dog walker

Wag!

Wags could be a great opportunity to pick up extra money while getting outdoors, getting exercise and being with dogs. That part of the job is fantastic.  

Cons: 
Compensation structure - there is no consistency.  A 1/2hr walk with a calm older dog could pay $12 at 11am,  at 12:30pm you may pick up a 1/2 walk with an untrained Rottweiler  and be paid $9.  Two days later the older dog could come back up and the walk will now only pay $10. I was even sent a specific request from Wag to do a 8:30am 1/2 hr walk for $0.00 compensation.  I declined but someone did accept.

 The reason for the uneven compensation is the company builds its business by doing special promotions: "flash sales" which allow the dog owner to hire a walker at a reduced rate.  Wag then take its same profit margin from the transaction which, in turn, significantly reduces the amount the walker will make despite the walker expending the exact same amount of effort as if it were a full price walk.  Typically, the owners who purchase the "flash sale" walks also do not tip (I'm not sure if that is part of the "flash sale" promotion, but those owners are the only ones from whom I have not received tips). 

In short, a walker has to be extremely careful when accepting walks. These reduced rate earnings may not be a problem if you live in a city with an abundance of close walking opportunities, but if you live somewhere that is more suburban and requires driving - such as Southern California - you may find yourself spending as much driving to a walk as you earn from the walk.  

App functionality/Walk notification:  Despite a recent update the app is poorly designed.  Walks and payments are identified by Dog, reviews are identified by Owner.  Once you have finished a walk there is no way to go back and determine who the owner was.  This is important because a walker can be requested to walk a dog again - however - the walker is only told the owner's name, not the dog, so there is no way to determine if this owner gave a tip or if it was a dog with whom the walker had a pleasant or difficult walk.  

Notifications: if a walker is requested to repeat a walk the notification comes in on their phone and they have less than 1 minute to respond to get the walk.  Since that means opening the app, then trying to determine where the walk is, and who the dog and owner are, that is rarely enough time.  

A general notification of a new walk will come up on the walker phone, but by the time the walker clicks over to the app the walk will be gone.   The app then becomes filled with "filled" walks that you didn't get - which creates a lot of clutter.

Competition:  The reason Wag can get away with penalizing the walkers when Wag runs a discount promotion is the competition factor. A serious walker has to keep the app open and check it constantly to grab every possible walk. This is problematic because it is necessary to calculate traveling distance before accepting a walk.  Unless it is a very undesirable or difficult to get to area, or a bad time of the day, the walk will be gone in the time it takes to click on the map to determine the location.

Communication between walkers:  There is no way for walkers to leave notes about a dog or an owner that that a new walker can see before accepting a walk.  The walker does not know what s/he is getting into until after accepting the walk.  A walker cannot even see the owner's notes until after accepting the walk.  

Walkers are contractors to Wag so Wag has no incentive to change their business model. It is of no concern if a walker decides they aren't getting enough walks, or has had an unpleasant experienceand drops away.  There is always a new person that comes on board who will take up that spot.
It is a tenuous business model.

As a professional walker I was interested in Wag's offering so I decided to sign up. The signup process was pretty straightforward, although a little bit slow. I was surprised by the lack of training that this company does and how people blindly trust them. I had to watch a couple of videos on how to leash a dog (which I already knew)  and respond to a couple quiz questions and that's it. According to Wag now you know everything about dogs and you can start working. No wonder why they have so many bad reviews and bad press of lost and killed dogs and other awful experiences describing how they also try to cover up buying the silence of the poor owners.

My first suspicion started with the app download process. Wag sends an email to all iphone users asking to go into the settings > device manager > and have us manually select the TRUST app. Immediately after that warning messaged appear from apple. I'm not a software engineer here or anything but after using Samsung and Apple for years this was the first time that I ever encountered such a sketchy and weird installation.

I still decided to test it out and completed my first 2 walks. To put it in kind words, it was a painful and unforgettable experience. I run into quite a bit of technological problems that I feel the need to explain.

