FAQS

You can book as many visits as your pet needs! Most of our pet sitting clients book 2-4 visits per day, but we’re happy to match whatever routine works best for your pet.

The more notice, the better! While we’re always happy to help, bookings made less than 48 hours in advance will include a 20% last-minute surcharge.

You don’t! You never need to worry about our availability, just book on our app and we're there!

While we can’t guarantee the same walker every time, rest assured that our team members are trained to the same high standard! Your pet will definitely see familiar faces and everyone on our staff is fully prepared to care for your pet with the same level of love, attention, and professionalism.

We understand that plans change! However, cancellations made less than 48 hours in advance will be charged in full. This helps us respect the time and availability of the team.

Nope! We don’t charge extra for holidays or weekends–our rates stay the same, no matter the day.

If you’re one of our clients, absolutely! Visits booked within 48 hours are considered Emergency Last Minute and include a 20% surcharge. If you’re not a client yet you’ll just need to go to our Get Started page and follow the steps there before service can begin!

Directly on our app, either with debit or credit card, or via ACH transfer directly from your bank! Payments will be processed every Tuesday for the previous week.

Directly on our app! We have a messaging system built into the app where you can communicate with your pet care providers.

Of course! We love a challenge. In fact, many of our weekly dogs started out with not the best manners on leash. We’re happy to work with your pup and improve their skills over time!

All of our pack walking pups must first pass our handlers test, which can be done by booking a 90 minute training walk. If they pass, you can book their first day, which would be a trial day to meet the pack!

Our number one priority is the safety of your dog! We will not greet any human or dog, but we will say hello from afar! Even if it’s someone they know, dogs react differently while on leash and we’re there for your pup first!

We walk in all conditions, as long as it’s safe for your pup! Appointments can be amended to shorter potty breaks and indoor playtime. During unexpected extreme weather conditions, like hurricanes, blizzards, or heat waves, our cancellation policy changes from 48 hours to the morning to accommodate you!

Absolutely, we prefer it that way and I'm sure they do too! Our goal when you’re gone is to mimic their routine as close as possible while even adding a little extra playtime and exercise.

Every time we’re there! You’ll get notifications for when we arrive and then a report card after each appointment is completed. This includes a map of where we went, videos, pictures, and a note of how everything went! Don’t forget you can also message your pet care providers through our messaging system on our app!

We’ve worked with so many different types of dogs at different stages of their lives and some with very specific needs– elderly, injured, paralyzed, severely anxious, and a whole host of other medical conditions! We’re happy to follow exact care instructions, administer medicine, and do whatever else your pup needs.

Nope! No deposits necessary. If you do need to cancel, you have up to 48 hours before you start getting charged for any appointments.

Normally, in your home, unless we are working on something with you in the field!

Sure, but it’s not going to stick after we leave. Although we can definitely support your pup’s training with weekly walks or drop-ins, we believe that coaching you, the owner, is the key to long lasting results. Each session is customized to you and your dog’s routine so we can make sure it’s a perfect fit to your lifestyle!

You’ll book a free phone consultation and then a Meet & Greet with your Trainer to find the best fit for you and your pup!

Nope. Not a penny. Meet & Greets are always free!

We generally travel up to 100 miles but can discuss options for weddings further away!

Of course! These packages and add-ons are merely suggestions and typical offerings that our clients choose. However they are also totally customizable and we’re happy to discuss how we can make your big day extra special!

Yep! We just require our lodging to be paid for and if we were spending the night with your pets, we’d charge our standard Overnight Rate of $150 per night.

Sure, although we’ve mostly worked with dogs at weddings we’re happy to find a way of including all your pets as long as it's feasible!

Doggy Socials are open to Pup Club Members Only!

Doggy Field Trips are open to our Pack Walking Pups Only!

Yes, if your pup wants to join us on one of our Doggy Field Trips or Socials, they must be spayed or neutered and must be up to date on the following vaccinations: Rabies, DHLPP and Bordatella.

