Dog Walking Policies
THE BASICS
- Our walks are offered in 30 and 60 minute lengths.
- We require an initial meeting with your dog. And if you move into a new home, we'll need to have another meeting to make sure your primary walker is familiar with your new place. Meetings are always free, as they should be.
- We will only walk one dog at a time, unless the dogs live together. This ensures that we'll never bring another dog into your home, and you'll know that your pup has gotten our undivided attention during their walk.
- If your dog needs medications administered in the middle of the day, including insulin shots, we'll always take care of it for you free of charge.
- Our walkers receive 100% of all holiday and weekend fees, as well as the cost of daycare pick-ups and drop-offs that they perform.
SCHEDULING
WALKS
- Because our scheduling system is geared towards clients who wish to use a recurring schedule, there is no online booking system. You’ll simply email us at walks@phillydogschool.com to schedule your walks.
- Scheduling is based on availability, however priority is given to our clients who keep set schedules with us and use the service 4-5 times per week. If you only need us to do walks periodically or on an as-needed basis, we cannot guarantee our availability during the busiest time of day (12:00 - 2:00pm).
- We ask for scheduling to be done, at a minimum, 48 hours in advance for weekday walks and 72 hours for weekends. Our staff isn't "on call", so it's important that you schedule any needed services ahead of time!
- If you do need to request a walk with less notice than required, we will try our best to accommodate you. If we're able to do so, there will be a $5 fee charged that will go to your dog walker for making a last-minute change in their schedule.
- A $5 surcharge is added to all walks occurring on weekends, holidays, or after 5:30pm.
- 7:00pm is the latest time we can take your dog for a walk.
DAYCARE PICK-UPS AND DROP-OFFS
- In order to use our pick-up and drop-off service, you must have already been assigned a primary walker, have had a home meeting with them, and have left keys on file with us.
- Pick-ups and drop-offs are only available within the areas designated on our service area map.
VET/GROOMER VISITS & SHOPPING TRIPS
- These services are all available on an as-needed basis, so please let us know as far in advance as possible when you'd like to schedule something.
OUR TEAM SYSTEM
Our team system is the core of our walking service, and it's what allows us to guarantee that we'll never cancel a walk on you due to someone getting sick or going on vacation. By using our service, you're agreeing that should your primary walker be unavailable, one of our other team members will be allowed to fill in for them. We know it's a big deal to trust someone with the keys to your home, and we promise you that we'll never take that responsibility lightly. We employ many measures to ensure the security and safety of your home and your dog, and here's how it works:
- If your primary walker is unavailable, they will be filled in for by another equally-excellent team member. We'll let you know in advance if we can, and if it's a last-minute substitution we'll still notify you after the fact.
- We are insured and bonded, to protect you in case anything ever goes wrong.
- In addition to our rigorous screening process, which includes multiple interviews and assessments, we also run a background check and drug test for each and every walker we hire.
- Our walkers are long-term employees, not independent contractors, so they operate according to our training and protocols. We consider our team a long-term investment and our hiring process, as well as our ongoing treatment of employees, reflects this.
- Our keys are labeled with an encrypted code system; no one except the person who is walking your dog will ever be able to match your keys to an address.
Payments
We only accept credit or debit cards for payment via our online system. Once your dog is approved for walks and you have a first meeting scheduled, we'll create an account for you in our system. You'll be able to purchase a prepaid pass if you wish, or you can simply leave a card on file and we'll just charge you every time we walk your dog.
For more information on available plans and passes, click here to see our pricing page →
Registration is quick, free, and there's no obligation whatsoever.