I have been researching courses to attend to train to become a Professional Dog Walker. There are a number of different ones and I am not sure which one is best. I am hoping some Dogs Today readers might be dog walkers and can advise me?
Thank you
Zoe Pinhey, by email
I think that the best course(s) are offered by Colin Tennant's "Cambridge Institute of Dog Behaviour & Training" not only for the quality of the course(s), but also the variety of courses offered (up to and including a Bachelor's Degree). They're modular and some may be done as distance learning.
ReplyDeleteThere is no legal requirement to be qualified to walk dogs. You will find the courses by Sarah Whitehead are really useful for learning about dogs and their behaviour. Compass do a course that is aimed specifically at dog walkers.
ReplyDeleteYou will need to find out if your local council have restrictions on the number of dogs that can be walked by one person in your area. You will also need to have public liability insurance as a minimum.
You will need to talk to your car insurance too if you are using this in connection with your work at all.
I have found that the most important thing in my day care facility is to know the dogs as individuals and to know which ones get on better together. This is really important if you are having groups of dogs off lead.
Olwen Turns SAC.Dip Behaviourist Cloverleaf Canine Centre