First of all thanks to the many friends and family who came to see us at the All About Dogs show at Brentwood last weekend!

Harley, Charlie, Lola & Elmo, Ludwig,Casper & Darcy, Stanley, Cassie, Taylor, Merlin, Molly, Molly again, Phoebe, Mia, Khan, Harvey, DivaBowWow and all their mums and dads came to say hi over the two days, and it was so nice to see them. Although I have to apologise to Harley’s mum as I called him from across the aisle and I think she only just about managed to hang on! Sorry, he’s such a cutie I couldn’t help myself!

A few other dog walkers and daycare boarders were there, some we’ve spoken to on the phone or Twitter but never met, so that was really great to connect in person.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to see us! All the new dogs we met and friends we made, the puppies we went Awwww… over and my team who worked so hard to make the day a success – Graham, Tom, Will, Gerry and Jacob (home dogsitter!) plus Ludwig (Elmo’s brother, and on their birthdays!) and his Mum & Dad who took some great photos that we can’t wait to see.  A special thank you to my dad Dave who I couldn’t have managed without. I said “never again” by 4pm on Sunday, but by 7 after food and most important, ice cream! I was already planning what games and activities we’ll be doing at the next one.

We’ve booked into the Weald Park Game and Country Show on 15th & 16^th September, so please put that in your diaries. We had such a fantastic time last weekend, we’ve got to work hard to top that!

Please have a look at the photos to see what we spent the day doing – mostly fun and games with the dogs, but also some training sessions when owners brought their dogs along for some help (see the comment from Jill), we had a really great prize draw courtesy of Amy from Gimmie Chew andachel from Pets J’Adore. Visit their websites! Buy their stuff! Such warm and friendly people, and great prizes too!

Jill Keefe

I would thoroughly recommend Linda- I’ve found other trainers a bit intimidating, but she’s lovely and within minutes she had my terrier learning new tricks. Thanks!

If you click on the images you get the bigger photo, as well as the caption. Enjoy!

Finally Fred and I have finalised our plans for the All About Dogs show next month! Fred will be demonstrating how handy it is to have a dog who can find your lost items – keys, wallet, purse,  mobile phone, any of those slippery little things that seem to run off as soon as you turn your back.

We will also be demonstrating the kind of games and activities you can play with your dog to keep them busy and active without spending a fortune, and show you what kind of games your dog will like to play – based on their breed and interests! A tired dog is a happy dog, and we can show you how you can tire your dog out – easily!

Our final demonstrations will be all the useful things your dog can do around the house if you can teach him a simple ‘Fetch’ trick. Once your dog will happily share things with you, you need never get up to fetch your own slippers again!

Have a Go Hunt the Item

Something for the dogs who don’t need training to do! We’ll hide an item of yours (or we can give you something to put your scent onto) in our ball pool, and see if your dog can find it for you in under 2 minutes. Certificates available (via email) for all the winners! Cocktail sausages available for any dog that needs extra help!

We will also be offering 15/20 minute training sessions for you and your dog. You can request anything your dog needs to learn, and if it’s possible to get you started in the time, we will show you how to teach it to your dog. You will be amazed how much your dog will learn in the session!

If you’re not sure what you’d like to teach your dog, here are our suggestions:

Never Lose Your Keys or Wallet Again!

Why waste time searching for your missing items, when with some short set up training, then 5 minutes of practise every day, your dog can find them for you?

 Fetch My Slippers

If your dog has a job to do, he will be happier and will get up to less mischief. Why not give him a job that benefits you too? Fetch your slippers at the end of a long day, or get the post or newspaper when it comes through the letterbox.

 Find my Mobile Phone

If you can ring it, your dog can hear it, and will lead you straight to it. Short session to set our dog up, and 5 minutes of practise a day, your dog will love this job!

Put That Down!

If your dog picks up things he shouldn’t have, here’s how to get them back without conflict, or chasing him round the house.

 Tidy Up Your Toys

Lots of dog toys left all over the floor? Let us teach your dog to tidy up after herself – put her toys back in her toybox.

