New Wag! walkers, request new dog walks with caution

For over a week, I’d seen peculiar dog-walking requests about a 1-year-old Shih Tzu mix. The requests would switch from “On Demand 30 minute” walks to “Drop-Ins” for 60 minutes. Then the on-demand walks would be posted minutes apart (ex. 4:50 p.m. and 4:55 p.m.) for two different prices ($15 and $20) the same day. Although the Wag! stamp underneath said “pre approved,” the dog “owner” would leave pre-approved requests pending. The walk would disappear, and then re-appear all over again. And when it re-appeared, the same walks would be at a $2 boosted rate — $17 and $22.

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For new Wag! walkers, it may look like this dog owner is “shopping around” for the best walkers. However, this is abnormal behavior for a dog request, specifically for an on-demand walk, which usually means the original dog walker or dog sitter canceled and a substitute is needed immediately. It’s easy to tell if an emergency cancellation happened, primarily because when the dog’s pic is clicked, “Notes from Caregivers” will notify new Wag! walkers (and established Wag! walkers) of prior dog walkers’ interactions with this dog. See no notes? Start getting suspicious.

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If there are no notes at all, either this dog owner is being very difficult (or picky) about who enters the dog’s home or is trying to figure out how to get certain people to accept the walk. This doesn’t make much sense for regular dog walkers because they can simply send requests to their preferred dog walkers and wait to see who is available. If they’re newer to the platform and have no preferred dog walkers yet, then there is wiggle room to choose from a group who requests the walk.

However, there’s also the possibility that there is no actual dog to walk. Be careful with Wag! requests that are continuously posted for the same day. If your request is accepted, pay special attention to access instructions at hard-to-find addresses, messages are not returned if the walker arrives and can’t find the apartment or condo unit, or the entry instructions are in poorly lit alleyways or back parking lots.

While some dog owners really do live in legitimately tough-to-find neighborhoods and not every dog owner is tech savvy with mobile apps, chances are much higher that this is someone who is bored and finding ways to entertain themselves by messing with dog caregivers. Unfortunately, Wag’s red-flag alert option doesn’t offer a support message to point out these jokesters. However, here are five things you can do to avoid wasting your time with these prankster dog walking requests.