WHY THE DOG WALKING INDUSTRY IS EXPLODING

Those of us who took in a dog or cat during the lockdown period will know all about separation anxiety.

I’m not sure who suffers worse – the pets used to having somebody around 24/7 or the people who have returned to work.

In the UK, at least, this had led to a “boom time for dog walkers, sitters, and trainers” who are struggling to keep up with demand.

One report estimated that in the UK, 3,5 million dogs were purchased during the pandemic, bringing the total number of dogs owned to 12,5 million in 2021.

Between 2019/20 and 2020/21, the share of UK households owning a pet dog jumped from 23% to around 33%.

Dog trainer Olivia Leathley, based in Manchester, chatted with the BBC about the surge in new business:

“Heathley says there are two main reasons why she has been so busy. Firstly, the large number of people who got a puppy or other new dog during the lockdowns.

And secondly, the inability of these four-legged friends – and of some long-established family pooches – to cope when their owners had to start going back to the office for the first time since March 2020.

“So many dogs have got used to having their owners at home all the time that they cannot handle it when they go back to work,” she says. “It is separation anxiety.”

While dog walkers suffered during the initial hard lockdown in the UK starting March 2020, things transformed towards the end of last year.

Here’s Richard Hollings, the owner of a dog walking and day-care business:

“We suddenly saw a huge influx of new customers, and especially a huge number of first-time dog owners. People were having to go back into work for the first time after getting a dog or trying to book holidays for the first time since 2019.

“And business hasn’t slowed since then. We have had a monster amount of work over the past 15 months, and we are now fully booked all the way through to September. So phenomenally busy.”

There’s been a similar uptick in business reported in California.

Where there’s money to be made, there’s an app. Enter Rover, which claims to have two million users.

Their ‘About Us’ section says the business, founded in 2011, connects “dog and cat parents with loving pet sitters and dog walkers in neighbourhoods across the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe”.

In South Africa, a quick Google search brings up multiple services offered in most major cities. There are also plenty of independent dog walkers whose names are passed around by word of mouth.

The bottom line is that your dog needs walking, whether by you or somebody else:

“Dr Sam Gaines, dog welfare expert at UK charity Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, says that, generally speaking, canines need daily exercise in order to remain happy and healthy.

“And like many other organisations we don’t recommend leaving dogs alone for more than four hours at a time, and for some dogs, even this will be too long,” she says.

“Using a reputable dog walker or sitter is a great way of provisioning dogs with the company they need, and opportunities to exercise, play and go to the toilet.”

Buy the dog, do the time.

This always bears repeating when it comes to pet ownership – it is for life, not for just the lockdown period.

If you’re keen on getting a dog or cat, you should start by looking to adopt from a shelter.

In Cape Town, there’s the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, AACL, TEARS, Fallen Angels, AWS, and countless others.

Also, consider ordering pet food and other items through the SPCA or similar organisations rather than buying it from a supermarket.