Frequently Asked Questions

It's a recurring weekly schedule of R+ positive reinforcement walks. Each walk is led by a Specialist trained under a certified trainer and adapted to your dog's physical, mental, emotional, and instinctual needs, combining exercise with enrichment, confidence-building, and positive reinforcement. Every membership walk is an R+ walk.

The goal is a happier, healthier, more confident dog over time.

Traditional dog walks focus mostly on exercise and finishing the route. Our Specialists also pay attention to how your dog feels throughout the walk and respond with positive reinforcement, choice, distance, enrichment, and low-stress handling.

Rather than measuring a walk by distance, we look at what your dog experienced, practiced, and needed that day.

Every R+ positive reinforcement walk is an R+ (positive reinforcement) walk.

Our Specialists use force-free, low-stress, Fear Free-focused methods. They reward the behaviors we want to see more of, give dogs appropriate choices, create distance when something feels overwhelming, and adjust each walk to the dog in front of them. We don't use corrections, intimidation, or punishment.

• Tier 1: three R+ positive reinforcement walks per week, 45 or 60 minutes each, with flexible weekday scheduling windows.
• Tier 2: four walks per week, 30, 45, or 60 minutes each, with a reserved weekday time window and higher booking priority.
• Tier 3: five walks per week, 20, 30, 45, or 60 minutes each, with our widest scheduling access and highest priority. Dogs on 60-minute Tier 3 walks can upgrade one regularly scheduled walk each quarter to a Private Trail Hike.

Every tier includes the same quality of care from the same Specialists trained under a certified trainer. What changes is frequency, scheduling flexibility, priority, and access. Members at every tier can book Member-Exclusive Adventures, and Tier 3 gets priority. Our Compare Membership Tiers page has the full breakdown.

No. Dogs who pull, react, feel anxious, or struggle to settle often benefit the most, but the program is built for dogs of all personalities and needs.

For well-adjusted dogs, enrichment adds mental engagement, variety, and ongoing skill practice.

No. It's a professional dog walking program informed by canine behavior, enrichment, and positive reinforcement.

Dogs often build confidence, focus, and everyday skills through consistent walks, but membership doesn't replace private training. For more complex concerns, we can reinforce an existing training plan or connect you with our Fear Free Certified trainer.

Each walk depends on your dog and what they need that day. It may include decompression and sniffing, loose-leash practice, confidence-building, enrichment games, choice-based exploration, or reinforcement of calm behavior.

Not formal training. Specialists use positive reinforcement in everyday moments, like rewarding a voluntary check-in, a loose leash, or a calm response to a distraction.

Over time, those small, consistent moments support real progress.

Often, yes. Consistent reinforcement, appropriate distance, careful management, and well-planned walks can help dogs who pull or get overexcited around triggers.

For more significant reactivity, we may recommend private training and keep reinforcing your dog's plan on membership walks.

Yes. Share goals like easier leash walking, calmer greetings, better focus, or more confidence in new places.

Your Care Team will work toward them when appropriate, while still adjusting each walk to your dog's comfort and needs.

Progress comes from repeated, positive experiences, so consistency matters. A weekly routine lets your Care Team build trust with your dog, learn their needs, and reinforce skills from one walk to the next.

The commitment also reserves dedicated time in our team's schedule, which keeps your dog's care reliable.

They're extended or specialized outings for members, such as Private Trail Hike Adventures, with more experiences added over time.

These outings call for familiarity with the dog, an understanding of their behavior and comfort level, and confidence that the setting suits them.

Offering them through membership means our Specialists can plan each one around an established relationship, a shared Care Plan, and ongoing observations.

For the past six years, these services showed us how sniffing, play, decompression, and movement can make everyday care more meaningful. What we learned shaped R+ positive reinforcement walks.

Our Specialists are trained in canine body language, positive reinforcement, loose-leash skills, confidence-building, emotional regulation, counterconditioning, enrichment, and decompression. They use that training, your dog's personalized plan, and their own observations to decide what each walk includes.

That may include sniffing, play, or skill practice you'd recognize from those services. They're now tools within a broader approach, so we no longer offer them separately.

A recurring schedule of Classic Walks on the same days each week, at a preferred rate compared with booking On-Demand walks individually. Bundles are available 2, 3, 4, or 5 days per week.

They cover everyday exercise, bathroom breaks, and companionship, without the behavior and enrichment work or other membership benefits.