Doggy Socials happen every other weekend for now but will increase in the future and heck yea you can come! That’s the whole point of Doggy Socials, for you and your pup to socialize with other people and pups in a safe environment. We host Socials in different locations around Morris County NJ. Doggy Field Trips generally happen once a month on Mondays or Fridays and are reserved for pups only and our staff! We travel to different destinations within the tri-state area.

We can help!

Our standard 30-minute walk is competitively priced for the Randolph market with no holiday, weekend, or credit-card surcharges. Many local competitors quote a lower base rate but add $20 holiday fees, $5 weekend premiums, and a 3% credit-card fee. We also don’t upcharge for Walks, or Puppy Care! Check out our Dog Walking or Pet Sitting page to get an idea of our all in pricing.

Yes. Pups and Recreation carries full commercial liability insurance and is bonded. We can provide a certificate of insurance on request.

For most prospective Randolph clients, we can complete a free meet-and-greet within 48 hours and begin service the next day.

Our staff have turned many dogs around after just a few months of working with us. For more severe cases we refer you out to an ADB Certified Canine Behavior Counselor (Meredith Kiani, also a NJ Animal Control Officer). We routinely walk reactive, anxious, and rescue dogs. Most clients see meaningful improvement within 10-15 walks because every walk includes structured behavior reinforcement at no additional charge.

If you’re booking consistently every week we assign a few primary pet care providers for consistency, plus one or two backups trained on your dog's specific routines. This way your dog still gets familiar faces if your primary is sick or on vacation. If you’re booking vacations with us where we see them 3 to 4 times a day we try to limit the number of pet care providers to a team of 4 to 5 whenever possible. We don't rotate randomly through 20 strangers like the gig-economy apps do.

Yes — 365 days a year means just that with no holiday surcharge as well. We're one of the very few Randolph dog walkers that doesn't charge extra for holidays.

We come to your home, meet your dog, walk through your routine (feeding, leash storage, alarm codes, medication, emergency contacts), and set up our app so you can book and pay in seconds. The meet-and-greet is always free and there's no obligation.

Every Pups and Recreation client gets access to our custom-built scheduling and report-card app. You request walks, see your schedule, pay invoices, and receive photo + GPS report cards after every visit. No texting, no calling, no paper invoices.

Headquartered in Wharton. Our office is here, our owners Luigi and Alison live and work from here. Wharton is our home base.

Because Wharton is our home base, we can typically complete a free meet-and-greet within 24 to 48 hours and begin service the next day. Same-day emergency drop-ins are possible for existing clients.

All of 07885. Every neighborhood, every street, every apartment complex.

Yes! Our owners Luigi and Alison have years of hands-on rescue work with Save the Satos and Eleventh Hour Rescue, and our team is trained on management protocols for reactive, fearful, and rescue-background dogs. This is one of our specialties.

We work every day of the year with no surcharges. Wharton clients get the same rate on Thanksgiving as on a random Tuesday.

Yes. We work in rain and snow with the same reliability. In extreme heat (over 90 degrees), we shorten walks and shift routes to shaded areas along the canal. In extreme cold, we use booties and paw balm for dogs who tolerate them. Safety comes first.

Yes! We serve every Morristown apartment, condo, and townhouse community, including Morristown Green, M Station, the Highlands at Morristown, Vail Mansion, Modera 44, Alister Morristown, and historic downtown rentals. We coordinate with concierge desks & building staff or we can provide lockboxes, or use smart-lock access. Our app makes entry a breeze for both you and your Pet Care Provider.

Yes, but only for clients who have already signed up and completed the Free Meet and Greet. For non-clients click Get Started and you'll be able to setup a Meet within 48 hours to get going with us.

Yes. We have routes through the NHP's trail system that work well for high-energy dogs and adventure-walk clients. Dogs must be leashed at all times per NPS rules; we comply with all park regulations.

We have a documented protocol for keys, fobs, smart locks, building codes, and concierge handoffs. Each Morristown client has a secure profile in our app with their exact access instructions. We never leave keys unsecured. Only your current Pet Care Providers and our Management Staff have access to your entry information.

