Merry Christmas!

I've just finished work for the Christmas break, no more work for me until Wednesday, so I'd like to wish all my readers a very happy Christmas!

More Snow Days!

The dogs like to play It (or Tag if you prefer) but backwards. Whoever is tagged is chased by all the other dogs. First is Charlie...

 

He manages to tag Bingley, who puts up a good chase, bit of hurdling, then somehow manages to cheat and be at the back of the pack again. Tch.

Snow Days!

Although I have had to cancel some of my walks for safety reasons I am still doing my main walk at lunchtime. Not as many dogs as usual, but what dogs have come out with me have been having a great time!

Something smelly to follow? Fred, Phoebe & Dexter

Bingley always looks posh and composed. Yes he's wearing two coats. Only sensible to keep his tummy covered!

 Phoebe & Baxter, Dexter in the background (nose on ground again!)

 My Dad has assisted last two days - regular assistant Will is walking Bobbi on her own as he lives near to her. Must nag him to take some photos!

The park is so quiet at the moment, and so beautiful. We walked through lots of virgin snow, all the dogs are medium sized or smaller, so lots of bounding around through deep snow!

 

 

A Day in the Life of a Travel Kennel

I've been very busy lately, lots of lovely dogs to walk, and I know some of the other dog walkers are a bit surprised that I can be walking dogs from 8am until 5pm. So here we go - one day in the life of a travel kennel.

My 8am (ish) breakfast walk, way out. Bobbi, Wire Haired Fox Terrier

Breakfast walk, way back, Inky, Beagle, and Bobby, Maltese. Also on the morning walk are my three dogs, Scamp, Beauty and Fred.

After I drop the breakfast dogs off I take mine home and feed them, usually around 10am. Then it's time to go and see Jess, gorgeous Border Collie Puppy, she has two visits a day, time all to herself. Here she is in the kennel having some brunch.

Straight onto my lunchtime walk - here's Charlie, Portugeuse Water Dog, on the way out - he's still under 6 months so 3 times a week he has puppy visits like Jess, but it's good to get pups out with sensible adult dogs as well.

And Baxter, Beagle, with Bingley, Whippet, on the way home.

Also on the lunchtime walk on this particular day were Moses, Dexter, and Dilly, who didn't travel in this kennel but deserve a mention! When I have 6 at lunchtime I take my glamorous assistant Will with me (so far he has avoided the camera) to help out (I never walk more than 6 at a time).

After all the lunchtime dogs have gone home to sleep the afternoon away, I visit Jess again, before collecting Max for a walk on his own around half past two.

After Max enjoyed his walk I picked up Bobby again,

to join Pebbles and Honey, Spaniels, for a 4pm walk. My dogs came along for the walk as well, but we don't need any more pictures of my dogs!

After Pebbles and Honey I went home and collapsed! 4 walks and two puppy sits, a total of 13 dogs, 5 of them twice (does that count as 18?).

Other days I'll have less dogs on the walks, but anything between 2 and 5 puppy visits to do. Some days I even have cats to feed too!

Dog of the Month - September

Desperately late, I'm so sorry! We have Bingley for September.

During the school holidays I had an assistamt walking some of the dogs for me while I was so busy, and Bingley was one of them.

When I took back over in September I couldn't believe how happy I was to see Bingley again. I guess sometimes they get under our skin more than we think they do!

So Bingley is September's Dog of the Month simply because he's so cheerful and happy, and never fails to make me smile.

and some more pics!

"How do you get your dog to do that?"

Whatever 'that' is, the answer is generally 'I painstakingly taught him'.

I was asked how I could make my dog stop walking when I told him. I was on my way to work, so I couldn't go through it, so here it is.

Not every training method works for every dog, but this is how I usually start, and may start tweaking what I'm doing if it's not sinking in. Also it can depend on whether their relationship with you is a good one, or if they like other dogs better, but try it and see.

There are three essentials every dog should know - stop doing that, stop moving and come back to me. Of these, stop moving is probably the most important, because if your dog manages to get himself on the edge of a cliff, or escapes and rushes across a road, a recall may not be appropriate. Each dog really must understand how to stop moving, the emergency stop.

If you go to a training class, this is usually taught with your dog facing towards you, but if he's off the lead on a walk, he will often be facing away from you as he's pottering about, or they are so used to obeying commands at your feet they will carry on moving until they get to you, and only then stop, which is not what you want.

It's reasonably simple. When you take your dog for a walk on the lead, every time you stop walking, say 'wait' (or whatever you choose to use). When you start moving again, use another word to say they can move - I use 'forwards'. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Stop lots of times, when you need to pick up poop, to have a drink of water, to stop and chat with someone, when you fancy stopping to take in the view, or rest halfway up a hill. Stop more times than you need to, every time.