Training sessions are £3 for around 15/20 minutes. Bookings for the first two training sessions of each day (9.30am and 10am) will be available at a 50% discount!

If you enjoy your session, you are welcome to book an individual follow up session, either meeting in one of Brentwood’s beautiful country parks, or I can come to your home. If you book and pay for an individual training session while the show you not only get a 20% discount on the price of the training (10% off if outside Brentwood CM13, CM14, or CM15), you get your £3 back too.

There will also be a prize draw! Details to follow.

Please let me know if you would like to book a training session, either in the comments below, via Twitter @BoredomBusters, Boredom Busters on Facebook, email Linda@brentwooddogtrainer.co.uk or by phone 07726 265848.

Training sessions are at 9.30am, 10.00, 11.30, 12.00pm, 2.00, 2.30, 4.00, 4.30

Demonstrations at  10.30am, 12.30pm, 3.00pm

If you’re on Twitter, please join us for a ‘micro tweet up’ between 1.00pm & 2.00pm

This month’s Guest Post comes from Helen, from the RSPCA and is about the new ‘Puppy Information Pack’ which is hoped will take some of the misery (mostly for the dogs, but also for the new owners) out of the huge trade in puppies that has sprung up.

Protect yourself and your puppy with a PIP!

We and the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation are today launching a new Puppy Information Pack (PIP) and contract to help educate and protect puppy buyers.

Endorsed by other respected animal welfare and veterinary organisations*, the PIP and contract will help anyone buying a dog make an informed choice and help ensure the dog is happy, healthy and suitable for their lifestyle.

The PIP and contract can be used by anybody thinking about buying any puppy, and by any breeder wanting to demonstrate the care and attention they have devoted to their puppies’ breeding and upbringing. The contract can be used for all puppies, whether they’re pedigree or not, and by any seller – including rescue centres.

How it works

The breeder or seller of the dog fills in the PIP with information about the puppy and the puppy’s parents before he or she is sold. This includes information about the health of the puppy and its parents and the experiences the puppy has had to prepare it for life in its new home.

The contract is then signed by the breeder to say that all of the information they have given in the PIP is true. The buyer signs to say they understand the information they’ve received and that they intend to meet the puppy’s future health and welfare needs.

Know your rights

Under the law in both England and Wales, every puppy is already sold under contract, whether or not a written document recording the terms of the contract exists. In fact, numerous contracts of sellers and specialist breed groups are currently available over the internet.

However, these are of variable quality and are often misleading. They often seek to minimise the liability of the seller for problems with the puppy that are not apparent at the time of sale. In some cases, this misleads consumers about their rights.

Other contracts also tend only to provide generic or vague information about dogs of the type being sold, rather than meaningful information about the individual puppy for sale.

As a result, the buyer is often not aware of the information they need to check that the puppy has the best possible chance of being both happy and healthy, and that it is well suited to its intended lifestyle. Without this information, puppy buyers risk choosing puppies that are more likely to have future health and welfare problems.

Improving dog welfare

Three major reports on dog breeding published in the last few years all agreed with the RSPCA’s view that there are very serious welfare issues associated with dog breeding, and that urgent action is needed.

The concept of a standard puppy sales contract was identified in all three reports as a key tool to improve dog welfare as it would allow the public to make properly informed decisions when buying a puppy.

Make an informed choice

To combat these problems, we’ve created an industry standard puppy contract and information pack that empowers the ordinary puppy buyer to make an informed choice about the individual puppy they are considering buying.

This will allow them to demand from sellers puppies that are happy and healthy and suitable for their intended lifestyle.

So, if you’re thinking of buying a dog, know someone who is, or if you’re a breeder wanting to demonstrate the hard work you have put into producing your puppies, please download the PIP and contract at: www.puppycontract.org.uk.

Helen Coen

Online community manager

RSPCA

—————————-

*Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding, British Veterinary Association (BVA), Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC), Dogs Trust, PDSA, Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW).

This position has now been filled, however we are always looking for ‘cover’ for annual leave, and busy times. So please still get in touch.

Dog walker/driver required for a small, family run busy dog walking company. Work is available mainly at breakfast and lunchtimes on weekdays, so is part time – hours between 10 & 20 a week to start, but for the right person this could be increased to full time.

