We love the Wandering Dog Company because at the heart of this business is a genuine passion for your dog’s health and well being.  As a Cullercoats dog walker we often pass by their store based in the metro station, sometimes we even pop in a buy the dogs a little treat.
 
When they started their business in 2015 they were ahead of the curve in the raw food explosion that a lot pet owners are finally getting turned onto.  We’ve all heard the adage ‘you are what you eat’ right.  Well it stands to reason that this applies to our furry friends too and who wouldn’t want to give their dogs a healthy and nutritionally balanced diet that genuinely meets their needs.
 
From humble beginnings just 5 years ago they recognised that dogs are primarily meat eaters but can survive on plant matter if necessary.  The key word here is survive, not thrive.  For your dog to thrive and meet biological nutritional needs then your dog needs to be fed a fresh food, fresh meat based diet.
 
Grains are often used as a cheap filler in dry commercial foods, causing a number of digestive issues for dogs and creating great big mounds of poo for you to pick up in the process.  Feeding a biologically appropriate, fresh food diet is not only gentler on your dog’s stomach but produces smaller, firmer and less frequent poos – winner!!
 
Based in the North East of England the Wandering Dog Company are the region's largest specialist retailer of frozen raw dog food and complimentary treats.  Visit there stores in Cullercoats or Blyth or check them out online at www.thewanderingdog.co.uk
 
They deliver throughout the region and they also offer a nationwide next day delivery service.

​As a North Shields dog walker I am spoilt for choice with places to explore when I’m out on a pack walk with the dogs.

No matter what the time of year there’s always new places to go and that’s especially true during the summer months as we often stay out a little longer just because the weather is nicer and the dogs and I just love being outside.

If I’m dog walking in Cullercoats one of my favourite routes is the walk from Cullercoats Bay to Whitley Bay.  The route along the coastline past the recently refurbished Spanish City and back to Cullercoats is always lovely and the views over the North Sea are always changing.

We never take the most direct route so the walk takes roughly an hour so it’s perfect for the walking the Cullercoats dogs – We normally start off near Beverley Terrace and cut in behind Cliff House (the stunning 18th Century house next to the Queens Head).  Going this way gets you nearer the sea onto the headland and then the stairs ahead of you take you back up to Norma Crescent which has some stunning views back out over the bay towards Tynemouth.

Once we’re back up to the road level we then head toward the dome but cut down onto the lower promenade sections where possible (there’s a few of these little sections) just to get away from the road noise and enjoy a more peaceful walk towards the dome.

It’s lovely getting to the dome as it’s always busy with people just enjoying being outside in a stunning location.  I have to say the refurbishment has exceeded my expectations and hopefully this will help to Whitley Bay back on the map for day trippers and holiday makers.
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From the Dome we usually head up to past Playhouse theatre and then back to Cullercoats via Whitley Bay Town Centre.  This section cannot compete with the views over the sea but it’s good for the dogs to get used to town centres as well as the quieter sections of the walk.  The whole thing usually takes about an hour.

From time to time I like to throw the spotlight onto a local, doggy related business that I think is great and I would like to share with the group.  Today i thought I would write a few words about the Doggy Delish Deli which is based on Albion Road in North Shields (more or less opposite Christ Church).  I often pass this business when I am dog walking in North Shields and sometimes I even pop in and buy the dogs a few treats which obviously they love!

​The place is packed with all manner of biscuits, cakes, baked goods, doggy pizza and even ice cream - all of which is dog friendly and a lot of which is made fresh on the premises each day by the owner, Della and her team.  I only ever spend a couple of quid but always seems to come away with loads of stuff - Della you need to put your prices up!  

Doggy Delish Deli is of course dog friendly and even though space is at a premium you're never made to feel that you're taking up too much room.  I've been in there before with 3 dogs and each dog always gets spoilt with free biscuits whether I buy anything or not.  We recently bought some of the dog friendly ice cream for our dog Buzz and he loved it!

So if you're passing pop in or if you're looking for something a bit different it's well worth a visit.

I have been meaning to start a Dog of the Month competition for some time and finally it's here!  Getting to know the dogs as well as we do is really great and I thought it would be be fun to focus in on a dog every month, letting you know a little more about the dog and what kind of things they like to get up to when we are dog walking in North Shields, Tynemouth or Cullercoats.

The inaugural winner of the Dog of the Month competition is young Murphy.  Murphy has been part of the Coastal Dog Walkers gang for nearly 2 years now and is around 2 and a half years old, as you can see he's an Irish Terrier and typically of the breed he is very active and inquisitive; he's great with people and other dogs.  We've never had any bother from him with any other dog he's been walked with or even dogs we meet when we're out with him - he's very chilled out near other dogs and as such Murphy is often my go to dog if we have a new member of the gang that I am trying to socialise with others in the pack.  This is quite unusual in Irish Terriers as often the breed likes like dominate other dogs but Murphy is so relaxed in almost any situation.As with most dogs he loves going for a walk and you can take him anywhere.  His owner takes him to to the pub, out for meals, on holidays abroad and recently even on a paddle board!  Murphy just loves to be involved and is just one of them dogs with a big personality.  One of my helpers, Julie absolutely adores him and often keeps him out for 2 hours or more even though he's only supposed to be out for an hour!

He lives in Tynemouth so most of our walks either take us towards Cullercoats or sometimes he enjoys a walk to the end of the north pier and back.  His regular doggy pals include Leo, Lola, Ralph, Ruby, Honey, Mac & Tosh although he really does get on with all of the dogs we walk.  If we're dog walking in North Shields then Northumberland Park is somewhere he likes to be but mainly we stick to the coast with Murphy as there's something of the 'surf dude' in him that keeps drawing us back towards the sea.

