PET SERVICES

Group dog walks are made up of 2 or more carefully introduced dogs - they can be a great opportunity for your dog to use their social skills, develop friendships and be mentally stimulated which leads to a fulfilling walking experience.


What is a Group Walk?
Group dog walks are our most popular service! In these sessions, we bring together pooches from different homes in small, manageable groups where they can interact, play and explore.

As a rule, we offer a small ratio of dogs to walkers, usually no more than around 4 dogs to one person. When we know that dogs are well matched and have met several times before, we may bring small groups together, but only when multiple dog carers are present so that every dog in our care gets equal attention and consideration.

When introducing dogs to groups for the first time, we will usually buddy them up slowly with others that we know are calm and well socialised. If we feel they have managed the interaction well, we will slowly introduce them to the other dogs they will commonly meet. we will always let you know what has gone well, and what might need working on! Feedback to clients only ever comes from a place of love - we want every dog in our care to get the most out of their walks and sometimes a little additional training is needed to make that happen,

Is my dog suited to Group Walks?
We love sharing time with group walk dogs, however not every dog is suited to a Group Walking scenario. Because the relationships and interactions between dogs can be complex and need to be managed, we have some rules for dogs that can be walked as part of a group:

1 - Dogs must be up to date with vaccinations
For the health and wellbeing of all the pets in our care, we ask clients to ensure that their pets are up to date with vaccines, or are titre tested regularly to ensure they have immunity. We also encourage clients to regularly use worm and flea treatments out of respect for the other dogs they are interacting with, this can be done naturally we can give advice of this if required.

2 - Dogs must be well socialised
We don't expect every dog to be perfectly well behaved all the time - even humans can't manage that! But we do ask that clients honestly assess their own pet and ask themselves - is my dog going to get on well with unfamiliar faces? If your pet is nervous, anxious or has behavioural quirks that might mean they can't mix with other dogs, they might be better suited to solo walks instead. Please note that we reserve the absolute right to make the final decision on mixing animals from different households - we must always consider the safety and well being of the entire group and will remove dogs from group settings if needed. If your dog is not used to walking with other dogs, we can slowly introduce them in a way that makes them comfortable - this can take time but it can be done, so please be honest about your dog bed's personality and behaviours when making contact with us. It is really important to note that group walks are not a substitute for puppy classes or private socialisation training - if you want your dog to develop their socialisation skills, please ask us to refer you to a local trainer who will be best placed to assist you. Dogs who come to our sessions should already have good social skills and it will be very apparent immediately if they do not!

3 - Dogs must walk well on lead as well as off lead if allowed.
There will always be times when group walk dogs must walk on lead even for off lead dogs - sometimes it is to cross a car park or sometimes for their own safety. When you have multiple dogs on lead, it is really important that they are comfortable walking alongside other dogs in close quarters and have good on lead etiquette. No dog's behaviour is perfect! But group walking dogs do need to have a solid base to work from. If you are concerned that your pet's lead walking behaviour might not be suited to group dog walking, have a chat with us and we can assess the situation further!

4 - Dogs should be comfortable being transported in vehicles
We take an adaptable approach to transporting the dogs in our care - though in most cases group dogs are transported to location in suitably sized crates. This is for their own safety, as well as others - we have a strict policy of not mixing pets from different households in vehicles. This means we have to separate pets using crates or car guards - if your pet is not going to manage being transported while restrained in this way, they may not be suited to group walks.

*Walks maybe shortened to protect your dogs health and welbeing, an example of this would be extreme heat or a bad storm where a dog becomes frightened or nervous. 

Our puppy & dog visits are suited to pets who for one reason or other are unable to use our walking services. Examples of why this might be are:

• Dogs who are too young or inexperienced in social settings

• Dogs who are unable to walk for long periods of time due to illness or disability

• Clients are only out for short periods of time and want feeding and company for their pet only

There are of course many other reasons that a client may want a drop in visit only - please get in touch to discuss your needs!
As standard, during these visits we let pets out for toilet breaks (depending on the age and ability of the dog we are able to incorporate a short walk into the visit if required), refresh water bowls, feed if required and provide some interaction through play.