The dogs soon pick it up - if you've got an under-exercised dog who is a maniac on the end of the lead you'll need to start giving him the right amount of exercise, or at least, don't start doing this until he's had some time to have a leg stretch. Once he seems to have got it, start doing it off the lead, and try to time your Waits until he'd have to stop, somewhere like a gate, or walk up to a fence, just to give him the extra help.

What you have to remember is, lots of practice, lots of times. If you forget your Forwards word, your dog will learn to stop walking when you do, then as soon as you move, he'll start walking again. If you are trying to reattach the lead, or pick him up, or otherwise do something to him, for instance he's carrying half a bush in his feathers, this really does defeat the object.





You could also try - just falling over...




You may wonder what relevence this has to you - I walk dogs in small groups of around 4 dogs. Last week we were walking through a country park when the rangers came through in their land rover - all four dogs were off the lead. 'Wait!' I called. They all stopped walking. Had they kept going, they could have ended up under the wheels, as they were too far for me to do anything physical. This week, I came round a corner in a different part of the park, to find an electric fence not 10 yards ahead. The wait command stopped the dogs from getting a nasty shock while I attached their leads and walked them carefully past it.

I also teach Wait at the Gate.

You Don't Have to Be a Terrier...

To stick your head in an interesting hole...













It just helps!

The Walkies Award

This is a little rosette I give to the dogs after completely one year's 'service' with me. I think it's something to celebrate, our first anniversaries together!

So far we have five Walkies Award winners (plus one honourary) but I seem to have mislaid one of the 'presentation' photographs.

We have more award winners coming in the next few months, in the meantime, here's our current group of 'sophomores'.



Inky is looking a little bit sad as I can't find his photo with rosette.




Max




Bingley




Henry (honourary)




Benson



Scarlet (feeling peckish)

The Awwwww Factor

Little dogs often get lots of 'Awwwwws' as we enjoy our walk (giant breeds tend to get 'Oooohhhhhs'), especially when we see children.

And just so he doesn't feel left out - Fred was with us, so here's a pic with him in as well.



You may notice the space Lola (Cav in red coat) likes to keep between her and the other dogs in both the photos. This is essential for her comfort, without the space she really doesn't want to walk with us, so I make sure to arrange the dogs so that she can have her space.

She seemed very happy to meet Max, so I am hoping to find some Chihuahas for her to walk with in case it's a size thing! Max normally has a longer walk than Lola so can't make them a permanent match.

Puppy Package & Adult Spaces

Puppies

My puppies have grown up! They have graduated to my adult dog walks this month, so I now have space for a full time puppy, or just part time if you don't need every day.

Puppies are accepted between 8 weeks and 6 months old. They get one or two half hour visits per day when they get my undivided attention. Once they are fully vaccinated I take them out for short walks, feed where necessary, clear up any mess, and play educational games designed to give your puppy the skills needed for life with people. Puppy walks are for roughly five minutes per month of life, so start at five minutes per visit, working up to the full half hour just before puppy moves to my lunchtime group walks.

If you are at home but are interested in the educational games I can still visit, or teach you the games to play.

Spaces are linited so are taken very quickly - typically within two weeks of becoming available. I only have one space on average every three to four months, so if you are waiting for your puppy to be old enough to bring home and want me to visit, a non-refundable first week's deposit will hold the space for up to one month.

Thanks again for giving Pongo such a great start in life.
Tina F., crossbreed



Dog Walking

An experienced dog walker, I walk dogs around Brentwood in small groups of three or four. Your dog is important to me, and walks of this size allow each dog to benefit from being with their own species while still having time for personal attention from me.

I have one full time space available (Mondays & Wednesdays may be a 'split shift' walk of two half hour sessions), with extra spaces available on Thursdays and Fridays.

Thanks for your help so far. I feel really happy knowing someone is calling in to see her in the day.
Nikki D., Labradoodle




Bingley has a walker who looks after him so well, that's the most important thing!
Natalie O., Whippet





Home Dog Boarding

I am already taking bookings for school holiday times, so if you would like your dog taken care of in a home boarding environment, please contact me sooner rather than later.

I am limited in the number of dogs I can board and I will not overload my house, which makes early booking essential. Dogs need individual attention when at home as well as when out on walks, so I will only take in the amount I can sensibly cope with. Dogs are not kept in conservatories, outhouses, summer houses, sheds, kennels or kitchens. They live in the house as part of the family and are expected to get on with their chores and behave the same way my dogs do!

Very reliable & trustworthy, Nelson loves Linda and I wouldn't send him anywhere else!
Hazel S., Fox Terrier



I would recommend Linda to anybody who is looking for a holiday for their hounds. Peanut and Ali have just spent a week in the very capable hands of Linda and I think they enjoyed the lovely peace and quiet of her house (compared to mine).
Mary K., Greyhounds




If your dog has some habits you would rather they didn't have, that can be safely dealt with in a home environment, please ask me about my residential training programmes.

Snow Day!

I love the snow - I love the way it makes all the dogs go a bit bonkers, although normally I'm too slow to catch it on the dogcam!

Here are some stills instead.