Question 1

What is your service area?

Accepted Answer

We provide services in Waltham, Watertown, Belmont and parts of Newton, Lexington, Weston, and Lincoln. There are times we can extend outside of our services but there are travel fees involved.

Question 2

Why should I choose your company over others?

Accepted Answer

Choosing Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting means entrusting your beloved pets to a dedicated team that prioritizes their well-being and your peace of mind. Here's why our services stand out:

Reliable Availability: Our team is at your service year-round, ensuring your pets receive consistent care even during your busiest times.

Professional Team Approach: With a diverse group of trained sitters and managers, we provide comprehensive support, including emergency coverage, so your pets are never left unattended.

Safety and Security: We treat your home and pets with the utmost respect, implementing best practices to maintain a secure environment during each visit.

Force-Free and Fear-Free Practices: Our commitment to humane, science-based methods ensures your pets experience stress-free interactions, promoting their overall happiness and health.

Customized Care Plans: Recognizing that each pet has unique needs, we tailor our services to match their specific requirements, ensuring personalized attention and care.

Experienced Leadership: Founded by Angela, a Fear Free certified pet care professional with a Master's in Behavior Analysis and a dog training diploma, with over a decade of experience, our company brings expertise and passion to every interaction.

Comprehensive Services: From dog walking and pet sitting to specialized training for reactive and fearful animals, we offer a wide range of services to meet all your pet care needs.

Community Trust: Serving Waltham, MA, and surrounding areas since 2012, we've built a reputation for exceptional service and genuine care for our clients' pets.

By choosing Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting, you're opting for a professional, compassionate, and reliable partner dedicated to the well-being of your pets and the security of your home.

Question 3

Why choose a Fear Free pet professional?

Accepted Answer

Choosing a Fear Free pet professional means choosing someone who prioritizes your pet’s emotional well-being, not just their physical care. Our team uses gentle handling, positive reinforcement, and pet-specific routines to help dogs and cats feel as safe, comfortable, and understood as possible during every visit.

Instead of forcing pets through care, we pay attention to body language, stress signals, preferences, and comfort levels. We move at your pet’s pace, build trust over time, and adjust our approach based on what each individual animal needs.

For pet parents, this means your pet is cared for by a team that is thoughtful, patient, and committed to reducing fear, anxiety, and stress while supporting their whole well-being.

Question 4

Is Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting insured?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting is insured and bonded through Business Insurers of the Carolinas. All of our employees are fully bonded and insured as well. We are also required to carry worker's compensation insurance for our employees. We take this very seriously. This provides protection for you, your dog, and the dog walker/pet sitter.

Question 5

What is the difference between a template walk and an on-demand walk?

Accepted Answer

A template walk is a recurring weekly walk for families who have a consistent schedule and need ongoing support. This option is best for clients who need walks on the same days each week with minimal cancellations. Template clients receive our lowest dog walking rate, priority booking, a guaranteed spot in our schedule, access to dog sitting services, additional services at templated pricing, and reduced weekend, after hours, and holiday fees.

An on demand walk is best for families with a changing schedule who cannot commit to the same days each week. These visits are requested as needed and are priced higher than template walks, but clients can save when booking multiple walks in the same week through frequency discounts.

A simple way to think about it is: template walks are for consistency and long term support, while on demand walks are for flexibility.

Question 6

Do you take last minute requests?

Accepted Answer

Once you are an established client, we can take last minute requests and it is based on availability. If you have a lockbox, coded door, or garage door entry, we do not charge Paws-In-Demand Fees.

If you are not an established client, we may be able to provide Paws-In-Demand services which are an additional $15/visit. Holidays most likely will not be available.

Question 7

Will my dog have the same dog walker/pet sitter each time?

Accepted Answer

We try our very best to always use the same dog walker whenever possible for our dog walking services when they are scheduled on a regular basis but life happens and since we have a team of pet care providers, we always have backup options available. You will have the opportunity to meet your dog walker during the Meet and Greet. A service fee of $25 will be added to your first invoice.
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We use a team approach for our irregular dog walking and pet sitting services. Our staff work in shifts and depending on your pet(s)' needs, we may need to use more than one pet sitter. If you require more than one dog walker/pet sitter and would like to meet with all of them, the Meet and Greet will cost $25 per dog walker/pet sitter.

Question 8

Why don't you take dogs off leash?

Accepted Answer

We treat our clients' pets as if they are our own. Your pet's safety is our number one priority. There is just way too much risk involved with letting a dog run off leash. We do not want any dog getting into something he/she is not supposed to; running after a deer or another wild animal and getting lost; or getting into a fight with another off leash dog who is not part of the Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting family.

