As a general rule dog washing and dog walking services cannot be provided through the household services provisions. However, in very exceptional circumstances, when a person is severely impaired, dog walking and/or dog washing services may be considered.

A person who is severely impaired in this circumstance, would be a person with serious mobility issues as a result of their accepted conditions. Examples include paraplegia, a debilitating back condition or chronic and deteriorating arthritis, which prevent the person from walking more than a short distance, or being able to wash the dog without risk of injury. A person who requires short term support while recovering from surgery for an accepted condition, and has mobility restrictions as a result of their surgery, can also be considered. Decisions must be based on evidence about the functional impact of the accepted injury or disease.

As with all requests for household services, the criteria outlined in section 7.2 of this guide must be addressed before dog washing or dog walking can be approved. For example, the client must have owned the dog and been responsible for walking and/or washing it prior to their injury and there must be no other household members who could reasonably be expected to contribute to looking after the dog. Specific information about what can be reasonably expected of other household members can be found in section 7.2.3 of this guide.

If a request for dog walking and/or dog washing is approved, as per the guidelines in section 7.3.1 of this guide, the contract for the services is an arrangement between the client and the service provider. This means that the client is responsible for ensuring that the service provider has the appropriate business insurance in place to cover any issues that may arise while their dog is out in public being walked or being washed.