Our walk timeslot is 30 minutes, and exceptions to this are rare. Dog walkers structure their calendars this way to respect our own time. Even if your dog technically only needs a 10 minute pee break, we still have to spend our time traveling to and from your home.
Many of our clients are healthcare professionals with rotating schedules, so our walk calendar looks different every day. We require a service window of at least 1 hour for the start time of your dog's walk. Most folks are fine with a 2 hour service window.
If your dog's walk must occur at exactly 1:15pm every day, our business model is not a good fit for you.
A 30 minute timer starts when we reach your doorstep. Every reasonable effort is made to keep your dog out for the full duration of their walk. If your dog has an after-walk routine that takes a few minutes, such as paw wipes/medication, we will budget time out of the 30 minute walk for that.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, a dog will decide they're ready to go home before the walk is over. If your dog is pulling for home after a productive walk, we will let them end 3-5 minutes early.
Other dogs have anxiety and need shorter walks on hard days, such as the dreaded noisy garbage day. If your dog has urinated and had ample opportunity to defecate, if they're desperate to get back inside we won't force them to stay out for 30 minutes.
We watch like hawks for signs of heat stress / cold stress. If your dog has urinated and had ample opportunity to defecate, we will end the walk early when we see signs of temperature stress.
Whatever the reason, we will always tell you if a walk ends early. In any of these instances, a shorter walk does not mean a lower price.
We keep things simple. We text you after every walk! We'll let you know the dog is home safe, whether or not they had a BM, whether that BM was normal or abnormal, and any other behavioral notes.
No. In the interest of safety, we do not participate in off-leash activity of any kind.
No. To the best of our ability, we avoid all on-leash greetings during our walks.
This answer varies so much from one dog to another! We have had a lot of success earning the trust of shy dogs. If your dog is able to trust your close friends when they visit, odds are high we will have success with boiled chicken and time. Some of our most beloved clients are very timid with new people.
We do ask that you bring awareness into the situation and be patient with the process; some dogs take multiple visits before they can be successfully walked.
Some shy dogs react to new people with aggressive behaviors such as growling, snapping, lunging, etc. If that's the case with your dog, we are not a good fit. We have a zero tolerance policy for aggressive behavior.
Similar to the question above, this depends. For some folks, "leash reactive" means startled barking at triggers such as other dogs, skateboards, etc. That's usually fine. We've probably seen worse!
For other folks, "leash reactive" means aggressive behavior such as growling, snapping, lunging, etc. We have a zero tolerance policy for aggressive behavior.
Pulling is okay if your dog is not particularly large/strong. Don't be embarrassed - Even owners with the best training intentions often have dogs who pull during walks! Cara wears a heavy duty rigging belt with a leash carabiner to offset the force of pulling dogs and keep them secure/safe.
There's no fee for administering oral medication or feeding lunch during a walk.
Several factors impact this answer for a dog walker: Your walk frequency needs, walk timing needs, distance from our current route, etc. Please contact us for an answer to this question!
Yes! We are both insured through Pet Sitters Associates for walking, boarding, and sitting. Click here to see our landing site with them.
No. We board dogs in our own home and don't do extended stays in other folks' homes. If you live close by, we're happy to schedule 30 minute home visits to care for your cats and exotic pets!
No. We have daily regulars and can't accommodate antisocial dogs.
It's almost guaranteed that your dog will cohabit with at least one other dog during their stay with us. We generally have a 3 dog limit, but we'll stretch to 4 or even 5 if all of the dogs know each other and everyone is going out of town at once.
Whether they're lazy or playful, it's absolutely critical that any dog boarding with us gets along well with other dogs. This is one of the reasons our trial night is mandatory, without exceptions.
We give our boarding clients a minimum of 4 walks/day. Some dogs need 5. Some boarders use a per-walk pricing structure for their boarding clients, we do not. Reasonable walk needs are included in our base rate.
If your dog has a medical condition that necessitates pee breaks every 2 hours, they would be better off boarding with a vet tech / pet medic specialist.
We send text updates at least once a day, often with pictures. Some folks request fewer updates, some request more. We do our best to accommodate requested update frequency.
No. We require all boarding clients to be fully potty trained. We charge a clean-up fee for accidents.
We accept some dogs on medication, depending on their condition. If your dog has a complex health problem, they would be better off boarding with a vet tech / pet medic specialist. We do not administer IV medication.
We reserve the right to charge a medication fee, depending on how involved administration is. If we're just popping their anxiety meds in a pill pocket, no problem!
Whether you're reachable during your vacation or not, we require an emergency contact and preferred vet clinic information for all boarding clients. To expedite care in emergency situations, we strongly advise you to have a credit card on file with your vet clinic before you leave. Any extraneous costs incurred during an emergency, such as PetUber fees, are the responsibility of the pet owner.
If your dog has a complex health problem, they would be better off boarding with a vet tech / pet medic specialist.
No. We do host human friends during boarding, and they all love the dogs! But your dog is our responsibility, and we are very protective. We don't leave your dog alone with other people, we don't let anyone else hold the leash on walks, etc.
Worth noting: Say you desperately need boarding June 3-8, but we are going to be away from home for 5+ hours on June 5th. We'd tell you that up front before you schedule, and ask if you're comfortable paying our trusted dog walker colleague Emily to walk your dog from our home while we're gone. That decision is entirely up to you. This is the only circumstance where someone else would care for your dog, and only with your full consent.
No. One or the other of us is almost always home, but we are occasionally out together for dinner, theater, etc. We don't leave our boarding clients unattended for more than 4 hours at a time.
If you want someone with your dog 24/7, we aren't a good fit.
It's never too early! Often popular holidays fill up 6+ months in advance. If it's January and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you're going to Grandma's the last week of December, we encourage you to put a deposit down and reserve those dates.
Our local pet care community message boards are flooded with frantic last minute boarding requests two weeks out from every major holiday. Don't do that to yourself!
No. We require a 25% deposit on all boarding reservations. Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable.
We have this deposit policy so that we can confidently hold your reservation while also protecting ourselves financially. We set a general limit of 3 dogs in our home. If your dog is #3, we will turn away all additional inquiries to protect your spot. If we've turned other people away and you then cancel your reservation, we've let those other folks down and lost income.
If your trip ends up a few days longer or shorter than you planned, we don't dock you for that! Please, don't pay your deposit until you're confident in your plans. We'll remind you of this when you book with us.
If this policy makes you uncomfortable, our business model is not a good fit for you.
Yes! We are both insured through Pet Sitters Associates for walking, boarding, and sitting. Click here to see our landing site with them.
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