PREP GUIDE
🦮 Walks
30-minute dog walk
A quick neighbourhood walk — a potty break, a good sniff and a short stretch of the legs. Thirty minutes goes fast, so a smooth handoff matters most.
🕘 Plan for about 30 minutes. PetHour keeps 15 minutes between a caregiver's visits for travel and handoff.
Before the booking
- Say what the walk is mainly for — potty, burning energy, or company — so the 30 minutes go on the right thing.
- Leave a well-fitting harness or collar with ID tags, the leash and poop bags by the door — a walk is no time to find a frayed lead.
- Tell the walker about pulling, lunging, prey drive, fear of bikes, kids or other dogs, and any streets or parks to avoid.
- Say whether treats are allowed (and which), and where towels are for muddy paws.
- Make sure access works before the first walk — key, lockbox code or smart lock — and give the walker a backup if it fails.
What usually goes wrong
- The door routine eats the walk
- Agree where the leash, bags and keys live before the first walk. A practised exit saves five minutes every time.
- The dog slips the harness
- Most escapes happen at doors and when a dog backs out of a loose harness. Check the fit, clip the leash before the door opens, and agree a double clip or martingale if the dog is a known escape artist.
- The key or lockbox doesn't work
- Test access at the meet-and-greet. Owners: leave a backup (a neighbour, a second code). Walkers: message the owner in PetHour straight away rather than waiting it out.
- A surprise dog encounter
- Create distance early: cross the street, turn around, put yourself between the dogs. Leashed dogs only greet when both handlers agree.
- The walk is late or missed
- Agree a time window, not a minute. If you'll be late, say so in the app before the start time — the visit reminders and check-in are there to keep everyone in the loop.
If this happens
- It's storming, dangerously hot or icy
- Shorten the walk to a potty break and do indoor play or sniffing games for the rest. Tell the owner what you changed and why.
- The dog won't walk or seems sore
- Stop, check paws and gait, and don't force it. Send the owner a photo and a note; sudden lameness or pain is a health question.
- The dog eats something off the ground
- Note what and when, photograph it if you can, and tell the owner immediately. Grapes, xylitol gum, chocolate, cooked bones and medication need a vet call right away.
🚨 Call a vet now if…
- Collapse, trouble breathing, or heavy panting that doesn't settle in the shade.
- Repeated retching with nothing coming up, or a swollen, tight belly — call an emergency vet now.
- A bite to or from another dog or a person: secure the dogs, swap details, and tell the owner and PetHour.
In an emergency, call the vet or emergency clinic first, then the owner — the vet details are on the booking (ToS §4.8).
These are general tips to help you prepare — not rules for how a caregiver must work, and not veterinary advice. Agree the details for each booking in the booking chat, so you both have them in writing.