Service weeks run Saturday through Friday, and bundles are billed one week ahead. We send your invoice for the coming week on Thursday and charge the card on file on Friday.

Because your bundle reserves specific days at a preferred rate, each week is billed as scheduled. If something comes up, you can reschedule a walk instead of canceling it.

Bundle walks can't be canceled or refunded, since your bundle reserves specific days and our team's time each week. You can reschedule instead.

With at least 24 hours' notice, we'll credit the walk and reschedule it in the current or following service week, subject to availability. You can reschedule one walk per service week, and credits can't be saved or carried forward. If we have no availability in that window, we'll extend your credit by one more week.

With less than 24 hours' notice, the walk is used as scheduled. If you'd like a replacement, we can book an On-Demand walk at our On-Demand rate.

For planned travel, use the vacation pause below.

Yes. With at least 7 days' notice, you can pause your bundle for up to two full service weeks per calendar year. We remove those walks before your invoice is created, so there's nothing to credit back.

Each paused week covers a full Saturday through Friday service week, including every walk you'd normally have that week.

Flexible, commitment-free walks at our standard rate, for occasional needs rather than a weekly schedule.

You can request walks up to 30 days in advance, and we confirm 24 hours before service, based on team availability. Members get longer booking windows and higher priority.

On-Demand visits may go to any available qualified team member, so your dog should be comfortable meeting and being handled by new people.

If your dog needs familiar faces or more continuity, a Bundle or Membership is a better fit.

A team member trained to lead R+ positive reinforcement walks. Specialists are trained in canine body language, positive reinforcement, enrichment, decompression, loose-leash skills, confidence-building, and supporting dogs around everyday triggers. Every Specialist is also CPR and First Aid certified.

On each walk, they watch your dog's communication and emotional state, reinforce good choices, and adjust the walk to what your dog needs that day. Your dog's Care Team shares observations and follows the same personalized plan.

Specialists train under our Fear Free Certified trainer, with extensive onboarding in canine body language, positive reinforcement, Fear Free-focused handling, enrichment, decompression, loose-leash skills, stress signals, and safety. That includes how to adjust a walk to each dog's emotional state, comfort level, environment, and goals.

After onboarding, Specialists continue with ongoing coaching, feedback, and continuing education.

No. Our care is force-free and based on positive reinforcement. We don't use intimidation, leash corrections, or shock, prong, or choke collars.

Specialists use management, reinforcement, distance from triggers, changes to the environment, and relationship-building to help dogs feel safe and make good choices. The goal is to understand what your dog is communicating and support lasting progress through trust.

Yes. Member households have a small, dedicated Care Team of Pet Care Club employees who know your dog, your home, and your routine. Getting to know several familiar people is its own form of social enrichment, and everyone on the team follows the same personalized plan.

After every visit, you'll get a journal with notes and photos when possible. It covers what your dog did, how they responded to their surroundings, which activities or skills the walk included, and any behavior or enrichment observations.

Your Care Team also watches for changes in behavior, mobility, appetite, energy, or mood, and we'll contact you promptly if anything seems off.

Yes. Every team member goes through a thorough hiring process that includes a background check, and The Pet Care Club is fully bonded and insured.

Yes. Memberships are opening neighborhood by neighborhood, with limited spots in each area to maintain quality of care and reliable coverage.

Join the waitlist to get updates as enrollment reaches your neighborhood. Once you're on the list, we'll talk through whether membership is a good fit for your dog.

Founding Members are existing clients who join during the first neighborhood launches. They get access before memberships open to the public, plus exclusive benefits.

The founding period lasts six months from the start of the membership. After that, the membership continues at standard member pricing, and the household keeps its Founding Member status.

Current clients get first access, with priority for households that have used our services in the 30 days before enrollment opens in their neighborhood.

No. Spots are limited, so joining doesn't guarantee a membership.

The waitlist helps us gauge demand, plan new launch areas, and invite eligible households as enrollment opens nearby.

We're opening first where client interest and trained Care Team capacity line up.

Joining the waitlist counts toward where we open next, and you'll be among the first to hear when memberships reach your area.

Starting prices for each tier are on our Memberships page. On-Demand walks are priced per visit, Bundles are billed weekly at a preferred recurring rate, and memberships are billed monthly at a member rate based on walk frequency and length.

We're happy to help you compare options.

Yes. Members can schedule an introduction for a small fee:

• Virtual Meet & Greet: up to 15 minutes
• In-Person Meet & Greet: up to 30 minutes
• Meet & Walk: about 60 minutes, especially helpful for shy or cautious dogs

On-Demand clients can schedule an optional meet and greet by phone or video.