Well done on winning the first ever Dog of the Month prize for May 2019.  Murphy was presented with a certificate and some treats.  He was very happy with the treats, not so fussed about the certificate.

Although Coastal Dog Walkers has been trading since 2015 I have frankly been hopeless at collecting reviews!  I use review sites myself all the time when looking at choosing a product or service so it's crazy that I haven't been collecting reviews since day one.  I do have a small number on Facebook but Facebook is becoming less popular all of the time and often when I ask someone to review me on there they tell me they aren't on it.  I myself am not on it so I can't blame them.

So having looked around I have decided to start again with reviews by collecting them on Google so feel free to leave me a review if you've used us in the past!

To be more specific I do of course mean tennis balls!  Tennis balls are great.  Why are they great I hear you ask? Well a lot of the dogs that I've walked over the years are simply obsessed with them and you can use that to your advantage. 
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As well as being a great deal of fun for a spot of human/dog interaction I often use a tennis ball as a distraction tool when I really need to keep a dog focused on me.

I walk 2 or 3 dogs who are really lovely with dogs they know but not overly keen on the ones they don't and they have a tendency to bark and/or lunge towards random dogs that we'll inevitably cross paths with.

When we're approaching someone walking their dog I whip out the tennis ball and immediately the dog's focus is on me or rather it's on the tennis ball which I happen to have control of.  This generally allows up safe passage past the dog we're walking towards without any of the kerfuffle that would have occurred had I been without my trusty tennis ball.

This has been a revelation for me and is a top tip that you should try if you have a dog who doesn't mix well with others.  If sticks or treats are your dogs favourite thing then they might just be the answer for your looking for.  It's a good idea give your dog a reward once you're safely past the other hound to praise and reinforce their good behaviour.

Actually I've took puppies on for a while now but I haven't been very good at promoting the fact.  It wasn't something I initially thought about and really I just wanted to focus on the dog walking side of things but pup visits and dog walking go hand in hand so really it was a bit of a no brainer.  My first pup was 'Indy' who I took on about a year ago and since then I have had 2 other pups come into the gang, namely 'Maisy' and 'Luna' who will both make the leap from puppy school to proper pack walks in September.

All of the pups I have took on have needed a lot more attention that the grown up dogs I have been more accustomed to but I have enjoyed seeing them progress and find their place in the world.

Here's a picture of the new most recant puppies, Maisy with her broken leg and lovely Luna.  Both of these dogs were about 12 weeks old in these pictures and I am pleased to say Maisy's leg is now healed and better than new and both dogs have a lovely nature and are full of beans!

As anyone with a pup will tell you looking after a new pup is way more time consuming than looking after an older dog, new pups demand much of of your time and attention but look at how cute they are!  This means that my time is generally split over a couple of puppy visits per pup each day i have them, more often that not this will involve 2 half hour slots and each visit comprises of a short walk, once the vet says it's ok for them to be outside that is and some command training and of course playtime.

So if you have a new pup or are thinking of getting one then give us a shout as we're now looking out for our next puppy as both Maisy and Luna are almost ready to graduate into regular one hour pack walks.

I'm pleased to say we're expanding into Cullercoats and the Marden.  For the past few years we've concentrated mainly on Tynemouth and the so called Tynemouth fringe (used to just be known as the part of Shields next to Northumberland Park in my day!) but feel that the time has come to spread our wings and take on new pooches outside of our normal zone.

The area we operate in now is very small compared to the majority of dog walking businesses so it's probably overdue that we expand our boundaries a little.  Please give me a share on your Facebook page to help spread the word.  Thanks, John.  Coastal Dog Walkers :)

Good question because if you're looking for a North Shields Dog Walker then a quick Google will show you that there are other options out there.  

On the face of it Coastal Dog Walkers and any other dog walking business may look the same.  We both walk dogs right?  Well, yes that is true but if you dig a little deeper there are a few key things that we do differently from most:
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1. As well as myself I now have 3 experienced helpers in John, Graeme and Julie, all of whom are on hand every week to ensure all of the work is covered.  If one of us is on holiday or poorly the work still gets covered.  Most other dog walking businesses are owned and ran by one person.  Should that person take ill or need time off then that leaves their customers without a walker for a period of time.  With us there's no break in service no matter what life throws at us.
2. It seems that most others businesses allow their packs off the lead on the beach or in the park and that all looks like great fun.  We don't allow any of our dogs off the lead and guess what? - it's still fun for the dogs and they still get plenty of exercise!  For me the very last thing I want to do is lose someone's dog and the number of stories I've heard from other professional dog walkers over the years about dogs getting spooked and bolting is worryingly high.  In almost all of those cases the lost dog was being looked after by a dog walker who'd allowed it off the lead and for whatever reason the dog has ran off causing obvious distress for all involved.  I believe that we're vastly reducing the chances of losing a dog by keeping it on the lead at all times.
3. We've been trading for a few years now.  This is important because I have seen so many dog walking businesses start up and then cease trading after a relatively short amount of time.  We're in it for the long haul, this business helps pay our mortgage and we aren't just doing it until winter comes round again and it gets a bit cold.  If you're looking for a North Shields dog walker then please make sure they've been trading for at least a year as I've seen so many come and go.  Those that have been around for a year or longer tend to last the course.

Every business should have a few USP's and the above points I think are the main ones that separate our dog walking business from the next one on the list.  On a personal note I'm also pretty relaxed about things and I never tie anyone into any kind of contract or anything like that.  Should your needs or circumstances change and we have to part ways then that's fine, after all we're here to fit around you, not the other way round!

John
Coastal Dog Walkers.