There are concerns the unregulated dog walking industry is being infiltrated by 'cowboy' operators looking to make a quick profit without any proper training in animal welfare or safety.
Gabby Mansbridge owns Pack Social in West Auckland and she talks to Jesse Mulligan about her concerns with rogue dog walking operations and the danger they pose to themselves and their canine clients.
She spoke to Afternoons after she appeared in The Spinoff airing her concerns.
Dog walking Photo: (Matt Nelson)
Mansbridge got into the industry initially because of a love of dogs, like many others, but soon realised there was a lot more to the job than petting and taking cafe of the animals.
She started her business in 2015 and had been an apprentice of another trainer for about a year before, something she recommends all those establishing their own dog-walking operation do.
“I think that this was really important, that I got that experience with somebody who already had the experience, teaching me what to do and set me up with a good foundation.”
Walking a dog isn’t as straight forward as it sounds. Being able to train a dog effectively is key.
“I think where a lot of people go wrong when entering the industry is how much you have to do to set the dogs up for success," she says.
"They see the other companies and they might see dogs off the leash and it looks easy and calm and relaxed. What they don’t see is the months and years of work that they’ve put in with these dogs before that, meaning that they can safely operate.”
Mansbridge says her dogs are trained on how far away to can stray from their handler as well as other skills, like impulse control. It is important all bases are covered and there are a lot of component parts that make a dog walk a safe exercise for all concerned, she adds.
“You’re going to come up against people, horses, bike riders and how your dog is going to respond to that stimulus – are they going to come back to you when you call them, or are they going to run up to say 'hi'. A friendly dog can be overwhelming, especially in groups.”
Another skill the dogs are trained in is group recall, where the command ‘dogs’ is issued and all the dogs impressively come back to the handler. Another command ‘down stay’ sees the dogs sit down low so people who may be walking past feel safe.
Mansbridge believes the same dogs should come out for a walk in a pack every week for continuity. Taking on too many new dogs at a time can put the group out of whack.
“A walker should only be taking on a single new dog or two dogs at the same time if they’re coming from the same home,” she says.
New dogs are trained for at least two months before the company adds another new dog to the roster.
The industry is not regulated, although walkers are bound by the Dog Control Act, she says.
Although even then, some dog handlers are not abiding by some of those rules, like the distance a dog can be away from those walking it. Mansbridge believes more regulation is needed, but implementing it would be tricky.
Finding the right dog walking service involves asking the right questions to potential businesses, she says.
“I would be asking what experience they have in the industry. That’s not to say new dog walkers are necessarily bad dog walkers. But I would want to know if they were learning from a more experienced walker in the industry for a while. Things can go wrong, just like anything.”
Finding a person who can tell you what you should be teaching your dog, the importance of body language and different training methods is also important, she says.
“I think there are a lot of well-meaning people who love dogs coming into the industry, but it really takes more than just moving dogs. You really need a foundation of knowing how to train a dog and read a dog.”
The maximum number of dogs that can be walked depends on their training. Manbridge’s company takes their clients’ dogs out for a minimum one walk per week. Some companies stipulate a minimum of twice per week.
“It just means that this consistency is kept up and the dogs learn so much quicker and flourish and it ends up safer in the long run because it becomes normal for them.”
