This is a great article on the emerging “Dog walking Apps” on the market. While I do NOT recommend using an APP to find a dog walker (for all of the reasons in this article), I DO recommend finding a professional dog walker who is trained, bonded, insured, and has experience in body language and the common situations that arise when walking a dog in public. (We have several dog walkers in Yakima that have all these attributes)
To go further, I do not recommend the similar app type dog sitting options, and it is not because they are in any way competition for K9CC. We actually turn away more dogs than we take for several reasons, the biggest one being the dog is not able to do well in a play group / overnight boarding situation such as our facility. The dog’s health and well being are a priority to me and some dogs just don’t do well in a boarding scenario no matter how much love, exercise and play time is provided. I ALWAYS recommend a house sitter (in the owner’s home) as an alternative. What I DON’T recommend is shipping your dog off to an online app type situation UNLESS they have all the qualifications that a facility owner would have. License, insurance, training in dog behavior and health, a secure home/yard, and a emergency protocol are a few of the most important things. A love for dogs is an obvious pre-requisite but is in no way the entire package needed to care for your family member. The amount of postings (through a closed group of daycare owners) that I receive WEEKLY regarding lost, injured or dogs that have payed the ultimate price with their lives, would sicken you. This is not to say that accidents do not happen in very nice boarding facilities as well, but the difference is in the amount of incidents and how those incidents are handled. I have been silent too long on this subject. Please Please Please choose your pet care providers carefully. While no one is perfect, and dogs ARE dogs and will find a way to injure themselves, escape, and just plain cause havoc at times, your dog’s LIFE is in the hands of the person you choose to care for them. Trust me on this!