Happy Hounds Dog Walking - blogging about dog walking in Portsmouth!

Operation Re-Start! Happy Hounds Dog Walking is returning to work!

183:782469414 (Sarah Salt) — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 14:52:49 GMT

As lock-down eases, we're starting services again!

Dog Walking Re-Starts!

Shortly after our last blog post, the UK entered into 10 weeks of lock-down. This resulted in a complete and total shutdown of non-essential businesses, and sadly - us!

As infections subside and we begin the slow but steady return to work and some form of normality, the Happy Hounds team is eager to get back out there! We can see that many of you are going back to work too with lot's of enquiries over the last week and signing up several new pups.

We've made good use of our time - undertaking a COVID-19 safety course as well as teaching our pups some great new skills too.

Starting Safely

Along with the COVID-19 safety training and guidance provided by the CSFG (Canine & Feline Sector Group) and our own experience, we have developed our own safety policy which looks to reduce the risk of spreading infection. There is no evidence to indicate that the virus can be spread by animals, but there is some risk of the virus being carried on pets and their belongings. Social distancing measures must be maintained throughout the handover process to help prevent the spread of the disease

Ascertain the health status of each household during our work
Reduce the contact at hand-over
Hand cleaning procedures on entry and exit of your property
Use of own leads which are cleaned daily
Wiping down of pets
Disinfecting of vehicles
Time on your property will be kept to a minimum
Adhere to the government advice on social distancing
We will limit the handling of cash - where cash is required, please place in plastic food bag or similar, and have the correct change available.

You can view the full policy here .

So, were happy to say that we have started offering walks and puppy visits again - get in touch if you want to know more!

Sarah

COVID-19 Statement

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 20:46:59 GMT

Happy Hounds Dog Walking Corona Virus Statement

Corona Virus update – 23-03-2020

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and friends for their continued support at this challenging time. Happy Hounds Dog Walking is talking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, and the welfare of our customers and our team is our main concern. At the current time, we will continue to offer our usual services and take extra precautions so to not risk furthering the spread of the virus.

We are reviewing this fast-changing situation daily and as of Monday 23rd of March will make the following changes to our procedures.

When owners are in the house, we request that you bring your pet to the door for hand-over wearing a collar. We will then add our own leads to the collars.
Hand sanitisers will be used at pick-up and drop-off.
When entering an empty home HH team will wear latex gloves and add our own leads to your pet’s collar
All leads will be cleaned daily.
Time on your property will be kept to a minimum and we intend to adhere to the government’s advice regarding social distancing of two metres.
We will limit the handling of cash – where cash is required, please place in plastic food bag or similar, and have the correct change available.

If any of our customers would like additional support such as help with shopping or collecting prescriptions, please feel free to let us know.

Stay safe, stay well.

…and remember to wash your hands!

Sincerely,

Sarah & Lisa

Happy Hounds Dog Walking

Raw Food - What is the BARF diet?

183:782469414 (Sarah Salt) — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 20:47:54 GMT

Are you thinking about feeding your dog a raw food diet? And what is BARF anyway?

So what is the BARF diet?

Many dog owners are unaware of the BARF diet - BARF stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, and includes meat and bones, vegetables, and herbs. This kind of diet is more naturally suited to a dog’s digestive system as it replicates what they would eat in the wild. This differs from most canned and dry food which contains a high percentage of grains. By feeding your dog the food that its body has evolved to digest, you will see many health benefits.

What exactly are you feeding your dog?

Fats, not carbs like in humans are a dog’s primary source of energy, yet canned dog contains significantly more grain that it does meat – simply because it is cheap. The industry guidelines specify 18g of protein and 5g of fat per kilo of food, but the mass-produced food providers bulk their product out up by approximately 65%, mostly with grain. These low value additives cannot be easily processed by a dog’s digestive system and are the equivalent of junk food in humans.

What does this mean for your dog’s health?

Well it means that their diet will contain a high percentage of low value food types that are not suited to their body. This could be the equivalent of living a life time on fast food! High grain content food will lead to bloating as it expands in the stomach and will result in larger and more frequent poo as they pass the grains that cannot be digested. Many dog’s will develop dry skin and poor fur and a mass-produced food diet might not give your dog the energy they need to live an active lifestyle. In fact there is a whole industry spawned as a result of "vet endorsed", "prescription" or "medical" foods that are designed to reduce theses symptoms. A crazy world indeed!

