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The association advises pet owners to work with professional pet sitters and dog walkers to help prevent dog bites and attacks.

KING, N.C. (April 10, 2017) — This year, National Dog Bite Prevention Week® takes place April 9-15. Pet Sitters International (PSI), the world’s largest educational association for professional pet sitters, wants pet owners and the public to know 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 unpredictable behavior in certain circumstances or when facing new people or pets. Professional pet sitters and dog walkers work to ensure that the dogs in their care remain safe and secure, but they need cooperation from others.

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,” explains 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.”

Stultz adds that even with these 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 avoid problems when they encounter 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.

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,” explains 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 Pet Sitter Shop’s leash badge attachment 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 explains.

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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