Heather’s Walkies

22/08/2025

Happy Friday everyone!

11/08/2025

STATEMENT REGARDING DOG SHOWS AT FESTIVAL OF HORWICH AND FESTIVAL OF BLACKROD (I tried my best 😭)

I was recently invited to support these two events, both to help out during the day, and to fund the cost of the insurance through sponsorship.
Regular followers will know that I am always keen to support our local community, so I happily agreed.

The dog show for the Festival of Horwich is planned to take place in the afternoon at the end of August. I raised my concerns over the health and wellbeing of the dogs, and the risk of heat illnesses (potentially fatal) if the weather was too hot.

I was absolutely dismayed to receive the reply "The dogs heath and wellbeing is not our responsibility". I continued in my attempts to work with the organisers to mitigate any potential harm to dogs with the hope that this was just a case of misunderstanding. In particular, I advised them that the vet-advised cut-off temperature for dogs is 23'C (and 19'C for higher risk dogs). Unfortunately, they were unwilling to listen and were adamant that the event will go ahead even in higher, dangerous temperatures. They then told me that my help was no longer required.

As an ethical dog professional, I WILL NOT support any event that puts dogs at the risk of harm.

Please - if you are attending any dog shows this summer, remember that more dogs die of being walked in the heat than they do in hot cars. PLEASE don't risk your dog's health by taking them to an event when the weather is too hot - it's just not worth it.

09/08/2025

✅ dogs walked
✅ litter picked

Now on to study- catching up with The Holistic Pet Care Conference. 👩‍🎓

09/08/2025

Don't forget litter pick this morning, 10am outside the library.

08/08/2025

Happy Friday everyone!!
(Yes, the Mud Monster did get a hose down 🤣).

07/08/2025

Some more great advice, this time on choosing the right dog walker.

I’d also add: check out the photos on their social media. I particularly like to watch for the equipment that walkers are using. The Modern Dog Walkers Association (MDWA) recommends walking dogs on harnesses, so if you see slip leads or head collars, you need to be questioning why.

06/08/2025

New BL6 Local magazine should be hitting Horwich doormats soon. I hope you enjoy reading my article as much as these pooches did!

If you have any questions about loose lead walking, or are interested in training walks or consultations, please get in touch.

06/08/2025

05/08/2025

Food for thought - breaking bread together with our doggy friends?

I recently watched a webinar which mentioned Social Eating. Within the human world, we are encouraged to sit round a table as a family to foster close relationships. Dogs are also a social species, particularly forming bonds with their human companions. Many dogs show a need for company when they eat - has your dog ever refused to eat food, only to happily guzzle it down when being hand fed, or if you sit next to them? So why don't we eat with our dogs?

The old-school "Dominance Theory" would have us believe that we need to eat first to demonstrate that we are in control of the resources (as if the closed cupboard door didn't already show them this!).
I personally make sure that all my animals are fed and watered before sitting down to my meal. And I admit to feeling the human frustration of wanting to get on with feeding chores, only to be faced with a dog who won't eat when they've been left alone.

Now, there are many reasons why we can't social eat with our dogs - cleanliness prevents mine sharing the dinner table with us, and natural scavenging behaviours also make it challenging for her to show restraint around food. Add to that the potential for resource guarding, and we can see why it's much easier to feed dogs alone, on the floor away from everyone else.

But this new knowledge has got me thinking of how I could incorporate breaking bread with this social species, to build better bonds, and to make them feel more happy and secure in their relationships.

Disclaimer: The photos are from today's foraging trip. I tried to get a photo of them all happily sharing blackberries, but Penny scoffed the lot before I could even get a photo! Although I'm still going to claim this as social eating as we were all together in our foraging experience.

Let me know in the comments below if you have managed to incorporate any social eating into your dog's life.

04/08/2025

CHICKEN!!!!

The dogs didn’t get my joke, but it made me chuckle. 😂

02/08/2025

New leaflets out today on heat related illnesses in dogs: what to look out for and what to do. Available online or from my garden gate near Blackrod County Primary school.

TLDR: 19C max for at risk dogs, 23C for all other dogs, but often lower because of individual needs.

Did you know that the biggest cause of heatstroke is exercise, not hot cars? Let’s spread awareness in a kind way.

https://heatherswalkies.co.uk/info-leaflets/

01/08/2025

Happy (belated) Birthday Penny!!
11 years young at the weekend.
We got her a favourite toy to destroy -a Katie’s Bumper from xtradog. Not a lot of it left when she took it to the park today. 🤣