Question 9

Why do you customize services?

Accepted Answer

Our company is committed to meeting you and your animal’s needs. We know that every animal is unique and needs different things to be happy so we want to be able to accommodate that to the best of our ability.

Question 10

What animals do you take care of?

Accepted Answer

We love all animals! We have experience with dogs, cats, mice, rats, guinea pigs, chinchillas, hedgehogs, ferrets, fish, birds, and reptiles. We do not take care of chickens, goats, or horses.

Question 11

How can I be certain that someone came to visit as scheduled?

Accepted Answer

We use a scheduling software and you download the app which alerts you when we arrive and we send a detailed visit update at the end of the visit as well.

Question 12

How do I pay for services?

Accepted Answer

For single-day or Paws-In-Demand clients, payment is due in full on the day of service.

Payment is due in full on the last day of service for the week for multi-day dog walking clients. For example, if you booked Monday, Wednesday, Friday, payment is due on Friday.

For pet sitting clients, payment is due two days before the first day of service. When booking around a holiday, a deposit of 25% of the balance may be required at the time of booking to secure your spot and payment is due in full one week prior to the first day of service.

A $5 per week late charge will be assessed to the service that is not paid when it is due. There will be a $25 service charge for each returned check. You can pay online through our scheduling software (ACH, debit, or credit card) or by check. Please make checks out to Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting, LLC.

Question 13

What happens if I need to cancel a scheduled visit?

Accepted Answer

If you know you will not need a visit during the week, please try to give us as much notice as you can whenever possible. If you need to cancel services for the next day, please try to submit a request by 5pm the night before in order to prevent being charged cancellation fees.

Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting understands that emergencies happen so if you need to cancel at the last minute, please submit your request before 8pm to prevent being charged the full amount of the visit.

Any cancellation made between 5pm-8pm, will be charged 50% of the service and any cancellation made after 8pm will be charged the full amount of the visit.

In the case of weather related cancellations, please cancel before 8am in order to prevent being charged for the visit.

Question 14

What is your Inclement Weather policy?

Accepted Answer

Safety for your pets and our dog walkers/pet sitters is always our number one priority. Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting normally will walk dogs and provide cat sitting services in all sorts of weather if it is still safe to travel to your house and safe to walk in the streets.
 
Weather and road conditions may impact service times and/or service lengths. We will adhere to prearranged services whenever possible but reserve the right to modify or cancel services when road or weather conditions endanger our employees.
 
If you would like your service to be modified to account for inclement weather, please notify us the night before your scheduled service through the scheduler in Time to Pet and submit a schedule CHANGE or CANCELLATION.

In the case of extreme weather, Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting will use our best judgment if services should be modified, shortened, or canceled due to extreme weather (power outages, temps 80+ or 30-, lightning and thunderstorms, or blizzard type conditions). Temperature tolerance can vary from pet to pet based on their coat, body fat stores, activity level, age, and health. We are knowledgeable and experienced with all types of pets and their tolerance for extreme weather and will adjust accordingly.

We may need to shorten your dog’s walks in very cold/hot weather to protect us both from weather-associated health risks and spend the rest of the time inside doing some mental enrichment activities. If you have instructions on how to better care for your pet in extreme weather, please let us know by sending a message in the conversation feed or updating their profile.

Management of Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting has 4WD or AWD vehicles and will try to complete all services if it is safe to do so when your regular dog walker/pet sitter is not able to travel safely.

In the case of a weather-related emergency, as declared by local government, we maintain the right to cancel or suspend our services.

Before leaving town when we are pet sitting, we want to have a plan for all contingencies. Though it is rare, we want to make sure to have all bases covered. We like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Please note there is a $50/night on-call overnight charge from December through April that will be applied for all dog sitting dates per our inclement weather policy. This means we have someone on call to stay overnight in case there is a snow storm and it looks like we will have trouble coming. That $50 will be applied towards the overall costs of the overnight.

In the case of storms or emergencies where travel is impossible, this means having a plan in place before the roads are impassable for emergency in-your-home overnight pet sitting or boarding care provided by one of our staff or someone you trust or having a local emergency contact person take over.

There is an extra charge for overnight or boarding services with Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting so you will want to inquire about cost and discuss your preference for inclement weather emergency care well in advance of your departure dates. If we do not hear from you, we will reach out and ask you to update your profile indicating your choice of emergency protocol in order from 1-3 (overnight in your home, boarding in a staff home, emergency contact care). #1 being your first choice and #3 being your last choice.

