Beware of the dog ..................walker!

[Ocelot0411]

All

As you may have guessed this is a cautionary tale. As I work from the office for part of the week and from home the rest of the time, I have (until recently) employed a dog walker to come and see my dog on the days I am at work.

As they hold keys to my house, I did all of the checks before they started and all was well. I did not however ask for, or indeed check, references from exisiting customers. Perhaps this was my mistake, however as they are NARP registered (thats National Association of Registered Petsitters for those of you outside the UK), I felt that this was comfort enought. I was wrong.

I will not bore you with the details, but I had reason to suspect that they weren't doing what I was paying them to do, so took an opportunity to check up on them and didn't like what I found. I was also far from happy when I witnessed the way they handled, and indeed their general attitude towards my dog. Let me make it clear at this stage that I am not talking about abuse (or I would be telling this to the police / RSPCA right now rather than you lot!), but if I don't slap my puppy across the nose then I certainly don't expect anyone else to, nor do I bawl and shout at her for being silly, Isimply try to calm her down and occupy her elsewhere. Afterall, she is a puppy and thats what puppies do. What makes it even worse is that the people in question specifically state on their website that they cater for puppies! grrrrrrrrrrrrrr I am ranting now I know.

Suffice it to say we have parted company and I will be reporting them to NARP. Unfortunately as I must work for a living (and indeed to feed my little pooch) I will have to find a new dog walker. However I will be checking references this time and spot checking up on them, as I feel is my right.

So doggie lovers the moral of the tale is this, assume nothing and feel just as vindicated in checking up on your dog walker as you would your baby sitter. After all its your house, your dog and you are paying them (often handsomely) for a service. If you don't like what you find report them, so that hopefully we eventually weed the bad ones out and can be rest assured that those that are left are genuine dog lovers who have simply found a very clever way of making their passion provide them with a living.

I apologise to any good dog walkers / sitters out there reading this and would like to point out that I can only comment from my personal experience with one particular company. I am sure most of you are great, however I am pretty sure that the great ones would agree with everything I have just said!

[Calin]

Thanks for this post. I'm actually in the process of hiring a dog sitter now. I've been doing interviews for the past week. It's really nerve racking!

[Lis & Addy]

I'm about to entrust Addy (and the keys to my house) to a petsitter for a weekend for the first time. The woman I'm using is insured, bonded--and recommended by the neighbor that owns Addy's best friend, Josie. She's used this woman for Josie, and for her previous dog, for years, and speaks very highly of her.

This does not mean I'm going to be calm, happy, and relaxed, while I'm on away at my aunt's birthday party and Addy is home with only the cats for company and three walks a day with the petsitter.

[Ocelot0411]

All

My intention here was not to invoke panic and I apologise if I have done so . However, I just wanted to make the point that we should be as vigilent with our pets as we are with our children. Bad service of this kind would not be acceptable or tolerated in the US and I see no reason why we should put up with it in the UK.

Also I hoped that others would learn from my mistake, which I consider to be not asking for and checking references.

At the end of the day there is only so much we can do to check people out as nothing is without risk, and to Calin and Lis I would say that you are doing a better job of finding a dog sitter than I did, as Calin is interviewing a number of people (lucky you to have so much choice in your area) and Lis, I don't think it gets any better than a recommendation from a friend.

So in short please don't be too disturbed by what I am sure was just a bad experience with a company that fall into the minority of 'bad' dog walkers. However, always bear in mind your right to check up on them if you so wish and not tolerate anything that you feel constitutes bad behaviour.

So hope neither owners nor our precious doggie friends have nighmares over this one!

[Josie]

I'm about to start expanding my training to dog walking, and am disgusted they would treat a puppy like that

I would always recommend asking around to get ideas from other people, if I saw a dog walker slapping and shouting at a puppy I wouldn't hesitate to tell people about it.

Also, get your neighbours involved, ask them to check what time the walker/sitter arrives and leaves, and how your dog is treated on the way to the van.