‘Casual’ drivers also required to cover annual leave – for the right person  hours could be increased as we are a growing company.

Clean driving licence required, must be over 25 and ideally a Brentwood resident.

Successful applicant must be available Monday – Friday for around two – three hours between 11 & 3, and/or 7.30 & 10, exact working hours to be arranged. Must have lived with a dog for at least a year within the last 3 years, genuine dog lovers only.

Also needed extra help in school summer holidays, particularly July & August, and also December,  would need to be flexible and able to work occasional short shifts at weekends if required.

Training will be given.  There is no upper age limit as long as physically able to handle small groups of well-behaved dogs – some may be large breeds but mostly we walk medium dogs. There may be work for over 18s with own transport.  References and a police check will be required. The job can be hard work, but is very rewarding – no other job can give you the welcome a dog wanting a walk can give you! We are a small, friendly team and our walkers work closely together so you will need to be able to get on with people as well as with dogs. May be suitable for someone wanting school hours only, as there is some flexibility in the ‘breakfast’ walk times.

Please email Linda@brentwooddogwalker.co.uk with your CV, relevant experience, why you want this job and a contact phone number and email address.

Our dogs and their funny little ways!  We love them like part of the family and they have their little routines….so what if your treasured pet goes missing – who’s making sure they get their bed time snack or their belly rub?  The thought of them disappearing is heartbreaking for most owners.

I lived in rural Stondon Massey between 1999 and 2002, where we had a fairly open garden.  One midnight, our two dogs woke me up for an ablution and despite always watching them, after a few minutes Gypsy our beautiful Scottish Terrier cross was nowhere to be seen.  After an hour we were frantic, after two hours we thought we would never see her again but then, as we had almost given up hope, about 3am we drove down a side street to see her come out of a neighbour’s garden with old Baldrick, a medium sized terrier cross.  She had clearly had a lovely time and was in a really happy mood after a dalliance under the stars with this distinguished gentleman dog!

So, thankfully Gypsy was missing for a short time, but some dogs go missing never to be seen again or are missing for much longer.  So, where on earth do you turn?  Well, before 2003 when DogLost (@DogLostUK) started it was very patchy indeed and, even now, it’s far from perfect so, the dog owning community have come together to circumnavigate the system!

That’s where DogLost and its network of volunteers comes in.

Jayne Haynes set DogLost up after her own dog was stolen and had just such an eye-opening experience.  Jayne found that she was only allowed to deal with the dog warden from one area, even though she lived 50 yards from the boundary of the next county.  I have had this experience myself, as recently as a month ago when I found a black Labrador in Thurrock but, despite the area I found her being at the apex of Thurrock, Brentwood and Havering I struggled to get the Thurrock dog warden to take down my details as I lived in Brentwood!  It’s a good job I insisted as just three hours later, the dog’s (Aveley based) owner called me after a six hour search, having got the details from said reluctant dog warden!  It’s probably a good job that I didn’t mention complicate it further my telling her that the dog was actually being cared for overnight by my friend in Upminster!  It was good to be involved in such a happy reunion!

So what does DogLost do and how does it help owners?  Well, I would be surprised if any regular dog walker hasn’t seen, reunited or looked for a missing dog on their walks and, very simply DogLost gets the message out in the community as quickly as possible whilst giving the searching family lots of advice on what to do.

The website www.doglost.co.uk is providing an increasingly vital service. It receives over 100,000 visitors a month and reunites over 100 lost or stolen dogs every week – I have been privileged to be part of some of quite a few reunites! The site is free to use and run by volunteers

DogLost also make maximum use of every new communication method that comes along – Twitter and Facebook are fantastic ways of letting people in your area know that a dog is missing and lost dogs get tweeted, re-tweeted, shared and shared again to keep people looking.

They will also help with press releases and give out numbers of your local press and radio stations.

But one of the best things is the fact that DogLost will create a missing dog poster that you can print or email to friends.  DogLost will also email the poster to all DogLost helpers within a 30 mile radius of where your dog went missing from. All without charge!

