a dog.
What a judgemental* comment! I thought this subsection was the last bastion free from antagonistic comments. Seems not. /*I’m being polite
Edited by hondafanatic on Thursday 28th November 21:59
Edited by hondafanatic on Thursday 28th November 22:01
StuTheGrouch said:
Firstly, the agreements state that should the dog need to go to the vets whilst in their care, I am responsible for payment. This doesn't sit well with me. If it's a general illness that's developed/worsened since I left the dog that morning, then fine. However, if something was to happen to my dog on a walk, then I'd expect the dog walker to take responsibility for that. Is that unreasonable?
I think its very unreasonable. You can't expect someone being paid a tenner an hour to walk a dog to be on the hook for a £4000 vet bill when it swallows a stick or eats poison someone else deliberately left out. There is zero negligence on their part so you shouldn't expect them to cover it.
If they drop your dogs lead and it gets hit by a car, then yeah they should pay for it.
Algarve said:
I think its very unreasonable.
You can't expect someone being paid a tenner an hour to walk a dog to be on the hook for a £4000 vet bill when it swallows a stick or eats poison someone else deliberately left out. There is zero negligence on their part so you shouldn't expect them to cover it.
If they drop your dogs lead and it gets hit by a car, then yeah they should pay for it.
My point is that they should have sufficient insurance to cover such incidences. A family member of mine is a dog walker and does have such insurance. Recently one the dogs they walk managed to cut itself on broken glass, which was hidden inside a bush the dog ran into. They took it to the vets and paid for it (as it happens the dog owner wouldn't take no for an answer when insisting that they reimbursed the dog walker). I suppose it all comes down to having a grown-up conversation about the specific incident, my issue is the stance I faced was 'absolutely any issue is my problem' which I didn't think was a reasonable stance. You can't expect someone being paid a tenner an hour to walk a dog to be on the hook for a £4000 vet bill when it swallows a stick or eats poison someone else deliberately left out. There is zero negligence on their part so you shouldn't expect them to cover it.
If they drop your dogs lead and it gets hit by a car, then yeah they should pay for it.
We now have a new dog walker. Her terms are very clear and very fair, we have had a good chat with her about things that might happen, and all has been very reasonable. Hopefully nothing ever happens though. The previous walker even wanted a bloody retainer for things like school holidays, which I thought was a piss-take.
Challo said:
Emanresu said:
If you need to hire someone to walk your dog, you shouldn’t have a dog.
What about people that love dogs and have to go to work during the day? What about people that are disabled and can’t walk far but love dogs? My partner and I both work full time, but both make sure we work from home a few days a week each.
Sidney has a dog walker twice a week. It helps us out if we are busy, plus it means he gets socialised with other dogs, spends time away from us. We take him out in the morning and evening every day as well, so I think we do just fine.
Not everyone can take dogs to work, or spend all day at home.
StuTheGrouch said:
Algarve said:
I think its very unreasonable.
You can't expect someone being paid a tenner an hour to walk a dog to be on the hook for a £4000 vet bill when it swallows a stick or eats poison someone else deliberately left out. There is zero negligence on their part so you shouldn't expect them to cover it.
If they drop your dogs lead and it gets hit by a car, then yeah they should pay for it.
My point is that they should have sufficient insurance to cover such incidences. A family member of mine is a dog walker and does have such insurance. Recently one the dogs they walk managed to cut itself on broken glass, which was hidden inside a bush the dog ran into. They took it to the vets and paid for it (as it happens the dog owner wouldn't take no for an answer when insisting that they reimbursed the dog walker). I suppose it all comes down to having a grown-up conversation about the specific incident, my issue is the stance I faced was 'absolutely any issue is my problem' which I didn't think was a reasonable stance. You can't expect someone being paid a tenner an hour to walk a dog to be on the hook for a £4000 vet bill when it swallows a stick or eats poison someone else deliberately left out. There is zero negligence on their part so you shouldn't expect them to cover it.