If you can, arrange to be at home one time when they turn up, see how your dog reacts to them. If they're not over the moon to see them, then sack them immediately!

[Lis & Addy]

Addy's weekend with the petsitter visiting, thankfully, went very well. And when we walked up to the dogsitter's house the following Monday to pick up the key, Addy was over the moon to see her new friend again--total success!

The cats were fine, too, of course; short of active abuse they've have survived the weekend anyway, but by the second day, they were both checking her out from a safe distance.

A good petsitter is to be cherished.

Also paid promptly, so that they're happy to hear from you the next time you call.

[Ocelot0411]

Oh my god, I am seething!!!!

I have just recieved a response to my complaint from the NARP, who regulates the dog walking industry in the UK. I will not go in to masses of detail but the upshot is they have decided that the issue is one of 'conflict of character' and have said that they cannot (will not) get involved unless the issue is one of animal welfare. If that is the case then what is the point of their existence as the RSPCA deals with animal welfare?

Thus far I have been very patient, reasonable and probably too diplomatic. However, I am now very angry. I have therefore just drafted an absolute stinker of an email to them refering them to their own codes of practice and their claim on their website that they 'set the industry standards'.

I am now taking no prisoners and going in HARD. I will keep you posted.

[emmabeth]

Definately keep us posted on this, let 'em have it!

[Ocelot0411]

OK folks here's the deal. I have finally settled this matter with NARP.

What they have said is that they have put a mark on these peoples file. Apparently its a case of three strikes and your out, so any more complaints and they will revoke their certificate.

They said that there is little they can do when its my word against theirs (some of it was evidenced by email, but obviously some of it couldn't be), which is fair enough and I understand that. I think part of the issue here is that the initial email I received from them yesterday had not been very carefully articulated and as such got my back right up.

So, its not the hanging, drawing and quartering I would have liked (I had popcorn in the fridge, my front row seat booked and everything ), but I have made my point (in no uncertain terms) so I guess this will have to do.

The most important thing in all of this is that everyone else out there gains something from my misfortune in learning two very important things:-

1) Membership of a National Association / Body is no guarantee that the person you are hiring is any better then someone who isn't a member. Also check very carefully what, if anything, the association can do to help YOU (these associations are often funded by their own members and set up for their benefit) in the event of a dispute.

2) Always, always complain if you are not happy about something. Please don't think 'oh there is no point' or 'nothing gets done', because if enough people kick up a stink, it will. Don't let people get off scot free for behaving badly. This of course goes for any situation but is most important in this situation when we are talking about our pets.

So there you go a lesson for us all, albeit the hard way for me and little Ellie.

[katowaggytail]

I've read on with interest! Well done you for keeping going and lets hope that more people complain and they are kicked out - unfortunately some people can get around not being members etc. I always feel that personal recommendation goes along way. Well done you.

[Josie]

Can I just add, NARP don't regulate teh dog walking industry.

They just charge lots of money to be registered with them, but there's no assessment or anything like that.

Disgusted to hear they don't kick people outfor that sort of behaviour

[Ocelot0411]

Hi Josie

Thanks for your comment. I am now from my bad experience with this dog walker, all too aware of the fact that NARP don't regulate the industry. The issue I take with this, as I pointed out to them in NO uncertain terms is that their website is very misleading indeed and would suggest that they do.

If you (I mean everyone as I am sure you know all about this Josie) look at their website they make all sorts of claims about promoting standards of care and codes of practice which their members must follow, but then, as I have found to my disgust, they are not particularly interested when their member's breach such guidelines.

Also if you then look at the pages about becoming a registered dog walker with them what you find is that its all very 'member' orientated, i.e. about how to run your business and the advertising benefits you get from registering with them.


So in short, you are absolutely right Josie, registration with them means very little from the owners point of view and should not be taken as any form of comfort. In fact their response to this case should be a warning to us all.