Yes. Cat Sitting & Small Pet Visits are booked as individual visits rather than on a weekly schedule.

What’s included, visit lengths, and pricing are on our Cat Sitting & Small Pet Visits page.

Yes, in two ways:

• Almost-Overnight visits: in-home evening and morning visits, so your pet stays in their own space.
• Private boarding: your dog stays in a sitter's home.

Availability is limited. Apart from cat visits, vacation care is reserved for households already using our ongoing services. See our Almost-Overnight & Vacation Pet Visits page for details.

Holiday dates fill early, so book as soon as you can.

When we can, yes. Visits booked within 48 hours require a non-refundable 50% payment upfront.

Around holidays, book several weeks ahead. Holiday pet sitting requires 14 days' cancellation notice, and holiday boarding and overnights require a 50% non-refundable deposit and three weeks' cancellation notice.

Seattle

• Capitol Hill — 98102, 98122
• Eastlake — 98102
• Magnolia — 98199
• Queen Anne — 98109, 98119
• Ballard & Phinney Ridge — 98107, 98117
• Fremont & Wallingford — 98103
• University District — 98105
• Green Lake — 98103, 98115
• Northgate — 98125
• Maple Leaf — 98115
• Wedgwood — 98115
• Lake City — 98125
• Broadview — 98177

North Seattle & surrounding areas

• Shoreline — 98133
• Richmond Beach — 98177
• Lake Forest Park — 98155
• Kenmore — 98028
• Bothell — 98011, 98021
• Mountlake Terrace — 98043
• Edmonds — 98020, 98026
• Mill Creek — 98012
• Lynnwood — 98036, 98037, 98087
• Everett — 98203, 98204, 98208

We require access through a keypad or lockbox, ideally somewhere discreet rather than on the front door. If your building restricts access, let us know and we'll find an alternative.

Please keep your access method working and current. If we can't get in, we'll contact you right away, but the visit is still charged because that time was reserved for your dog.

Please keep your access method working and current. If we arrive and can’t get in, we’ll contact you right away, but the visit is still charged because that time was reserved for your dog.

Our team walks in typical Seattle weather and adjusts for your dog's comfort. In extreme heat, poor air quality, snow, ice, or lightning, we may shorten outdoor time or switch to indoor enrichment. Please keep walkways clear and give us an emergency contact. We'll let you know about any significant changes.

Yes, 365 days a year. On-Demand walks are available on all major holidays: New Year's Day, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year's Eve. These fill fast, so book early.

Recurring membership and bundle walks pause on holidays.

Your dog must be secured during transport, so please provide a seat belt, harness, or crate. We can't transport a dog without one.

Please provide the supplies your pet's service needs, including treats and waste bags.

For safety, we only give treats you supply or approve, since many pets have allergies, sensitivities, or dietary restrictions.

Yes. We can give many medications and provide some kinds of specialized care. An additional fee may apply depending on the medication or care needed.

Yes. A small additional fee applies when two dogs from the same household share a service.

• Travel & Scheduling: $2.50 per visit, for On-Demand services only. Bundle and membership pricing already includes this cost.
• Weekend: applies to Saturday and Sunday visits. Tier 2 members get a reduced rate, and Tier 3 members don't pay it.
• Holiday: applies to visits on major holidays.

We review surcharges periodically and will let you know before any rate changes.

Yes. Our client portal handles scheduling, service requests, visit journals, photos, invoices, and messages with our team.

If you need help with your account or the portal, contact our office.

• On-Demand walks: confirmed 24 hours before service and charged in full if canceled after confirmation.
• Vacation and cat visits: charged in full if canceled within 72 hours. A $25 charge applies if a booked consultation is canceled. Visits booked within 48 hours require a non-refundable 50% payment upfront.
• Holiday pet sitting: 14 days' cancellation notice required, with no credit inside that window.
• Holiday boarding and overnights: 50% non-refundable deposit and three weeks' cancellation notice required.

Classic Walk Bundles: end with 14 days' written notice by email, at the close of the service week in which the notice period ends.

Memberships: cancel anytime with at least 30 days' written notice by email, as outlined in your Membership Agreement. Your membership and scheduled walks stay active during the notice period, and your final charge is prorated.

Members can find full scheduling and billing terms on the member policy page, and we're happy to send the link.