Tips for hiring a decent dog walker

WALTHAM, Mass. — On the heels of troubling allegations made against a Medford dog walker, it’s important to know who you’re entrusting with the care of your pup.

Mark Powers owns two dogs.

“Seamus is a nine-month-old Bernadoodle,” he said. “Clancy is a seven-year-old Australian Labradoodle.”

And they are a handful. But he knows it’s nothing like what some professional dog walkers go through.

“The trouble with dog walkers, pet owners don’t know that they’re taking 15 or 16 dogs all at the same time,” said Powers.

That can be a problem, even for a dog-lover, said Jocelyn Strassel, CVT, MS, a clinical behaviorist for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“When you have a group of dogs it becomes very difficult to control them all,” she said. “Especially if one of them should have a reaction that’s unwanted.” That doesn’t mean dogs can’t walk together, Strassel said.

“If it’s going to be a group walk, it would ideally be a group of dogs that know each other well,” she said.

Still, walking is best when it’s one human to one dog, Strassel said — so avoid hiring a dog walker overburdened with leashes. And look for consistency.

“Ideally it would be one person rather than a rotation of different walkers. That sometimes happens with a dog-walking service,” she said. “Make sure that people walking your dog are experienced, are knowledgeable — especially if your dog has any type of behavior problems.”

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