Four things. (1) We're a single bonded company, not a marketplace for unvetted strangers. (2) We carry our own commercial liability insurance and are bonded. (3) Your dog is being handled by professionally trained Pet Care Providers, not side hustle gig workers who "love dogs" Our team is trained by an ADB Certified Canine Behavior Counselor. (4) Unlike those apps, our app makes it seamless to book. Just log in, book your appointment and poof we're there! No need to check our availability ... our team is always available.

Yes. Multi-dog households are common in Morristown; we offer per-walk pricing that accommodates households of 2 or more dogs. Each additional dog is only $5 per appointment. For the safety of your pets and our walkers, we normally only walk 2 dogs at a time unless proven to be safe otherwise.

Yes, we routinely service estate properties with gated entrances, gravel driveways, multiple outbuildings, and property staff. We coordinate with house managers, follow all property access protocols, and maintain absolute discretion.

Yes. Several of our team members have equestrian backgrounds. We understand how to handle dogs around horses, livestock, and farm dogs working in their own environment.

Yes. Our ADB Certified Canine Behavior Counselor trains the team on handling working breeds (Great Pyrenees, Anatolian, Maremma, Kuvasz). We assign experienced walkers to these households.

Yes, 365 days a year. We have rain gear, snow equipment, and protocols for severe weather. We never cancel a Mendham walk unless conditions are genuinely dangerous ( ice storms, state of emergencies, blizzards); if we do need to cancel, we give fair warning and waive all cancellation fees.

Yes. Mendham households often have 2–4 dogs; we have per-household pricing that accommodates multi-dog families.

No. The rate is the rate. We've built our pricing to work for Mendham service from day one. Flat Rate with no surcharges or holiday rates. Our price stays consistent all year round.

We specialize in NJ Transit-aligned schedules, most Madison commuters book a 12 PM or 1 PM mid-day walk, with some choosing 4 PM walks if they're coming home on the later trains. We're consistent, predictable, and on time. Always.

Yes! We serve every Madison apartment building, condo, and townhouse community. We work with lockboxes, smart locks, building staff, and concierge desks.

Yes. Puppy visits are a core service. We do mid-day potty breaks, basic socialization, and gentle leash introduction for puppies 8–16 weeks old. Ready for the best part? We don't charge extra for puppy visits. Unlike many of our local competitors we don't believe in charging you a premium for something we love to do. Let us support your current training or enroll in one of our Puppy Courses.

Yes. We work with university faculty schedules including sabbaticals, conference travel, summer absences, and the irregular hours of academic life. Several of our long-term Madison clients are Drew and FDU faculty.

We ask for 48 hours notice or we charge in full. We would rather still come and perform the service than charge a cancellation fee. Madison owner find it helpful we do not take deposits. So if you cancel your entire booking with 48 hours notice you won't be charged at all.

Yes. Our team is trained on oral medications, eye drops, ear cleaning, insulin injections, and post-surgery protocols. We confirm dosing schedules at the meet-and-greet and document every administration in our app. All at no extra cost to you! Just one of the many free add ons you can choose for your pet's appointment.

Every Pet Care Provider on our team is a W-2 employee, not a contractor or gig worker. They go through a background check, an in-person interview with our owners Luigi and Alison, hands-on training with our ADB Certified Canine Behavior Counselor, and a shadowing period before they ever walk your dog alone. We hire slow and we hire people who love dogs the way we do.

Yes. Every staff member is trained in-house on our behavior protocols, leash handling, emergency response, and pet first aid. Our training curriculum was built by Meredith Kiani, an ADB Certified Canine Behavior Counselor and NJ Animal Control Officer. New hires do not solo walks until they pass our internal certification.

Yes, every single one. We run criminal background checks, verify identity and work eligibility, and check references before anyone joins the team. We are also fully bonded, so if something ever went wrong you are covered on both ends.

We are a team of around 26 Pet Care Providers plus our management staff, all serving Morris, Somerset, and Essex Counties. That size lets us give you consistency (the same one or two walkers every week) while still having backups ready if your primary is sick or on vacation.

Full W-2 employees. We pay hourly, offer paid training, and treat this as a real career. That is why our team sticks around, why they show up on time, and why your dog gets the same familiar faces week after week instead of a rotating cast of strangers.

