Questions to Ask a Dog Walker
For the meet and greet before you hand over a key. These 20 questions cover group size, how they get in, what happens if a leash slips, vet authority, insurance, and what you get told after each walk.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How many dogs do you walk at once, and who would mine be out with?
Why ask it
Group size changes everything about the walk: what they can control, how much attention your dog gets, and whether the hour is a walk or a management exercise. Ask about the specific dogs, since a nervous dog paired with two boisterous ones has a bad hour every day.
How long is the walk, door to door, and does travel time count?
Why ask it
A thirty-minute booking can include collection, driving and drop-off. Getting the walking time stated separately is the difference between what you are paying for and what your dog gets.
Will it always be you, or do you send someone else when you are booked?
Why ask it
Larger operators rotate walkers, which is fine if you know in advance. What you want to avoid is a stranger arriving on a Tuesday with your key and a dog who has never met them.
How do you get in, and where do my keys or door code live when you are not working?
Why ask it
This is a home security question as much as a dog question. Listen for whether keys are labelled with your address, where they are stored overnight, and what happens to them if the business closes.
What is your route, and does it vary?
Why ask it
Concrete answers, naming streets or a park, show a walker who has thought about traffic, off-leash areas and heat. Vague answers often mean the same short loop regardless of the weather or the dog.
What do you carry with you on a walk?
Why ask it
Spare slip lead, water, poo bags, a phone that is charged, and something to break up a scuffle. The spare lead is the item that matters most, because it is what saves a walk when a collar fails.
What would you do if my dog got off leash?
Why ask it
The right answer includes not chasing, calling you immediately, and knowing which way your dog would run. A walker who has never had it happen is either new or has not thought about the one scenario you actually fear.
If my dog were hurt, which vet would you go to and what would you spend before reaching me?
Why ask it
You need an agreed limit and a named practice, ideally your own. Without it, either treatment is delayed while they try your phone or you get a bill you never authorized.
Are you insured, and can I see the certificate?
Why ask it
Pet care insurance covers injury to your dog, damage to your home and a dog causing an incident on the street. Willingness to show the document, rather than describe it, is the useful part of the answer.
What happens in heat, ice or a thunderstorm?
Why ask it
You want to hear that hot days become short shade walks or indoor visits rather than a cancelled service or a normal walk in the middle of the afternoon. Hot pavement injures paws quietly and quickly.
How do you handle a loose dog running at you?
Why ask it
It happens regularly and there is a real skill to it, involving positioning, body blocking and getting your dog behind them. Anyone whose answer relies on the other owner being responsible has not thought it through.
What do you do with a dog who does not want to go out that day?
Why ask it
The answer separates a walker who reads a dog from one delivering a service. Dragging a reluctant dog out means either an illness gets missed or an anxious dog learns to dread the door.
How would you handle a dog who pulls hard or reacts to other dogs?
Why ask it
Ask even if your dog does neither, because the answer tells you what they do under pressure. Vague talk of being firm, or naming equipment you have not agreed to, are both signals.
Will you use only the collar, harness and leash I provide?
Why ask it
Some walkers carry their own equipment, including slip leads and corrective collars, and use it without mentioning it. Setting this now avoids finding out from a photograph.
What do you send me after a walk, and when?
Why ask it
A note about water, toileting, mood and anything odd is worth more than a photograph. Ask whether it comes the same day, because reports that arrive in a weekly batch are not much use if something was wrong.
How do you handle cancellations, late notice, holidays and your own sick days?
Why ask it
Cover is where solo walkers struggle, and this is the failure that leaves your dog crossed-legged all afternoon. Ask specifically who walks your dog when they have flu.
What are the rates, and what triggers an extra charge?
Why ask it
Common extras are holidays, late bookings, medication, a second dog and any time spent waiting. Better to see the whole list now than to reconcile a surprising monthly invoice.
Would you tell me if my dog seemed sore, off their food, or not themselves?
Why ask it
Walkers often notice a limp or a change in energy before an owner does, but only some see it as their job to say. This question makes it explicit that you want the small observations.
Can we do a first walk together, with you leashing them up?
Why ask it
Watching the handover in your hallway shows you more than any interview: whether your dog relaxes, how they hold the leash, whether they check the collar. Any reluctance to be observed is itself the answer.
Who else has access to your client keys, and what happens to mine if you stop the business?
Why ask it
Family members, partners and former staff often have access nobody mentions. You are asking for a clear answer about who could enter your home and how the keys come back.
Hiring Someone to Walk Your Dog
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
The Meet and Greet
Do it at home with the dog present
You are watching two things at once: how the walker behaves in your house and how your dog reads them. Good ones ignore the dog at first and let them come over, rather than reaching straight for the head.
Walk the first one with them
Ten minutes together tells you how they hold the leash, whether they let your dog sniff, how they cross a road and what they do when another dog appears. None of this comes up in conversation.
Write down the arrangement
Group size, walk length, vet and spending limit, equipment, cancellation terms and who else may attend. Not a contract necessarily, but something you both have, because these are the points that get disputed later.
Start with a short trial
A week or two of bookings before you commit to a schedule gives you the reports, the timekeeping and your dog's reaction to the door. It is also much easier to end than an arrangement that has become routine.
What to Have Ready
- Your vet's name, address and phone number, plus your account details there
- A written spending limit for treatment without reaching you first
- Medication instructions with doses and timing, if any
- A recent photograph and a note of your dog's microchip number
- The collar and tag your dog wears on walks, checked for fit
- A second emergency contact who can get to the house
- A note of anything your dog must not have, from certain foods to a particular route
What Goes Wrong
Never asking about group size
Owners assume a solo walk and pay for one while their dog goes out in a group of six. Ask directly, and ask which dogs, because compatibility matters more than the number.
No agreement about the vet
This is the situation where a good arrangement fails: an injury, an unreachable owner, and a walker with no authority to act. Fifteen minutes of paperwork now removes the worst outcome.
Taking photographs as proof
A photograph shows one moment and nothing about the rest of the hour. A short written note about drinking, toileting and mood tells you far more about how your dog actually is.
Ignoring the keys
People vet a walker carefully and then never ask where their key is kept, who else can reach it, or how it comes back. Treat it exactly as you would a spare key given to any other stranger.