Getting a new puppy is always an exciting experience, but it does bring on a big responsibility. Puppies require a lot of time and attention from their new owner, but often commitments, such as work, get in the way. We can help by visiting your puppy during the day to feed them, let them out in the garden or simply give them some love and attention.

If there are any specific activities that clients wish us to do with their pet during their visit, this can be discussed . If you are in a multi dog household, additional charges will apply - please message us for further details.

*30 or 60 minute visits available.

Our cat visit service means that rather than taking your cat to a cattery we visit your cat in their own home. This is perfect for cats as who in generally hate leaving their own territory, so cat a visit means they’re not disrupted and are much happier and relaxed on your return.We will go through your cat care regime and ensure we stick to their normal routine as closely as possible ensuring they have the right food and any special diet that may be difficult for catteries to provide, administer medication and can liaise with your own vet if necessary.At £9 (per day for up to 2 cats (single visit) or £17 (2 visits) For further information, please email or call us.

We recommend one or two visits per day for cats, but we’ve found that most cats are very happy with a single visit unless medication requires additional attention. But for that extra bit of TLC we can make extra visits and are completely flexible to your requirements. If you feed your cats twice a day but don’t think they need two visits, then we are happy to set your food bowl timer for an evening feed all within the price. 

These walks are a one-on-one service where your dog has the exclusive attention of their Carer. They are particularly suited to dogs who may for one reason or other, not be suited to walking a group situation.

Solo walks are most suited to dogs who:

• Are anxious or nervous around other dogs

• Require extra attention around people or children

• Are strong pullers and do not walk well on leads

• Have poor recall skills

• Are too young for group walks or lack social experience

• Are reactive to one or multiple things

• Display obsessive or compulsive behaviours

• Don't like to walk very fast or very far

• Unneutered male or female dogs

There is absolutely no judgement on owners whose dog needs to be walked solo - there are so many reasons why this might be and we will always discuss in detail what those are before taking on a client.

Please note that we only offer solo walks outside of peak walking times to maintain our availability to our group walking clients. Please speak with us about availability options.

Reactivity
You may have heard the term 'reactive' when listening to descriptions of dogs with behavioural quirks. Reactivity is a vastly sliding scale of the way a dog presents behaviours when a stimulus is present. Reactive dogs could well present aggressively, but they may just as well present as nervous or flighty dogs. Some dogs are wonderfully social and well mannered off lead, but on lead snap and lunge at other dogs. There is no one rule for what a reactive dog reacts to, or how they will react. In nearly all cases, reactivity is borne out of a nervous or fear response so it is important for us to know our dogs individually and understand what makes them uncomfortable. This is why we offer only solo walks to dogs that have displayed reactive behaviours. It is VERY important that clients are open and honest about their pet's reactions so that we know what to expect and how best to handle it.

Restrictions
Although we are willing to work with reactive dogs with certain precautions in place (the use of muzzles for example), there are limitations on what we are able to do. We have a duty of care to the public when we are out with dogs so unfortunately for the safety of everyone, including our own team, we are unable to walk dogs who have shown aggressive behaviour towards humans, or who are known to have attacked other dogs. 

*30 or 60 minute walks available.

Small animal visits similar to Cat visits are usually booked for once per day but additional visits can be booked if required. During the visit we will complete any tasks asked of us from feeding and playing, to cleaning out and letting pets out for exercise (in the case of suitable & secure pens being present).

Clients with multiple small animals or a mix of different small animals not housed together, will be charge a higher rate - in these cases please speak to us when looking for a quote and information.

Please note that we will not allow pets to be left unsupervised in housing that is not secure or damaged. Please inspect any crates, pens or hutches before services commence.

We offer a range of services that can be tailored to your individual needs. Please contact us for information on other services and to discuss your requirements.