When I started Coastal Dog Walkers back in 2015 I looked around to see how other Dog Walkers did it, not to copy anyone but to get an idea for best practices and in some cases to see what not to do.  If I was to follow the How To Become a Dog Walker school of thought it very much looked to me at the time like I would have to buy a van and operate my business over quite a large area.  This all meant I would be on the road a lot and it would mean customers dog's (I didn't even have any of these at the time)  would be in the van for what i considered an unacceptable amount of time.  Hmmm I thought, there has to be another way....

My solution was to build my business slowly by imposing a strict geographical 'zone' to work within.  I'd say no to any potential new customers outside that zone.  This was dificult beacuse I kept getting enquiries from just a mile or 2 outside my work area and although it was counter intuative to turn work away that's exactly what I did.   Slowly I did get some customers within my operational area and I have more or less stuck to that ethos since then only expanding my area when I was able to take on some helpers after a couple of years.  

I still see to this day new dog walkers who take on work anywhere they can get it and will travel miles out of their way chasing that next customer.  They and their dogs must be forever on the road driving to be able to collect dogs for a group walk and that's fine for them but that's not the way I wanted to do things.

At this point in time, July 2020 we cover a small part of North Shields, all of Tynemouth, all of Cullercoats and a small part of Whitley Bay.  It's not set in stone and we may expand again in the future but only if I have the staff to cover any new areas. 

So the reason our dog walking area is small is this:  We don't want your dogs to be stuck in a van when they could be getting walked!  And 6 years in and I still haven't even got a van but that's a blog for another day!

John
​Coastal Dog Walkers

Winner for Feb 2020 (Last one before lockdown)

Mr Oscar is our latest winner of our Dog of the Month competition!

He's a very lovable Staffy from Tynemouth and we've had the pleasure of walking him for almost 6 months now.  He was rehomed by his owner a few months before we took him on as a walking client and we started helping out when work commitments got in the way of Oscars walks!

He's a lovely, lovely boy and we all love him dearly, the other dogs he's regularly walked with love him too.  He's literally no bother whatsoever, and he doesn't even mind when the younger dogs decide they want to play and mess about.  Oscar remains calm and relaxed in all situations.  To be fair he does get a little excited if he sees a cat but it's fairly low level stuff, cats aside he's a very chilled out dog.

Give him a follow over on Instagram. He's @mr_oscar_the_carrot_eater

If like us you happen to own a dog that is reactive then you probably keep your dog on the lead when you’re outdoors.  Our own dog, Buzz isn’t ever allowed off the lead on walks as he’s a reactive dog.  Or he was…read on to find out just how much he’s improved.
 
We brought Buzz home in July of 2016 and although he was initially OK, he very quickly turned to the dark side and started reacting at any and every dog he spotted.  He was ‘that’ dog that rages from the back of the sofa looking out of the living room window should another dog dare to come into view.  On walks he would react to another dog on the street even it was 50 yards from us.  And god help you if he seen a cat.
 
We did wonder what the hell we’d brought home from the RSPCA.  We were told that Buzz was a Lurcher cross.  Quite quickly we were pretty sure he was crossed with the Tasmanian Devil.
 
I would like to say though that he was a brilliant dog at home.  He settled in immediately and there wasn’t a hint of badness in him, indoors there were no negatives, he was a lovely dog.  Take him outside though and he’d turn into what the experts call ‘a pain the in arse’.
 
He was just a complete nightmare; I can’t emphasise strongly enough how stressful it was taking him for a walk.  Whenever we’d go out with him there would be multiple highly charged incidents.  He’d see a dog and he’d lose the plot.
 
He’d be tense throughout the whole walk; his lead work was horrific as he’d be pulling this way and that looking for other dogs and then once he had a dog in his sights he’d go nuclear.  There was lots of lunging and barking and his behaviour was just horrendous.

Last July I received an enquiry to walk a lurcher called Dan and made the necessary arrangements to visit Dan's owner to be able to assess Dan's suitability for pack walks and take them through all the relevant paperwork etc.  All in all, this looked like a run of the mill enquiry and obviously I hoped it would go well and we would be able to walk the dog.  It did go well and we took Dan on and I'm pleased to say we have been walking him since then.

​It transpired that the reason we were now walking Dan was because one of his owners had unfortunately had a heart attack and the rest of the family had rallied around to help out with Dan but work commitments innevitably came into play.  It was felt that  if Dan could be walked by a professional Tynemouth dog walker then that would at least take that responsibility off their collective plate.

At this time of year we’re always busy with new enquires, Christmas it seems is a peak period for rehoming a dog or bringing a new puppy into your life.
 
A lot of us take time off at over the festive period, families come to visit and generally there are more friends and family around to pitch in and help look after the new hound.  Then January kicks in, your folks go home, your friends go back to work, you have to face the reality of having a job and suddenly your neighbour isn’t so keen to help walk the dog!  It dawns on you that you need help but just how do you choose a dog walker?
 
As a professional North Shields dog walker with 6 years experience I have compiled a rough guide to choosing the right dog walker for you.  It’s not really in any order, feel free to skip past bits that aren’t relevant to you.

