How to say thanks to the person who walks your dog

A good dog walker gift is cash with a note or something they use on the route: warm gloves, a water bottle, a pocket for treats. If your walker has a dog of their own, a monthly treat box sent to their US address is a thank-you their own dog gets to open.

Should you give a dog walker cash or a gift?

Both are common, and neither is wrong. Cash is easy to use and nobody has to guess a size or a taste. A gift shows you thought about the work itself. Plenty of people do both: a little cash in a card, plus one small thing picked for the job.

Your own budget and your walker's habits decide this. A walker you see every weekday for years is in a different spot from one who covers a few weeks while you travel, and the thank-you can reflect that. If they have mentioned a hobby, a favorite coffee order or a dog of their own, that is a clue worth following. If you know nothing, cash with a handwritten note is a sensible default. We will not name an amount here, since the right figure depends on how often they walk your dog and what is normal where you live.

What do dog walkers use on the route?

Think about the walker at seven on a January morning, with three leashes in one hand and a phone in the other. Anything that makes that hour easier is a gift they will reach for. A short list of ideas that have nothing to do with brands:

• Warm gloves with enough grip to hold a leash
• Hand warmers for the pocket
• A water bottle that does not leak in a bag
• A light rain shell
• A spare roll of waste bags
• A treat pocket that clips to a belt

Ask them first if you can. A walker who always wears the same worn-out pair of gloves will tell you without hesitating. You can also just look: the thing they keep fixing, patching or borrowing from you is usually the thing to buy. Wrap it with the card, and the gift tells them you noticed how they work.

How do you thank a walker who has a dog of their own?

Here a treat box makes sense. Modified Monthly is our own single ingredient treats, with a new theme and lineup each month. You choose dog or cat, and a box can ship to a US address other than yours, so you can send it straight to your walker's home. Our dog gift box page covers the gift side in more detail.

The treats are freeze dried or air dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and some have a Greek yogurt or cheddar cheese base. Contents change by month, and favorites return while the assortment changes. The box also lets your walker's own dog take part in the thanks. Ask the walker which proteins their dog skips, and name those when you order. Your walker can message us later to change it; they just say which pet it is for. Everything in the box is for intermittent or supplemental feeding, which keeps it an extra next to the dog's own meals. If the dog is on a special diet, the walker should ask their veterinarian before anything new goes in the bowl.

What should the card say?

The card does more than the gift. Walkers hear plenty of "thanks" at the door, and a specific line stands out. Mention one moment: the storm they walked through anyway, the day your dog finally stopped pulling at the corner. Use your dog's name, because the walker knows that dog better than almost anyone.

Then say what their work lets you do. You get through a full workday without worrying that the dog is alone. That one sentence tells the walker their job matters, and it costs nothing to write.

Does the same go for sitters, groomers and daycare staff?

Mostly, yes. A sitter who stayed overnight, a groomer who handles a nervous dog or a daycare worker who greets yours by name all deserve a thank-you at the holidays. Adjust to the person: cash for someone you see once a year, a small gift for someone you see daily. If the sitter has a pet at home, the box idea above works for them too. The Modified Monthly page explains how the box works if you want the details before you pick.

Before you order, tell the recipient a box is coming. It is a subscription, and the terms show beside the button, so a heads-up avoids a surprise. For more ideas, see the guides page.