Our 30-minute walk is flat-rate and competitively priced for Morris, Somerset, and Essex Counties. What makes us different is what is not in the price: no holiday surcharges, no weekend premiums, no credit card fees, no charge for administering medications, no puppy upcharge, and no extra fees for long driveways or rural addresses. Check our Dog Walking or Pet Sitting page for full pricing.

No. Thanksgiving, Christmas, July 4th, New Year's Eve, Saturdays, Sundays. Same rate as any random Tuesday. We are one of the very few Morris County dog walkers that does not add a holiday surcharge, and our clients tell us it is one of the biggest reasons they stay with us.

No deposit, no contract, no minimum commitment. Book what you need, cancel with 48 hours notice at no charge, and pay only for the services we actually perform. We would rather earn your business every week than lock you in.

Because we are a bonded, insured company with W-2 employees, professional training, and a real support team, not a marketplace of strangers. You are paying for consistency, accountability, and the peace of mind of knowing exactly who has your keys. If something goes wrong at 6 PM on a Sunday, you can reach an actual human, not an app support ticket.

Yes. Additional dogs in the same household are only $5 per visit, and we do not charge premium rates for regular weekly clients. The more consistent your schedule, the more we can lock in the same walker for you.

Our pet taxi safely transports your dog or cat to and from vet appointments, groomers, boarding facilities, doggy daycare, or anywhere else they need to go in Morris, Somerset, or Essex County. Your Pet Care Provider does the pickup, handles check-in if needed, and gets your pet home safely, with photo updates the whole way.

Yes, this is one of the most common reasons clients book pet taxi. We pick up your dog, transport them to the vet, stay for the appointment if you want us to (or drop off and return), and bring them home. We can also relay information to and from your vet through our app.

Yes. Every Pet Care Provider is covered under our commercial liability insurance while transporting pets, and we use proper crates or safety harnesses in the vehicle. Your pet is secured the entire ride.

Pet taxi is billed based on the round-trip time and mileage from your home. Most local Morris County trips (vet, groomer, daycare) come out very reasonable, and we quote you the flat rate upfront through the app before you book. No surprise fees.

Yes. If you are heading out of town and need someone to get your dog to their boarding facility (or bring them home when you land), we handle that all the time. Just book through the app and we coordinate the whole thing.

Adventure daycare is our seasonal outing service where a small group of pre-approved dogs join our team for a half-day or full-day trip to places like Allamuchy State Park, Lewis Morris Park, Turkey Mountain, Schooley's Mountain, and beaches on the Jersey Shore. Real hikes, real water, real enrichment. Not a warehouse full of dogs on rubber floors.

Traditional daycare keeps your dog indoors in a group setting for 8 hours. Adventure daycare takes them out into nature with a handler-to-dog ratio of about 1 to 3, on real trails, with structured exercise and decompression. Dogs come home tired in a good way, not overstimulated from a day of chaos.

We rotate through spots across Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties, plus occasional trips to the Delaware Water Gap and Jersey Shore beaches. Locations depend on the season, the weather, and the group of dogs. You always know the location in advance through our app.

Most dogs are, but not all. We require dogs to be up to date on Rabies, DHLPP, and Bordetella, spayed or neutered if over 12 months, and comfortable in a small group. Reactive or fearful dogs may be a better fit for private walks first, and we are happy to talk it through at your meet-and-greet.

Adventure daycare is by application first, then booking. Existing clients can request it through our app, and we will schedule a temperament check-in if your dog has not joined a group outing before. Spots are limited to keep the ratio low, so we recommend booking a few weeks out.

Doggy Socials are casual bi-weekly meetups where our client families and their dogs get together at parks, breweries, and dog-friendly venues around Morris County. Dogs socialize in a supervised environment, humans meet other local dog people, and everyone has a good time. Free to attend for our clients.

Every other weekend, rotating between locations across Morris County. Past spots have included local parks, pet-friendly patios, and open outdoor venues in Randolph, Morristown, and Chester. We announce the next Social through our app and Instagram (@pupsandrecreation) about a week ahead.