Owners feeding their dogs the BARF diet report numerous health benefits:

Better oral hygiene – raw food includes enzymes that break down material in the mouth
Strong bones and joints
Healthy skin – dog’s are less prone to dry skin and dandruff
Lean body - high protein diet build muscle and more of the food is processed as energy not building fat
Less poop, and less gas – enough said!

Must be expensive right?

Wrong! A raw food diet doesn't need to be expensive, specially if you buy in bulk and freeze it all!

Where can I buy raw food?

Raw food can be bought in a number of large national chain pet shops, however, the choice can be somewhat limited. We prefer to use a small independent store called the Raw Pet Food Pantry - the selection is much better and they're sure to have the best food to suit your pet. Furthermore, the knowledge and advice that they can give you is invaluable so if it's your first time feeding raw, they can advise a plan for how you can transition to the new diet. Their knowledge of canine diet means they can advise how much you should be feeding and they can weigh your pet each time you visit which really helps to make sure you don't overfeed so it's definitely worth the short drive out into the country!

What are the benefits of crate training your dog?

Mon, 30 Sep 2019 20:32:13 GMT

The benefits of training your pup to be comfortable with a crate are multiple!

What are the benefits of crate training your dog?

There are multiple benefits of crate training your dog – you will find it especially useful during the puppy years, and as it turns out, if they are ever injured or sick!

Although some question the use of a crate (it does look like a cage after all) the benefits of training your pup to be comfortable with a crate are multiple. Trained correctly, your dog will come to love the crate and see it as a safe-haven, providing a place to escape noise and stress and get some much-needed rest.

When to start crate training?

The sooner the better! Obviously, as with all puppy training, the younger you can expose a pup to something the more quickly they will accept and adapt to it.

Leaving them in the crate can also help accelerate toilet training. Get them used to the crate gradually with toys and treats – the excellent Zach George Dog Training can show you how!

Escape the rat-race

Your dog’s crate can be a place to escape for a much-needed rest, a break from kids or other dogs, and even a portable home that will always be familiar no matter where you are. As a natural den animal, dogs will take to a crate very easily, just like a child’s bedroom.

Toilet training

A crate encourages a dog’s instinct not to mess where they sleep, helping your dog control her bladder, and accelerating the toilet training process.

Staying out of trouble

Using a crate is a great way to keep your dog from getting into mischief when you can’t supervise them directly. When you are busy, and your attention is not on your pooch, it can be the perfect time for your dog to spend some down time in their crate.

The benefits to you and your dog?

You can enjoy peace-of-mind when leaving your dog home alone, and that she is comfortable, happy, and not chewing your sofa.

She can enjoy the privacy and security of a den of her own!

My own experience

We first saw the benefit of a crate trained pup when on holiday. Renting a dog-friendly place and knowing that our pet would be happy to be left alone for a few hours was a game-changer. It meant that our pet could come on holiday with us and we still had the freedom to go places that we couldn’t take them. The second time we really saw the benefit was when puppy broke a bone and had to be rested. That she was already used to a crate made the whole process so much easier and led to a faster recovery.

Pet Passports - post Brexit

Mon, 22 Jul 2019 21:55:12 GMT

Pet Travel to the Eu post Brexit in one handy info-graphic - click to download!

No-one quite knows what a post-Brexit UK is going to look like, but one thing we do know is that after the exit, UK citizens will no longer have access to EU pet passports. If you are thinking about travelling, check out this info-graphic from the awesome My Pet Child website.

It seems there are three possibilities for travelling to the EU if you own a Dog, Cat or Ferret post Brexit so please keep an eye on the legal status before you travel!

5 Reasons to hire a Dog Walker

Fri, 19 Jul 2019 08:48:54 GMT

Have you considered hiring a Dog Walker? Read my 5 reasons below to decide if a Dog Walker is for you.

With busy lives and commitments, or even your own health and mobility, there may be times when you are not able to walk your dog as much as she needs. Hiring a reliable Dog Walker can help meet those needs, and have long term psychological and physical health benefits. Here are my 5 reasons to consider hiring a dog walker!

Mental Stimulation

Dogs are intelligent, social animals and need a great deal of mental stimulation. With nothing to occupy them, they can become bored, anxious and depressed and this may result in destructive behaviour. Depending upon her age, breed and personality this will be visible to you to different degrees, but it could be a sign that your friend is not exercising her grey matter enough. Breaking up the day with a visit from a dog walker means interesting and exciting things for your pet. Visits to their favourite spot or somewhere completely new to explore will be filled with interesting sights, sounds and smells and include time with their walker and other dogs - fulfilling them socially.

