Frequently asked questions

Most of our clients now have electronic locks or use a lockbox. If you're using a lockbox, we like to hold a backup copy at our office just in case it's ever needed. If you're signing up for walks on a regular schedule, we can also hold copies of your keys instead of using a lockbox. If we do, we need two sets--one for our office and one for your regular walker. Keys will be safeguarded and never kept with information that identifies your house. If you live in a building with a front desk, we can obtain the keys from the desk each day too. Most buildings are great, but please keep in mind this may consume part of the walk time if there's a delay on their end.

We have worked with professional trainers to develop our walk protocols and use leash training methods that work for most dogs. We may recommend, or occasionally require, certain equipment or leads. We may sometimes require additional services during an introductory period to help acclimate your dog, too, such as longer or more frequent walks. If your dog needs more help than we can provide, we may need your pup to receive training, and we can work with you to arrange this. We work to ensure all our walks are as safe as possible, and we may need to handle walks differently than you do yourself. 

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Learn what makes most dogs pull and see some equipment that's designed to help! https://www.pupsonpassyunk.com/no-pull-harnesses

We utilize the latest technology to keep you updated on your services and to make scheduling easy. After each service, you will receive a report that includes the start and stop time, GPS tracked route, personal notes from your walker, photos from the walk, and other relevant information. These reports will be emailed to you after each service, and you can also log in to view them and to see additional details.

Of course! Our payment system makes it easy to add a tip to your invoice. If you do, then the tip is divided out proportionately to the walkers who completed services on that invoice. You can also leave cash for your walker, but please make it clear by leaving it in an envelope with their name. 

Our hiring process includes reference checks, a background check, and extensive training on safety, procedures, and client service. 

This depends on the services you need. If you need regularly scheduled walks, you will have a primary walker who will provide most of your pup's walks. Walks outside your normal schedule or when your primary walker needs a day off may be completed by another member of our team. If your schedule varies, the same walker may not always be available, depending on your schedule. We work together as a team to be sure all services are completed each day. 

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Except for last minute exigencies, we try to notify you any time a new walker will be completing your services, and we'll send an e-introduction. We also take the time to discuss your pup's routine with our walkers so they can complete your services the way you expect. 

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Note that if your dog is not friendly with strangers or exceptionally difficult, we may need to cancel if your regular walker is not available. We always put safety first. We would of course discuss this during signup if it might be an issue. 

Your dog will never be walked with other dogs outside of your household. In most cases, we will walk up to two dogs from the same household.

Absolutely! We're happy to continue your training efforts, and we can have your pup stop at the corner before crossing, stay off the furniture when we're playing inside, and anything else you need! We will customize your dog's care to their individual needs. Of course, we only use positive reinforcement methods and will never do anything to cause a dog fear or pain. 

We want to be as flexible as possible, but we also need to be able to plan staffing and scheduling, to be able to provide services for all our clients who need them. Weekends and holidays often fill up, requiring us to turn down client requests. Our booking and cancellation policy is aimed at striking a balance. For our regular customers and their regular walks, we are pretty flexible if something occasionally comes up last minute.

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Excessive cancellations of regularly scheduled services may result in changes to your service times and placement into a different pricing tier based on our pricing model. 

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Our current cancellation schedule, which is subject to change, is:

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Regularly Scheduled Services

Cancellation made after noon the day before: 50% charge.

Cancellation made after 5:00 p.m. on the day before: 100% charge.

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Occasionally Scheduled Services

Cancellation made after noon 2 days before: 50% charge.

Cancellation made noon the day before: 100% charge.

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Weekend Walks

Cancellation made after noon the Tuesday before the weekend: 50% charge.

Cancellation made noon Thursday before the weekend: 100% charge.

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Holiday Services

Holiday services are nonrefundable. Cancellations made after booking confirmation will be charged in full. 

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Pet Sitting

Pet sitting reservations require a 50% non-refundable deposit.

Cancellation made after noon four days prior to start of services: 

100% charge through first 4 days

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(We promise this is simpler than it might seem and are happy to discuss it further with you). 

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All our staff are employees. We believe this provides the best experience for our team and our clients, and we believe this is the only way to properly (legally) structure our team to be able to provide adequate oversight. To provide overnight stays, all hours worked (even overnight, sleeping hours) would be paid hours. ​That's the law, and it's also a reasonable expectation of someone working. Not only would it get prohibitively expensive, it would quickly push staff into overtime hours. While it might not work for all dogs, we believe our Extra Love visits are the next best thing! 

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We are always happy to work with changing schedules (subject to our cancellation and booking policies). This is why we offer occasionally scheduled walks! If you schedule "regular walks" and have excessive cancellations, we reserve the right to modify your time window (with notice of course) to allow us to accommodate other clients in need of regular services. If you are receiving a weekly rate based on a certain number of walks, excessive cancellations may also affect your rate. In other words, you can't effectively hire us for occasional walks and still receive a weekly discounted rate ;-)

One of our management team meets with all new clients. This allows us evaluate your pup, including any potential safety matters, and we can discuss the details of your services. Clients with regularly scheduled walks will have a primary walker, and we always try to keep staffing as consistent as possible since we think that's easier for our pups and our team.

However, we also support our team when they need time off, and occasionally last minute absences arise due to illness or emergencies. Other walkers may complete your pup's walk when needed, unless a safety concern prevents that (which we would discuss at signup). 

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These fees help to pay staff higher wages to cover walks during hours of low demand. Most of our walks occur during the day, and we build schedules around those walks. If one of our walkers is coming to you for an evening or weekend walk, there's a good chance it's the only walk during that period in your neighborhood. This fee is to help compensate them for being available during these additional times.

Get in touch! You can email us here!