How do I track a walk?

As a sitter, you can track the walks you take with guest dogs and easily keep owners informed about their dog’s walks during a booking.

This feature is only available in the DogBuddy iOS and Android apps. Using it is as easy as tapping on “Start Walkies” and selecting the dogs you are walking. The phone will ask you to enable GPS access & location access.

Once you are finished walking, simply save the walk and the app does the rest, by sending the owner a summary of your walk.

Here are some common questions about the Walkies tracker:

• Do I need to have data enabled on my phone to track walks? While walking, all you really need is GPS access enabled, but when saving the walk the app needs data access (or WiFi) for a few seconds. We recommend that you keep data enabled all the time, as the Walkies feature only consumes data when saving.
• Is the Walkies update sent to the owner once I save it? Yes, right after you save a walk that includes a guest dog, we notify the owner automatically and the walk summary will show in the booking conversation thread for easy access. Note that if you don’t save it, it will not be sent (so if you’re just testing the feature, you can discard any test walks).
• If I enable GPS tracking, does DogBuddy always know my location? No, the app only tracks your location during an active walk and the route data is only shared with the dog owner once you save the walk.
  
• Can I track a walk with my own dog? Yes you can! Just tap on “Start Walkies” at any time from the home screen. At the moment, only dog sitters with an active listing can use the feature for their own dogs. Walkies is not currently available for dog owners.  
  
• Do I have to track all the walks I take? You don’t have to, but it’s a fail-proof way to provide the owner with peace of mind, to keep them informed, and to help make sure they book with you again.
  
• What does the owner see when I send them a Walkies update? An owner gets notified via push notification and email. We also show a summary in the booking conversation thread. When an owner taps on the update, they view the route on a map, plus the distance and time walked. Please note that owners can only access a Walkies summary through the apps.