Bella & Friends Dog Walking

Meeting familiarisation

Availability of group or solo walks will depend the type of walk your dog needs, the frequency - once, twice or three times a day,  on specific days or each weekday, and my ability to meet your needs in the context of our existing bookings. I will confirm this in response to the information you provide on first contacting Bella and Friends.

Once availability is confirmed I will arrange with you to visit, meet and familiarise with your dog and vice-versa, to ensure that we can expect to build a strong, caring working relationship with each other. This familiarisation meeting will need to take place during the day, outside of walking schedules and should take no longer than 30 minutes. there is a reduced charge of £10 for the visit to cover time and travel costs, which is payable on the day.
 

Needs assessment

As part of the familiarisation meeting I will listen and make notes of your and your dog's needs, type and frequency of walks etc, in addition to as much information as you are willing to provide of the dog's breed, size, weight, age, any medical issues and medication needs, its temperament and preference to integrate and socialise with a group or be walked solo

If we are both happy to proceed I will offer a short 30-minute individual solo introductory walk in your local area or at an open space within reasonable distance, on a day, which is included in the reduced rate. It would be very unusual for an introductory walk to present obstacles to us proceeding to agree the services you would like, a start date, fees and payment details. 

Our services and fees

Bella and Friends services and fees include:

Introduction
Introduction, familiarisation and assessment a described above, at a reduced cost of £10. No fee will be charged if we do not  proceed beyond this stage for any reason. The introductory walk is included in this reduced charge.

Group Walk

A Group Walk is limited to a maximum of 6 dogs per session, between one and three times daily on weekdays throughout the year, excluding two weeks over the Xmas and New Year periods. Both Group and Solo Walks are between 45 and 60 minutes duration after arriving at the walk venue which will be chosen by me to be reasonably close to your location or central to the home locations of the group being walked. 

Group walks will change during the year, depending on daylight hours, with pick-ups starting at 08:00, 13:00 and 18:00 during the longer days and being later and earlier respectively as daylight hours shorten with the seasons.Please remember that Group Walks require additional travel time for collection of the group, but this will not affect the duration of the walk.

A group walk session fee is charged at £12 per individual dog, with a 20% discount for each additional dogs collected from the same owner.

Individual Walk

Dogs that require solo walking due to e.g. socialisation fears will be collected and walked during the day, between group sessions, at times to be agreed. I can usually offer only one individual walk per dog per day, and for no more that 3 dogs in total on any one day. Again, this is limited during the shorter days.

Sitting & day care

Dog sitting and day services are provided by Bella and Friends either for short periods such as when you are away for a day, or for longer periods such as to allow for holidays. Both may take place either at your own home or mine by agreement and would include collection and return, feeding and watering, toileting, and at least one solo or group walk if that is already scheduled. 

Depending on the duration and your choice of location, sitting and day costs are charged at between £65 and £90 per day per dog depending on its indivial needs and whether medication and/or walking is included.

Socialisation and behavioural training

Bella and Friends are developing this as a service but do not currently offer it to clients.

Dogs are in the main gregarious pack animals and enjoy socialising and playing as part of a group. With Bella and Friends our aim is for our dogs to enjoy being part of a calm, friendly and playful group, and I have many years of experience of integrating new pack members into a group as gently and harmoniously as possible. A group will typically include some dogs who are able to spend some exercise time off the lead and others who prefer or need the security of remaining on a lead

Some dogs however prefer for a variety of reasons not to enjoy being in a group, but to be walked individually, or display fearful or aggressive behaviours toward other dogs, adults, children or other animals. A suitable collar, lead and perhaps harness is typically essential for both control and the dog's level of calm and sense of safety.

Your and your dog's needs are paramount, and discussing and assessing needs and behaviours is an essential part of the familiarisation session and early days of walking, and I will endeavour always to provide you with honest and objective feedback at all times.

Behavioural training is more challenging with older dogs and those who suffer from anxiety and/or pain from injury or the ageing process.