Becoming a helper is so rewarding too – just a few days ago met Lacey, one of the first dogs I helped find just before Christmas 2010 and I was so pleased to see her!

There are, of course, some simple ways to help prevent your dog going missing – ensuring your dog has a tag with your name and a contact number and micro-chipping your pets are two of the simplest things to do.  Remember to update details if they change.

Dogs that are chipped have been known to turn up hundreds of miles away from home years later and still be reunited with their owners.  For instance, Archie the poodle was missing for 549 days after escaping from his Corringham home and turning up in Oxford two years later!  His chip was the only thing that brought him home to Essex to his delighted family.  Otherwise he would be living in Oxford, re-homed, with his people assuming he was gone forever.

So, my appeal to everyone reading this guest blog is to sign up to be a DogLost helper today – all you need to do is provide your details on www.doglost.co.uk and they will notify you when a dog is missing near you so you can keep an eye out, walk your dogs in that area, tell your friends, share it on Facebook and Titter if you use them and help get another baby home!

So, what became of my Gypsy & Baldrick the terrier you might wonder?  Well, after her moonlit adventure we had to take our girl off to the vet for the morning after injection, just in case!  She lived to a good age (15) and had a lovely life with lots of love.  But, poor Baldrick, I think it finished the poor old boy off, he passed away a few months later but I hope Gypsy gave him some happy memories in the autumn of his life!

Karen Chilvers
DogLost Volunteer

From Linda:
I hope you like the ‘Guest Post’ I’ve organised for you this month! Many thanks to Karen who has written a brilliant post!

Losing your dog can be devastating, as Karen says, make sure your dog wears a collar and a tag – even at home. Dogs have gone missing from their own gardens or wandered out when a door has been left open. Under current law, dogs are required to wear an identity tag when they are in public places, with the owner’s name and address clearly inscribed on it. I would strongly recommend as many phone numbers, of as many people, as possible are also attached to the collars. Although you may feel this is a security risk, the aim is to make your pet as easy to return as possible if found. If a dog warden seizes the dog (in the legal, not physical sense), or it goes to the pound, there can be large fees to pay. Having the dog’s name on the tag does not make a difference to your dog being easy to steal – a dog will respond to a new or similar name very quickly!

If your dog (or cat) strays and is taken to a pound or rescue, although they should make reasonable attempts to trace and contact the owners they cannot spend a lot of time on each animal, and some authorities have not even checked for a microchip!  If there has been no contact, after seven days they can put your pet up for adoption and rehome it. If this happens owners have no legal right to the return of their pet, and it is not uncommon for new owners to refuse to part with pets they have legally adopted, even after as little as a week.

If your pet is micro-chipped (most pets can be micro-chipped, not just cats and dogs), give the chip company as many phone numbers as you can. You may add my number to tags or chips if you wish. I will always help reunite lost pets, even if circumstances change and I am no longer caring for your pet. Keep the microchip updated with your details! If you move or change your phone number (or both!) it will be useless.

Tell everyone you meet you have lost your dog, and ask them to tell everyone as well. Poster the area your dog went missing as thickly as possible – make your dog too hot to handle. Some finders either do not know they should report a found pet, or misguidedly feel the dog is better off with them! Contact as many dog wardens as you can, and all the vets in the local area. Dog Lost has more great information, so do sign up as a volunteer, and if you see other volunteers posting details on the internet – share them! It could be your dog.

Here at Dog Trainer house in Essex we are experiencing a mini-spring! Not quite a heat wave, but I’ve dropped the thermals for a while. The dogs here for boarding and daycare and I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and do some kong stuffing for garden games.

What’s kong stuffing? A kong is a rubber, hollow dog toy (other dog toys available) which can take a lot of dog chomping and is great for all sorts of games. We mostly stuff them! So here’s my basic recipe for stuffing.

I’ve been having trouble putting the photos where I want them, so I’ll just pop them all at the bottom of the post. Hopefully you can work out what each photo is illustrating, but if not, let me know!

