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This National Dog Bite Prevention Week^®, Pet Sitters International (PSI) advises pet owners and the public to cooperate with professional pet sitters and dog walkers to help prevent dog bites and attacks.

KING, N.C. (April 4, 2018) — This April 8-14 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week^®, and Pet Sitters International (PSI), the world’s largest educational association for professional pet sitters, is reminding pet owners and the public that they can take some simple precautions to help prevent dog bites and attacks from occurring while professional pet sitters are walking dogs.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), a founding sponsor of the National Dog Bite Prevention Week^® Coalition, an estimated 4.5 million people in the United States are bitten by dogs each year. Even a dog with no history of aggression can display aggressive behavior in certain circumstances or when facing new people or pets.

PSI encourages its pet-sitting members to have business policies in place to ensure they get accurate pet-behavioral information from clients and implement policies to keep themselves, the pets in their care and others they encounter safe.

“Professional pet sitters should take a ‘better safe than sorry’ approach,” explained Beth Stultz, PSI vice-president. “Avoiding highly-populated walking paths, steering clear of busy dog parks and implementing a ‘no petting’ by others policy during dog walks can help avoid potential issues.”

Professional pet sitters and dog walkers work to ensure that the dogs in their care remain safe and secure, but even with the right policies in place, professional pet sitters need cooperation from their clients and others they encounter while on dog walks to ensure dangerous situations are avoided.

PSI offers the following advice for pet owners and for people who encounter pet sitters walking dogs:

1. Share information about your dog’s history with your pet sitter. If you are using the services of a professional pet sitter or dog walker, remember that he or she is tasked with keeping your pet safe and with trying to prevent problems when encountering other people or pets. Let your pet sitter or dog walker know about any aggressive tendencies your dog has shown before, anything that stresses or freaks out the dog, and any other relevant information. Professional pet sitters will document this information at the initial consultation before the first pet-sitting or dog-walking assignment.

2. Do not interact with a dog without permission. Dog lovers may be tempted to pet any dog they encounter, but they should exercise restraint. Many pet sitters don’t allow interaction with the pets in their care, so ask before approaching any dog.

“I have a ‘no touch’ policy when I walk a client’s dog,” explained PSI member Jeanne Crockett, owner of Crockett’s Critter Care in North Carolina. “I avoid close interaction with other dogs, children and adults.”

For some pet sitters, trying to prevent interactions may involve avoiding highly-populated areas when walking a dog, changing direction when another person or pet approaches, or using the leash badge attachment from PSI's online store that says “Please Do Not Pet.”

3. Keep your dog on a leash and stay alert. If you are walking your dog, make sure to obey all local leash laws and understand that even where off-leash walking is permitted, it can be dangerous. Off-leash dogs can present a danger not only to a dog in a pet sitter’s care, but also to the pet sitter. The off-leash dog could even be the victim if it runs up to a dog that does not want to socialize.

PSI member Seanna Dunn of All Things Pawsome Pet Sitting in Texas advises people to leash their dogs and pay attention. “People distracted by looking at their phones while walking can cause a lot of problems by not noticing other dogs coming near or the dog they’re walking getting upset or aggressive as another dog approaches,” she explained.

4. Hire a professional to walk your dog. While dog bites can happen to anyone, a professional pet sitter with experience and training will know how to ask the right questions about your dog, which precautions to take during walks and how to respond should a crisis occur.

Pet owners can download a free Pet-Sitter Interview Checklist and search PSI’s Pet Sitter Locator free of charge at www.petsit.com/locate.

To learn more about National Dog Bite Prevention Week, visit the AVMA website. To learn more about PSI or to locate a professional pet sitter in your area, visit www.petsit.com.

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