The Pawkeeper - Dog Training & Behavior Services

26/08/2026

SIDE BY SIDE STORIES

Our weekly short-reel series featuring the people and businesses across our Pet Air Valet destinations who share one simple belief: dogs are family - and family belongs by your side.

This week, I sat down with Dr. Julia to talk about something I see so often in my own work: moving countries with an anxious or reactive dog.

“When we decided to move to the UK, we almost didn’t bring her because we were so nervous…”

That fear is very real. A new country, a busy city, unfamiliar sounds, dogs, people, traffic - it can feel like a lot when your dog already struggles with the world around them.

But an anxious dog doesn’t have to mean putting your life on hold or leaving them behind.

With preparation, trigger training, realistic expectations and time to decompress and adjust, even sensitive dogs can learn to navigate a completely new environment. And sometimes they surprise us with just how well they do.

🎥 Side By Side Stories: new conversations every week from the destinations we fly to.

Have you ever moved countries or cities with an anxious or reactive dog? What  you most before the move?

24/08/2026

THEY GIVE US ALL THEIR LIFE ❤️

The least we can do is be there for them when they need us the most.

Whether that’s waking up a few times during the night to make sure they are comfortable, cooking them fresh meals, ordering hand picked herbs from abroad, taking them to their favorite places, doing physio exercises and more…

Our seniors deserve nothing but the best and our fullest attention.

Do you have a senior dog or did you care for one? Share your love in the comments ❤️🫶🏽.

24/08/2026

19/08/2026

SERIOUSLY - because lately, walking through some areas of Dubai feels like playing Super Mario: Dog Poo Edition.

Dodge left. Jump right. Watch the grass. And whatever you do… don’t look at the bottom of your shoe. 😭

But as disgusting as it is, dog poo left behind isn’t just an inconvenience, it can be a genuine health risk to dogs AND humans.

Depending on the dog, f***s can spread parasites, bacteria and viruses or contaminate the surrounding environment with pathogens including:

Giardia • toxocara (roundworm) • hookworm • whipworm • coccidia • cryptosporidium • campylobacter • Salmonella • pathogenic E. coli • and canine parvovirus.

Some parasite eggs can survive in the environment for months or even years, while viruses such as parvovirus are notoriously difficult to eliminate once an area becomes contaminated.

And your dog doesn’t have to eat a pile of poo to be exposed.

They sniff the ground. Walk through contaminated soil. Lick their paws. Roll in the grass. Then those paws come into our homes, onto our sofas and, let’s be honest, sometimes straight into our beds. 👀

So no, leaving your dog’s poo because it’s on sand, grass, gravel or an empty patch of land isn’t harmless.

Your dog poops → you pick it up. Every. Single. Time.

Forgot a bag? Ask another dog parent. Most of us have approximately 847 stuffed into every pocket anyway... We all share these spaces.

Please pick up your sh*t. Literally.

Now tell me, Dubai dog parents… how bad is the 💩 situation in YOUR area? Drop your area in the comments and give the poo situation a 💩 rating from 1–10.

14/08/2026

WHY HAVING A SERVICE DOG ISN’T FOR EVERYONE - a Service Dog can give a disabled person incredible independence, but having one can also add another layer of responsibility to a life that may already be overwhelming.

They attract attention. A lot of it. People stare, approach you, ask personal questions, try to pet your dog or challenge your access. On days when simply navigating the world may already take a lot of energy.

Travel requires even more planning. Airline approvals, paperwork, different rules, airport procedures and sometimes weeks of preparation for something another passenger can simply book and do.

And then there’s the dog.

Training takes hundreds of hours and doesn’t stop once they qualify. You need to maintain their skills, advocate for them, recognize when they’re stressed, keep them safe and meet their needs... even on the days when your own disability makes doing those things difficult.

A Service Dog can make parts of life significantly easier.

But they can also make other parts more complicated, more visible and sometimes more overwhelming.

Because while you depend on your Service Dog, they depend on you, too.

And that’s an important part of deciding whether a Service Dog is the right choice for you.

Featuring 📸 : Ziggy on his way from Lisbon to London

10/08/2026

THIS IS NOT ONLY FOR FUTURE ASSISTANCE DOGS BY THE WAY...
If you are training a future assistance dog, here is why surgery on their toys is actually a crucial training step!
Squeakers can easily become an unhealthy obsession. That high-pitched sound triggers an intense rush of dopamine and high prey drive. This overstimulation can quickly turn into a massive distraction later in training, making it incredibly difficult for a dog to maintain focus or stay under threshold in public environments if a squeaky sound appears.
Instead, I desensitize a prospect puppy to squeaker sounds (same as I do with baby talk and kissy noises that people make to get a dog’s attention).
Have you ever heard about this? Do you remove your dog’s squeakers? Is your dog obsessed with squeaky sounds? Comment below!

08/08/2026

THINK VA**NG IS HARMLESS AROUND YOUR DOG? THINK AGAIN.

Whether it's ci******es, to***co, or e-ci******es, your dog is exposed too.

Cigarette smoke has been linked to an increased risk of respiratory disease, eye irritation, chronic coughing, and certain cancers in dogs. Long-nosed breeds are more prone to nasal cancer, while short-nosed breeds have a higher risk of lung cancer.

E-ci******es aren't just "water v***r." The aerosol can contain ni****ne, heavy metals, volatile chemicals, and ultrafine particles that your dog inhales alongside you. While research is still evolving, current evidence suggests there is no reason to consider va**ng around pets risk-free.

Ni****ne itself is highly toxic to dogs. A single cigarette butt, ni****ne pouch, chewing to***co, v**e liquid, or disposable v**e can become a life-threatening emergency if chewed or swallowed.

Signs of ni****ne poisoning include:
• Drooling
• Vomiting
• Restlessness
• Tremors
• Rapid heart rate
• Difficulty breathing
• Seizures

These signs can develop within 15–60 minutes and require immediate veterinary attention.

To reduce your dog's risk: quit smoking 😎💪🏻

Your dog doesn't get to choose the air they breathe. You do.

Have you ever thought about how smoking or va**ng could affect your dog?

07/08/2026

TRUE OR FALSE - but make it at

What's one thing you've always wanted to know about traveling with your pet? Ask us below in the comments.

06/08/2026

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT THIS RULE?

The “5 minutes per month of age” rule isn’t completely wrong... it’s just incredibly oversimplified.

It was originally intended to discourage repetitive, forced exercise while puppies’ joints are still developing - not to suggest puppies should stop moving after a set number of minutes.

What puppies actually need is:
🐾 Self-paced exploration
🐾 Sniffing
🐾 Playing
🐾 Social learning
🐾 Training
🐾 Plenty of rest (18–20 hours a day)

The activities we do want to limit are things like:
❌ Long pavement walks
❌ Running alongside a person or bicycle
❌ Endless games of fetch
❌ Forced endurance hikes

Your puppy isn’t a stopwatch. They’ll naturally alternate between bursts of activity, sniffing, resting, and exploring.

Movement isn’t the enemy. Forced exercise is.

What’s your puppy’s daily exercise?

04/08/2026