To start I had trouble accessing clients addresses because the app would constantly freeze on an eternal loading screen (I spent over 22 minutes and 43 s looking at the same loading screen in my phone). I went and called every single wag support and nobody responded to any number, emergency line or not. I turned on/off the phone close and open the app, everything! Finally I decided to go home and wait since I really couldn't do anything else. The app magically started working when I was in the garage. Through the whole process afterwards the app was also very slow, clunky and constantly losing connection, which is really weird because I have the new iPhone Xs, 4G and everything updated. Moreover, one of my clients requested to walk a certain distance and the distance locator went crazy on me, because when we were a little bit over half way through our walk it was showing 0.68 miles but when I came home with the pup it was almost at 0. I live 2 blocks away from the dog I walked, so I know for a fact that the walk was longer than what the app was saying.

To top things off, I had to spend some extra time trying to put the keys of the client back in the lockbox but unfortunately I wasn’t able to close the lid because it was jammed. I tried to close it in every way possible but the cover just wouldn’t close so I ended up having to leave the clients key under the mat. After completing my walk the app kept freezing and I wasn't able to send the update to the client so I had to email wag support with the update message for the clients to make sure they received them. However, the app magically started working again +2 hours after my last walk. Finally customer support responded to my email 2 days later with a recommendation to turn on/off my phone and restart the app... really?! People aren't that stupid wag especially after I mentioned doing that in my email.

I was able to talk to one of the owners of the pups I walked that day and she even explained to me that the app experience was horrendous.

In conclusion, awful training, less than ideal customer service with a sketchy and horrible app and user experience completed my reviews of this software/app/company/experience.

I would like to state that I really did enjoy Wag! when I first became employed through them. The support team was often helpful in a timely manner and it was easy to navigate any possible issues encountered during any given walk.

I absolutely loved the dogs I got to meet during my time working for Wag! and it helped me a lot in terms of getting daily exercise. Clients would sometimes be a real problem, but that can happen in any job that entails customer service.

The reason I no longer walk for Wag! is because they've really gone downhill in terms of support for the walkers, and in terms of who they hire. When I was hired I had to jump through many hoops to become employed. To prove I knew how to do many things the job would have me doing. I had to demonstrate I could properly use every leash, harness, and collar I might come into contact with. I had to take an online assessment. I had to pay for my own background check. I had to go to an in-person meeting, etc. Now they've rapidly expanded across the entire US and they have thousands and thousands of walkers. And now they don't do nearly enough to vet the walkers they hire. They've been caught up in a lot of bad press because of this failure to vet the new walkers.

Due to their extreme expansion throughout the US it has made getting ahold of support nearly impossible. At least not in the timely manner that they used to be able to keep up with. They expanded walkers but did not expand their support staff, at least not nearly enough to handle all of the incoming problems that the walkers experience. It became stressful to have to figure out how to handle our issues we would encounter because we weren't hearing back from the support team. It often results in the clients getting mad at US the Walkers because they don't understand that we often don't have access to important information that the support team might have access to. When they get mad at US, they take it out on US in their review. Even though 9 times out of 10 it is an issue they have with the Wag company, and not us, the walker. It's a very frustrating situation to be in. 

On top of that Wag started running promotions to entice people to use their service. They ended up taking the $ that the customer is saving on their discount out of the WALKERS pay that they should have gotten. Example: A 30 min $20 walk would be on sale for $15. Normally a walker would make $12 plus tip for a 30 min walk. When the sale would run it turned into getting $8 plus tip IF they even got a tip. Many people don't tip. They ran a deal on all sittings/boardings that eventually they adopted as their new price point. So what we used to make for doing those, it was now a lower payout for the same amount of work.

Overall, this company has to do a lot of soul searching. They need to stop taking pay away from the walkers for the specials they choose to run. It makes no sense to promote a sale, and punish the walker with the lower payout because of it. I really do not recommend working for Wag. Not until they get their stuff together and hire way more support for the walkers, and not until they stop punishing the walkers via lower payout, whenever they want to run a sale. And definitely not until they start vetting the new hires the way they used to.

Walking and taking care of dogs is obviously a dream job. Wag allows you to do this and connects you with a lot of great pet parents who need walks ASAP, one time walks, or scheduled weekly walks. 

