How long do I have to wait for Dog I'm walking to poop?

Since dog walkers have routes and schedules, the booked time takes precedence. The client is only paying for 30 minutes of your time. If a dog hasn't pooped in 30 minutes, he/she may not need to. As I'm sure you already know, dogs don't necessarily poop every single walk.

You not only stayed longer with this dog but also contacted the owner. So I think you've done more than what is necessary under the circumstances.

I've noticed each dog has his/her own patterns. Some have been trained to do their business within what seems like 20 feet of the door and are ready to come back in. My own dog loves to walk and it seems like he knows when he's headed back home, so then he'll do his business. If I keep walking further away, he's happy as a clam, but the minute I start heading home, then he starts looking for a place. I think he knows that if he goes quickly then he doesn't get a long walk.

I do mostly dog walking and drop-in visits. All of my walkers behave in different ways. One gets "her business done" right at the start of the walk because she wants to go on her adventure! Another will walk and space her poops apart (usually 2 poops per 30 minute walk). Other dogs seem to "save it up" for when I walk them! Some don't poop at all, and some prefer to poop on home turf. When on a meet & greet for walks, I always ask about the feeding schedule because that will give me a clue on the dog's pooping schedule. I also ask about the owners walking schedule and if the dog will be walked or let outside prior to my arrival. My advice, pack a lot of poop bags and don't have any expectations!

I just had this problem. It was a puppy and wouldn't poop even after 30 minutes. I waited over an hour one day, but still no poops. Since I am being paid for only 30 minutes I felt that this was too excessive on my part. I let them know every time that they didn't poop. It was also in the middle of a heat wave and did not want to keep the dogs out in the heat for too long. I've come to the conclusion that 40 minutes is tops for waiting. The puppy, which was an 8 week old goldendoodle could very well be growing out of a mid day poop, so I wasn't going to stress about it anymore.

I would wait the 30-40 minutes, and if the dog needed to go, he would have gone. If he's not used to going potty during walks, then he won't see the walk as being for that purpose, and will benefit from the general exercise. I wouldn't sweat it. Just let the owners know (as you did) and put him up.