You need:
Kong or kongs
Dog or dogs
Something to fill them all with. You can use their normal dog food (soak dry food with water until saturated) to make their mealtime more interesting, today I used some sausages just gone past their use by date (dogs have a much longer use by date!) which I mashed up. Well, the food processor mashed them up. I’m not silly! Anyway, give the kongs a good stuffing, then you’re ready!

A word of warning – if you have a dog that shows any signs of food or toy possession (eating fast, especially if they get faster when you walk close, growling, ‘nesting’ toys, or runs off to hide with them), you will need at least twice as many stuffed kongs as dogs. All dogs will need to be supervised during this game.

Chuck kongs and dogs out into the garden.

When the weather gets really hot, and if you have plenty of space in your freezer, you could try some more of our activities for dogs. The kongs can be put in the dishwasher, of if like me you don’t have one, boiled in a pan of water on the hob to make sure any remaining food is cleared out, especially if they may be shared with different dogs. Enjoy!

A stranger comes to say Hi

This is what I call it when the owners of a lovely dog decide the time is right for a second dog – and the second dog bonds to the first dog, not the owners.

The bond between dog and owner is lovely to see, and it’s essential for training purposes, especially if you want to take your dog off the lead for a run.

Before I explain any more I’ll tell you about the incident that gave me the idea for the blog.

A walk in Thorndon Park, on a weekend, so it was a busy day, lots of owners out with their dogs, and lovely to see. We walked past a couple with a Greyhound and a young white Lurcher. We’d seen them before, and the lurcher had a run round with my dogs before heading back to his owner as we increased the distance between us. This time though, I had another dog with me, and they made friends and had a play together as we walked. The owners of the lurcher started whistling for their dog, but he decided he was coming with us. In the end we got quite far apart, with their dog showing no interest in returning. So we stopped walking so they could catch up and get their dog.

The Lurcher tries to get Scamp to play with him.

Five minutes later, still no owners – they haven’t moved and are still whistling. I’m now left in an uncomfortable position, because I’m not just out for a walk – I’m working and on a timetable. I could carry on walking, with their dog still with us, and effectively create a ‘lost dog’ if it stays with us all the way to the car park and I drive off, or I can make myself late for the rest of the day by walking back to the dog’s owners with their dog. Neither of which I am very happy about. Luckily, another family with a dog went past – they had also seen the lurcher on previous walks enjoying the company of everyone but its owners – and they swept the dog along with them as they were heading that way.

What the owners have inadvertently done was allow their young dog unlimited, 24/7 access to their older dog, while limiting its access to them (going to the loo, to bed, out shopping, possibly working etc), so all the dog’s social needs were being met by a dog. The result was what I say that day in December. A dog who wanted to play and be with other dogs, and because the owners kept up a constant whistle, the dog was able to cock his ears every few minutes, check the whistling was still within his comfort range, and carry on. Owners are still near enough to return to when he was ready. By the time I stopped walking though, he’d stopped checking in. He was quite happy being with my dogs and obviously saw no need to go back. He had no real idea he was suppose to go back to his owner when called.

Happy to be walking with a similar dog

My dogs have no real interest in other dogs after the initial sniffing and greeting rituals. Their social needs are met mostly by me, with a smaller amount of time playing with each other at home. Had my dogs also been playful, I  might have lost them too – or worse, the lurcher might have decided he wanted to move in with us!

So please, when you get a second dog, or even your first dog, ensure YOU are the most important thing in your pup’s life from early on – if you need professional advice, it’s out there for the taking, just call a good local trainer.

The poor lurcher has been on a lead every time I’ve seen him since then, which is a sad thing for a breed that just loves to run.

What are your views on having a second dog and problems with recall?

I went to a DVD launch party on Tuesday night (Family Guy Season 11), just for something different. The invite said it would be ‘Fine Dining and Cocktails for Dogs’, so anything a bit out of the ordinary, that treats my dogs well and we’re in! I took Fred and Beauty (Scamp would not have been happy so stayed home). Our invite was originally just for the party, but on the day the organiser phoned and asked if we could arrive early to take part in the press photos. How exciting, of course we will!

