Spot Dog Walking

I highly recommend dog walkers to stay away from this service and to get jobs through facebook groups, word of mouth, or Rover. I joined this service to make quick and easy money on the side while being a full time student and a part time worker at a vet clinic. I picked up a reoccurring shift in October of 2024, not understanding that they would schedule me all the way into March of 2025. I cancelled those shift and only planned to do the walk until the end of December. The first issue I encountered is that the dog required medications which was not in the initial instructions when picking up the shift. They also consider giving medications as a “feeding service” and they offer the feeding service for free. While yes the act of giving a pill and walking for 15 minutes is not hard, $12 is not going to cut it. You don’t get to set your own rates which is a big downfall even if you get to keep 100% of the earnings. I asked for better compensation due to the fact that giving a medication is not feeding the animal and I gave them a timeline that I would cancel the remainder of my shifts if I don’t hear back. Before that, I got a message saying I had cancelled over 85% of my walks even tho I explained to them that I didn’t realize it would schedule me that far in advance and that as a full time student, I could not commit to that schedule so I cancelled so that a replacement could be found. They also don’t tell you that you have to personally tell the support team an end date for the reoccurring walks or they will keep scheduling you. I never heard back about the compensation so I decided to cancel the remainder of the walks. I provided excellent service, was on time, and even walked longer than what the time was supposed to be… even during a snow storm. Then come to find out they suspended my account due to the cancellations and when I asked them to review my account, they offered no other explanations as to why they would not do so. This service puts a really bad taste in my mouth.

It was a fast and pro on-boarding experience, but unfortunately the excitement was short lived when I tried to try out the service and see what it’s like before continuing with it. I do believe that it is a good service where you can get regular work, but the pet parents have to approve you when you are interested in a job. My attempt to try it out kind of backfired. I made requests to walk a few dogs, none were approved. I then tried a few recurring dog walks and one got approved, but it was not disclosed how long it would be and all of a sudden all my Thursdays were booked in the middle of the day from September to February. That’s great for a newbie to really get going. I would have taken it if I were on my own, but I could see my partner getting upset about not being able to drop everything and go when he wants to. After seeing this, I decided the model here was not for me and I had to just leave. I could say a lot more, but I won’t. This is actually a PERFECT service alternative in the Los Angeles area since WAG is impossibly too busy. If you’re looking for regulars and have the time to commit to them, you will do very well and it’s not too hard to get started. I do recommend them.

My experience so far has been great. I enjoy walking and this has allowed me and my wife to walk together while we’re exercising and being of service. Thank you all for allowing me this opportunity.