Should dog walkers charge for no-shows?

A no-show is different from a client cancelling early. You protected the slot, planned the route and may have travelled to the property. Charging for that time is a normal business boundary. Unlike a late cancellation, there is no “softer” version: the cost to you is the full walk.

A late cancellation is a message that arrives too late. A no-show is no message at all: you arrive and cannot access the dog, the client forgot, or the key does not work. Your policy should name both and treat the no-show as the more serious case, typically charged in full where a late cancellation might be 50%.

You will almost never need it, but it makes the charge factual instead of arguable: note your arrival time, send the client a quick “at the door, no answer” message while you are there, and take a photo if access failed. Thirty seconds of habit turns “you never came” into a non-conversation.

You may choose to waive a fee for emergencies, new-client confusion or a rare good-faith mistake. The important thing is that waiving the fee is your decision, not an accidental habit.

“If I arrive for a booked walk and cannot access your dog, the walk may still be charged because the slot and travel time have already been reserved.”

BearWalk separates ordinary cancellations, late cancellations and no-shows, so your reports and invoices tell the real story. The fee is applied under your policy automatically, the walk record keeps the timestamps, and you can waive it in one tap when you choose to.