If they drop your dogs lead and it gets hit by a car, then yeah they should pay for it.
We now have a new dog walker. Her terms are very clear and very fair, we have had a good chat with her about things that might happen, and all has been very reasonable. Hopefully nothing ever happens though. The previous walker even wanted a bloody retainer for things like school holidays, which I thought was a piss-take.
Wouldn't a lot of people end up effectively paying for the same thing twice?
There is an old expresssion "This thread is useless without pictures" but this thread is useless without previous instances in law where such matters were adjudicated on. There must be some, that's what is needed here in relation to all the "get out clauses" that the dog owners present in their document they present before you hand over the pouch.
Is that normally A4 sizes cheap printer document you sign because your plane to Ibiza is leaving in 2 days legally binding? I'd guess probably not, depending on how much money you have for a lawyer.
I've had to sign one of these once for my dog staying a week at a really nice dog walkers house. I found it
PERTURBING
at the time but then on second thoughts I just realised it was just amateurs trying to put their flag in the sand before the tide washing in over King Canines feet. You could call their bluff by afterwards just saying "Nope, not paying, just sue me" but then again lets face it, we love our dogs and we love our dog walkers, so it would all be sorted amicably.
What will happen is that if the worst comes to the worst then you will sort it out, and if the worst comes to the worst and you get slapped with a £1000 bill you did not expect then grow some canines and do as your dog would do over that expensive bone .....
Algarve said:
StuTheGrouch said:
Firstly, the agreements state that should the dog need to go to the vets whilst in their care, I am responsible for payment. This doesn't sit well with me. If it's a general illness that's developed/worsened since I left the dog that morning, then fine. However, if something was to happen to my dog on a walk, then I'd expect the dog walker to take responsibility for that. Is that unreasonable?
I think its very unreasonable. You can't expect someone being paid a tenner an hour to walk a dog to be on the hook for a £4000 vet bill when it swallows a stick or eats poison someone else deliberately left out. There is zero negligence on their part so you shouldn't expect them to cover it.
If they drop your dogs lead and it gets hit by a car, then yeah they should pay for it.
Dog walking is far more risky than sitting at home on the sofa. That's why we pay them !
Jamie VTS said:
My partner and I work four days a week (teachers so long holidays).
We pay £12 a day for two solo walks (30 mins at 11, 30 mins at 2). We also get texts each time ...
We wouldn’t be able to have cooper in our family without the wonderful service this lady provides.
We get similar for ours. Photo's of Sidney out and about, and a few video's sent of them running around terrorizing each other. Nice to know they are having fun and getting the exercise your paying the dog walker to provide. We pay £12 a day for two solo walks (30 mins at 11, 30 mins at 2). We also get texts each time ...
We wouldn’t be able to have cooper in our family without the wonderful service this lady provides.
Gandahar said:
It's a case of being in their care. If your car got picked up to be serviced at the local Ferrari garage and then a car transporter arrived and drove into it would you say " well that was zero negligence on their part".
Dog walking is far more risky than sitting at home on the sofa. That's why we pay them !
Thats not a great comparison as your own car insurance won't pay out if you left your car with a garage - your pet insurance will. Plus in that example I'd be looking for the car transporters insurance details anyway Dog walking is far more risky than sitting at home on the sofa. That's why we pay them !
It looks like Allianz only offer up to £1250 vet fees under their dog walkers insurance - https://www.petplansanctuary.co.uk/pet-business-in...
I wouldn't want to be left in the scenario of a student dog walker without a pot to piss in making a max £1250 claim against a double leg break surgery... there's going to be a big gap in the £££ to fill in and the only realistic person paying it is the dog owner.
StuTheGrouch said:
...previous walker even wanted a bloody retainer for things like school holidays...
I've yet to come across it in either field, but talking to friend who have a young child they have the same will child care. Stop paying and they kick you of their list. So not only would you be paying a 'second mortgage' in fees, if you go away for a week, or have your parents look after them one day a week, you are still paying the same rate straight through. Mad! Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff