Interview with...
Hanne Grice @ Walk the Dog |
What
services do you offer? |
I
offer dog walking, home visiting - cat and small animal care/feeding, and I'm a trained canine
behaviourist - offering advice and training for owners
having problems with their four legged friends.
I am a registered member of the National Association of Petsitters
and Dog walkers, am fully insured and police checked. |
If
you do dog sitting in your house, is your garden secure? |
I currently don't offer dog sitting at my house, however,
we're hoping to build a couple of luxury units once we move
house and have more room to take dogs in, while their owners
are away. |
If
you do dog walking or dog sitting, how long are your walks
with the dogs normally? |
I
offer walks of 30 minutes or 1 hour morning and or afternoon,
any day of the week. Extended walks can be arranged - I'm
very flexible. |
How
many dogs do you take into your house or on your walks? |
I
believe in giving a quality one-on-one service. This means
a dog will not be walked with other strange dogs. However,
if a customer has more than one dog in their household and
they are used to walking together, I can of course cater for
them. Alternatively, some customers may want their pets to
socialise with another dog. I have my own dog who is specially
trained [a Bassett Hound] which I use to help with canine
socialisation. |
Do
you offer any activities for the pets in your care? For
example Kong toys, search exercises, etc |
It's
important that a dog is mentally and physically stimulated
on their walk and, more importantly, has fun. Dogs suffering
from behavioural problems can often be helped by having regular
daily walks while their owners are at work. For security and
safety reasons I don't take dogs off their leads unless the
owners have specifically asked for them to be taken off the
lead and they are in a fully secure area. We play fetch with
toys including Kong toys (eg) Frisbee, and I always make sure
the dog has had a fun day out. |
How
many pets do you have yourself and what are they? |
I
have a Bassett Hound dog called Howard, a cat called George,
a giant lop eared rabbit called Audrey and about 30 tropical
fish and 2 fresh water fish. |
What
are your hobbies? |
I'm
an outdoorsy person and love netball and walks in the countryside
- I'm a terrible golf player but enjoy the game and I'm also
a big film fan. |
Is
there anything that you would always recommend others to
try? |
Keep
an open mind to new techniques for training your dogs, the
type of training I do is called Amichien Bonding and was developed
by Jan Fennell - the 'Dog Listener'. This is based on an understanding
of how dogs were domesticated from wolves by man and how dogs
communicate with one another. This type of training is a holistic
approach and requires a lot of patience from the owners, but
ultimately this training creates a stronger bond between dog
and owner. |
Do
you have dreams for the future? |
Yes - business wise I'd love to one day run a hotel exclusively
for pets so they can be pampered while their owners are away.
On a more personal note, having got married this year, I'd
like to have children at some point - while I'm still young
(I'm 31!!). |