Compensation: Wag unfortunately takes 40% of what they charge which is A LOT. They charge the client $14 for 20 min, $20 for 30 min, and $30 for 60 min. Out of this, I get $8.40 for 20 min, $12 for 30 min, and $18 for 60 min. If pet parents knew this, they would not be using Wag. Very greedy. 

Safety and Scammers: I have been scammed working for Wag. The amount of people who are able to sign up as "pet parents" and then pose as Wag Support is alarming. I am constantly letting agents know there should be a verification process for pet parents, and that emails need to be sent out to let Wag Walkers know what's going on. No changes have been made. There have also been two instances where I went to houses where no pets were present and could have been in a dangerous situation. Again, if Wag required valid information on the 'Walk Notes' section, 'Dog Profile' section (like a photo of the dog at the very least, come on) and ESPECIALLY the key section (where the key is located, for example: lock box, where it's hidden, gate codes, etc), this could be prevented. 

Customer Support: If you're taking 40% of my hard earned money, you can invest in more customer support. Not getting a text response for a day or more is unacceptable. Waiting on the phone for 10 minutes or more is also unacceptable. My time is valuable. 

Cancelled Walks/Payouts: Pet parents are allowed to cancel whenever they want, and we don't get paid unless we've already hit the "On My Way!" button. Pet parents will habitually cancel and it's so frustrating. I reserved that time slot for them, they need to pay! I consulted an agent about this, and from what I understand, after a certain amount of cancels, they do have to pay but Wag Walkers don't get a cut of this. GREEDY. For when you do get a payout for a cancelled walk if you're already on the way, it's only $10. So if you're on your way for a 60 minute walk ($18), you've lost $8. Wag should pay the full amount of the walk. SO cheap and greedy! Oh, and all of this is contingent on the pet parent being successfully charged from what I understand. So you might not even get paid out. Insane!

I'm a mental health professional that makes her own hours. Because I'm self-employed with an inconsistent pay out each week, I wanted an additional source of income that was reliable and consistent. Wag is perfect for that. I've only been using the app for six weeks.  also live in NYC/Manhattan. My first week I managed to get 3-4 walks per day and have consistently been getting that many walks since, sometimes more when I have the time/energy.  Wag alone is not good for full-time income, but it's great for part-time income. I can make my own schedule and work around clients. Yes, if you rely on the text notifications to get jobs, you'll struggle. Keep the app open and refresh and you'll do ok. While I haven't had an issues with losing a dog or getting bitten, I definitely have been presented with walking opportunities that were possible lawsuits waiting to happen, like dogs that are aggressive and lunge or are skittish and wriggle too much. Notes are provided on each dog AFTER you're accepted for a walk you request. This has to change. Walkers request a walk, get accepted and only then learn their dog has issues. This is how accidents happen. If they put in for a cover, they're ability to be accepted for walks through the app algorithm is impaired. WALKERS MUST BE GIVEN ACCESS TO NOTES BEFORE REQUESTING/ACCEPTING A JOB.  Walkers also must be given more of a say concerning what owners can stay on the platform. I've walked a dog twice now who wears a harness clearly meant for a much bigger dog. I've reported them and included the issue in the notes. Other walks have also included that issue in the notes. No change has occurred. Owner should be required to have proper accessories or risk deactivation. Like with walkers, if they fall below a certain rating, the owner should be removed. The owners are given too much leeway. Owners also need to take responsibility for the fact they're letting random strangers walk their dogs knowing their dog has behavioral issues. Finally, the payment structure needs to change. Walkers get $8.40 for a 20 minute walk. That's about $6 after taxes. I have a dog of my own. I want someone qualified and trustworthy walking her, and that means paying for quality service. You get what you pay for. Rates for walkers need to change to $12 for 20 minutes, $15 for 30 and $20 for 60. The experienced walkers are not going to stoop to being paid peanuts.

