Dog Walkers in London — Rates, Bylaws & Trusted Local Walkers

How to hire a dog walker in London

Never book a walker who won't meet your dog first. A good walker wants the meet-and-greet — it's how they check your dog is a fit for them, too. Watch how they say hello: do they crouch and let the dog come to them, or loom over and reach straight for the head? The first is a professional; the second just likes dogs.

The questions that actually matter

• Are you insured? Ask to see the certificate. Public-liability and care-custody-and-control cover protects you if your dog hurts someone or is hurt on a walk — and under the Dangerous Dogs Act the person in charge of the dog can be liable, so this matters (see the law tab).
• Are you DBS-checked, and do you hold canine first-aid training?
• How many dogs will mine be walked with — and does that fit our council's limit? (Many councils cap group walks at four to six dogs.)
• Where do you walk, and are dogs on lead or off? What's your recall plan if a dog slips the lead? — any hesitation here is disqualifying.
• Are you aware of the XL Bully rules and the banned-breed law, and how do you handle reactive dogs you meet?
• What happens if my dog, or you, is injured? How do you handle keys or a smart-lock code?
• Can I see a recent walk report or photos, and two client references I can actually ring?

Green flags

They ask you more than you ask them — recall, triggers, medical history, what they'd do if an off-lead dog runs up. Photo updates unasked. Clear on cancellation and rates. They say no to dogs they can't safely handle.

Red flags

Vague about what happens when something goes wrong. No insurance. No written agreement. Won't say which other dogs are in the group. Cash-only with no records. Takes any dog, any size, no questions. Prices far below everyone with no explanation.

Before the first walk, give them

Your dog's microchip number and registry (microchipping is a legal requirement in the UK), your vet's details, current photos, and a second emergency contact who isn't you. A collar ID tag with your name and address is required by law in public. If a walker doesn't ask for these, ask yourself why.

London dog laws every owner should know

No licence — but microchipping is the law

There is no dog licence anywhere in Great Britain (only Northern Ireland still requires one), so no London borough charges a licence fee. But microchipping is compulsory for every dog in England — chipped by 8 weeks old, with registry details kept current, or you face a fine — and a dog in a public place must wear a collar and ID tag. Keeping the microchip database up to date is how a lost dog gets home.

Borough PSPOs — the local layer

Most London boroughs enforce Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) that require picking up after your dog, keeping dogs on leads on certain roads and in certain areas, staying out of children's play areas and marked wildlife/sports zones, and putting a dog on a lead when directed by an officer. Crucially for walkers, several boroughs cap one person at four dogs at a time — Tower Hamlets and Richmond both reduced their limit to four, and Hammersmith & Fulham licenses walkers for up to four. Walking more (up to six) needs a professional dog walker licence in the boroughs that offer one. [VERIFY] Exact per-borough dog limits, licence requirements and PSPO fine amounts vary and change — confirm your specific borough's current PSPO before relying on a number.

The Royal Parks rules

Dogs are welcome in the Royal Parks (Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park, Richmond, Bushy, Greenwich, St James's) but must be on-lead near water, in flower gardens and near wildlife. The Royal Parks state no-one should be in charge of more than 4 dogs, and commercial dog walking requires a Royal Parks licence. In Richmond and Bushy Parks dogs must be on a lead from 1 May to 31 July (deer birthing season) and kept well clear of deer all year — female deer will chase and attack a dog they see as a threat to their young.

The England liability point

In England it is a criminal offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (section §3) to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, and the law applies to the owner AND any person in charge of the dog — so a walker or sitter is directly liable. Civil claims run under the Animals Act 1971, and certain breeds including the XL Bully are banned/restricted (must be neutered, microchipped, and kept muzzled and on-lead in public under a certificate of exemption). For walkers, public liability insurance is non-negotiable. (See the England law tab.)

Off-lead spaces worth knowing

• Hampstead Heath — the standout: roughly 700 of its 800 acres are off-lead at all times, only signed areas (Kenwood gardens, play areas, sports pitches) need a lead; the City of London asks walkers not to exceed four dogs
• Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens and Regent's Park — large off-lead areas, on-lead near water and flower gardens
• Victoria Park (East End), Clapham Common, and Wimbledon Common — classic off-lead commons
• Richmond Park — glorious but free-roaming deer; keep dogs well away, on-lead 1 May–31 July

Walking dogs in London's wet, dark winters

London's climate is mild but relentlessly wet and grey for much of the year — the defining walking challenge is mud, puddles and short daylight, not heat.

