Choosing a dog walker is a big decision. For two decades, we have been Philly's preferred dog walkers. (You'll be hard-pressed to find a dog walking service that has been around as long as we have.) What does that mean for you?

💚 With 800,000 walks under our belts, we have the experience and dependability that Philadelphia pet parents have learned to trust over the last 20 years. We've been around the block and our clients rest assured that we provide a consistent and compassionate dog walking service.

💚 We’re a Philadelphia magazine, three-time Best of Philly® winner. (Best Dog Walkers 2013, Best Pet-Sitters 2009 & Best Urban Pet Sitter 2006).

💚 All of our dog walkers are employees (not independent contractors). Know that when you chose The Monster Minders - you’re getting more than “just a dog walker.” This isn't a "gig" to us.

💚 All of our visits are one-on-one for safety and tailored service. Your dog will not get lost in the pack with us!

💚 Our custom app makes scheduling visits, updating your pet care files and sending us messages easy and efficient. (And you'll love the photo updates!)

Ready to Get Started?

We know everyone is busy which is why we make scheduling your Meet and Greet easy! Our interactive calendar allows you to pick the perfect time for us to come over to introduce our company. Once you select a date and a time, you'll be asked a series of questions about your dog and your preferred dog walking schedule. The more details you can give us the better so we can quickly determine that we have a Minder available in your neighborhood during the days and times you need. (If not, we will add you to our waiting list and reach out when we have an opening.)

During our Meet and Greet, you can show us where you keep all of your supplies and we'll chat about your dog's preferences and quirks. After the Meet and Greet, we'll get you all set up online with our app and you'll be ready to go. Easy!

➡️ Your first step? Contact us!

We get it. The idea of leaving your best friend in the hands of a stranger can be a daunting feeling. Your dog is your life, and you deserve peace of mind knowing they’re in the best hands possible.

The Monster Minders is a locally owned, small business founded in South Philly 2005. Our Minders are trained, bonded/insured, back-ground checked full-time employees for our family-owned business. We invest in our staff. We train our staff. We retain our staff. We do NOT utilize Independent Contractors, which is on the rise as national technology corporations are looking to cash-in on the "gig economy." We are a team of professionals who understand that our clients deserve more than a random gig worker in their home each time the book. We respect that we are caring for not only your best friend, but also your home.

As a company, everything we do revolves around dog safety, peace of mind for our clients, and treating our employees with dignity. We believe that happy, experienced, and thoroughly trained employees allow us to offer our clients a more dependable, trustworthy, and consistent service. Our Minders become "part of the family" for us and many of our clients. We also offer our Minders job security, workers compensation, benefits such as Paid Time Off (because it's the right thing to do) and ongoing dog training opportunities. Our Minders are a team of dog professionals working together for one goal: To make The Monster Minders the best dog walkers in Philly. You can read bios of all of our Minders here.

When clients sign up for service, we'll match them up with a Minder that has space for their weekly scheduling needs AND is a good fit for their dog. Are you ready to find your perfect match? Secure your Meet and Greet today.

When we survey our clients, one of the things they consistently say they love about our company is our post-walk reports and photos. So you can look forward to receiving a bit of joy each day via an app notification once your walk is completed. (I wish all phone notifications were about my dog!) Along with sending adorable photos and walk recaps, our scheduling and tracking app allows our daily manager to monitor the schedule in real-time so we know exactly where Minders are throughout the day. This assures our clients that no monster is left behind. We want you to rest easy when you are away. (Or even just upstairs on a Zoom call.)

Clients can also request schedule modifications, view invoices, view their upcoming schedule, and update their pet care preferences via our cloud scheduling system and app. Ready to get your daily visit reports (and adorable photos?) Get started today!

We cover many Center City Philadelphia neighborhoods between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers and roughly Spring Garden to Snyder Avenue. (We are based in Bella Vista, right of the Italian Markets.)