• On the face of it all dog walking companies do the same thing – they all walk dogs.  Well yes that’s true but it may suit you to use a company that only walks one dog at a time or a walker who can walk your dog in the evening if you’re a shift worker.  If you have specific requirements it’s quite easy to rule a lot of companies out by explaining exactly what you’re looking for.  They’ll soon tell you if they can’t accommodate you.

 

• A personal recommendation from a friend is always a good route to finding a dog walker but only if your friend has had first-hand experience, i.e. they have actually used their services.  Be wary if your pal is recommending someone they vaguely know from Facebook who’s just decided they want to walk dogs so they’ve set up a Facebook page and are hoping that work will find them.  In my experience a lot of these types won’t be trading in 3 to 6 months’ time and you’ll be back to square one.

• Ask for references.  Specifically ask to speak to a current customer.  I do that all the time as my customers are my best advert and are always happy to help out.

• Check for online reviews, most companies use Google Reviews or something similar.  Here are our up to date Google Reviews.

 

• Check how long the business has been trading.  I’m reluctant to say don’t go with anyone who’s just starting out as I too was in that position back in 2015 but to be fair you’d be safer going with someone with a track record as it’s more likely they’re in it for the long haul.  As a dog walker in North Shields I have seen countless new companies spring up and then disappear in the space of just a few short months.

 

• Is the company a ‘one-man band’?  If so, what contingency plan do they have in place if they’re sick or go on holiday at some point in the future.

 

• How large an area do they operate in?  Trust me in this case smaller is better!  You really don’t want to use a firm who covers vast distances as they’ll spend a lot of time driving just to collect the dogs before any walking begins.

 

• Trust your gut.  If when meeting your potential new dog walker you just don’t really click with them then keep looking.  You are potentially entering into an arrangement that lasts longer than a lot of marriages and you have to be able to get on with the person that will be looking after your beloved pooch.

• Are they competitively priced?  Please note I have have not suggested 'are they the cheapest?' A quick look online will show you that the majority of dogs walkers in our area a charging a similar price, some a little more, some a little less.  Just avoid the extremes.  If it looks cheap it may mean they aren't insured or cut corners elsewhere, if it's too expensive then avoid them. as paying more doesn't necessarily equate to a better service.

 

• Your dog also has a say in this.  If your dog doesn’t seem to gel with the person you meet then maybe it's best to keep looking.  This happened to me once, I met the owner and the dog, everything was going fine, we had a nice chat and I went to take the dog out for a test walk and the dog just refused to go out with me.  He remained rooted to the spot and after a few minutes cajoling him I decided that it was best to pass on the details of another walker rather than potentially stress the dog out – at this point the owner said ‘oh yeah he doesn’t really like men all that much’.  I guess you can’t win ‘em all!

Coastal Dog Walkers is a North Shields based professional dog walking business.  We have had the pleasure of walking dogs in Tynemouth, North Shields, Cullercoats and Whitley Bay since 2015.  For more information please call or text on 07725041572

Thanks for reading!
​
John
Coastal Dog Walkers, January 2020

I'm a bit later than usual with Dog of the Month this time around as it's just been a busy couple of weeks at Coastal Dog Walkers HQ but I am thrilled to give the award this month to Lola and Ralph!.

We've been walking these two characters for quite some time now.  Lola joined us a few years ago and then, to her horror at the time Ralph became her brand new older brother in January this year.  Almost a year later and it's fair to say Lola has now got used to Ralph and they make a great pair of dogs. 

Both dogs unfortunately didn't get the best start in life and eventually they ended up in a rescue centre, thankfully they've now found their forever home with Phil and Louise are are happy living in Cullercoats.  Because they had such a rough start in life they are both of a nervous disposition and it's took a long time to get them used to us but gradually we got there.   They are still a bit skittish in certain situations but I think they'll continue to settle in time as they're both relatively young dogs.

These dogs are so very lucky to have finally found a happy home to live in.  Well done Lola and Ralph!

I am very happy to announce that October's winner for Dog of the Month is Delilah.  I am sure both Delilah and her owner, Abbi will be thrilled at this news.

Delilah has been with Coastal Dog Walkers since February of this year and it's fair to say that when she first came on board she was a dog with 2 distinct sides to her personality.  At home she was a playful, clever and loving dog but in typical Border Terrier style she was not so great in the company of other dogs.  Delilah at the time was about 15 months old and I am unsure what amount of socialisation she'd had with other dogs up to that point; we inherited her from another dog walker who would walk Delilah on her own but thankfully her owner wanted to explore pack walks in order to socialise Delilah.

We'd had some success stories over the years with anti social dogs (April I'm looking at you!) so we welcomed the challenge.  My own experience with Border Terriers in the last 5 years has been mixed, maybe it's just me but I do find that often they can be a grumpy little breed around other dogs.  However Border Terriers are also quick to learn and I looked forward to playing a role in Delilah's rehab.  Owning an anti social dog myself I know first hand that this rehabilitation takes a long time, there's no quick fix and often it's one step forward and 2 steps back.