There was a big white Northern Inuit there, supposed to look like the dog from the show, but he wouldn’t do anything he was asked in front of the camera, so they put a bow tie on Beauty ready to try her. After 10 mins of standing about (filming is SO BORING!) they put the bow tie on Fred and popped him on a chair at the dinner table next to the Ugliest Dog in Britain,  where Mugly wouldn’t do what he was asked either. Nor would Lola (Mugly’s wife), or a Chihuahua they tried. Through all this Fred is patiently sitting on his cushion. Don’t eat the food right in front of you. Eat it. Stop eating. Sniff it but don’t eat it. Eat it. Don’t eat the biscuits, now eat them.

They didn’t do any filming with Beauty in the end, but I got my photo taken with her by the photographer so hopefully that will look good, and they’ve promised to send all the photos out – although that’s quite unusual, and I haven’t had any so far, so we’ll wait and see. They also interviewed me, I talked a bit about making sure my dogs behave well in public so I can take them out and how Guide Dogs are allowed everywhere, yet our dogs are not allowed ‘near food’ and they are the same species. I also pointed out the benefits of choosing an adult (ie rescue) dog rather than a puppy as you can match it to your lifestyle. What bit did they use on the TV? Where they asked if the dogs had tried the food and my profound reply was ‘they scoffed the lot’. Very deep!

Fred in fashion show

Shortly after that I visited the Little Girl’s Room ready for the drive home – when I got back Fred was dressed as a reindeer! He had been chosen for more photos for the Pet London fashion shoot.

After that there was nothing else to do but pick up our Goody Bag, find Beauty (flopped out under a table after one too many dog cocktails) and make our way home. We enjoyed our night out, and I got to show off my dogs, what a great evening!

If you’d like to watch our star performance, you can watch the Live with Gabby episode for 6 days from the date of this blog (piece starts at 39  minutes and runs for about 90 seconds, don’t blink or you will miss us), or there is a press release for the Family Guy launch party with more photos of my wonderful Fred, and makes him look as if he’s speed dating as he has a number of different dinning partners!

Fred’s previous television appearances include The Gadget Show testing pet gadgets in 2009 where he is filmed killing a Zombie and testing a dog treadmill(all within the first 5 minutes). You can read my review on Fred’s own blog, A Dog Named Fred, and watch the TV clip on The Gadget Show’s website (we’re only in the first five minutes). We also appeared on Trinny and Susannah meet their match – dog lovers also in 2009 as ‘supporting’ messy badly dressed dog owners. Here’s Fred and I doing a twirl on the cat walk. I’m sure I’ve still got those jeans…

It’s a busy life looking after pets – I aim for the calm peace and grace of a swan, gliding along the water, with legs going like the clappers under the water where no-one can see. I’m not sure if I manage this, but I’ll give you some idea of what it’s like behind closed doors, from midnight to midnight on a typical Sunday.

Midnight: I should be asleep, but I’m on the sofa because one of the boarders is sad (and noisy) to be alone so I’m downstairs in a sleeping bag. Scamp is curled up inside with me so I can’t turn over, Fred is on my legs so I can’t stretch out, and Sally (the lonely girl) is quietly woofing air at me because she wants to come up too, but there’s no space.

3am – I must have dozed off because I’m awake again, Fred’s heard something, probably a cat, and it barking at the back door. Sally is now on my legs instead, but jumps off to have a bark as well. Scamp’s on his back, legs akimbo so not only can I still not move, I have a very attractive view. Could have done without the full moon. Both literally and figuratively.

6.10am A cold wet nose appears in my face – Ted’s awake and wants to start the day. Sally’s having another little woof from her bed. Fred is nowhere to be seen, and Beauty’s on her bed giving me The Stare because she wants to go outside to have a drink (3 full, clean water bowls indoors not to her taste it seems). I give up and get dressed. Let the dogs out who want to go out, and insist Sally and Scamp go outside as they seem not very impressed with the cold morning. Go out with them and clear up any overnight deposits.

9am Slow start to the day because I’m tired from two nights broken sleep. Gather dogs up ready for a walk, harnesses, leads, keys, diary, extra bits of equipment, money. Lovely, lovely walk where the dogs are all well behaved, they come when called, don’t bother people or other dogs, and I get the chance to stock up on dog waste bags (3000) and enjoy a drink. 4 children stop to talk to us and are amazed I can walk 5 dogs at once. I’m amazed Dad can handle 4 kids at once without a single lead for back up.