Our neighborhoods include:

💚 Bella Vista

💚 Queen Village

💚 Society Hill

💚 Washington Square West

💚 Midtown Village

💚 Chinatown, Old City

💚 Loft District

💚 Northern Liberties

💚 Art Museum

💚 Rittenhouse

💚 Fitler Square

💚 Graduate Hospital

💚 Point Breeze

💚 Newbold

💚 Passyunk Square

💚 Pennsport.

Secure your neighborhood Minder today!

Here at The Monster Minders, we do not think time off for our employees is luxury, it's a necessity! Our employees are pet care professionals and we treat them as such. That is why we proudly offer our employees Paid Time off. So what happens when your Minder needs time off? Another fabulous employee will jump in. We never leave clients in a lurch!

It's always a great idea to keep your online file up-to-date in case another Minder has to jump in at the last minute due to sickness. Our app makes this easy! And of course, a manager is on duty at all times during walking hours for feedback, support and questions. Speaking of questions, if you have any, reach out today!

Absolutely not! We believe in one-on-one care for safety and tailored visits. Walking dogs from various households at one time is not safe in a busy urban environment like Philadelphia. Nor would it allow us to tailor the walks to a monster’s specific training requirements and preferences. Safety and mental enrichment are two focuses of our dog walking service. Pack walks don’t allow proper attention to either goal.

Plus, not all of our weekly dogs are social butterflies when it comes to other canines. And that's OK! Solo walks allow us to work with dogs that may be dog-reactive and just need a bit more space from other pups.

Our focus will be on your dog, and your dog alone during our visits. This also assures that you don't have other animals in your home. Ready for some one-on-one adventures? Request a Minder Meeting today.

We understand that dogs come in all personalities and socialization levels, and many human-reactive or fearful dogs thrive with the right support. That said, not all dogs are a good fit for the dog walking format, nor does it meet their needs. For dogs with a bite history, those who display fear-based aggression toward people, and/or those who are stressed out when non-family members enter the home (or try to leash them), traditional walking services can increase overall stress and potentially escalate the behavior. We believe dogs are excellent communicators when it comes to boundaries and pushing past their boundaries can have long-term consequences.

If you’ve recently worked with another dog walking service and it didn’t go well due to your dog’s anxiety when walkers enter your home or due to reactivity toward strangers on walks, it’s likely the same challenges would arise with us. We want to set your dog (and our Minders) up for success, and that sometimes means acknowledging when a different kind of support is needed.

Our top priority is the safety of employees, your dog, and the public. If a dog shows aggressive behavior (snapping, snarling, biting) toward an employee or other people during a visit, we will likely need to cancel services. In these cases, we always recommend working with a certified trainer or veterinary behaviorist to get to the root of the behavior and build a plan tailored to your dog’s needs. In some cases, we can revisit services in the future once a behavior professional gives the green light.

Safety first, always.

Don’t worry, we won’t melt. We all have all-weather gear for rainy, cold, and snowy days. If your dog has strong feelings about inclement weather, we’ll just go out for a quick potty break and spend the rest of the time playing inside. In extreme weather, such as heat waves, snowstorms, or thunderstorms, services may be modified for the safety of everyone involved. Since 2005, we have dealt with hurricanes, blizzards, and even the Pope. (Remember when the Pope shut the City down?) We have the experience to handle things when nature (or the Vatican) sends us curveballs.

We use autopay which makes paying each week a snap. (Actually, you don't have to think about it!) Clients are billed on Mondays for the previous week's walks. We require all clients to sign up for automated ACH to make paying for services seamless. Payment confirmations will be sent the day before each billing date. Clients can log onto our website and/or app to view old invoices, check past payments, tip their favorite Minders, or update their payment details.

If you're looking for a long-term, stable job and you ADORE (we really mean ADORE in CAPS) dogs, we'd love to talk further. Most dog walkers are hired as independent contractors by tech firms, looking to cash in on the gig economy. Not with us! We hire employees with job stability and Paid Time Off. Learn more about becoming a dog walker and apply here. If you have any questions before applying, give us a shout! We're proud to be a family-owned small business, founded in South Philly.