Puppies

More so than adult dogs, puppies will need stimulation and interaction. Physically, they’re not going to be able to very long between toilet breaks! As a general rule puppies can wait one hour per month of age before they need to pee. So your 2 month old puppy can wait for up to 2 hours, and when she reaches 6 months it will be up to 6. This is where your Dog Walker can help! There’s a great blog post here detailing how long you can leave your puppy alone from www.rover.com .

Long Work Hours

Dog will struggle to be left alone for the kind of duration that most people work, i.e. 7-9 hours at a time. If you factor in travel times your time away from home could be much more than this. These hours are long, lonely and boring, and It’s always a good idea to have some distractions in place - TV or radio on, toys and puzzles – to make the time pass easier. Having a Dog Walker gives your dog a break from monotony and, and forms a bond with another person to enjoy their time with. It’ll also make it easier for you knowing your dog is having fun!

Exercise

Exercise has much the same effect in dogs as it does in humans – it will make them healthier and happier! The reverse is that if that if they are not exercised enough, their un-happiness will soon start to exhibit itself in unwanted behaviours.

Daily walks from your Dog Walker can give her that much needed physical exercise to complement your activities, or replace them if necessary. This will mean that when you do come home from work you won’t have to spend as much of your time exercising your dog, freeing up time.

How will you know how much exercise your dog needs? Try this online calculator from www.lintbells.com .

Toilet Breaks

Even a dog in their prime years will struggle to go longer than 6 hours without a toilet break. Enough said.

The shoreline at Alexander Park - Coastal defences bring improvements to the landscaping making this one of the best walks in Portsmouth!

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:06:59 GMT

Updates to the #NorthPortseaIsland coastal defences begin to take shape as the second phase of work is complete.

Where to start - Mountbatten Centre car park, Twyford Avenue Stamshaw, Portsmouth.

Total distance - currently 1 mile round trip walk as the full route isn't open.

If you think about places to walk or cycle in Portsmouth chances are you might overlook a little gem in the shoreline by Alexander Park up to the Lido. It won't be complete till later this year but what has already been opened is now a wonderful place to walk, jog or cycle.

There has always been the interesting views and landmarks to look out for and the developers have very cleverly highlighted these with the route map markers inviting you take it all in. What is most impressive is the landscaping, with now additional seating areas, viewpoints, sun loungers and picnic areas.

The whole project has been managed by the Eastern Solent Coastal Partnership and you can see more on their site here - http://www.escp.org.uk .

There's also a cool video of the work taking place by the contractor Knights Brown https://www.youtube.com/32da002a-f8b1-454c-afca-dade7a4e8fb8

Enjoy!

Why I became a Dog Walker

Sat, 27 Apr 2019 20:44:59 GMT

Mixing passion and profession - happy walkers equals happy dogs!

The reasons I became a dog walker, and why I'm so excited to start out on my own!

Having had experience in looking after my own dogs, as well as those of friends and family I was super excited to get my chance to become a dog walker last year - it was my dream job! As a mum with a young family it allowed me to fit my work in around the school runs and I had been looking for a job working with animals for some time.

The perfect career choice!

Dog Walking was the perfect career-choice for me. I am a keen walker / hiker myself so spending hours walking every day, seeing my fit-bit step count go through the roof suited me down to the ground. I've also been in the position that so many pet owners find themselves in these busy times of being unable to walk my dog as much as I'd like when I worked as a nursery nurse and had young children. I always found it very frustrating and felt bad for Yazzy, our staffy having to leave her to go to work knowing she wouldn't see anyone all day.

The best thing about being a Dog Walker?

Arriving to collect and seeing the excitement in those little faces as they realise it's time for walkies at one of their favourite places. It's also nice when you see how happy the owners are knowing their furry friends have been exercised and spent the remainder of the day resting, satisfied and calm.

So Dog Walking is for me the perfect mix - "make your passion your profession and you'll never have to work a day in your life" so they say. I certainly consider myself lucky to be able to do that!

Starting out on my own

Running a small Childcare business (which OFTSED rate as good btw!) for the last ten years has taught me a lot about caring for others loved ones. It's also taught me the importance of setting high standards and striving for customer satisfaction. Now that I've built up a small pack, I figure now is the perfect time to take the plunge and go out on my own!

Sarah x