Pick-up
I pick-up within 5-10minutes of a pre-arranged time. For example, if the walk is at 9.30am please expect me to pick-up between 9.20am and 9.40am as this allows for any possible delays.
What does a walk look like? What do I do on the walk?
I begin the walk with a greeting for you and your dog(s). I may or may not use my car for transportation to a desired location.
We next go on our walk and thus begins the mini adventure. Whilst walking along, I will be chatting to your dog and watching out for hazards like food items, grass, cliff edges, how high the waves are, is it windy, is it hot and sunny, is there shade, are there any sharp objects on the ground/pathway like broken glass etc.
I will also be watching for other dogs that are on walks and monitoring any reactive behaviour in your dog(s). If I know your dog(s) is/are reactive, if possible, I will distract with a high value reward treat whilst they pass so that their focus and attention is on me. I like to reinforce desired behaviours whilst aiming to minimise or eradicate any undesired behaviours. This does of course mostly come down to general training from yourself as the owner. I would expect a dog to have general training for lead walking/ off lead walking and a good recall. For me to allow the dog off lead I need to gauge their attention to me. This helps me to ascertain as to whether they will respond to me if let off lead. When walking a new dog I will keep them on lead until I feel that they will respond well enough to me. The relationship I have with your dog(s) will improve the chances of a good recall.
Keeping their focus on me and not what is around us is the most important aspect of the walk. It allows me to keep them safe and out of mischief as I want to return your dog once the walk is done completely unharmed but totally exhausted from the fun!
Drop-off
Once the walk is complete, I return your dog(s) and ensure they are safely back in your care, giving you a brief update of our adventure together or if you are not home ensuring that they have access to fresh water, are safely locked up in your home followed by a quick text to you letting you know that they are home.
Please bear in mind that your dog may come back wet, sandy or muddy so please be prepared with towels. I will ensure to clean them up the best I can beforehand.
How do I stand out from other dog walkers?
I do not do group walking. This is because I want to ensure the welfare and safety of the dog(s) in my care and correct any undesired behaviours (for example lead pulling, lunging, reacting etc) when necessary and to reward desired behaviours (loose lead walking, focus on me, no reactions etc).
My belief is that the more dogs you have, the less effective your concentration and focus is on the dog(s) in your care and the harder it becomes to manage behaviour. The more dogs you have together the more challenging the dynamics in the group can become. This then leads to the possibility of ‘pack mentality’ which increases the risk of reaction and aggression not just to each other but to the handler as well. (This is why there have been a few recent and sometimes tragic situations that have occurred with dog walkers).
Please pop me a message via beth.hayes@animals-for-life.co.uk for any further questions, queries or booking requests.
Paws Up!
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