This is a good place to work if your a student or between jobs. I chose to do the on-demand walks because they sometimes pay more and require less commitment.  A lot of people will schedule there walks a day or more in advance but doing that means you will only make $12 for a half hour walk and $16 for an hour.  The company tells walkers that they can make up to $30 an hour but I have only ever seen one walk that was $30.  Also, they don't take into account the travel time and that you sometimes have to spend more than 10 to 20 minutes with the dog before you can start the walk and get paid.  In reality, if a walker was able to get walks back to back with no travel time and no time to get the dog situated they would only make at most $17 an hour for a day. Also, in order to get a walk, you have to submit a request to an owner and they can take 20 mins to respond and you're not getting paid during that time.  Yesterday I was actively looking for walks for 6 hours and I was able to get three walks all with bonuses and made $72 including tips plus all my walks had bonuses.  The other hard part of this job is getting in touch with walker support it generally takes 30 mins to get a reply on a text and 5 minutes for them to answer on the urgent hotline if they answer at all.  There was a time I was walking a dog with the dog and I both on the sidewalk, a car near us got into an accident at an intersection hitting me and missing the dog.  The dog ran away because I let go of the leash after I was hit and I called the urgent line for WAG! support to tell them the dog ran away before calling 911 but hung up because they did not answer after three minutes. I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and WAG! offered no help with the hospital bills that were over $500 after insurance even though I was on the job for them when it happened and following their procedures. It has been months since the incident and I have still not made enough money working for them to pay my bill. I was not even paid the money for the walk I did.  The only good news was that the dog was found hours later and I have no long-term injuries. In conclusion, they are a good company to work for if your looking for a little money here and there but they would never give enough money to live off of especially in the DC metro area.

This place has amazing people and the job is fun, overall. It is very physically demanding and taxing on the body due to constant movement and cleaning. If you’re not used to walking 6-8 miles a day or bending constantly, this job isn’t for you. Management is welcoming and they do great with training, but you do get a lot of mixed directions from different managers. Employees are great at informing new trainees on the ropes, as long as you’re willing to be about work and chip in. It is a little bit all over the place due to this job having many moving parts and I feel managers have a hard time keeping up with that aspect. You will be doing 5-6+ different tasks throughout the day, including running dogs back and forth/ in and out the buildings, putting up identification papers on kennels, deep cleaning kennels (spraying with chemicals, wiping and drying), cleaning drains (plucking out clumps of dog hair and food), doing dishes (dish bowls, water buckets), doing laundry (towels and doggie blankets), scooping up waste outside, raking dog hair from the outside yards, cleaning indoor and outdoor dog suites/ kennels, which includes cleaning waste, picking up spilled food/empty bowls, dropping food during breakfast and lunch time, redirecting/walking around during outside group time and more! Custodians are short staffed so you will be doing a lot of cleaning but part of the job description for animal care at this facility is to keep the area where the dogs are as clean as possible so you have no choice but to help. The only con for me was the pay for how much work you’re doing. It just isn’t enough or worth it for how much work you do. You could easily get a job somewhere else with more consistency, that pays more and requires much less. Being passionate about dogs is an incentive but you don’t spend that much time with the dogs except for group time outside but you’re encouraged to redirect and correct behavior, such as mounting or aggression, which is something that does need to be done to keep dogs from fighting. Some dogs get one on one time but it’s a paid service so not many dogs receive it. You have to love this business to stay in this business. I do see why there is a huge turnaround. I bet if they increased their minimum wage, they would get people that are willing to stay longer! 

To start, Wag offers you a "free" shirt. You just pay shipping, right? WRONG. They also charge you sales tax, which cannot be found in any fine print, it's just an unlabeled additional charge. If they don't care enough to explain what they're actually charging you for a "free" shirt, don't think communication gets better.

They oversaturate the market with Walkers so the clients only have to offer the lowest rate, and you have to sit there constantly reloading the app's Available page just to get a dog walk before someone else. Text notifications have never notified me in time to grab the walk of a previous client.
They don't offer the ability to report walks that are undercharged (2 dogs being sold as 1 on a walk), they don't offer the ability to flag a client unless you walk their dog, AND THEY DON'T CARE. They told me to contact Support with my "suggestions". I'm an underpaid Dog Walker, not a Developer or Beta Tester. They take 40% and offer nothing but the app and its limited functions.