In the case that we are not your first choice to provide emergency care, we ask that you provide at least two emergency contacts (preferably a neighbor or someone local) that can take over the care of your pet(s). They will need their own key or way to access your house. Please make sure your emergency contact information is up to date in your Time to Pet profile. When road conditions clear, Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting will resume services as scheduled unless you have determined differently and want your emergency contact to continue care instead. Invoices will be adjusted to reflect the change.

Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting will attempt to contact you by sending a message in the Time to Pet app, texting you, sending you an email and/or calling and leaving a voicemail to make sure you are aware of any adjustments to care or schedule.

If we are dog sitting or cat sitting for cats (with medical needs) and unable to get in touch with your emergency contacts, 
We will try to provide an overnight sitter and will schedule and charge you for an overnight plus any additional time the sitter provides at your house at a reduced hourly rate. 
Overnights run from 10-6am and start at $225. 
If we are dog sitting, overnights are an additional $125 since you are already paying for the bedtime and morning visits in your original invoice.

If we cannot provide an overnight sitter and can provide boarding services in a sitter’s home instead, we will schedule and charge you for boarding (pricing varies based on how long the pet is in our home).
Boarding rates start at $125 for the overnight.

If we are cat sitting and your cat doesn’t have any medical needs, we will leave extra food and water out and will provide services as soon as conditions allow safe access to your home.
If your cat eats meals at certain times and does not normally free feed, we highly recommend purchasing an auto feeder that has different chambers that we can program to open at specific times.
If your cat normally eats wet food, we highly recommend purchasing an auto feeder that has ice packs underneath and purchasing multiple extras that can be frozen and rotated.

Weather Related Cancellations
We always extend the cancellation window due to the weather. When Waltham, Watertown, Belmont, or Newton Public Schools are CLOSED due to severe weather and you decide to stay home, visits must be canceled via the scheduler in Time to Pet by 8am for cancellation fees to be completely waived.

It is ESSENTIAL that all cancellations be submitted via the scheduler in Time to Pet. If you only call, email, or send a message in the conversation feed regarding your cancellation, your pet sitter may not receive notice in time and cancellation fees will not be waived.
 
Safety and Home Entry During Inclement Weather
For the safety of the pet sitter and pets, please make arrangements for someone to clear your driveway, walkways, and any entrances being used by your pets and pet sitter.

Please provide shovels, flashlights, and sand or pet safe ice melt at all entries being used by your pet sitter and pets.

If we cannot enter your driveway or walkways safely, and we have time in our schedule to clear an area to park and walk, you will be charged $60+/half hour for snow removal. There is no guarantee that we will be able to provide this service so please do not rely on us to be your snow removal arrangement. If we are unable to remove the snow and cannot park or enter your home to provide services, you will be notified that we attempted to provide service and will be charged for the scheduled service. We will try again to gain safe access at your next scheduled visit.

Please remember garage codes do not always work in very cold weather and hidden keys may be impossible to retrieve in deep snow or ice. Please be certain your lockbox is in an area protected from freezing temps and from being covered in snow. Double check with Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting to make sure they have THREE sets of keys on file for your home if you do not have a lockbox or coded door.
 
What We Do to Prepare for a Blizzard (as Professional Pet Care Providers):
Check weather reports frequently.
Stock our vehicles with emergency gear.
Discuss emergency scenarios with the team. Pet Sitters with 4WD and AWD vehicles are on call.
Prioritize pet sitting visits and dog walking visits for people who are not home and cancel as needed.
Contact our clients to let them know of the situation and keep them updated throughout.
Management assists the sitters to get all the visits done.
If there is any possibility we will not make it to a home, we contact you and the emergency contacts and arrange emergency coverage, if needed. We provide them with all of the information needed to watch the home if you cannot.
Leave out extra food and water, just in case.
Stay in touch with emergency backups to assess the area and keep them apprised if we need help with visits.

Question 15

Do you provide services on holidays?

Accepted Answer

We do not provide regular dog walking services on the following holidays: New Years Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Eve. However, we provide pet sitting services on those holidays with limited availability so please request services at least a few weeks in advance to reserve your space. There is a $20 holiday fee per visit for any service scheduled on those days.

Question 16

What do I need to leave out for the Dog Walker/Pet Sitter?

Accepted Answer

Please leave out a collar and harness (if your dog uses one). We use our own leashes. When it is raining, please leave out a towel so we can dry off your dog after the walk. For pet sitting clients, please supply enough food and other supplies to last for the visit.

Question 17

Do you know Pet First Aid and CPR?

Accepted Answer

Yes! All of our employees are required to take and pass a Pet First Aid and CPR certification training course and have been certified through Pro Pet Hero. We all get re-certified every two years.

