Professional Dog Walkers Association

22/09/2026

Today is PDWA National Dog Walker Appreciation Day so here's a Shout Out for all the wonderful professional dog walkers out there! 👏👏👏💙🐾

“You are just a dog walker!” – we get told this all the time!!!

In actual fact, we are so much more!
We are trusted guardians who bond, exercise and enrich a dog’s life in all weather!

Not just walks! We provide enrichment and quality time.

We give owners peace of mind their dog’s welfare is paramount and adapt our days to ensure this.

We risk assess constantly but if an accident does happen, we are first aid trained to look after dogs in our care.

We keep up to date with PSPO’s, Dog Law and our own vocational training.

We build relationship with our dogs and know their “normal” so we can recognise changes and report them swiftly.

We learn as much as we can about canine communication, seasonal hazards, breed traits and find suitable outlets for each one where we can.

Many of us go on to become groomers, pet nutritionists, trainers, behaviourists, pet photographers etc.

We love the dogs in our care. We laugh at their antics; we worry when they are poorly, and we cry when we lose them.

We are so much more than “just a walker”.

So……..

Dog Walkers: tell us who you are and where you are based! (members and non-members welcome)

Owners: if you have dog walker help, flag them here and tell us what you appreciate the most about them!

Comment ⬇️

24/05/2026

PetLine UK offers initial free advice for dog and cat behaviour and training issues. Ongoing help at affordable fixed fees. Force free methods.

22/04/2026

Pet travel - new EU rules for GB residents - England, Scotland, Wales:

Click the link to view:

The changes apply to non-commercial movements of dogs, cats and ferrets

03/04/2026

Happy Easter everyone! 🐣🐰💐

Anyone else working this long weekend?
This Admin is 🙋‍♀️, cats and tropical fish visits 🐈🐈‍⬛🐠

So, we thought we'd have some Friday Fun:

What type of pet / breed was your very first client?

Looking forward to seeing these comments ⬇️💙🐾

12/03/2026

Discover why we've made the difficult decision to remove third-party public liability insurance from Companion Club, from 1 July 2026.

16/02/2026

💦WET DOG WALKS💦

Is it just us or is this rain relentless?
Walking dogs in non stop heavy rain every day can be draining especially with the extra cleaning up and drying off afterwards!
Walks themselves can be a little on the slippery side with all the mud too.
How is everyone getting through the wet days?
Do you walk dogs that turn drying off time into a game of wiggly bottoms?
What do you find are the best dog coats?
What gentle games do you play when ground is slippery under foot?
Do you avoid the more swampy areas and try to stay on paths?

Tell us your experiences, good and bad and hopefully we can see that we are not alone on the less fun days of the profession.

Soggy pictures courtesy of Jo Sutcliffe from Outward Hounds Pet Care & Walking Services

23/01/2026

PAPERWORK - WHY DO WE NEED TO HAVE A SET OF CLIENT PAPERWORK IN PLACE?

An agreement should define the scope of rights and obligations for all involved parties and having clearly written documentation in place will help protect both you, your employees and your clients.

If you use the PDWA templates, you will know that the Terms & Conditions of Engagement element is set out into 15 sections and there are areas within those sections that you should include your own working processes and policies within.

We do not have a “one size fits all document” because we understand that we all need to run our businesses the best we can on an individual level and that we all work differently.

We would recommend that you review your paperwork periodically and understand what is written within your terms to ensure that you are working both within your scope, obligation and the current law.

Such areas to consider may include, but not limited to, the following:

Be clear about:
· Your days of work
· Your opening hours
· Annual leave – how much you take and if you arrange cover
· Sickness – if you arrange cover
· Emergency / cancellation by you (and refund terms if you are paid in advance)
· Payment terms
· Methods of payment you accept
· Booking process and fees (e.g. start / end dates if known, set weekly days or ad hoc; minimum number of bookings a week)
· Cancellation by your client and any fees this may incur
· Termination of contract process and fees this may incur
· Your key care / return policy
· Your qualifications, professional memberships and any other certification you may hold
· Any licence, Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) or best practice requirements that may be in situ in your local area or if you are part of a formal organisation
· How you work (e.g. individual or group walks or both)
· How you manage your groups
· How you introduce new dogs to each other
· Your policy for walking neutered / unspayed dogs
· Your policy for walking pregnant females / females in season (check with your insurer to validate your cover on this)
· Your policy for walking poorly animals or dogs with health issues (manageable or palliative)
· Your policy for walking reactive dogs
· Your policy for walking unvaccinated dogs
· Your policy for dealing with possible cross contamination (yourself, vehicle, third parties)
· On / off lead walking – obtain appropriate permission
· Inclement / adverse weather walking policy
· Your security policy (client’s home and dog)
· Provide a statement detailing the service you provide and what is / not included within the cost
· Data Protection policy
· Complaints policy

16/01/2026

BUSINESS INSURANCE

It is recommended that you speak to all of the insurance providers on the market to get the most appropriate cover you can for your business.
A standard dog walking business policy would usually cover you for public liability, care, custody and control, non-negligent cover, key cover.

Not all companies automatically provide cover for all pet care related services or small-holding cover, so you would need to discuss with them the services you provide and understand fully what you are covered for.

Public Liability - Public liability cover forms a vital part of any Pet Business Insurance policy and can save you and your business from substantial financial problems. If a third-party claims that you have caused them injury or damaged their property, you could find yourself and your business being sued. E.g. if a dog you walk was to bite a member of the public and they deem it to be your fault, you could be covered. The same principle would be applied if the damage was caused to a third party’s property. Regardless of whether it was you or a dog you are walking that caused the damage if you are deemed to be blamed in some way, public liability cover may protect you.

Most insurers usually provide between £1 million and £10 million worth of public liability cover and may include:

Care, Custody and Control - Provides you with protection should one of your client’s pets get injured, go missing or even die whilst in your care.

Key cover - Many business owners will hold the client’s keys to collect dogs for their daily walks. Losing the key to someone’s home has a two-fold effect. Firstly, the cost of a new key and secondly the cost of replacing the locks that would need to be broken to get back into the property. Some policies will cover the replacement of lost keys and damaged locks. Costs involved in setting or resetting intruder alarms. Temporary security protection while the above is arranged.

Most companies include cover for a maximum of 6 dogs walked together in a group (we as an organisation advocate 4). Check your insurers' T&Cs (both business and own pet) if you also walk your own dog with client dogs.

Additional cover options may be available such as Equipment / Money Cover, Personal Accident, Professional Indemnity if you are providing advice, Employers Liability if you intend to take staff on (Employers Liability is compulsory in the UK), loss of earnings.

Prices will vary depending on what services you wish to provide, your area, how much public liability you need, and of course any add on options.

14/01/2026

National Sheep Association - Sheep worrying survey.

Aimed at dog owners, the NSA launches their 13th annual survey for insight into cases of sheep worrying by dogs.

Survey open until 9 March 2026.

Click the link to go to the survey.

As part of its ongoing work to highlight the serious and distressing issue of sheep worrying by dogs the National Sheep Association (NSA) is today (Monday 12th January) launching its latest survey on the topic, for the first time, aimed at dog owners.

09/01/2026

Hiring a Dog Walker

If you are thinking about hiring a dog walker here are a few suggestions on what questions to ask and documents to see. Remember that you will probably be handing over a key to your home as well as access to your dog. At the end of the day you would want to choose the right person for you and your dog.

You can read more on the article below:

https://latestnews.professionaldogwalkersassociation.co.uk/page/12/