Starting a Career as a Professional Dog Walker

By Tl Kleban
Most working Americans share the same problem. They are low on time and high on tasks. It’s like a never-ending cycle. We spend our days working long hours at the office, only to come home with another few hours worth of chores that need to be done. This unfortunately shortens the amount of time we get to spend with our dogs doing fun activities like playing catch or walking. While this may seem like a minor inconvenience for you, it’s actually unhealthy for your canine best friend. Different dogs have different daily exercise requirements; some might need a quick walk around the block and other needs a good run in the middle of the afternoon. This is where the professional dog walker becomes so important.Hire a professional dog walker while you are at work. Many dog walkers are out there every day walking dogs or taking them on outings while you, the owner, is working, on vacation, or unavailable for some other reason. More and more people are creating businesses that cater strictly to owners looking for professional dog walking services. Here is how you can begin your own career as a dog walker.
The first thing you’re going need is customers. Ask family, neighbors, cousins, friends, co-workers and in laws to give your name out to anyone that owns a dog. Have them talk you up about how you’re great with animals and your dog loves going for walks with you, so they should have no problem that you've decided to take on this love of dogs as a full time career.
If you happen to already walk a few dogs on the side for something to do, warn their owners that you may start charging them a small amount for your services in the near future. Try to give them adequate time before you looking to collect and don’t just show up banging on their door for them to pay you. Do a search online to find out what other dog walkers are charging as the going rate. It is a good idea to keep your prices a little low in the beginning as you are trying build up a client base.
You’re going to need to advertise. There are plenty of sign and business card printing businesses which create either a magnetic sign for the door of your car including your name and phone number or personalized business cards that you can hand out at the local dog park in your town. You can also hand out your business cards in places, like animal hospitals and pet stores. Create and post a few flyers in the local mall, supermarket and post office to get the word out.
Make sure you have all the correct doggie gear you’ll need. Most dog owners let their professional dog walkers use their leashes or water bowls but it is always a good idea to have a few extras handy laying around in your car or office, just in case. A box of dog treats isn’t too bad of an idea either.
If you’re lucky enough to see your small business grow, you may need to hire some people to help you out. You’ll know when to bring in a co-worker if you don’t have enough time to match the amount jobs you have scheduled. Consider hiring some college or high school students as part time options to lessen some of the stress.
Taking a dog obedience class isn’t a bad idea. It can never hurt to know the basic dog handling skills, like dealing with dogs that bark constantly or pull on their leashes. You’ll be pleasantly surprised with how much your customers will appreciate it too.
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Dog Training - Dog Bad Breath

By John Williams
Bad dog breath can be a bad problem for your dog and you, at times a dogs breath an be unbearable and make bonding with your dog a chore you'd rather avoid at all costs. This may not be due to your dog and more down to the care you have not realized that your dog should have. Dog's bad breath like most other dog symptoms can be the cause of many different issues separately or together, this makes the cause hard to diagnose without a proper examination from a professional dog carer or vet. Common causes of dog bad breathe - Maybe your dog is finding it hard to eat or swallow which can lead to dog's bad breath and other illnesses that are related. Saliva drooling from your dog's mouth may also be a cause of bad dog breath, as more saliva gets built up in your dog's mouth is makes it easier for bacteria to breed resulting in bad breath. The last and most common form of bacteria build up is from not cleaning or not properly cleaning your dog's teeth, this enables tartar to form and make the bad odour you are forced to smell day in day out. Many believe that food choice and what you feed your dog is a problem when dog breath is concerned, as this may be true to an extent this is more of a temporary short term problem and the reason above is more likely to be the problem cause. There are plenty of dental hygiene products available in pet shops and online, some work better than others on different dogs but you best bet is to clean your dog's teeth regularly to stop the bacteria build up, this is where the problem begins and where you should target your efforts. If you fear the problem has got too far to recover or damage or the gums and teeth is visible you should contact your vet as soon as possible for help and a proper diagnosis of your pet.
John Williams website owner. For more information on dog behavior training visit the dog-behavior-training.co.uk website at this link...Dog Training.
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Dog Training - Dogs Hit By Cars

By John Williams
Your dog may be the best trained dog in the world, understand your commands perfectly, and you may think that your dog understands the roads and can cope with cars well, but there is always a chance your dog could get knocked over by a car and knowing what to do in this situation is vital. As stated above, you may think your dog is well suited to roads and can avoid cars and know when and where to cross the road, but from a dogs perspective this is all guess work and learnt from previous situations and near misses. Even after many years of crossing roads and viewing cars, dogs can still get caught up in situations that are dangerous and harmful. If your dog does become the target of a road accident there are certain rules that should be adhered to when arriving at the scene and these rules can be the basis of how much pain and how healthy your dog will be afterwards. The first thing to do is not panic, if your dog is conscious and can sense you panicking then they will panic also which won't help the situation. Common injuries of a dog being run over are cuts and bruises so there is a good chance your dog is fine. Dogs should not be moved after a car incident and until you know and are sure of the injuries they have, should remain in the same place or moved using a few people and a sheet or blanket as a stretcher if totally necessary. Always check their breathing, your dogs breathing may have stopped as a cause of the accident and will need respiration by holding the muzzle closed and breathing air through the nose. If there is any severe bleeding you will need to add pressure to stop the bleeding and then seek urgent medical treatment. If you are not sure of the seriousness of the damages, then contact your vet and explain the conditions to get advice on how to deal with the situation properly.
John Williams website owner. For more information on dog behavior training visit the dog-behavior-training.co.uk website at this link...Dog Training.
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