Dog walking is a serious business. It might seem simple to the non-walker but it can get messy if the walker doesn’t get things under control.
And dog parents know this dilemma so sometimes they want to just leave it to the experts.
Enter Tim Pink and the Saratoga Dog Walkers.
Tim has been walking dogs since 2011 in Saratoga Springs, New York. And the idea was born when he had the same dilemma. Who would walk his then-puppy, Bluff, when he goes to work full-time? Then he thought of a great idea.
He’s the guy who’s going to walk Bluff every day. And a pack of other dogs, too!
Tim decided to open up a dog-walking business in his hometown to provide a solution for other dog parents in the area. He had just graduated with a degree in business, finance, and marketing so he was set.
And, in 2011, he started the Saratoga Dog Walkers, where he started the “Mid-Day Pack Program.”
“Back then I offered everything from pet sitting to dog massages and now we specialize in the pack program,” Tim said.
In the “Mid-Day Pack Program,” they’ll drop by the client’s house, pick up the dogs, and make sure that they get their exercise for the day. When the business was new, he started with a handful of dogs. Almost 10 years later, he’s been walking an average of 40 dogs a day Monday to Friday.
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That’s 200 dogs a week!
He walks so many dogs a day, he had to hire two assistants to help him out. Tim doesn’t choose which breeds or sizes as clients. He takes in all of them, as long as the three of them can handle the dogs.
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Instead, he’ll divide them according to their sizes.
Tim usually walks the larger dogs and his assistants handle the medium-sized and small dogs. Each walk is about 45 minutes and they drop off each dog at their homes at the end of the walk. If it snows or rains, they towel off the dogs first before leaving them back in their homes.
“I always knew I wanted to create something that meets the needs of dogs on a daily basis and so many people have a hard time [doing that] because either they don’t know how to [or they] don’t understand that these are actually needed for their dog,” Tim said.
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Tim believes the exercise and socializing with the other dogs will make the dogs more behaved and well-rounded. And his clients agree.
“Tim is the reason I didn’t have to get rid of my dog,” Rose Zacek, one of his regular clients, shared. “I’m going to hold onto Lexi as long as I can.”
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Rose shared that Lexi, her dog, is getting sicker and needed to have as much exercise as she could.
But with Rose’s work, she couldn’t give Lexi the time she needed for exercise. She was about to put her up for adoption when she was Tim in the park one day.
“I saw this guy walking all these dogs and [then] I saw him work one on one with this girl in a park. He was training her dog how to walk on a leash and he had her hold the leash and the dog wouldn’t pay attention. He held the leash, said a few words and the dog sat and walked [perfectly],” Rose recalled.
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And it’s this dedication that made people notice him and his dogs. And do you know what else?
They walk the dogs in one line, which people can’t help but notice. And he’s trained them so well that Tim can actually line them up in two lines, according to size, where they’ll all behave and look at the camera. Can you believe that?
According to Tim, it’s not easy and it takes hard work but it can be done.
Tim says it begins with building a relationship with the dog. Before a dog joins the pack, he’ll meet with the dog first to form a relationship. He needs to make sure how the dogs react and if they’ll need obedience training.
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Only when Tim is confident that the dog is ready will he introduce the dog to the rest of the pack.
“Then we have to effectively communicate what we want with calm, confident, clear, consistent communication,” Tim stated.
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Can you believe Tim knows all of the names in his dog pack?
And he calls each one out to give them praises or encourages them. And it doesn’t matter if the dogs are busy or someone else is walking them or if there’s traffic around them, the dogs will always look up when Tim calls them.
“Tim is the reason I didn’t have to get rid of my dog,” Rose Zacek said, “I’m going to hold onto Lexi as long as I can.”
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Not bad for a business major who planned to work at a marketing firm.
At $25 per dog, he earns around $2,500 a week. And he gets to do what he loves for a living. Kudos to you, Mr. Pink.
Want to watch how the dogs walk in packs? Watch the video below.
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