International Dog Day: Dog-walking services in Singapore

“Why on earth would someone need to hire a dog-walker if they can walk their own dogs?” you might ask. Well, that was the first question I asked myself too, when I heard that some folks offer professional dog-walking services.

Upon chatting with my dog trainer, I understood why:

• It’s always good to have someone (outside of your family) on standby for emergencies because what if there’s a family emergency one day?
• If it’s just you and your dog, and you’re caught up with work, your pup won’t be home feeling blue waiting for you.
• If you’ve got a puppy or a senior dog that needs multiple potty breaks a day, it could take a toll on you if you’ve got no one to share that responsibility with. Having a professional dog-walker could help.
• Dog-walking services provide your pooch the opportunity for socialisation, especially when dogs are walked as a pack. (If your dog didn’t attend puppy socialisation as a puppy, then perhaps it would be best to consider doing so now.)
• As the word suggests, socialisation teaches dogs how to interact with other dogs, which could prove to be really useful in preventing aggression towards other dogs. Dog-walking services also teach your dogs to socialise with people outside of your family.
• If you and your furkid are currently fixing some behavioural difficulties such as pulling and aggression towards other dogs, and if your family hasn’t gone through the same training as you have on how to correct and help your dog’s behaviour, then it would be best to engage a professional dog walker and let them know of these challenges prior to the walk, during the meet-and-greet session. Walking your dog without any knowledge on how to do so is a disaster waiting to happen.

To celebrate International Dog Day (Aug 26), here’s a list of dog-walking services available on our Little Red Dot:

K9 Pet Care

K9 Pet Care started out in 2014 and has been offering high-quality professional pet care since then.

What’s included when you hire a dog-walker: Check-in and check-out notifications + GPS tracking, two assigned walkers (just in case one falls sick, the other can cover and your dog will still be familiar), cleaning of the paws upon returning home and making sure that their water is refilled. Talk about five-star furkid service!

Services offered:

- Dog walking

- Pet sitting

- Home boarding

Prices:

- Slow and Easy walkabout: $30+/30mins

- Bracing walk: $35+/45mins

- Adventure walk: $50+/60mins

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Canines Matter

Canines Matter was launched by two of the founding members of Causes for Animals Singapore (CAS), a registered charity. Part of what they do at CAS is to rescue and rehabilitate the rescued dogs until they are ready to find their fur-ever homes.

Marcus is a full time Emergency Night Nurse at The Animal Doctors (so you can rest assured that he’ll know what to do in an emergency), a professional dog walker, a canine trainer and a canine caregiver. Guan Ling, Marcus’s partner, is also a professional dog walker as well as a canine caregiver.

Services offered:

- Dog walking

- Pet daycare

- Pet-sitting

- Pet taxi

- Just a bath

- Medical assist

- Furry excursion

- Puppy training

- Obedience training

For the full price list, click here.

Cheerful Dogs Walking

As its name suggests, you can expect nothing less than happy hounds when you choose Cheerful Dogs Walking – just look at the vibrant colours on their website, the contented testimonials and even owner Jeffery Tan’s big smile.

More importantly, Jeffrey is a Certified Dog Walker (CDW) from the Dog Walking Academy, a Certified Professional Pet Sitter (CPPS) from Pet Sitters International (PSI), a member of PSI and the International Boarding & Pet Services Association (IBPSA) and has a Ph.D. in Zoology, with over 20 years of experience being a Biology educator.

Cheerful Dogs Walking believes in being force-free and dog-centred, and if this is something that resonates with you, check them out. If your has behavioural issues, check out partner company Cheerful Dogs, and get in touch with Dr Kang Nee, a certified Dog Behaviour Consultant (CDBC), Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), Fear Free Certified Professional… her credentials go on!

Services offered:

- Dog walking

- Dog training

- Online store (for training guides)

For more information, call/WhatsApp Jeffery at 9630 3884.

Petbacker and Pawshake

These are two apps that operate more like a database of dog-walkers and pet-sitters. Make a request through the app and it will be sent out to all those who are offering services on the app. You will then be able to receive quotations for the service requested e.g. Pet taxi $70/2-way.

The onus will be on you to read up on and research the profiles of the ones applying for the job. Look at their reviews, ratings, pictures and chat with them prior to confirming your booking, just to make sure that all parties are on the same page and share the same values.

For example, do they believe in reward-based training like you do? If not, they may end up using aversive techniques which go against your values and training for your pup.

Additionally, read up on Petbacker’s or Pawshakes policies to know how protected you in the event of a mishap.

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This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.