My Newest Dog Walking Client Rhodes

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You can imagine my excitement when I got an inquiry recently about daily visits with a 9 week old golden retriever puppy. His name is Rhodes.

He is the cutest!

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Since he is little, I’m currently seeing him twice a day while his parents are at work. Once he gets a little bigger, we’ll adjust the visits to just once a day.

Right now we are hanging out in his large fenced yard during my dog sitting visits. When he has a little more training, I’ll start walking him.

I meet with all of my new clients face to face. We discuss what you’d like for me to do during my time with your dog. I’ll text you after the visit and some times I even send you videos or cute pics of your dog from our visit.

Rest assured, your dog or super young pup will be in good hands. I’ll treat him like my own.

Dog Walker Rules

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If you’re a client of mine, you know this: I am UBER careful with the dogs I walk. If you’ve entrusted me to care for your dog, my first priority is keeping your dog safe.

I’ve had my dog walking business for over 10 years and here are a few things I’ve learned during this time.

1. Not all dogs want or need the same amount of exercise. If you dog likes to power walk, that’s what we’ll do. If you dog prefers to linger and sniff, that’s okay with me too. I have dog clients that fall into both categories (which is great for me. Up to 15 power walks in one day may be a little much for me! ha)

2. I will avoid all dogs I don’t know when I’m out walking your dog. Until I know your dog, I won’t know how he will react when he meets another dog and I certainly don’t know how the other dog is going to react. Leashed dogs sometimes take on different personalities. My own dog Molly can be reactive towards other dogs when she is leashed up. I always cross the street and avoid dogs I don’t know.

3. Not all owners really understand their dogs… sorry but it’s true. Perhaps this has happened to you: someone is out walking their dog and says it’s okay to approach but their dog is telling you otherwise.

4. ALWAYS pick up the poo. No exceptions. It drives me nuts when I see someone out walking a dog and he/she doesn’t pick up after the dog. I’m “that” person who will say, “I’ve got an extra poop bag… do you need one??” Ugh #makesmesomad

5. During the hot summer months, if we have to walk across hot pavement, we do so very quickly. I don’t want your dogs’ paws to get too hot and burn on the pavement.

These are a just a few of the rules I follow every time I’m walking a dog. I want to make certain your dog has a fun time while he’s out with me and that he is always safe.

If you are looking for a responsible, caring dog walker or pet sitter, contact me today!

Hiring a Dog Walker

So you need to hire a dog walker? Here are a few things I’d do if I were you:

1. Find someone who lives near you

2. Meet with them and have a list of questions to ask them like: what’s your backup plan if for some reason you can’t make it to my house when you’re supposed to be there? (This is part of the reason why #1 exists!) How long have you been doing this? Will you be the only dog walker or will someone else periodically do it? What happens when you go on vacation?

3. Ask for references. Actually call or email them and check the person out. Ask questions like: how long has she been your walker? Are you happy with her? What are her best qualities? Is there anything she doesn’t do that you wished she did?

4. Make certain your pet likes the person.

5. If you have a pet that has some quirks, be honest with the dog walker about them.

6. Let the walker know what you expect: a 30 minute power walk or a 20 minute visit just hanging out and doing whatever the dog wants: walk, play, explore the yard, etc.

Get to know your walker. We will appreciate it. Give them feedback - we love that too. :)

New Midday Dog Walker

See Spot Run has not one new walker but two new dog walkers. I'm so excited to announce I've added two ladies, Tiffany and Christina to the team. I've known them for years... they live in my neighborhood. I can personally vouch for them.

Last September I took some time off and Tiffany covered for me while I was away. She loved it so much so we got to talking and she decided she'd like to walk dogs regularly. That conversation spilled over into a conversation with Christina and now both of them are my new midday dog walkers.

They are taking on new clients Monday - Friday who work during the day and would like their pup to get a walk, play time, or cuddles. We are covering the greater Southpark areas including parts of 28209, 28210 and 28226. If you know of anyone who would like to add this service for their dog, please let me know.  You'd make the dog's day and you'd make Tiffany and Christina's too.

This is Rivers, a weimeraner puppy that needed a walker and someone to throw the ball for him while his dad was at work. I've said this before, this is the best job ever. Watching dogs like Rivers play and have a good time is a great way to spend my day.

We also love to take them for walks. Not only does the dog enjoy going for a walk, so does the walker. Getting to stretch my legs while watching a dog enjoy his time outside makes me happy.

If you know of anyone else who would like to be a walker, let me know. We may be adding more walkers on in the future.

the dog walker on Thurs 8/8

Lincoln - he is great.  I learned a new lesson last night:  walking Lincoln in flip flops means that my feet will get wet.  He drools a lot on the treat route!  LOL!!  I usually don't wear flip flops and now I have another reason why I shouldn't.

Dog walking on Fri 2/26

Happy Birthday to my brother who is not picture here!!  :)

Hanna - Hi Ruff Ruff.  It's me Hanna.  The pet sitter came over to see me again this morning.  I barked at her when she came inside.   She grabbed my favorite toy and we went outside.  She threw it several times but then we came inside.  I was shivering... it was COLD out!  I look pretty cute in my picture, huh?  2nd visit:  guess what?  I think the pet sitter thinks that it is summer time.  We stayed outside the whole visit... it was 50 degrees so it kind of felt like summer.  She threw the barbell for a lot... she actually counted 7 times but then I took a potty break and I decided to sniff her.  She forgot to start counting again after that.  We had fun!  She's spending the night at another client's house tonight so she won't update her blog again until tomorrow.  She told me to tell you that.  :)

Gaylord & Finnegan - well, I got sniffed a bunch again today and I swear I had on clean clothes!  It was early.... I hadn't been that many places yet.   The boys are doing just fine although Finnegan was scratching at his left ear.  I'll keep an eye on him to see if he does it some more.  2nd visit - I took the boys for a walk.  Seriously, Gaylord doesn't care if Finnegan pees on him.  I knew to watch him this time but if I wouldn't have been watching, he would've been peed on multiple times.  Neither one pooped... I was a little surprised but they'd both pooped last night.  Those are some big poop bags you have.... very nice and I'm sure great to use with Gaylord!!

Hero - Hero walked quite a ways but he sure didn't like it when the wind would blow.  (I didn't like it so much myself either.)  He took care of all of his business and then he headed into the house!

Max - he got right up today and went outside to pee.

Frankie - Frankie and I walked around the circle today.  She would look over at the house... I'm not sure if she was just making sure that it was still there.... I'm guessing that was her hint to me that she was ready to go back.  We kept going and went around the whole way until we made it back.

Dusty - we made our normal loop before coming back inside so I could feed him his dinner.