choosing a walker

My boyfriend and I both start new jobs next week as I've finished uni and today we interviewed two potential walkers for Floyd.

Both were lovely, but,

one had no experience with Staffys and, although she never walks in groups of more than 4, Floyd would be walked with 2 Bichon Frise....she is training to be a pro dog trainer however and I can see benefits of that.

walker 2 came round and had her American Bully puppy with her and her mum who helps on walks...her mam has a staffy the spit of Floyd and they both doted all over him and he was excitable but good with puppy. she'd walk floyd on his own the first couple of weeks and then take him out on group walks.

both walkers cost the same but I think we're leaning towards lady 2 due to her bull breed love and experience. I did like the idea of using both. ...but wouldnt want to confuse floyd.

would you lean towards either? just wondering how important experience with Staffys would be to you

Interesting! Moo's walker is a friend of a friend and I never had that deliberation. Go with your heart xXx

From your description I would personally go with walker 2 purely for her love and experience of the breed which means more understanding of the dogs behaviour. Like Janey said ^^ go with your heart, after all your trusting this person with your pooch!

I would agree with the above, plus Floyd can play comfortably with the bullies as opposed to the Bichons  

one of the bichons has a nervous bark too and I can imagine that getting annoying!

I didnt say that walker 2 came with recommendations from the nurses at the local vets too which is great. we've just moved 300 miles away to Aberdeen, so getting recommendations has been tough!

I would tend to go with anyone who has been recommeded, I have not used a walker at all but would go with experience.

I'm leaning towards walker 2 but best if you go with your heart, did they not have references?

yeah they did have references which said how fab both were. walker 2 had a reference from a doberman owner about how she handled her boisterous boy which was also a good sign.

I kind of asked because, certainly when we rescued Floyd, we were asked time and time again if we had sbt experience and the vets tend to ask too. perhaps because we we might not look like the kind of person normally associated with staffys, but they are hard work and floyd is getting to his terrible twos and boundaries are being pushed!

Definitely no 2 for me , no 1 might be really good but not had very challenging times walking little fluffy things , you need to know that you can rely on someone being good in a bad situation so my money is on no 2

Personally i would always go with someone with bull experience. They are not like other dogs as we all know so she will need to know how to handle it if things got heated.

I would go with 2, the deal was sealed with mine when she came and made a huge amount of fuss of Ledger (matched his reactions) was happy to have a cuddle and wasn't fussed when he was sick on her  

I also like that she walks one at a time (unless owner has multiple) seen a few near my parents where a van load are transported to the woods then taken round for 10mins 2 or 3 at a time.

I too would go with walker.2. For the general fact that she has the experience with the bull breeds and is also a lover of these dogs, I think they might know how to handle them a bit better as said, they are very different to many other dogs.

I can imagine how hard it is to find the right person and trust them with your dog! I would go with the second one! She clearly loves bully breeds and has experience with them which I think is important! Gwen is my 4th dog but my first bully breed and she is definitely tougher than any of my other dogs! I think staffies are unique from other breeds and I think experience with them is better! Let us know how everything goes!

We've gone for number 2! I really liked that she wanted to build a bond with him 1 on 1 before a group walk...

Fingers crossed for the first walk on Tuesday


* This decision was in no way influenced by the 14 week old Am Bul * puppy and the hope that he and Floyd will become bffs

Looks like we might have to fire her.....

I came home from work early a couple of weeks ago while she was out with the boy and when she got back with him her dad was with her....apparently her dad has walked him (without me knowing) while her van was being repaired! I was a bit shocked but let it pass....she had good references.

My fella has been on nights since last week so was sleeping during the day Friday when she came round for Floyd and thought that they hadn't been out for long. he was groggy though and we thought iy could have been a one off...

Nope. He woke up and stayed awake today until they came home...half an hour. I'm paying her for an hour. I'm fuming but am dreadful at confrontation. ..its so unfair on Floyd as he isnt getting the exercise he needs and when I can take him out for a big walk at night I'll ask her for a half hour walk.


Aaaaaaaargh!!! At least we interviewed two walkers and I just hope the other lady still has a space for him.

should I say something to the vets that recommended her? give her a second chance? I have a motion detection webcam I can use to keep tabs but I'd rather not.

If it was me... I'd change. The trust is broken, not once but twice. You pay for an hour, with her, that is what you should get unless there has been a prior agreement made. I dog walk, its been my business for nearly 10 years, and my reputation is everything, I fulfil my side of the contracts and normally do a lot more By all means talk to the vets, maybe explain you didn't receive the service that you had been looking for. Search on the NARPS site for registered pet sitters in your area, or the Good dog guide? Local dog wardens, groomers they all have connections, failing that just talk to people when you are out and about, they are normally really happy to recommend a good walker. Fingers crossed you find someone who gives Floyd the care he deserves.

Echo what Claire says, but I would also confront the walker!

YES!! as Janey says Confront her!! Explain you don't believe that you are getting the service you originally asked for and that is not on. It's only fair.

Yeah I think it'll have to be a change of walker. I guess some people are very trusting and never think to distrust their walker.

I'll speak to the OH and sort out a plan of action tonight. I'd always explain why we fired her and hope she isn't fleecing her other clients too much.

Strikes me as a totally ridiculous thing to do..surely you become a walker because you love dogs and want to spend time with them! As you say Claire, many walkers go above and beyond for their dogs and she's cheating the dog as well as us.

It is totally ridiculous, I do it because I love dogs and I wouldn't dream of making shortcuts, I always work like i'm being watched, and I am, by the neighbours, the public I meet when i'm out and about, bin men, the local PCSO officers, it has never entered my head even on the coldest, wettest days, not to ensure that the owners and the dogs get the best care I can give them. But unfortunately over the last few years a lot of people have started dog walking businesses thinking it's easy money, It's not. But that's a whole other thread! Your Floyd deserves the best, and you will find it for him  

That's really bad, definitely fire her!

I would probably go with No.2 as the other guys say she has experience with Bull breeds because staff's are very strong and also need someone to be the boss and show direction. They respect that. But try both and see how when they arrive which one your staffy is most excited to meet. I had this amazing lady dog walker who was referred to me by my dog washer. She herself owned a staffy and said she just adored them. Anyway my Chops absolutely fell in love with her as every time she arrived to walk him when I was home and not at work, Chops would to that staffy talk for minutes with excitement to see her. He only did that to people he loved,usually just me my husband and the boys. She was basically the first one I phoned when Chops passed away 2 months ago and she cried and cried. Her husband said she cried for nearly a week. She and I have now become friends even though there is no Chops around. We have a lovely relationship thank to my beautiful Chopi. Thanks CHOPS!

Just one thing I would do for sure is make sure the walker has insurance, silly but if defo check! We have a client who is a dog walker and she was told that this dog walker let a dog out of a car and it darted off, a lady ran over the dog but the dog walker wasn't to blame, it was the lady in the car. There was no insurance just the owners pet insurance.

On a plus note I'd go with dog walker 2, staffs are a breed on their own  

Walker 2 has been ripping us off not walking Floyd for the hour we we're paying for and people we don't know have been walking him on her behalf (and in our house!!!!)

We're asking her to pop round on thursday and we'll (well, the fella will) explain our reasons and let her go.

The other walker was great too and I bet we can make a staffy-lover out of her!!!!!

Omg that's awful!! You've put your trust in that woman!!
Bichions can handle there self and they are not as delicate as they look!! I'm sure your pooch will have a great time no matter the breed he's walking with xx

OMG yes that's bad! Seems like who can you trust. But the first one! looks like you've got it now! Good Luck with it!