• Mud and rain most of the year. The commons and Heath turn to mud from autumn through spring — a good London walker carries a towel, expects a wet dog, and knows which paths drain and which flood.
• Short winter daylight. In December the sun sets around 4pm, so much of the day's walking happens in the dark — high-vis gear, a lit collar and well-lit routes matter, and a walker plans around low light.
• Summer heatwaves. Increasingly London bakes for short spells — hot pavement burns paws (the seven-second back-of-hand test applies), and flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds like French Bulldogs and Pugs are at real heat-stroke risk, so walk early morning or late evening on hot days.
• Urban hazards. Traffic is the constant danger — busy roads, cyclists and buses — plus urban foxes, discarded food and chicken bones on pavements, and broken glass. A city walker keeps a dog close on the street and watches what it scavenges.
• The Thames path and commons. The riverside path and the big commons are London's green lungs, but the Thames has strong tides and steep banks — a good walker keeps dogs off the mud and out of the river.
• Grass seeds and ticks on the Heath and commons in summer — paw, ear and coat checks after long-grass walks.

A walker who talks fluently about wet-weather kit, walking in winter dark, hot-pavement timing for flat-faced breeds, and London's foxes and traffic is a London walker.

England state dog laws

In England & Wales the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (section 3) makes it a CRIMINAL offence to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere — and it bites the owner AND any person in charge of the dog at the time, so a walker or sitter is directly on the hook.

These state-level rules apply across England; the local rules that govern day-to-day walking are on the Local bylaws tab.

Dangerously out of control: the criminal law (Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, section 3) — person in charge

Under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 it is a criminal offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control in ANY place — public or private, including a private home. Crucially, the offence is committed by the owner AND, if different, by any person who is for the time being in charge of the dog — so a walker, sitter or handler is directly liable, not just the owner. 'Dangerously out of control' means there are reasonable grounds to apprehend the dog will injure someone — the dog does not have to bite. It becomes an aggravated offence if the dog injures a person (or an assistance dog). Penalties are serious: up to 6 months (magistrates) for the basic offence and up to 5 years' imprisonment on indictment where a person is injured (life where a death results), an unlimited fine, plus destruction and disqualification orders. An owner may have a defence if they left the dog with someone they reasonably believed a fit and proper person to be in charge of it — which puts the exposure squarely on the person handling the dog.

Banned breeds and the XL Bully rules (section 1)

Section 1 of the Act prohibits four types outright — the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro — with type judged by how the dog looks, not its breed name or paperwork. The American XL Bully was added in England & Wales: from 31 December 2023 it had to be microchipped and kept muzzled and on a lead in public, and from 1 February 2024 it became illegal to own one without a Certificate of Exemption (owners had until 31 January 2024 to apply). An exempt XL Bully must be neutered, microchipped, kept muzzled and on a lead in public at all times, and kept securely so it cannot escape. Owning a prohibited dog without an exemption is a criminal offence. This is walker-critical: never take on a dog that may be a banned type or a non-exempt or non-compliant XL Bully.

Civil claims: the Animals Act 1971 keeper liability

Separate from the criminal law, the Animals Act 1971 (section 2) is the main civil compensation route. A dog is a non-dangerous species, so it falls under section 2(2): the keeper can face strict liability (no need to prove negligence) where a three-part test is met — the damage was of a kind the dog was likely to cause or likely to be severe, that likelihood was due to characteristics not normal for the species except in particular circumstances, and those characteristics were known to the keeper. A person can be a keeper even without control at the moment of the incident, and there can be more than one keeper. Ordinary negligence claims also run alongside. This is the (non-criminal) route by which an injured person recovers damages.

Microchipping, collars/ID, leads and council PSPOs

Microchipping has been compulsory in England since 6 April 2016 (dogs from 8 weeks; keep registered details current — non-compliance can bring a fine up to £500). Under the Control of Dogs Order 1992, a dog on a public highway or public place must wear a collar bearing the owner's name and address — the ID tag is a legal requirement in addition to the chip. There is no blanket national leash law, but councils issue Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) that can require dogs on leads in specified areas, exclude dogs from places (playgrounds, marked beaches seasonally), require picking up mess, and — critically for walkers — limit the number of dogs one person may walk (often a cap of around four). Breaches draw a Fixed Penalty Notice (commonly £100) or prosecution. PSPOs vary by council, so the rules change from area to area. (This layer covers England & Wales, which share this law; Scotland and Northern Ireland differ.)

Dog walking in London — questions people ask