Factors to Consider When Hiring a Dallas Dog Walker

We have been Dallas dog walkers since 1992.  28 illustrious years. Some people may think being a dog walker in Dallas is not that hard of a job, that literally anyone can do it.  With the recent proliferation of Uber-like dog walking services like Wag and Rover, we can see how many people might think that.  But there is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to being a truly professional local dog walking service. Let’s talk about why hiring a Dallas dog walking business with 28 years of experience might be the smarter choice than hiring Wag or Rover. First, our company hires employees, not independent contractors like Wag, Rover, and frankly, like many local Dallas dog walking companies hire.  Why does that matter?  When you hire employees:

• You can ‘train, control and direct’ the activities of the employee, which means all of our staff are trained on the same safety protocols, animal behavior, and policies and procedures so that you get consistently great service. With independent contractors, you cannot do those things, so it is up to the client to ask how knowledgeable the walker they are assigned is, and what training they have received.  Would you know the proper things to ask when screening a Dallas dog walker that is an independent contractor?

Second, we have locally based managers that are on call 7 days a week.  Our managers have a combined 35+ years of experience in the trials and tribulations of managing Dallas dog walkers and pet sitters, and are very familiar with all of our clients, staff and local suburbs.  If any of our walkers or sitters have a question, have problem accessing a property, have their car break down, slip and fall or encounter a sick pet, one of our experienced managers is just a phone call away and can be on site quickly to lend a helping hand.

• The Uber-like companies like Wag and Rover do not have local managers, and if one of their independent contractors is walking a dog in Dallas, they have to call a manager that lives in another state. That manager does not know the walker, the neighborhood or the client, and certainly cannot jump on a plane to help one of their Dallas dog walkers that is injured or whose car just broke down.  Their walker is essentially on their own.

Third, we work as a team.  One of the reasons people hire us to be their Dallas dog walker instead of Wag or Rover is because we have a team of 40 local dog walkers.  We assign a primary dog walker to all of our clients, and that walker will be the client’s dog walker whenever they are available.  If the primary Dallas dog walker is out sick, has a day off or has a completely full schedule, one of our other Dallas dog walking team members can step in.  We utilize a scheduling software that securely stores all client records and notes, and each dog walker can ask their fellow team member for any additional info they may need to do an outstanding job as the backup.  Because we are a team, we communicate to each other so that the client doesn’t have to debrief the backup from scratch.

• With Wag or Rover, there is no information sharing between dog walkers. The dog walkers for those companies usually do not know each other, and get no benefit for helping each other even though technically they work for the same dog walking company.  Our company culture is built around teamwork and communication, because that ensures the best client experience.  You simply cannot get that from Wag or Rover. 

Lastly, experience matters.  Having 28 years of experience dog walking in Dallas means we literally have encountered just about everything imaginable.  From keys that don’t work, storms that downed trees and damaged houses in our care, loose dogs charging us while out on a walk with a client dog, clients we couldn’t reach when we had to make emergency decisions regarding their pet, walkers that suffered an injury while caring for a pet and many, many other scenarios.  Because we work with pets and humans, we know that occasionally things can get unpredictable despite all of the safety precautions we take.  But because we have successfully managed through every scenario ever thrown at us, we are confident we will do an outstanding job when the next unexpected thing happens. Wouldn’t you want to hire a Dallas walking company that has successfully managed hundreds of local, trained Dallas dog walkers for 28 years?  Has worked through all kinds of on-the-job curveballs and maintained a stellar reputation? Who prioritizes the care of their employees because they are the lifeblood of the company?  If those are values you appreciate in a Dallas dog walking company, then Park Cities Pet Sitter is the company for you!