Social walks are the perfect way to practice your handling and management skills, and for your dog to get use to be around other dogs or people, and help them build their confidence in a safe and structured setting. The aim is to have fun learning and feel safe. It is also a great way to meet new people who are going trough similar training journey like yourself. If you don’t know me, this is your opportunity to meet me face to face and find out more about what I do and how I can help you with your dog's behaviour or if you are considering further training and behaviour modification. The social walk is open to past and present clients or after short initial consultation so I can get good idea about yours and your dog's needs.

Benefits of Social walks

• Confidence building for the human and for the dog without flooding or overwhelm. See and smell other dogs / people in safe and non-confrontational environment allow the dog to feel more in control and make good choices. For the human, if you are unsure about your dog's behaviour, walking in public areas can be sometimes scary and frustrating. Here you can meet like minded people who have an idea what you both are going trough.

• Social learning is very powerful and watching other dogs greeting each other or interacting with human helps them to learn normal greeting behaviour from a safe distance.

• Practice your skills you have learned during other training sessions and take it step further.

• Enrichment! Dogs are sociable animals and they do like to be around their own specie, even though it can be quite scary sometimes.

• Puppies will learn how to greet appropriately and that not everyone is up for a chat - avoiding frustration later on their journey.

​

Types of social walks I will be organising

Every dog and human have their individual need and we can not possibly cover them all, I will however do what I can to find a solution. Please note that those walks are mainly aimed at safe management to make your walks with your dog more pleasant and safe.

• "Anxious" and "fearful" dogs - The world is generally scary and your dog would rather be invisible to it all: during those walk we will focus on how to show your dog the power of choice, reward and positive associations trough conditioning, to increase their confidence.

• Quick to react - For those that like to shout out loud about their big feelings. During the walk we will focus on safe handling, management for your everyday walk, the types and timing of rewards and learning simple and fun skills.

• Puppies - Everything is either very exciting when you are little or too scary. When meeting other creatures you can not always know how it will turn out. During our walks we will focus on safe and polite greeting, making friends and how to stay engaged with their handler. For Puppies there is no need for formal consultation.

My Recommendations

• All dogs to be kept on standard leads at all times - please no flexi leads to be used.

• No dogs will be interacting with each other (unless it will be specific aim of the walk) - respect each other space.

• After our initial chat I will have an idea what your dog's needs are. Some dogs prefer to follow at distance and some like to lead ahead so I will help you to find your place in the group. The weather also plays a big role in how your dog feels.

• In some cases we will be in public places and I will do my best to keep the public and group separate. If however something sneaks trough the gap, please advocate for your dog at all times. We will be practising safety and management so you will know what to do.

• We will be outside for the duration of the walk, please dress appropriately for the weather and terrain.

Structure

Walks will usually start at 9.30am and finish around 11am during the weekend and at 4pm until 5.30pm during the week. The location will be sent to you in advance. Up on arrival, please keep your distance from the group until I come and help you to find your spot. Some dogs can get restless just standing about while waiting for everyone to gather. If that is your case, keep moving - if you can, walk in little circles, do a little basic training, or play with a toy to keep them distracted.

​

If you would love to bring your dog, but not sure about how they will get on or which group will be best to join, please send me a message and we can have a chat about what will suit them. You can also join the first walk without your dog for free.

The frequency and location of the walk may vary depending on the interest and types of walk held.

The size of group will be maximum of 5 dogs to ensure my full support. 

​