So you have a need for a dog walker in your life right now. The reasons for this are many an varied but as I covered some of those reasons in a blog just a couple of weeks ago I will save you the repeat.  

The first question you are likely to have asked yourself once you have realised you need someone to help is which dog walker do I use?  I make the assumption that you have already Googled something like 'Dog Walker North Shields' in order to find pages of (hopefully) useful results including our own website.  You will notice that there are a surprising number of businesses like ours on Google so I would advise having a look at a few that catch your eye and have a good look around each of the sites.  If you're anything like me once I have looked at 3 or 4 I start to lose track of what i have read but look at as many as you need until you have narrowed it down to 1 or 2 potentials.  

Further research at this stage is really important because you may be entering into a relationship that lasts longer than some marriages!  Here are my thoughts on how to find a suitable dog walker....

1. I would advise to check is to see if potential websites look fresh and up to date.  I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but I really do think that if a website looks messy and old then that might mean that the owner of that business has fell out of love with what they do.
2. I would definitely be looking to see if your potential dog walker is insured for what they do as it is essential for everyone's peace of mind that the correct insurance is in place in case of an accident or unexpected emergency.
   
3. Arrange to meet 1 or 2 potential dog walkers and see if you feel at ease with them, listen to your instincts and if the person just doesn't feel right for you then keep looking.  You may well have a need to let this person into your house whilst you are at work....so don't be shy in asking them a little about their background.
4. Speak to them about the service they offer.  A 1 hour walk is pretty standard but you may want something else and if you have a puppy or an elderly dog you may only want a short walk - can the dog walker be flexible around your needs?
5. Lastly price is a factor.  Looking around at the prices that other businesses charge there are certainly different pricing structures out there.  The cheapest isn't necessarily going to be the best though....price should only form part of the overall analysis.

From the other dog walkers I know I really can't fault any of them and if you do your homework I am sure you will find the right on for you.  Fear not, the majority of successful dog walkers have the best interests of the dogs at the heart of their business.

Once the labs were safely home I then had the pleasure of walking Honey and Mae.  Mae is currently in season so I kept her on the lead just in case she attracted any unwanted attention!  

We got some a few nice pictures overlook Cullercoats Beach before doubling back to walk along Longsands, round past the Grand Hotel and then back to drop both dogs home.  These 2 get along very well but as the are really just puppies; both are approximately 9 months old they do like to have a daft 5 minutes every now and then and Honey is usually (always) the instigator!

You may wonder who has a need for a dog walker.  Well as it turns out lots of people do and for a variety of reasons too;  You may need a dog walker on a short time basis to whilst you recuperate from an illness or injury.  Your work commitments may have suddenly changed meaning you can't nip home at lunchtime or you simply cannot keep asking friends and neighbours to walk your dog as a favour.

The one thing I have found whilst doing this job is that no two of our customers have the same exact reason for using our service.  I have working professionals who simply aren't at home as often as they would like to be, I have retired people who just cannot meet the demands of their dogs and I even have people who work for themselves and take their dogs to work in order for me to drop in and take the dog out for an hour in the middle of the day.

If you cast your mind back 10 or certainly 20 years ago did the role of 'Dog Walker' even exist?...I don't think it did or if it did it wasn't to the extent it is now.  Do a Google search for dog walkers in your town and you'll be surprised how many there are...I have been giving this some thought and I have think that 2 of the main reasons for the role of 'Dog Walker in todays society are:

1. these days most couples in a family household both work.  I know very few households where one partner go's out and earns the money whilst the other one stays at home.
2. we continue to be a nation of animal lovers, last year (2014) it was estimated that 13,ooo,ooo (46%) of households owned a pet. 24% of all the households in the UK owned a dog (or dogs) and in total there were 9,000,000 dogs in the UK.

That's a lot of dogs.  I think I'll just stick to walking the ones at the coast!

It was a bit of a pea-souper on the coast today but still very pleasant and warm.  Wendy an I tested out my new Map My Walk app which I will use from time to time to let owners see where we go when we're out and about.  

As you can see from the image below we were out for an hour and covered the best part of 4 miles....it was our intention to go to the end of the north pier but alas, it was locked due to the very foggy conditions in Tynemouth today so we continued along the coast, past King Eddies and then home via Northumberland Park.  All in all it was a very nice walk.  

Wendy is at the vets for an operation tomorrow so I made a point of taking her out on her own today as I won't see her again for a week or more.