Question 18

What are your Upper Respiratory Illness Procedures?

Accepted Answer

Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting wants to reassure you that our commitment to everyone's health is our top priority. We want to be proactive and help mitigate further spread of any upper respiratory illness. While you may be asked to continue to work from home, we would love to continue our services as scheduled in order to keep your pet's routine as normal as possible.
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It is very important that we continue to monitor ourselves, our family members, and anyone else we have close contact with. We will take every precaution that we can to try to keep everyone healthy. If any of our staff are feeling sick, they may be required to stay home and possibly follow up with a medical professional depending on their symptoms. We will automatically send another staff member to take care of your pet.
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Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance for businesses and employers and the Massachusetts Reopening Plan to respond to COVID-19, we have asked all of our staff to follow basic protective measures as outlined in that document.
 
We also need your help:
We will need to wash our hands with soap and water in your home or use your restroom if we are working long shifts. If you have any concerns about us using your facilities or want us to use a specific restroom or sink in your home, please send us a message before we start services back up so we can work out a plan that works for you and update your profile so everyone is on the same page.
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We also kindly request that all of our clients notify us immediately if they are showing symptoms described by the CDC of COVID-19 so we can cancel our visit(s) since we will be visiting other homes throughout the day and want to prevent possibly spreading any illness. 
 
Please visit the CDC website for more information on Upper Respiratory Illnesses and what you can do to help protect yourself from the viruses. Everyone's health and safety is very important to all of us at Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting. We will continue to monitor and follow the guidance provided by the CDC.

Question 19

What is your key policy?

Accepted Answer

If you do not have a coded door or coded garage door entry, we require a lockbox to be set up at your house. One set of keys stays in the lockbox and one set of keys stays locked in our Office.

If you do not want to set up a lockbox, we require at least 5 sets of keys and there is a Key Exchange Fee added to your invoice to accommodate the time and mileage we need to pay our team members to pick up and drop off keys at the Office.

Benefits to Lockboxes or Coded Door

1. Enhanced Security Adopting lockboxes or coded doors means that your home’s security is always a top priority. This method eliminates the need to duplicate keys or manage their return, ensuring that only authorized team members have access. Regular updates to access codes further secure your property. You can change the codes whenever you want to.

2. Flexible Scheduling With keyless entry, we wouldn't have to spend time going to the Office to pick up and return keys saving us labor costs and keeping our prices down. This flexibility allows for easier scheduling of last-minute visits or changes to your pet care plan, ensuring that your pet's needs are always met, even when unexpected changes arise in your schedule.

3. Streamlined Service Utilizing a keyless system allows us to optimize our time, focusing more on the care and interaction with your pets rather than the logistics of key exchanges. This helps us maintain our commitment to punctuality and high-quality service during every visit.

4. Peace of Mind Knowing that your home and pets are secure while you're away provides immense peace of mind. A keyless system reinforces that trust, emphasizing our commitment to the safety and well-being of both your property and beloved pets.

PAWSTIVE DAWG FAQs

Have questions?
We've got answers.

What is your service area?

Why should I choose your company over others?

Why choose a Fear Free pet professional?

Is Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting insured?

What is the difference between a template walk and an on-demand walk?

Do you take last minute requests?

Will my dog have the same dog walker/pet sitter each time?

Why don't you take dogs off leash?

Why do you customize services?

What animals do you take care of?

How can I be certain that someone came to visit as scheduled?

How do I pay for services?

What happens if I need to cancel a scheduled visit?

What is your Inclement Weather policy?

Do you provide services on holidays?

What do I need to leave out for the Dog Walker/Pet Sitter?

Do you know Pet First Aid and CPR?

What are your Upper Respiratory Illness Procedures?

What is your key policy?

Contact

Serving

Navigate

Next Steps

PAWSTIVE DAWG FAQs

Have questions? We've got answers.

What is your service area?

Why should I choose your company over others?

Why choose a Fear Free pet professional?

Is Pawsitive Dawg Walking and Pet Sitting insured?

What is the difference between a template walk and an on-demand walk?

Do you take last minute requests?

Will my dog have the same dog walker/pet sitter each time?

Why don't you take dogs off leash?

Why do you customize services?

What animals do you take care of?

How can I be certain that someone came to visit as scheduled?

How do I pay for services?

What happens if I need to cancel a scheduled visit?

What is your Inclement Weather policy?

Do you provide services on holidays?

What do I need to leave out for the Dog Walker/Pet Sitter?

Do you know Pet First Aid and CPR?

What are your Upper Respiratory Illness Procedures?

What is your key policy?

Contact

Serving

Navigate

Next Steps

Have questions?
We've got answers.