11am Collect 4 month old puppy Luna for daycare on the way home from the walk. I get home to find she’s messed the van as she’s not used to travelling. I had been told she may be sick. Feed my 3 and the 2 boarders, clean up Luna’s paws while they eat. Scatter food in the garden and let her out there with them – this helps stop them all wanting to investigate her all at once and making her anxious. She can check them out in her own time. Load the washing machine with soiled bedding and spend the next hour cleaning the van, scrub all the food and water bowls, and while I’m at it I disinfect the wall in front of my house as all the boys like to pee on it when they come in, and wash down the path (badly because I’m tired and can’t find the broom).

12pm Take a call that my 1pm was cancelled, means rescheduling, but I can’t help feeling a bit relieved. Go back to scrubbing.

12.30pm finally get a chance to sit down. I beg Fred to make me a coffee, but he’s not being very responsive. All the dogs find a place to settle as soon as I sit down, except Luna, who is here for the first time (although I’ve worked with her for 4 weeks so she does now me, and she’s met Fred before), so is carefully watching everything. Think about lunch, but the morning’s work has put me off a bit. If I’d still had my 1 oclock I’d be frantically trying to get myself cleaned up so I could meet a client. Washing machine finishes, so I get up again (followed by all 6 dogs in case something exciting is going to happen), hang out the van bedding, load in more (it has to be half empty or doesn’t get washed properly when it’s dog stuff, especially when it’s Dog’s Business). Make a coffee while I’m up.

2pm Washing machine finishes, hang that out, machine is now filthy so put it on empty at 90 degrees. Too late after that to wash anything of mine, let’s hope the warm weather continues! All the dogs are now sleeping off the excitement of the morning (they won’t settle until I do) so I get on with some paperwork. Start to feel hungry, but if I get up it will disturb all the dogs, so decide to hang in there for a while.

3.30pm Take Luna home as she’s not staying for tea, think I see Mark Wright from The Only Way is Essex drive past, but one cocky young man looks much the same as another when you get to my age so can’t be sure. No mess this time, but the promised sick arrives. Clean out van again, change bedding, put soiled bedding for a wash tomorrow (AFTER human clothing is washed!). Spot mess on road that fell out of van earlier, so clean that up too. Also realise just how badly I cleaned the path, as the water I sluiced round after scrubbing has dried a kind of murky grey (why did I choose light coloured flagstones??). Put ‘stiff broom’ on shopping list.

4.30pm Feed hungry hounds, only 5 now, so plenty of room to all eat together. I sit with them to make sure they only eat their own, and once a bowl is finished it’s picked up. Let them out to the loo, clear the garden of any mess that’s been deposited since this morning, bring in the dog laundry and put back into the van. While we’re outside spent 20 mins playing on the playframes. Scamp pinches Ted’s toy in hope of being chased, but despite my urgings Ted is far too polite. Wonder if I have time to eat something before Ted’s owners arrive to collect him.

5.00pm Sit down with a salad, Scamp comes running in with Ted’s toy and barks at me to play with him. Decide I really must eat. Get up and find Ted another toy. Then eat.

5.30pm Finish eating just in time for Ted to be collected. Sing his praises to his owner as he was such a star and how much we enjoy having him.

5.40pm curl up on the sofa with Scamp and Sally. Beauty likes her own bed, and Fred’s made a nest in the dining room. Find time to watch ‘Dragon’s Den how to win in the den’ in hope I’ll learn something.

6.45pm I can’t sit and watch TV for too long and the dogs are all too sleepy to play. So I get the business plan project out again and start researching and planning.

8pm Back is aching so last 15 minutes of ‘work’ has been 4 minutes of reading through factsheets, and 11 minutes of gazing at the laptop wishing it was a tablet so I could do the research on the sofa instead of at a badly designed desk. Give up for the night, read business PDFs on the Kindle instead. Wish I’d bought one with a browser. Promise myself the Kindle Fire for Christmas, sooner if possible.

