Fully Insured & DBS-Checked Dog Walking in South London
When you hand over your house keys and your dog to someone, insurance and background checks aren’t a nice-to-have — they’re the minimum. Here’s exactly what “fully insured and DBS-checked” means at 4 Paw Friend, and why it matters.
What our insurance actually covers
We hold public liability insurance through AXA, covering our team while they’re walking, transporting, or caring for your dog. That means if something goes wrong — a minor accident, an incident with another dog, unexpected vet costs from an incident in our care — you and your dog are protected. Ask any dog walker for proof of insurance before booking; if they can’t produce it, that’s a warning sign.
What DBS checking means
Every member of our team who enters your home or handles your keys has an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check — the same background check used for people working with vulnerable people. It confirms no relevant criminal record. We renew these checks regularly, not just once at hiring.
Why this matters more in South London specifically
With 119 reviews rated 5.0 stars and clients across Lambeth, Wandsworth, Clapham, Brixton, Vauxhall, Kennington and Pimlico, we’re trusted with house keys on a daily basis. That trust is only worth something if it’s backed by real insurance and real background checks — not just a claim on a website.
What to ask any dog walker before you book
- Can I see proof of your public liability insurance?
- Are your staff DBS-checked, and how recently?
- What happens if my dog is injured in your care?
- Are you licensed for the areas you operate in?
We’re happy to answer all of these before you book — no pressure, just transparency.
Ready to book a fully insured, DBS-checked dog walker? Book now →
Insurance wording, DBS checks and borough permits are the three things worth confirming before anyone takes your keys. We set out what to ask in our area-by-area dog walking guide, and the areas we cover page lists where we work.
What “fully insured” should actually mean
Almost every dog walker in London says they are fully insured. Far fewer can tell you what the policy covers, and the difference matters enormously on the day something goes wrong.
Public liability is the part everyone has. It covers damage or injury your walker causes to a third party – another person, another dog, somebody’s property. It is the minimum and it is not the interesting bit.
Care, custody and control is the clause that actually covers your dog while it is in the walker’s hands. A policy without it will pay out if your walker’s group knocks over a stranger, and will not pay out if your own dog is injured on the walk. Ask specifically for this wording.
Key cover matters if the walker holds a key, which almost all of them do. If keys are lost and your locks have to be changed, somebody is paying for that.
Vehicle cover is the one people forget. A walker driving your dog to a park needs business use on their motor insurance and, ideally, cover for the animals being transported. A domestic policy does not cover carrying dogs commercially.
Ask to see the schedule rather than a certificate number. A certificate proves a policy exists; the schedule tells you what it does.
DBS checks, and why they are not optional
A dog walker is a person who lets themselves into your home when nobody is there, several times a week, for years. That is a level of access most people would not give a tradesperson without a recommendation.
An enhanced DBS check is the standard worth asking for, and a professional walker should be able to show you theirs without hesitating or being offended. Everybody on our team is checked.
Be slightly wary of the phrase “DBS checked” applied to a company rather than to a person. Companies are not checked; individuals are. The question to ask is whether the specific person who will be walking your dog has been checked, and when.
Licensing and borough permits
This is the check almost nobody makes and it is the most revealing one.
Professional dog walkers using London borough parks generally need a permit from that borough, and the permit is tiered according to how many dogs one handler may walk at once. We hold the relevant Lambeth permit for the tier we operate at, and we work inside that limit.
The limit is not bureaucracy for its own sake. It exists because a single person cannot meaningfully control a large group, and an uncontrolled group is how dogs get hurt and how other park users get frightened. A walker who does not know the permit exists is telling you how carefully they think about the rest of it as well.
Separately, boarding dogs overnight is a licensable activity under the animal activities licensing regime. We do not offer boarding, and we say so plainly. If somebody offers to keep your dog overnight, ask to see their licence.
There is a full checklist of what to ask in our area-by-area guide to dog walking in South London, and we go through all of it with you at a free meet and greet before anything is booked.