My first day a dog wriggled underneath the gate I was locking. Just popped right out. I tried calling the owner, nothing. Called Wag, basically got nothing. Was told to wait, and wait, and wait. No procedures given, just stick your thumbs somewhere and wait. I ended up securing the gate myself 40 minutes after the walk ended because my phone was dead. I got an extra $10. 

If you get cancelled on, you get $10, but that's only if they cancel super late - so I'm already there when they cancel, and don't have time to fill the timeslot. I've had 5 cancellations this week, 1 because Wag allowed a double booking. That's A LOT of money. 

My identity was stolen when I called a number Wag provided to me. They posed as Wag and got me where I'm stupid. I told Wag and they couldn't even give me a case number because "that's not how they do things."
They just expect us to not care that their support is 100% worthless.

Every walk with a new client I take is now a crapshoot.
Wag does not care about its Walkers or its clients with this business model. Wag cares about money, and money alone.

I live in a relatively small city that I'd say is growing pretty quickly. Since downloading the app last month, I've only walked 2 dogs which were under the same client. You get paid the same amount regardless of how many dogs you're walking, which has made me consider going off-app for this specific client. Wag also takes 40% commission which is RIDICULOUS. There's really not much walker competition here, but when I traveled to cities like Austin, TX or San Antonio, suddenly I was bombarded with jobs to do. 

I suggest getting Wag if you live in bigger cities, but you shouldn't completely avoid it if you work in smaller cities. You're really just a face for the company once you work for them, and you get absolutely no benefits whatsoever from them. There's no workers' comp, and if anything happens to me or the dogs I'm walking during a walk, I highly doubt Wag would be of any help to you if at all. 

If you're really serious about walking some dogs for extra money, you can promote yourself avidly to people as a dog walker, but that doesn't guarantee that you'd be picked by the dog's owners. It's ultimately up to the owners as to who walks their dogs, so you really need to be persistent and just keep your eyes peeled for walking ops. 

Also, keep in mind that you never really know what kind of dogs you'll be working with until you request to walk the dogs and the owners have accepted your request. This is something I think I'd rather be able to do beforehand. As a 90lb woman, walking an energetic, strong pitbull is not exactly.... ideal. It would really help if owners could say things about what their dogs require in advance, or any issues that they notice with their dogs. Also, I kind of wish that Wag! would require owners to post pics of their dog before requesting any kind of walk. Especially where I live, it feels real sketch when I have a walk op out in the middle of nowhere for a dog with no picture.

First off let me say this is by far the worst job I ever had! I decided to work here part-time for some extra income and its the worse decision I ever made. The hiring process was great and I was couldn't wait to start my first day was awesome and I was thinking "Wow this is awesome, fun and a great way to make some easy money. The first 3 weeks was great and a month goes by, Things are still going great then all of a sudden things went down hill quick. There were times when I had issues getting into a home and sometimes keys weren't there to get into the house! When you try to contact support they aren't helpful, they take a really long time to reply and you just waste a hour or so trying to get help for a 30 minute walk! They will literarily put your account on suspension if the owners report you for something you didn't do and when you try to explain your side of the story then DO NOT CARE AT ALL! They just care about making the customers happy as long as they see money coming in from them. They do not care about their walkers at all. All they want is the customer to be happy and they are willing to let you go from the company no matter how good your dog ratings are. I had over 100+ 5 Star ratings and even personal clients that I have made a relationship with. Even with my personal clients complaining to wag asking why did they suspend my account. They did not care about me or any other walkers. All they care about is MONEY and satisfying whoever reports us walkers. They dont care about your side of the story, I heard a lot of upset walkers getting their account suspended and I was one of the victims! If I were you and you consider applying here, Please do your home work on this company, goggle some experiences about wag jobs
I recommend you go to rover, wag takes 40% of what you make and rover takes 20% like I said wag only cares about the money not you. Rover has more support for their walkers and most importantly they care about you. Please save yourself a trip and dont work here.

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