First Steps: The Meet & Greet
I'll meet you and your dog at your home at a time that's convenient for you so we can all get to know each other, discuss your needs, your dog's needs and what service will fit you best. The aim is to leave both your and your dog feeling confident and comfortable with them being in my care.
If you have a particularly anxious dog we can have a few casual meet ups, at home and outside, to give them time to accept me as a part of their small circle.
This service is free, and a requirement before any others can be booked.
Walks
I can tailor walks to suit almost any dog. I currently offer standard solo walks and specialised walks for anxious, reactive or aggressive dogs
Solo Walks
30 - 90 min | From £15
A really good walk will offer your dog more than just physical exercise. It can be a mentally stimulating, enriching and even relaxing experience. You may even find that after a mentally stimulating walk your dog requires less physical exercise to be worn out by the end of the day.
This kind of walk can be extremely dull for you the human. It can involve a lot of stopping, back-tracking and wandering in circles to make sure that patch of wee was sniffed to completion. One of the few things I can really get on my soapbox about is that the dog walk is the dog’s walk. Most dogs will walk daily, so it's not that important that the human enjoys it every time. Because the dog doesn’t get to choose when they go out I think it’s really important that the dog gets to make choices while they’re out. This means going where the dog wants to go and stopping when they want to sniff.
Each solo walk is tailored to the individual and plenty of thought is put into route planning, activities and opportunities for casual training. All walks can be done with short leads or long-lines to allow more freedom of movement, and dogs with proven recall can enjoy off-leash time in appropriate areas.
If you have more than one dog in the home it's £4 per 30 min for each additional dog.
If you have a reactive or aggressive dog please take a look below at my Reactivity Walks.
30 min - £13
Walks longer than 30 min are charged at a rate of £20/hr
Anxious, reactive or aggressive dogs
30 - 60 min | From £13
Reactivity Walks
Like my Solo Walks, the Reactivity Walks are focussed on meeting your dogs needs through sniffing, enrichment and novel experiences. Walks for reactive dogs will involve meticulous planning to avoid triggers (whether it be dogs, children, bikes or other people), regular reinforcement of calm behaviour and counter-conditioning when triggers are seen from a manageable distance.
I will teach your dog management techniques such as quick turns and pattern games, and I will teach you how to practice them yourself.
As with my Socialisation Sessions, Reactivity Walks are not a replacement for working with a trainer but they could make life a little easier for you and your dog. I am not a trainer, but am working toward becoming one.
Reactivity Walks are capped at 60 mins to avoid over-stimulating or overwhelming your dog.
Dogs who cannot be safely walked near their homes can be driven by myself to a quiet area or taken to a secure field* to enjoy some off-leash time.
30 min - £17
45 min - £20
60 min - £25
*Access to secure fields must be paid for by the owner
30 min | £20
Socialisation Sessions
Is your puppy becoming an overenthusiastic greeter?Running head first at other dogs, friendly looking children or strangers? There seems to be a lot of confusion around socialisation. A well socialised dog is not the ‘friendly’ dog who charges at others, but is a dog who is calm and well mannered.
The problem is, creating a well socialised dog can be a boring job. Often, sitting on a bench watching the world go by while rewarding your puppy for doing nothing when they see new and strange things like skateboards or bearded men wearing hats, is not exactly how the new pet parent had imagined spending their time.
These sessions will be most useful for puppies and adolescents but can also be considered for rescues and nervous dogs (please note, this is not a replacement for working with a trainer if your dog is already reactive).
The session will involve 30 min of actual training, a mix of walking and watching and the use of well timed, high value rewards. I'll work with one dog per session, and help lead them toward neutrality at their own pace.
Proper socialisation is a crucial part of your dogs development, and if not done early enough can result in a number to behaviour problems which are very difficult to correct.
Short Home Visits
For puppies, older dogs and all other housebound animals
30 - 60 min | From £13
Drop Ins
As a person who has both a job and a dog, I understand the value of having a trusted person to pop by during the day to provide a bit of companionship.
Drop Ins are perfect for anyone working long days, people with new puppies, dogs who are older and slower and any other small housebound animal.
Depending on individual needs a Drop In can include:
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Play
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Feeding and watering
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Enrichment activities (puzzles, games, trick practice, hide and seek etc.)
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Clean up - I’ll take care of any puppy pads, accidents, garden poops etc
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A short walk around the block
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Quiet and calm companionship
If you have a dog troubled by human reactivity, we can work together to build up to a Drop In at your dogs pace by meeting while you're home initially.
30 min - £13
>30 min - £20/hour
Longer pet sitting sessions are sometimes available upon request, but are very limited due to my personal circumstances.
