Wag

Posted by The San Francisco Dog Walker

A few years back a dog walking company by the name of Wag moved into the world of dog care providers. What made them different from other existing dog walking companies was that they were not a small, local company managed by professional dog walkers, but rather they came in brandishing their guns and tried to monopolize the dog care industry.  Wag is a giant, national tech company which was started with 2 million dollars.

By making themselves appear trendy with celebrity endorsements, slick advertisements and an app for quick online scheduling they were off to a fast start.  Wag’s marketing strategy included the phrase “Uber for dog walkers”. It was clever to say the least, given how popular Uber has become. Wag recruits thousands of people without experience and places them on an app, which is very easy to use and it schedules on-demand dog walking services in a snap.  Quick, easy and no strings, what more could you want?  

When a dog walker can be found instantly in one click on a gimmicky website such as Wag, it’s important for you to understand that these people, who are signed up to be dog walkers, do not necessarily have any training in dog care.  Wag and Rover hire anyone to do their dog walks and are not allowed to provide any training to these people because they are hired as contractors.

What stands out most about Wag’s hiring process is that there doesn’t seem to be any attempt to get to know their walkers. Wag employees should spend a week or two shadowing them out on the job to see how they relate to animals, how dedicated and reliable they may be and how they handle the stress of being in charge of someone’s pet.  You have to see them in person to be sure they are capable of doing the job correctly.

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Wag’s may have taken the on-demand dog walking business by storm, but what they didn’t count on was the scrutiny and backlash they would get from their participants. Glassdoor is a website that give employees a place to share their insider info and a place to air their dirty laundry.  The hiring process consists of filling out a multiple choice questionnaire, watching a video, and attending an exam in which the object is to fit three kinds of harnesses to a dummy dog.  It is reported that anyone can fake who they are on the tests and still pass the scrutiny of Wag.

Would you really want to give the key to your house to just anyone?  Sure, you read over their bios, but do you really know them?  Are their references people that live in your neighborhood and have used this person before?  Who are their friends?  Sure they look trustworthy in their pictures, but you are leaving your key in a lockbox and you have never even met the person that is coming into your house to walk your dog.  These are things to think about before hiring Wag to walk your dog.

Read reviews and complaints about Wag Dog Walking.

Is Wag Dog Walking Service safe to use?

What’s so bad with Wag Dog Walking?

Video from KTVU showing Wag Walker mistreating dog