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When do you all start the clock for walks?

I've always worked it that if an owner hires me for a 30 minute walk then I "start the clock" as I'm walking out the door with the dog. But recently I've gotten to thinking that for some clients it takes a while to get out the door because their dogs are difficult to work with or the owners are unorganized with where the dog's stuff is and that's time I'm not getting paid for, so I'm curious how you all do things. Do you count your entire time there or only the time you are physically walking the dog?

Comments

What about if it's an apartment? It would be nice to be compensated for waiting especially if the owner can't let me in but on the other hand it takes me a few minutes to get upstairs and get the dog ready. I never start it till I'm headed down with the dog and I figure that's fair.

5 Answers

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score:
2

I hit the start button as I exit my vehicle and hit the stop button when I get back in the vehicle. Most days my total time per client is 35 minutes. Most of my walks average 1 to 1.2 miles

Comments

Thanks! Sounds like this is the general agreed upon way to do things

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5

Same as Moureene. If the dog is crated I do it as soon as I open the crate. If the dog is loose, as close to when I walk in the door as possible. They are paying for you to spend time with their dogs, which to me starts as soon as I am with the dog. I do usually go a few minutes over 30 minutes but I don't think you need to start "walking" to start the clock.

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I turn on the app when I arrive. The walking app shows how far you got on your walk.
At most, it's a moment or two to get things organized. I start from the moment the dog is in my care, just like with daycare.

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I work for a dog sitting company as well as work on my own through rover, and their policy is to start the clock while getting out of your car. They say it helps you not to forget the start plays as mentioned by others, some dogs to need extra time getting out the door. (Sry meant to post on orig)

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I start the clock when I start the walk. But I also live in an area where a mile or so can take 30 minutes or more because of traffic and whatnot. I typically stay with my client's dogs for close to an hour and I message them outside of the Rover Card to let them know when I arrive and when I leave (along with anything that may have happened outside of the walk).

(Also, after a walk, I prefer to let the dogs have some time to just not be in their kennel, which is why I probably take more time than others may.)

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I start as soon as I arrive at the front door of residence and end once I leave it. I also take the 30 minute to include the whole process.

Comments

Looks like I've been doing it wrong, time to switch things up lol