How do I choose a dog walker?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Choose a walker who meets your dog before the first walk, handles it calmly with rewards, knows canine first aid, walks only a few matched dogs at once, keeps to cool hours in summer, and has references you can check. Agree in writing the route, lead rules, treats, other dogs and what happens in an emergency.
Watch the first walks closely. A good walker reports back, sticks to your plan, keeps your dog on a lead in the society and on the road, and tells you at once about a limp, a cough or a scare. If something feels wrong, stop the bookings and find someone else.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
What should I check before hiring a dog walker?
Dogs Trust's guidance for owners is a good base. Add the Indian checks a city walk needs.
- They have met your dog and understand its personality before the first walk. Dogs Trust
- Canine first aid training, and a first aid kit carried on walks. Dogs Trust
- Up-to-date, evidence-based knowledge of dog behaviour and handling. Dogs Trust
- References or reviews from other clients you can actually contact. Dogs Trust
- Reward-based handling only: no choke chains, prong collars or hitting. AVSAB says aversive methods should not be used in dog training. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
- A clear answer on how many dogs they walk at once, and which dogs yours would walk with. Dogs Trust
- Heat sense: walks in the cool hours, and PDSA's palm test, where if you cannot hold your hand on the ground for seven seconds it is too hot to walk. PDSA
- An ID you can verify, and a phone number that answers.
What should we agree in writing?
Dogs Trust advises agreeing these points with the walker, ideally in writing, before walks begin.
- Off lead or not
- Agree in writing whether your dog may ever be off lead. In Indian cities the safe answer is usually never: traffic, community dogs and open drains are close by. Dogs Trust
- Equipment
- The collar, harness and lead you want used. AWBI's park guidelines say a lead in a public park should be no longer than six feet. Animal Welfare Board of India
- Other dogs
- What kinds of dogs yours may walk with, and that a female in season walks alone or only with dogs you have agreed to. Dogs Trust
- Treats and food
- What the walker may give, how much and how often. Dogs Trust
- Emergencies
- How far the walker may decide alone, your number, your vet's number, and the nearest 24-hour vet. Dogs Trust
- Health and medicines
- Your dog's medical history, medicines and allergies, and any limits your vet has set. Dogs Trust
What does a good walk look like in an Indian city?
Do
- On a lead in lifts, corridors and every common area of the society, as AWBI's guidelines for RWAs ask. Animal Welfare Board of India
- Poop picked up and binned, every time. Animal Welfare Board of India
- Early morning and evening walks in summer, with water carried and rests in the shade. PDSA
- At least one walk a day for every dog unless your vet advises otherwise, with any change to exercise brought in gradually. PDSA
Don’t
- Walking flat-faced, thick-coated or older dogs hard in the heat: they are at higher risk of heatstroke. PDSA
- Leaving dogs in a vehicle, except for short periods while collecting or dropping off other dogs. Dogs Trust
- Letting your dog mix with dogs that cough. Kennel cough spreads where dogs are kept close together. Merck Veterinary Manual
- Punishing pulling or barking with force. AVSAB found no evidence that aversive training is necessary. American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior
Solo walk, group walk or something else?
If Your dog is reactive, elderly, a puppy or recovering
Book solo walks, at your dog's pace, and tell the walker your vet's limits. Dog walking PDSA
If Your dog is social, healthy and vaccinated
A small group of dogs matched for size and temperament can work. Ask how many, and meet the other dogs first. Group dog walk Dogs Trust
If You are out all day, not just short of time for walks
A walk breaks up the day, but a dog alone for long hours may need company too. PDSA and the RSPCA say an adult dog should be left alone no more than four hours at a time. Dog walker or doggy day care? PDSA
If You are travelling
Walks alone are not enough. Look at a sitter who stays, or drop-in visits plus walks. Overnight sitting
What are the warning signs after a few walks?
Pay attention to your dog. A dog that hides, trembles or refuses to go out when the walker arrives, comes back exhausted, limping or with sore pads, or starts pulling harder than before, is telling you something. So is a walker who changes times without asking, cannot say where they went, or brushes off questions. Dogs Trust's checklist exists because the walker is alone with your dog: you have to be able to trust their account.
Start with short walks and check in. Ask for a message after each walk, and do one walk together in the first week so you see how they handle the lift, the gate, community dogs and traffic.
How will Petym walkers be checked?
Petym is not taking bookings yet. When a city opens, every walker will have had their identity verified with PAN and completed pet first-aid training before the first booking. You will get a free meet and greet first, book and pay through Petym, and in an emergency the walker calls you and takes your dog to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list. A 30-minute one-to-one walk costs Rs 349 in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru and Rs 279 in other cities.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
How many dogs should a walker take at once?
- There is no single Indian rule. Dogs Trust says a professional walker's insurance policy in the UK sets how many dogs they may walk at once. Ask the walker the number, meet the other dogs, and choose solo walks for a dog that is reactive, old, very young or recovering.
Should a dog walker know first aid?
- Yes. Dogs Trust says dog walkers should have canine first aid certificates and carry a canine first aid kit on walks. In Indian summers, knowing the signs of heatstroke and how to cool a dog matters most. Every Petym walker will complete pet first-aid training before the first booking.
Can my dog walker let my dog off the lead?
- Only if you agree it in writing, which Dogs Trust advises. In Indian cities, traffic, community dogs and open drains make off-lead walks risky, and AWBI's guidelines ask for dogs to be leashed in a society's common areas and on a lead no longer than six feet in parks.
What should I tell a new dog walker?
- Your dog's medical history, medicines and allergies, treats allowed, the equipment to use, dogs and places to avoid, and what the walker may decide in an emergency, with your number and your vet's. Dogs Trust lists all of these. A written care sheet keeps it in one place.
How much does a dog walker cost?
- It depends on walk length, walks a day, the time slot and the city. On Petym, a 30-minute walk is Rs 349 in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru and Rs 279 in other cities; 60 minutes is Rs 599 or Rs 479.
Keep reading
- Dog walkingHow Petym walks will work.
- Dog walker vs doggy day careWhich one your dog needs.
- Dog walking rules in publicLeads, parks and societies.
- How hot is too hot to walk a dog?The heat check before every walk.
- Questions to ask a pet sitter
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Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Dogs Trust: How to find a good dog walker (opens in a new tab)
- American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior: Position statement on humane dog training (2021) (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Heatstroke in dogs (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: How to exercise your dog (opens in a new tab)
- Animal Welfare Board of India: Guidelines on pet and street dogs, their care-givers, and residents' welfare and apartment owners' associations (26 February 2015) (opens in a new tab)
- Animal Welfare Board of India: Guidelines for allowing pet dogs in public parks (15 Nov 2016; scanned, OCR'd) (opens in a new tab)
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Kennel cough (canine infectious tracheobronchitis) (opens in a new tab)
- PDSA: Separation anxiety in dogs (opens in a new tab)