Dog Walker is ill.... Help Pls

tankgirl1

I am a self employed dog walker/pet care provider. Been in the game about 8 months, never had this crop up before!

Today I was actually too ill to fulfill walking commitments. I did visit all pets (all dogs as it happened) and they all got a walk albeit a shorter than booked one, apart from a pup who just got time to play in the garden and pee.

I let all owners know, and left them cash refunds where prepaid, or asked them to knock money off the bill where not.

How would you feel if this was your dog?

What can I do in future to cover this eventuality?

Feeling really down atm

krlyr

Don't feel down, you're only human. I'd be completely fine with it, especially as you did actually go out and visit all the dogs, so they at least got a toilet break (which would be one of my main concerns) and some human attention. I wouldn't feel a complete refund was necessary either, though maybe 50% off the cost of an actual walk (or just charging the price you charge for a wee-break type visit, if you do those, with a teeny discount to account for the fact that I had actually wanted a walk).

As for workarounds..are you friendly with any other local dog walkers? Perhaps you could arrange a scheme where you filled in for each other in situations like this, with a professional understanding that you don't poach customers and that it may only be when you have the free time to manage it (and maybe just a flying visit if that's all that could be squeezed in). Might be an option for when you're completely incapacitated, e.g. if you were bedridden with flu or admitted in hospital!

As another option, for when you're ill but not totally wiped out, could you look into secure areas that can be hired at short notice? Someone localish to me has an empty field they've started renting out to dog owners as a secure place to exercise. You could take the dogs somewhere like that and allow them a good run off-lead, without the additional strain of having to walk around yourself.

Maybe have some kind of backup plan agreed with current and future customers for situations like this too - e.g. you could find out what food the dog is OK to eat and keep a drawer full of pre-stuffed frozen Kongs to leave each dog with to entertain them instead of a long walk, you could buy a couple of the Nina Ottoson type toys and just stay indoors and use them to tire the dogs out mentally, maybe some general clicker training and so on, to save the physical exertion of a long walk.

Sagz_2

Sorry to hear you are not well, hope you feel better soon x

As an owner who has used walkers in the past, I think I'd feel a bit let down (sorry!) and worried that it would happen again. Giving refunds is a good move, but as an owner I'd want some sort of assurance that it wan't going to happen again.

I know I had doubts about one walker (the dogs were only ever dirty when she was on duty, fine when others were on) and that led me to swap walking services.

Is there any other local dog walkers that you could set up emergency cover with? So you'd cover their visits if they were ill and they'd cover yours?

gettingready

1 - Hope you feel better soon xxx

I use a dog walking company, they would have someone step in if the regular walker was unwell.

Really could not have anyone letting me down last minute as the reason I have a dog walker is the fact that I work. I can not take a day off at short notice and as I leave home around 7:30 and do not get back till like 18:30... I have to be SURE Zara gets out in the time I am at work.

So yes, working alone in this field is difficult and perhaps you need to think of some form of a back up.

You have done rally well visiting all dogs - even for a short period of time so they can pee/poo whatever. I would have no problem with that in emergency.

But a dog walker who calls in sick say on the day or even a day before - sorry, could not accommodate that at all.

All the best, it is a really tough job xxx

Person_one

You can't help being ill, and this is something that's highly likely going to come up sooner or later when you're a one man band. You can't guarantee you'll never be ill again, and it would be an unreasonable dog owner who thought you could!

I like the idea of a reciprocal agreement with another dog walker, but if you can't sort that out then what you did is probably the best path.

No dogs will suffer any long term harm from one day without a walk, as long as you offer refunds and let the owners know exactly what's going on and how long the situation will last, you're fine.

Mojisola

Our dog walker co-operates with a friend who also walks dogs. If she is ever unable to walk our mutt, she offers her friend's services. They cover each other's holidays as well.

con1888

You can't help it and if you were a childminder same things would apply. As a worker and a pet owner it's something I would need to take into consideration in the same way if I had kids - everyone gets sick and if the childminder/petsitter cannot make it then I would just have to take the day off. Life happens and is unpredictable, the fact you still visited the dogs is great and maybe a little % off is a nice gesture.

gettingready

Person_one wrote: »

No dogs will suffer any long term harm from one day without a walk, as long as you offer refunds and let the owners know exactly what's going on and how long the situation will last, you're fine.

Without a walk sure - fine.

But consider that people using dog walking services are working people (most anyway) and if a walker can not take the dog out at all, the time the dog would have to "hold" is often not acceptable. If it was - perhaps no dogwalker would have been employed in the first place.

OP - you dealt with it this time in a brilliant way and personally I would never ask for a refund in a situation like that.

But you need to sort out some back up - in case something more serious happens and you are unable to even let the dogs out at all.

Mojisola

con1888 wrote: »

You can't help it and if you were a childminder same things would apply. As a worker and a pet owner it's something I would need to take into consideration in the same way if I had kids

gettingready wrote: »

Without a walk sure - fine.

But consider that people using dog walking services are working people (most anyway) and if a walker can not take the dog out at all, the time the dog would have to "hold" is often not acceptable. If it was - perhaps no dogwalker would have been employed in the first place.

OP - you dealt with it this time in a brilliant way and personally I would never ask for a refund in a situation like that.

But you need to sort out some back up - in case something more serious happens and you are unable to even let the dogs out at all.

Both owners and walkers have to have a back-up. The first line to fall back to should be whatever the walker can arrange but the owners also need to have another option.

Dog walkers also need to have someone else with an up-to-date list of contacts so, if they unable to contact owners themselves, someone else will let the owners know the dogs won't be visited.

jetplane

I think you did your best and I don't think the owners should expect a refund, they should be impressed that you're dedicated enough to make the effort. As other posters have said if it was their childminder who was ill they would have to make other arrangements so why would a dog owner not expect to make other arrangements if need be?

Don't you think that if someone chooses to have a dog and work long hours then they should be responsible enough to have their own contingency plans?

catkins

I had a dog walker when I worked and I think in about 5 years she twice texted me on the day to say she was ill and could not walk my dog. I accepted it - no one can help being ill. She works on her own so had no one to replace her - it's just one of those things. Luckily my neice lives round the corner to me and she was able to walk my dog those days. If she had been unable to my dog would have had to be left and if I came home and he had messed so be it. No not ideal but that's life