Dog Walkers in Great Falls — Rates, Bylaws & Trusted Local Walkers

How to hire a dog walker in Great Falls

Never hire a walker who won't meet your dog before the first booking. A good walker wants this — it's how they assess whether your dog is a fit for them, too. Watch how they greet your dog: do they crouch, let the dog approach, and ignore them for a moment, or do they 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 it. Liability insurance protects you if your dog bites someone or damages property on a walk — and in a strict-liability state it matters more than most owners realize (see the state-law tab). A professional will have it and won't be offended you asked.
• Do you have pet first-aid training?
• How many dogs will mine be walked with, and who are they?
• What's your route, and where will you take my dog?
• What happens if my dog slips their collar or gets loose? — the answer should be immediate and specific; any hesitation is disqualifying.
• What if my dog gets injured, or you do?
• How do you handle keys or entry?
• Can I see photos or a report from a walk you did this week?
• Can you give me two client references? — and actually call them.

Green flags

They ask you more questions than you ask them — recall, triggers, medical history, what they'd do if a coyote or another dog appears. They send photo updates unasked. They're clear on cancellation policy and rates. They say no to dogs they can't handle.

Red flags

Vague answers 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. Will take any dog, any size, any temperament, no questions. Prices well below everyone else with no explanation.

Before the first walk, give them

Your dog's microchip number and its registry, your city licence tag number, current photos, your vet's contact, and a second emergency contact who isn't you. If a walker doesn't ask for these, ask yourself why.

Great Falls dog laws every owner should know

Licensing & rabies

Great Falls requires you to register a dog or cat once it reaches four months old, with proof of current rabies vaccination, through the city animal shelter. Keeping more than two dogs (or two cats) over six months on one property requires a multiple-animal permit — violating that is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine. [VERIFY] Confirm the current license fee (altered vs. intact) with the shelter before publish.

Leash / running-at-large

Under Title 6 of the Great Falls Municipal Code, it is illegal to let a dog run at large — a dog not confined to an enclosure must be on a leash no longer than 10 feet, securely fastened or held. Loose animals may be impounded, with shelter intake fees if taken to the facility. [VERIFY] Confirm the specific at-large fine schedule on the municipal code before publish.

The Montana liability point

Montana imposes strict liability for a dog bite that happens within an incorporated city or town (Mont. Code § 27-1-715), regardless of the dog's history — but outside city limits the common-law negligence rule applies, so location decides. A leash-ordinance violation is also negligence. For walkers inside Great Falls, the strict-liability exposure makes control and your own insurance non-negotiable. (See the Montana law tab.)

Off-leash areas worth knowing

• Pacific Steel & Recycling Trailside Dog Park — separate fenced big-dog and small-dog areas, split by a plaza with benches and a pavilion (drinking fountain winterized in the cold months)
• Elks Riverside Park along the River's Edge Trail — a popular riverside spot on the western side of town

The River's Edge Trail along the Missouri is the city's premier on-leash route.

Walking dogs in the Electric City's wind & cold

Great Falls sits on the Missouri River where the plains meet the Rockies — famously one of the windiest cities in America, and its climate is the defining walking factor.

• Extreme cold and relentless wind. Winter brings sub-zero cold, and the wind is constant year-round — wind chill turns a mild day dangerous for short-coated, senior, and small dogs. A pro shortens routes and watches for shivering and lifted paws.
• Chinook country. Great Falls is classic chinook territory — a warm downslope wind can spike temperatures dozens of degrees in an hour, then drop again, so layers and flexible timing matter.
• Hot, dry summers. July and August push past 90°F with strong sun — the seven-second pavement test, early and late walks, and water on board.
• Wildfire smoke season. Late-summer regional smoke can foul the air for days — a good walker checks the AQI and shortens or skips hard exercise.
• The Missouri River and its falls. Fast, cold water with dams and spillways — leash near the banks and off winter ice.
• Prairie and river-trail wildlife. Deer along the River's Edge Trail, rattlesnakes on the dry bluffs in warm months, and skunks — trail awareness matters.

A walker who talks fluently about wind chill, chinook swings, and smoke days is a Great Falls walker.

Montana state dog laws

Montana's dog-bite liability changes at the city-limit sign — strict liability in town, negligence outside it.

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

Dog bites: strict liability — but only inside city or town limits

Under MCA § 27-1-715, the owner of a dog that without provocation bites a person in a public place, or lawfully on private property, located within an incorporated city or town, is strictly liable — regardless of the dog's former viciousness or the owner's knowledge.

The geographic limit is the key feature: this strict-liability statute applies only within incorporated cities and towns. Bites outside city or town limits are handled under negligence, negligence per se, or scienter, where the victim must prove fault or prior knowledge. Montana is unusually harsh on defenses: under Stroop v. Day (1995), an owner sued under the statute cannot raise comparative negligence or most affirmative defenses — only provocation and trespass survive.

Non-bite injuries → negligence

The statute covers bites only. If a dog knocks someone down, trips, or scratches them, the claim proceeds under negligence (the victim must prove the owner failed to use reasonable care). Montana's personal-injury limit is three years from the injury, whether the claim is under the bite statute or negligence.

Licensing, leash & dangerous dogs are local

Montana's state code authorizes counties and cities to enact ordinances on licensing, dangerous dogs, barking, running at large, and destruction of unlicensed dogs (Title 7). There is no statewide leash law — leash, licensing, and dangerous-dog rules are set by each city and county. So the city page governs the day-to-day rules; the state governs the liability standard.

Rural note: livestock & wildlife

Montana law allows a landowner or authorized officer to destroy a dog seen chasing, attacking, or killing livestock or hooved game animals on that land, without liability. This is ranch country and the law is serious about it — keep dogs well away from livestock and wildlife. On trails, assume wildlife (deer, and in many areas bears and mountain lions): leashed and close.

Dog walking in Great Falls — questions people ask