This is the new profession in vogue.
You may have already passed them in the bend of a park, a street or in the woods, your hands and legs tangled in long leashes, with at the end of the rope, a whole squad of trotting doggies ready. to gallop.
By truck or scooter, “Dog walkers” have made a place for themselves in the urban landscape.
It is difficult to quantify their exact number, but today there are several hundred in Paris to work full or part time.
Among them, Clémentine, 30, a trained dog trainer, embarked on the full-time dog walking adventure five years ago. First by walking a few dogs in the Tuileries garden in Paris, she finally invested in an electric cargo bike to take her “Meute en diligence” a little further to the Bois de Vincennes. “The idea was to be able to offer them a little more freedom, to be able to let them go without bothering anyone. Because dogs need to exercise. And at the end of a leash, even when running with them, it's difficult ”.
Every day, the young woman gets on her scooter, all-terrain shoes screwed to the feet, whistle around her neck, to start her morning tour.
“I meet the dog owners at the bottom of their building.
They come to drop their dogs off for me and afterwards, with all these little people - seven to eight dogs max depending on their size - we cycle to Vincennes for a two-hour ride, free in the woods, ”explains Clémentine.
Thibaud has fans on TikTok
Thibaud, 27, has been doing odd jobs for a few years. Two years ago, this student at the School of Humor and the Performing Arts (EHAS) came across classified ads for "walking dogs". “I like animals in general. So I said to myself why not. I do this for an hour in the afternoon, Monday through Friday, usually with one or two dogs. I don't live on it, but it allows me to make ends meet and eat something other than boiled pasta every day, ”he smiles.
Starting his walks, Thibaud was far from imagining that this little job would give him a little notoriety. Especially on social networks. “I had the idea of making funny little videos especially with two dogs that I walk regularly, Doug and Hubert. It made my friends laugh so I decided to post them on Tik Tok. And I don't know why, but it took on a crazy scale, ”continues Thibaud. Under the nickname Tibod, he has accumulated nearly 28 million likes and has more than 800,000 subscribers. Some of his posts have over 2 million views… “It's kinda crazy what's going on. Sometimes when I'm outside with Doug and Hubert, people recognize them and stop to talk to me. I even have brands that have contacted me to advertise kibble, ”he still has fun.
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On board their Alpha Dogs House stamped van, Virginie and Koffi are masters in the art of "dog walking".
For six years, these two have been among the most experienced dog walkers in the Paris region.
By following them during an outing in the forest of Fontainebleau (77), they impress with their mastery and calm in the face of the fifty dogs that they have to manage for more than four hours.
“It is a profession of passion above all.
Taking care of so many doggies, whatever the weather, whether it's raining, windy or snowing, 365 days a year, you really have to like that, ”says Virginie, in her fifties, who gave up her office job for the life in the great outdoors.
Around Koffi, his teammate, the pack of dogs runs in all directions, in total freedom.
“The advantage of the detached walk, unlike the neighborhood walk on a leash, is that we meet the three needs of the dog.
The physical, olfactory and socialization expenditure ”, summarizes Virginie.
The back-to-office effect
For these long-time professionals, managers of a dog boarding house in the Loiret, the dog walking boom in France is real.
“For two, even three years, we have seen trucks unloading in the forest every day.
In town, we also see a lot of dog walkers in tricycles.
There is no real training for this activity.
For those who want to professionalize, there is only one compulsory certificate to obtain, the Acaded (Certificate of Knowledge of Pets of Domestic Species).
Suddenly, those who love animals and the great outdoors are getting more and more into it, ”analyzes Virginie, who assures us that from eight dogs, a dog walker can begin to live from his job.
Demand from dog owners is also on the rise.
“Especially in the city,” she continues.
We have had quite a few new clients in recent months, after the wave of dog adoptions during confinement.
Today, the crisis seems to be behind us and people have returned to the office.
Suddenly, to avoid leaving their animal for eight hours between four walls, a lot of them call on us ”.