Dog walking in Newton Abbot and the villages

A tired dog is an easier dog to live with. If you are at work, stuck in a long day, or simply not up to a proper walk at the moment, I will come and give yours the hour they have been waiting by the door for, and send you a photo to prove it happened.

Solo walks

One dog, my full attention, and the walk built round what your dog actually needs rather than what suits a group. Best for puppies still learning their manners, older dogs who set their own pace, nervous dogs, and anyone who would simply rather not meet other dogs.

Small group walks

A maximum of four dogs who genuinely get on, out together across the fields and lanes. Sociable, good for a shy dog's confidence, and better value than a solo walk.

Every dog is introduced properly before it joins a group. I do not put strangers in a van together and hope for the best.

What every walk includes

• Collection from your home and safe return
• A real walk: lanes, fields and footpaths, not three laps of the block
• Fresh water down, and a towel-off if we have come back muddy, which round here we usually have
• Lead, harness and coat put back where they belong
• A message and a photo, so you know how it went

Off the lead

Off-lead only where it is safe, and only with your written permission. If your dog's recall is not there yet, we work on a long line instead. Livestock country is unforgiving and I will not chance it with someone else's dog.

Dogs I can take

Most of them. Puppies from twelve weeks, once their vaccinations are finished, older dogs, three-legged dogs, deaf dogs, and dogs who need medication before they go out.

Reactive dogs are welcome on solo walks. Tell me honestly what sets yours off, whether that is other dogs, men in hats or bicycles, and we plan the route around it rather than pretending it will be fine.

None. No breed is off the list, and nothing about a dog rules them out on paper. What matters is the dog in front of me, which is what the meet and greet is for.

Weather

I walk in the rain. Devon being Devon, that is most of the winter, and your dog will come back wet and pleased with itself.

Real heat is different. In hot weather we go early, go shorter, or swap the walk for shade and a garden session. Hot pavements do genuine damage to paws, and I will not take a dog out in the middle of a July afternoon just because it is on the schedule.