BUSY TIMES WITH FUN DOG WALKS & GORGEOUS CAT VISITS

So its been a while since i wrote a blog and i thought i better get back into it.
It's that time of year where people are looking at booking their summer holidays and breaks away which is great for me because it means people need their cats and kittens looked after.
Last week we visited a house which had 4 cats to see, with one of them being 21 years old. It was quite funny because apparently the cat was previously their neighbours who was obviously a Manchester United fan because the cat was called Eric after Mr Cantona.
The funny thing was the cat was actually a female. Then again we have a dog called Snoop who i called after Snoop Doggy Dogg so i guess i cant really laugh too much.

Over the last weekend we also got to meet 2 stunning Maine Coon cats who also had very different names to most others we have met. These 2 were called Fatty and Fink and i have to say they were absolutely lovely and it was so nice to be able to look after them.
Fatty was possibly the size of my youngest springer spaniel and he is possibly the furriest cat i have ever seen.

A new dog has joined us as well who we are providing dog sitting for. A very happy little girl called Tallulah who is a Dachshund, a breed you do not see very often around here. I remember when we got our first springer we barely saw any others unless we ventured further afield. Now they are getting a little bit more popular in our area.

We still have availability for more group dog walks and currently have an offer on where if you book 4 or 5 regular walks per week i will provide the first week for free. So if you need a trustworthy, friendly and reliable person to walk your dogs who is fully insured and DBS checked then please contact us. 
You can check out our genuine reviews on Google or Facebook to see what some of our customers think of the services we provide.

HOW DO DOGS RECOVER SO QUICKLY?

So after I did my walk for charity on the Saturday I was still feeling very stiff come Monday, although to be honest it’s probably a better option to be out walking as opposed to sitting around and seizing up.

Now what I cannot work out is how dogs seem to recover from exercise so much quicker than humans. My springer spaniel did the charity walk with me and spent most of it on lead apart from a couple of moments where so ran around like a possessed beast. While on the lead she was also pulling me a 12 stone man up the hills.
But come Monday she was desperate to be out and about and running around like she hadn’t really walked 11.3 miles at the weekend.

My eldest springer spaniel has had 3 major leg operations in 2 years yet her recovery from all of them was insanely quick. After 2 months of recovery from a cruciate ligament operation she was back to doing what she loves best and that’s running around. She was also putting full weight on the leg within 24 hours of the operation.
Me on the other hand took 5 days to start feeling like I hadn’t been hit by a bus.

This week on our walks we said goodbye to Rio whos owners were back from Glastonbury. He has been an absolute pleasure to walk over the few days we had with him and lets hope we get a chance to walk him again.

The weather also took a massive turn for the worst so we spent a lot of time walking in the rain which meant the washing machine and drier in the dogs4walks household was in overdrive.
It’s funny how some dogs see the rain outside and immediately think ‘There’s no way I’m going out in that’. But then they don’t seem bothered by jumping in the dirtiest smelliest puddle you can imagine. That and the dog walkers worst nightmare which is ‘Fox Poo’.
Yes we had the delights of that this week and if you have never smelt it let’s just say ‘You don’t want to’.

dogs4walks has been running now for 4 months and I have to say this is one of the best decisions I have made in starting up a dog walking and pet sitting service. I have some amazing customers and get great joy in knowing that they are happy with the service I provide. If someone said to me 4 months ago the business would have been doing this well I would of said ‘I will take that’.
It’s taken a lot of time and effort to promote the business and if you want to be successful you need to keep up with promoting the service you provide. Luckily my wife has helped me out a lot especially with posting flyers in the local area and I have received a lot of helpful advice from a friend who runs Northampton Dog Walker.

We are still looking for custom so if you need a dog walker in Sale, Northern Moor, Northenden, Wythenshawe, Gatley or surrounding areas as well as pet sitting then you will not only be able to take advantage of some of the most competitive prices in the area for a fully insured and DBS checked dog walker, but also you will be guaranteed that your dog will be having fun and lots of care and attention or your pet will receive an amazing service for pet sitting.

So check out our website or Facebook page to see and read about our days out and about.


Reece (dogs4walks)

MY 5IN5 CHALLENGE FOR MS SOCIETY UK

For a few years now a good friend of mine who does alot of amazing work for www.projectchange.org/ (A charity who launch new projects and support programs that are dedicated to building orphanages, schools, and rehabilitation centers in Africa) has been trying to convince me to take part in a challenge in the UK.
 
The challenge which is detailed here is an annual event near Keswick in the Lake District and you can take part doing 1 of 2 walks. The first which for now is beyond me is a gruelling 10 hills in 10 hours otherwise know as the 10 in 10. 
The other option and the one I finally decided to tackle is 5 hills in 5 hours otherwise known as the 5 in 5.
 
Now like I mentioned previously this friend of mine Anne Reinstein who resides in Florida has been coming over to the UK with her husband who originates from Keswick for the last 3 years to take part in the challenge.
 
After a couple of years of her trying to persuade me I finally gave in this year at the very last minute. Well just 24hours before the closing cut off point for entries.
 
And even better I decided to do it with my youngest springer spaniel Poppy so if I got left behind at least I would have some company.
 
The event is all for a great cause in Multiple Sclerosis UK  and you can read more about the challenge and why it was set up here.
 
