This year, in our 15th Anniversary year, Dorset Dogs is launching our Professional Dog Walkers’ Charter!
Following the successful launch of the New Forest Professional Dog Walkers’ Charter in 2021, Dorset Dogs has collaborated with the New Forest National Park Authority to create a Charter consistent across both Dorset and the New Forest National Park.
Professional dog walkers alongside eight land managing partners of the Dorset Heaths Partnership teamed up with Dorset Dogs to review and endorse a best practice checklist for responsible dog walking businesses.
The Dorset Dogs Professional Dog Walkers’ Charter (PDWC) lists 9 ways that businesses can help care for Dorset’s coast and countryside, combining the Doggy Do Code with additional elements relevant to commercial businesses and provides a standard mark for dog owners looking to find a responsible Professional Dog Walker.
All professional dog walkers that operate in Dorset are being encouraged to adopt the best practice standards set out in the Charter. In doing so they will operate in a professional manner following industry best practice, and consider the care, welfare and behaviour of the dogs they look after and minimise their impact on the wildlife of Dorset’s coast and countryside.
Companies who sign up to the charter will be listed on the Dorset Dogs website where dog owners can view the charter as a checklist of what they should be looking for when choosing a professional dog walker.
There are currently no national regulations for professional dog walking, except where it is done as part of a daycare or home boarding service. As professional dog walkers usually walk multiple dogs at once, they have an additional duty to operate responsibly, but also an excellent opportunity to set a positive example to other dog walkers.
The full Charter can be viewed here on our website: https://www.dorsetdogs.org.uk/…/professional-dog-walkers/
Professional dog walkers can also sign up to the Charter here as well.