Why am I paying for a 30 min dog walk, when at most, I’m getting 25 min?

When you pay for a 30min walk, you've paid for 30min of service. As you said, this includes leasing and unleashing, watering, etc. Let's say this accounts for no more than 10min, but still you can only expect the actual walk to be 20min.

On the second point, about distance covered, you can ask your walker to try and cover more distance. But, be prepared that they may not be willing to walk faster and/or there may be reasons they cannot- which may include how your dog behaves with them. I've walked dogs who are more focused with me or more excited to run, than with their owners. I've also encountered the opposite.

There is no standard for Rover as each walker/sitter is independent. Rover does stipulate that a walk is 30 minutes and, as you are well aware, the owner gets details from the Rover card.

My advice would be to find another walker and discuss your needs for a brisk 30-minute walk since you have a high-energy puppy. Hire one that understands your needs and can fulfill them.

YOU must have a discussion with your dog walker first. Talk about wants and needs and expectations.

Rover doesn't tell pet sitters what to do and how to do things. Everyone here is an independent contractor. Rover is only a platform to connect sitters and clients.

Not every sitter walks fast. Or wants to walk fast. Did you actually talk to your sitter?

I personally do a mile in 30 minutes too, but that's my personal preference for the clients whom I had that conversation with. It's a very fast walk. Doing a mile in 20 minutes would be too much for me. But you can hire a person who will run with your dog. You just have to communicate well.

Reporting a sitter to Rover for NOT walking a mile will not do you any good. Sitters will not be punished or fired because they do not walk a mile.

Some sitters like to take slow walks. ALSO remember the GPS is NOT always accurate. I know that from a personal experience where I walk the same dogs same trail every single day, and it's a mile long trail, yet on some days my GPS says i did 0.1 or 0.2 miles and the preview of the GPS tracker doesn't show up. I do notify my client that the GPS didn't work right and I do have picture proof to show that I actually walked the trail with the dog.

Somebody call the waaaammbulanceeee

If you are getting a Rover card that indicates a walk of 19-25 minutes you are getting cheated. I would call Rover support and report the walker [Edit: Rover’s contact options have changed. Visit the Rover Help Center at https://support.rover.com/ to find the phone number, help articles, or chat with the team]. I've walked on Rover for over 4 years and all my clients walk for 25-30 minutes and we typically cover 1 mile give or take a little depending on the dog and the day. My average visit is 35 minutes from opening the door to locking up when we are done.