Dog Walking

We offer both group walks, and solo walks upon request and subject to availability. Group walks are generally between two and four dogs. Walks are currently either a half an hour or an hour. If you are interested in a fifteen minute or forty-five minute or hour-plus walk, it is possible to arrange. We do not offer those times as a standard because in my experience it's like splitting hairs. Often half hour walks wind up being forty-five minutes and on some days when the weather is horrific they may be fifteen minutes. We are working with sentient beings in all weather conditions rather than cutting cookies on an assembly line so being flexible and improvisational is key. At your meet and greet I will assess your dog's walking gear and make suggestions as to what I think would be safest and most effective for them to walk on. Additionally, we bring our own leashes with a company ID tag and our own custom made double bolt snap safety back-ups, or use a slip back-up when appropriate. We leave this equipment with you for the duration of our relationship. Walks are all about what your dogs want and need; our convenience is not the priority. It's their time, it's their party, we are just hosting the event! Each and every constitution and pace is given it's proper due. We make a point to mix up the streets we walk on as well,  in order to give your dogs variety and we allow for ample play time when and where it's safe and appropriate. All walks include refreshing and refilling water bowls, tending to lights at home when called for, feeding, meds, turning off the stove you left on accidentally, doh! ; - ) - whatever is required of us. The frosting on the cake is the detailed daily report you are texted after each visit. We are notorious for our thorough, conscientious and entertaining updates :-)

Dog Sitting

We dog sit and board, but primarily sit. To be clear, in pro dog care vernacular, boarding generally implies dogs stay at a sitter's home while sitting implies a caretaker stays in your home. The latter is more of our jam, though boarding may be arranged in specific circumstances. You are welcome to meet your sitter at no charge prior and requests for a particular caretaker on the team are quite alright as you wish. Your pup will be walked at least three times a day and he or she will receive all the attention and love you would provide as if you were home yourself.

Behavior Modification

This is a service worth mentioning though while it may seem as though it is a service in itself, it is not; it is bundled into our work---to "dog walking" What do I mean by behavior modification ? We work with; we care for, dogs of all calibers of need, from those that snap at strangers to those that snap at other dogs. We work with dogs who have separation anxiety or dogs who pull terribly and many other challenges presented to us as well. Myself and the crew I have trained have the leadership skills and the know-how to moderate and improve these troublesome idiosyncrasies, if you will. I believe that this know-how, and wilingnness to cultivate what's best in them, for them, is germane to being a great dog walker. I believe we go above and beyond the norm but I think that payng attention to molding better behaviors really should be the norm. 

Socialization

Socialization is another "service" worth emphasizing that is just bundled into our dog walking. I go to lengths to pair dogs that bring out the best in each other. Of course, geography plays the biggest role in determining who walks with who but our convenience takes a backseat when one dog does not have a positive effect on another. We compromise no one dog's experience for any reason whatsoever. Your dog's positive experience is the utmost priority. At times I will go out of my way to bring one dog to another if I believe that one dog will have a positive influence on the other. Socialization also refers to an open attitude and willingness to allow them to rendezvous with passing dogs or people. I once trained someone who used to dog walk for himself and during the training he made it a point to keep our dog away from any strange dog for fear of something "bad" happening. This m.o does not sit well with me. Sure, in some circumstances it is not safe and inappropriate but it's a professional's job to know when that is and when it is viable, and exactly how to introduce or as I like to call it "broker" an interaction. We do a disservice to our dogs when we keep them from others unnecessarily.