8.30pm tuck myself back into a sleeping bag with Scamp and Sally and wait for Jacob to come home so he can switch off the lights.

11.30pm woken by Sally woofing and wanting to get up. Didn’t even realise she’d got off

Midnight: ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

You can find information on my home dog boarding services on my main dog walking website, but I want to give you a Dog’s Eye View of what it’s like to stay here.

First – our town.

Brentwood is a suburban town situated in the green belt –which means although we are a busy and interesting town, we have large areas of country parks, public footpaths, woodland areas, green spaces, wetlands and agricultural land. As little as ten minutes drive from the town centre (which contains several Listed Buildings and an Ancient Monument – the St Thomas a Becket Chapel) there is a very much a ‘countryside’ feel to the area, with lots of pretty villages with outstanding walking areas, while still having as many pet shops, health care providers and grooming parlours as your dog could possibly need!

All this – and only one hour away from central London.

Our boarders come for their holidays from all over Essex, but we’ve also enjoyed the company of dogs from as far as Suffolk, Kent & London. Our boarding is much in demand for London dogs – your dogs love the freedom our large back garden and secure front garden (supervised only) bring them. They enjoy the green areas around my home on their way to the local park and I can see them light up as they get to run and run and run when we visit one of our large country parks. Of course, some dogs just want to sniff, and sniff and sniff!! Whatever your dog wants to do, we find a safe, secure and fun way for them to do it.

Your dog is not a ‘guest’. They are a treasured friend and family member – you won’t hear us say ‘our own dogs have to come first’ because each dog is equal in its need for love and affection, exercise and play, and house rules and guidelines. Each dog has its needs met in a way that compliments all the other dogs. Your dog is as welcome on my lap as my dogs, as deserving of that last biscuit! They all need love and companionship and we have enough love to go around. As I work with dogs, mine get a lot more of my time and attention than many family dogs and can be relieved to have some peace and quiet while I play with your dog! You may find me hard to get rid of at collection times, as I don’t want your dog to leave us. Your dog, of course, just wants to be with you!

A Day in The Life of a Boarder

Days at Aunty Linda’s always start before 7am. Dogs really enjoy being busy and active at dusk and dawn so it’s only fair to share that time with them. The morning walk takes place at 8am weekdays, around 9am on weekends. This helps everyone build an appetite for breakfast, which we have on the return from the walk. This helps avoid digestive problems, and mimics the ‘natural’ way – the hunt and chase comes before the meal!

More active time around the house and garden while I tidy up the house, before I settle to some paperwork. The dogs settle to sleep very quickly, and usually like two-three hours of nap time. By that time I’m usually fed up with papers and want to get back to the dogs, so we either go out for an activity dog walk (Wild Agility, Find It, Trick Training), or we play dog games around the house and garden.

We LOVE Find It, Paddling Pool Dipping for treats and toys, Sandpit Search ‘n’ Scoff, Cardboard Box/Newspaper Challenge (Lucky Dip for dogs), gentle agility on the Outdoor Play frames (or King of the Castle games!), Kong Games plus we have individual activity toys for the dogs. Some of our activities were published in Dogs Today magazine (October 2011 issue), and are also available as articles on our website.

After the activities have worked up yet more appetite, the dogs have their tea, then my family and I have ours. Your dog is fed before us for two reasons.

1) It’s really hard on a dog, who can’t operate a can opener or reach his dog bowl, to have to watch someone else eat when he is hungry and has no means to feed himself.

2) It cuts down the amount of drool!

After tea is clean up time, perhaps time for one more dog walk around the block if anyone looks willing, then it’s settle down time. I like to watch TV with a dog on my lap – this is a relaxing time to tease out the day’s activities from the dogs’ coats, and check them over for anything that might have hitched a lift home, whether it’s  parasites, burs, seeds, brambles, twigs or thorns! The dogs love this time too – a comfy sofa (with your permission), a cushion, blanket if desired and your legs in the air. What better end to the day can there be??

If you want to see more of what your dog will do, check out our Facebook photo albums, videos, and of course – Inky Cam!