So instead of driving up to Keswick on the morning of the walk myself, my wife and 2 dogs drove up the night before and foolishly had the idea of camping out for the night in a small 3 man tent albeit at a very picturesque campsite.
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I think I amassed a total of around 3 hours sleep that night, partly down to nerves and partly down to the fact that my wife was snoring and the dogs wanted all the room. Oh and my inflatable mattress decided halfway though the night to giveway and deflate.
 
The adventure was in full swing.
 
We were now onto the morning of the walk and after a quick breakfast and packed everything in the car we headed off to the Swinside Inn where the 10 in 10 was starting to pick up Anne’s husband Paul who I met the year before. It was the a short drive to Buttermere for the start of the 5 in 5 and WOW what a drive it was. The scenery was amazing and even though most of it was on a single track road with shear drops off one side you couldn’t help but admire the views.
 
We arrived in Buttermere in good time and my wife and eldest springer said their goodbyes (yes my dog can speak) and left us raring to go.

Even more exciting news was while we were waiting a mountaineering legend arrived that being Sir Chris Bonington who at 82 years old was also doing the 5 in 5.
 
After around 40 minutes of waiting Paul and I decided to get moving and the walk begun. Paul mentioned to me several times about the tortoise and the hare and how we would both have good and bad periods throughout the walk (neither of us had really done any or much training).
Within the first 10 minutes my nerves had disappeared and I noticed Paul was breathing quite heavily. As he had already given me the go ahead to go at my own pace I carried on and when I turned around some 5 minutes later he was already some distance away.
I thought maybe it was because Poppy was pulling me at some speed that eventually I would blow up but I felt in the zone and decided to go with the flow.
 
That was the last I saw of Paul until he finished the walk.
 
Like I said before the challenge was to walk 5 hills in 5 hours and I would have been very happy to achieve 4 hours and 59 minutes but the more I went on the more I noticed I was on for quite a remarkable time considering the lack of training. I even got to some points on the course where I was jogging and determined to catch people in front of me.
 
I have to say the whole walk was absolutely amazing and the work from the organisers and marshals was fantastic.
 
Poppy and I finished the walk which was noted on the website being 11.3 miles in 3 hours and 48 minutes which I was blown away by.
 
After some socialising with some lovely people after the walk we then drive the 2 hours and 15 minutes home to relax and have a much needed nights sleep.
 
2 days after the walk my legs are in bits and ache like they’ve never ached before, but I am now determined to get fitter and next year push myself to achieve the 10 in 10.
 
Next years date has already been set for Saturday 23rd June 2018 so if you want to do something for an amazing cause then go on sign up and give it a go.

You can see alot of photos from the event on the 10 in 10 Facebook page.
 
Reece (dogs4walks)

A HOT ONE SO PLENTY OF COOLING DOWN ON THE WALKS

Wow that was certainly a hot one this week, so we made sure the dogs got the chance to have plenty of opportunities to cool down.

This also gave us a very funny moment with Alfie in our little cool down pool at home. You have to see the video on our Facebook page. 

Dexter was back this week after a week away from us and we also had a new dog in Rio join us while his owners are away for a few days. He fitted in with the others dogs really well and had a great time playing and chasing around the other dogs, so hopefully we get another chance to walk him again some day.

One thing i did notice was how all the dogs react differently around water. In the 7 dogs i walked last week only my springer spaniel Poppy was the one who just loved jumping in. A few would paddle but most didnt feel to comfortable around it. Whether different dog breeds are more natural swimmers and are not bothered by water would be interesting to know.

I know our 2 springer spaniels had abit of a scare when they were puppies so it took a couple of months for them to get confident enough to go near water again. But once they saw other dogs having a great time they soon became obssessed by water, so hopefully after another few months of trying we may see some more of our dogs getting used to it.

Please check out our website if you need a dog walker or cat sitter as we provide some of, if not the most competitive prices in the area for the services we provide

Here are some of our photos from the last week

Reece (dogs4walks)

Alfie cooling down after a dog walk

Alfie loves his dog walks

Time for a cool down at Chorlton Water Park

Jess who has loads of energy and is non stop on a dog walk

Rio who joined dogs4walks this week

Playtime time with the dogs in Wythenshawe

LITTLE ALFIE THE PUG IS BACK AND THE MADNESS CONTINUES

After a 2 week holiday for Alfie he was back in the pack today and was happy to see everyone.

Hes such a character and when you don't see him for a few days he greets you and the other dogs with such a cheeky face.

Although for the whole of the week we were also missing Dexter as he was enjoying his own adventure and staying with his owners friends for the week.

But all this doesn't stop us at dogs4walks and we had some fun times over the week. None more so than a trip around Styal and Manchester Airport plus finally they have opened up alot more of the area around Styal and the Quarry Bank Mill. It's alot more accessible for people to walk around there now and as it's so nice it's well worth it.

Jess was also with us for 2 days which gave us some more time to see how she copes off lead and she did really well. It was also the first time she met Alfie which was funny to see. They both loved playing around together and socialising.

The weather was also pretty good for a few days which is nice although nothing compared to what it's been like since Saturday.

So we start onto another week at dogs4walks.

We still have spaces available for group dog walking and cat sitting if anyone is looking for either. You can take a look at some of our reviews here to see how happy the owners are of the services we provide.

       Reece (dogs4walks)