For Delilah the key tactic employed was exposure to other dogs.  This was done frequently and in a way where everyone was safe, it would have been unthinkable to just lump her in with dogs she didn't know and that would have only set her back and put the dogs at risk.  Fortunately she is a pretty regular client so there was plenty of opportunity to gently increase her exposure to dogs we knew would cope well with her....dark side.

Fast forward to now and she's improved no end.  It's been a gradual thing but if you compare how she was initially in February to how she is now she's like a different dog.  She's not perfect but I honestly think she'll continue to get better and better.  She knows about 10 of the other dogs so is actually an easy dog to work into my scheduling each week.  Her behaviour around them is very good and it's rare now that she reacts at all and if she does begin to 'go' she snaps out of it with is snapped out of it with ease, usually a short, sharp 'tsssk' noise gets her attention back on me and we can move on from there.  Our next mission is to try and take her tension levels down around dogs she doesn't know as this is now where almost all of her anxiety comes from.

Delilah is much more that just a narky dog though, she's gots bags of personality and I can imagine she's great company at home.  She's got a mischievous side and did go through a phase of playing hide and seek when we picked her up, fortunately we now usually find her on her bed, legs akimbo or pretending she's been eaten by the sofa!

Well done Delilah.  I will fetch you some treats and your certificate later this week.

I am very pleased to award the latest dog of the month award to Pearl.  She hasn't been with us all that long, just 3 months in fact but in that short time we've quickly grown to love her.

Pearl is an 8 year old Staffy and is quite the character.  She's always super happy to see us and she gets so excited that she just can't keep still for long enough for you to put her harness and collar on.  You can't help but laugh at her though as she just can't contain her excitement.  She's borderline 'about to wet herself' literally every time but thankfully she has managed to contain herself, so far anyway!

On the walks she's a happy and relaxed dog, she likes her own space and prefers to be with quieter dogs.    We usually walk her in a pack of 3  dogs but she knows 9 or 10 dogs altogether and she gets on very well with all of them.  She's a great addition to the gang and we hope to be walking her for many years to come.

Well done Pearl!

The quick answer to that question is that it's up to you!  If you've read up on the pro's and con's of having your male dog neutered and you still wish to leave him intact then that's great, go for it!  This decision is a very personal one and for some dog owners the decision is a no brainer and for others they wrestle with the idea and find it hard to know what to do for the best.

Here's my thoughts on the matter.  I won't go into the medical implications at all as there's lots of information on Google regarding that and I'd just be rehashing stuff from other websites.

Coastal Dog Walkers have been walking dogs for 5 years now and to begin with we'd take on any dog, any breed, any temperament and we wouldn't give any real consideration to whether a male dog was intact or not.  In hindsight this was a little naive as over time we began to notice one thing that had not crossed our minds when we started out; intact males can attract trouble from other male dogs.

Allow me to explain and expand on that statement.  Some of the loveliest dogs we've ever walked have been intact male dogs, in fact the first dogs we ever took on was a fantastic Labrador called Lewis.  He was THE most gentle and loving dog and you could walk him with any other dog and he'd never be any bother.  However as time passed we noticed that on occasion another male dog would get very agitated in Lewis's company or a dog that we walked past would react to him in an aggressive manner.  Lewis never instigated any of this behavior and never even reacted to it as he was always super chilled.  We thought it was odd but never really put two and two together.

Over the next couple of years we took on other intact male dogs and on occasion we had similar experiences with all of them, i.e. for no reason apparent to us another male would just act up and be aggressive towards them for no apparent reason.

We then spoke to some dog behaviourist colleagues and did a bit of Googling and suddenly everything fell into place - non neutered male dogs can sometimes provoke an unwanted response from a neutered male dog.  The exact reasons for this seem to be open to discussion but in our experience this unwanted behavior toward uncastrated males is a very real thing.

As a consequence we no longer take on new clients with male dogs who are intact, the only exception to that is puppies who in time will have the operation usually at around 6 to 8 months old.  For us it's just not worth the inherent risk.  As a North Shields dog walker we are responsible for a lot of your dogs and our underlying thought in everything we do is always your dog's safety.

On a personal note I'd like to add that our own dog Buzz and his predecessor Elwood were both castrated, they were both rescue dogs and the rescue centres usually always give their male dogs the snip before rehoming them but even if they hadn't we would have put both dogs in for the operation - after all no one wants a humpy dog around the house!

We'd love to hear your thoughts - is your dog intact?  What have been your experiences if you have an intact male dog?

This is Lewis by the way.  Still my favourite Labrador x

Tilly has been awarded the coveted prize for dog of the month (August 2019).  Tilly has only been with us since early June so it's great to see a relatively new dog win this coveted prize!

Tilly is an older girl, (don't worry Tilly I won't give your age away).  She's a Bichon Frise X Yorkshire Terrier and has the cutest little face.  She settled in very quickly and has continued to gain in confidence in the 3 months she's been on board.  She's a brilliant dog for a dog walker to have on board as she's just one of those dogs that's happy to mix with any of the other pooches in the pack, she gets on well with everyone, human or canine.

Well done Tilly, i'll drop your prize and certificate off later this week.