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How to handle a dog-walking dog client who poops + pees in the house?

Sarah B.'s profile image

I'm not sure how many of you also do dog walking separate from boarding, but I've been doing it for a little while + one of my dog clients has started pooping/peeing in their own house before I arrive (and I always arrive at the proper time). The dog has only peed in the house twice before; nothing of this magnitude.

This dog has epilepsy which only really manifests in somewhat erratic running and chasing in the home, but the pooping and peeing is recent and possibly unrelated. This is a very old dog (estimated at 15!!!) although otherwise in freakishly good athletic shape. She seriously looks 5 yrs old and is great on walks. Her owner is always taking her on hikes and on athletic trips and whatnot.

I had to clean up two huge dumps of poop and two sections of pee this afternoon even though the owner walked her in the morning. He has also said that recently he'll be gone for two hours after a walk and she'll have peed in the house again.

Would you charge more for cleaning up the messes? I charge $8 for an average weekday walk, so how much extra would you charge? I literally spent 20 minutes today cleaning up the biggest mess I've seen. I can only imagine this will happen again.

I've been walking this dog for months now and the owner is very reliable with payment and updates and whatnot.

4 Answers

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Deb A.'s profile image

I've had long term walking clients, where I provide services at their home & neighborhood. Some, but not all, have had accidents in the home. I've definitely communicated my findings daily or per walk with the owners, even if they're already aware of having an issue, for the medical well being of their pet. I've never charged more for clean up, regardless whether it was related to age or medical condition.

However, your rate is Very Low. It might be a good start to review pricing of other walkers in your area and also consider the length of the walks (30 min. vs. 60 min. often are priced differently online). I'd suggest that you might consider raising your rate for all walks. You could still offer discounted services for clients based on frequency of needs, or that are nearby and do not involve travel expense on your part, etc.

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Thanks Deb. The $8 is for a 15 minute walk, so not long and they live 2 min away. And I've raised my weekend rates and early morning rates in the past. I know of a dog walker in the area who charges even less than me, believe it or not. Even with my low rates, this particular owner was is/disappointed in them. On a different tack I'm wondering whether you've taken care of a large dog who had daily mounds of poop and large pee accidents in their home? Occasional pee accidents are absolutely no problem at all, I just feel like this could become a massive cleanup situation everytime and while I want to be kind and generous, it's still my time and efforts. Maybe I'm just being a grinch though. Haha. I'm sort of in a bad mood, you'll... (more)

Sarah B.'s profile image Sarah B.

The dogs I've cared for were small dogs, but I empathize - even small dog diarrhea is messy. Still, there's a time when you may be unavail.Walkers: I browsed online. Not just rover, but other people I heard of or saw advertised (not directly compared to licensed & bonded corporate walking services).

Deb A.'s profile image Deb A.

I'd also agree with Shannon & Amber to use indoor pet gates/playpen to limit her space to a more manageable area to clean up. Dogs usually don't want to go where they eat and sleep. Then, she could get her needed exercise with a much longer walk (which stimulates bowel movements outside for more $).

Deb A.'s profile image Deb A.

The way the apartment is structured the doorways are extremely wide so gates aren't an option and she's a pretty big dog so I don't know that a playpen would really agree with her. Maybe I will ask about longer walks but the area around their house is super steep and hilly and she tends to be fairly tired and slow by the end.

Sarah B.'s profile image Sarah B.
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Laura R.'s profile image

If you don't want to spend the extra time cleaning up without being compensated and you don't want to ask for compensation, you may need to let the owner know that you'll do what you can in the time allowed when there's a mess, and you'll communicate the rest to him to handle when he gets home. Pick up piles, spray spots with cleaner, and leave a towel or other marker there so the owner can follow up later with a thorough clean up. These messes aren't happening on your watch, and while I'm with you (and the rest of the commenters) in that I have no problem cleaning up an occasional mess, but if the owner is paying you for 15 mins of your time and you're regularly giving him more than 30, there's a problem. You seem to have already eliminated the option of asking for more money while clearly not being happy with the status quo. The only other option is to not spend the time in the first place.

I also agree with the others that a pen or other confinement option may be in their best interest, but that's really up to the owner, and currently he has someone who is walking his dog for next to nothing and acting as a housekeeper, so there's very little incentive on his part to change the arrangement unless you give him a reason to.

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Thanks. I'm not eliminating the option of more money, I'm just not sure how much more I'd charge. It's literally a one minute drive to their house and the dog gets tired climbing the hills around the house after around 15 minutes. I guess from a $$ perspective it's a bit silly that I'm only doing 15 minutes but I'm not sure how I'd bring this up. I'm also not bonded and insured as a walker like others are in their actual businesses so I don't know how much I can justify charging.

Sarah B.'s profile image Sarah B.
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Shannon L.'s profile image

I might be too soft, but if it were me, I wouldn't charge extra. It's not uncommon for elderly pets to develop continence issues or have senility. Perhaps the owner would be willing to confine the dog to a smaller area lined with newspapers or pee pads, to make clean-up easier?

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Yeah, the owner already puts a bunch of pee pads around the living room area, which picked up a small section of the mess. I don't want to charge extra but I also don't want to have to spend 15 minutes at the end of every walk picking up and cleaning up poop and pee inside. The dog actually isn't senile, she has hallucinations and has to take medication for them; this makes her function pretty normally. The apartment is structured in a pretty open way where I don't think it would be possible to cordon off sections for her. She's also fairly large, a lab mix, so she needs a bit of space.

Sarah B.'s profile image Sarah B.
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Amber C.'s profile image

I'd agree with Shannon. I'd be pretty sad as an owner to have my walker begin charging me extra for my senior dog developing incontinence. A smaller confined area would be a good suggestion, or maybe coming slightly earlier to avoid the potty? I'm not sure but on this one I'd try to work with the owner.

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She's incredibly random in her behavior so I don't think timing is the issue. As I said, she will pee in the house when he leaves for two hours. He already puts down pee pads; the apartment is small, she's a fairly big dog, and it's structured in a really open way where rooms aren't really closed off/no doors in the main space so I don't know how he could confine her further and I think that would be more upsetting to her.

Sarah B.'s profile image Sarah B.
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