Sometimes, depending on the venue and the group. Our current clients always get first priority, but if there is space we welcome friends and family who are curious about our services. Reach out through the Get Started page and we can let you know about the next open event.

Dogs must be up to date on Rabies, DHLPP, and Bordetella, and spayed or neutered if over 12 months old. Dogs also need to be comfortable around other dogs in a loose group setting. If you are not sure whether your dog is ready, ask us at your next visit and we will give you an honest read.

Yes. We do seasonal events like our summer beach trips, fall pumpkin patch outings, holiday photo sessions, and adoption-support events with our rescue partners at Save the Satos and Eleventh Hour Rescue. All events are posted on our Event Calendar and announced in the app first.

We cover the full range of professional pet care in Morris, Somerset, and Essex Counties: dog walking, pet sitting, in-home overnight stays, puppy visits, dog training (private and group), adventure daycare, pet taxi, doggy field trips, doggy socials, and wedding day pet services. If it involves your dog and you need real help, we probably do it.

We serve Morris, Somerset, and Essex Counties in New Jersey, including Randolph, Wharton, Morristown, Madison, Mendham, Chester, Denville, Rockaway, Dover, Mount Olive, Chatham, Summit, Millburn, and everything in between. If you are not sure whether we cover your address, just ask.

Yes. We do in-home overnight stays where a Pet Care Provider sleeps at your house and takes care of your dog on their normal routine, plus mail, plants, and lights. It is the least disruptive option for dogs who get anxious at boarding facilities.

Absolutely. We regularly work with senior dogs, diabetic dogs needing insulin injections, post-surgery recovery, mobility issues, anxiety, and reactive dogs. Our team is trained on medication administration and behavior management, and none of it costs extra.

Head to our Get Started page, fill out the short intake form, and we will schedule a free meet-and-greet at your home within 48 hours. We walk through your dog's routine, set you up in our app, and you can book your first visit as soon as the next day. No deposit, no contract.

Our standard walk is 30 minutes of active walking, not counting the time it takes to get in the door, greet your dog, refresh water, and lock up. If you need a longer 45 or 60 minute walk (great for high-energy breeds like Border Collies, Vizslas, and young Labs), we offer those too. You pick the length that fits your dog's needs when you book.

That is one of our specialties. Every Pet Care Provider is trained by our ADB Certified Canine Behavior Counselor on loose-leash technique, and every walk includes structured behavior reinforcement at no extra cost. Most clients see meaningful improvement in pulling within 10 to 15 walks. If your dog needs more focused help, we can also refer you into our Dog Training program.

Almost every walk is solo, just your dog with their Pet Care Provider. We only walk multiple dogs together if they are from the same household, and even then we cap it at 2 dogs at a time for safety unless we have confirmed they walk well together. Your dog is not in a pack of 6 strangers on a leash coupler.

Yes. Most Morris County clients book a midday walk between 11 AM and 2 PM to break up the workday, but we also do morning walks (7 to 9 AM), late afternoon walks (3 to 5 PM), and evening visits. Book through our app and pick your window. We show up inside the window every time.

A full report card in our app: GPS map of the route, start and end times, photos from the walk, notes on bathroom breaks, water refills, and anything unusual (limping, low energy, an empty food bowl you forgot to fill). You get it within a few minutes of your Pet Care Provider leaving your home.

Drop-in visits are 30 or 60 minute visits during the day (usually 2 to 4 per day when you are traveling): feeding, water, walk, playtime, medication, and a report card. Overnight sitting means one of our Pet Care Providers actually sleeps at your house from evening through morning. Most Morris County clients do a mix: overnights for the night hours, drop-ins for the day.

Yes. We do drop-in visits for cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, and fish. Litter box maintenance, feeding, medication, playtime, and a photo report card every visit. If your pet has specific care needs (bearded dragon lighting schedules, insulin for a diabetic cat), we cover it at the meet-and-greet.

For most adult dogs, 3 visits a day works well: a longer morning visit, a midday check, and an evening visit. Puppies, seniors, or dogs on medication schedules often do better with 4. If you want overnight coverage on top of that, we combine both. We will give you an honest recommendation at your meet-and-greet based on your dog's routine.