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Your dog is your best furry friend. Every day, you anticipate coming home to play with him or her, as they meet you with a wagging tail and spunky greeting. Your dog could sure use some care and attention during your long work day. Employing a professional dog walker could be the perfect solution.

The size of your town will probably determine the number of dog walkers in your area. There are a few great websites to start your search in finding the best pet care provider:
-Google.com. The powerful search engine is a great tool to find local pet service providers. Type in your city’s name and “dog walker”. As an example, if you live in Overland Park, KS, simply type in “Overland Park, KS dog walker” as your search term. Then Google will serve up a list of local dog walkers in under a second.
-Care.com. This is a hub for pet sitters, house cleaners, baby sitters, etc. It’s a great place to find pet care providers. Simply click the “Pets” tab, then click on “College Caregivers”. From there, you can type in your zip code and find local pet sitters and dog walkers.
-Visit Craigslist.org. Every major city has a craiglist site, and if you don’t live in a major city, that’s ok. You can go to your nearest big city’s craigslist, and it will likely have pet service providers in your area as well. Under the Services heading, select “Pet”, and here you’ll see any local pet sitters or dog walkers.
Now that you’ve got a few prospective dog walkers, here are a few points to think about before choosing one to walk your canine:
-Are they affordable? Dog walking can really add up. Think about it: you’ll be paying someone to come to your home, once or twice a day, usually 5 days per week, to walk, pick up after, and care for your pet. Even $1 or $2 difference per visit between providers can make a big difference in the long run.
-Is it possible to have a consistent person see your dog every visit? Some dogs get nervous around new people. If this is the case with your canine, you may want to check and see if the pet care provider can send the same person each time, so that your dog will have consistency in their daily walk. Hiring a solo dog walker would ensure this also.
-Does your potential dog walker have a love for canines? You’ll really want someone who has a great personality, and more importantly has a great disposition with dogs. You’ll want them to treat your pet like it’s their own. You definitely don’t want someone who is just walking dogs to collect a paycheck. You’ll be able to tell the difference right when you meet the person.
-Are there references available that you can contact? You may not have thought of this, but you should definitely contact at least one reference before trusting someone to care for your dog. Doing this homework at the beginning will ensure a smooth ride in the long run.