Repeated pressure applied to a dog’s neck (like the pressure applied when a dog pulls against a leash attached to their collar) can cause tracheal damage. This damage can be as mild as causing a bit of a cough, or severe— it can even be severe enough to include tracheal collapse and suffocation, leading to death. We never want to risk contributing to tracheal damage for any dog, so it’s our policy to only use harnesses.

And, after a great deal of research, we believe the harness we’ve chosen is the best fit for our company as a comfortable safe option. It allows your dog to enjoy the outdoors without putting their health at risk.

We choose to do this for several reasons. One is so each dog is as secure as possible during each walk, and so we can train our staff specifically how to use each of these items.

We also replace our harnesses and leashes any time they start to look a bit worn so your dog can always have the highest quality walk possible. No need to worry if you realize the day before we show up that your leash or harness was chewed on or starting to show its age. We bring our own so you have one less thing to worry about.

We feel confident our walk set up will keep your dog comfortable and happy, while also not giving them an opportunity to slip out of their harness and run off.

We not only bring our own harnesses, but our own leashes as well for each visit that involves a dog being walked. Again, these are sanitized in between each walk. Bringing our own leashes not only helps make sure they are in excellent condition and not at risk of fraying, but it also allows us to use a type we consider a safer kind. Ours are all a fixed length (not retractable as retractable give less control), and they have a secure lockable clasp.

We also believe it’s more sanitary for you to not have to share your leash with anyone since they are such high touch objects.

We have never lost a dog, but since technically the risk of losing a dog is never zero as soon as they step out of your house, we always attach a small GPS tracker to your dog’s collar (or harness) for your dog to wear during our walks.

This way, if somehow a dog were to ever escape from a sitter, we could track them to immediately bring them back.

We hope this will never actually be needed, but we use it each walk just in case to be extra secure.

Quite a few pet sitting and dog walking companies bring dogs to play in dog parks while they’re in their care. Theoretically, dog parks can be a fun place for dogs, however as soon as the sitter takes off or let’s go of the leash, they’re taking the risk that someone could come and accidentally let the dogs out as they open the gate to come in. They also risk an aggressive dog coming in and potentially harming your dog. And, they also risk your dog getting unexpectedly nervous and biting another dog or person, or jumping the fence. We believe we can give your dog a fun, active visit without taking those risks. It’s one of our policies that we never take off a dog’s leash while outside unless they’re in their own fenced yard.

Whether they’re a puppy who is still learning, or an older dog who knows a variety of tricks, we want your dog to be very comfortable following a few basic requests. On each visit, we take a moment to ask them to sit, stay, and come. We do this in fun, creative ways so it feels like a game for your pet. For example, asking them to sit and stay while we break a treat into a few pieces and hide them in a couple places in a different room, then asking them to come and letting them find and eat the treats. This is not only a fun little game for them, but it also helps keep their mind active, and helps them associate those words with something they really enjoy. It adds another little layer of safety to our walks.