Wags & Wonders

11/02/2026

A fellow dog walker made this post and she couldn’t have said it better for us dog walkers. 🫶🏼🐾

🐕 “It’s Just Walking Dogs Though, Isn’t It?” 🐕

Ah yes.

Just popping out for a gentle stroll, sniffing daisies, earning easy money.

Basically a spa day with puppies.

In reality, dog walking and pet care looks more like this:

🚐 A van that drinks fuel like it’s a competitive sport

📋 Insurance, licences, DBS checks, council rules and forms that reproduce at night

🧠 Constantly counting dogs, exits, other dogs, children, joggers, squirrels, that one man who appears from nowhere

🧽 Cleaning mud, slobber, wee, more wee, and the mysterious third substance

📱 Messages like: “He seems a bit off today, can you keep an eye on him?”

(Yes. Always. Forever.)

I’ve been a dog walker and pet care provider for nearly 20 years, and I’ve watched this happen on repeat:

🐾 Lovely dog walker starts

🐾 Charges too little because they’re nice

🐾 Clients try to save pennies

🐾 Dog walker is skint, knackered and questioning life choices

🐾 Quits after about 2 years

Rinse. Repeat. Cry into flask.

Cheap dog walking isn’t cheap — it’s just being subsidised by someone working for less than minimum wage while hauling 30kg dogs through mud.

Good dog walkers don’t just walk.

They:

✔ Stop fights before they start

✔ Spot injuries before they become vet bills

✔ Keep your dog alive, intact and vaguely clean

✔ Get your dog home when the weather is biblical

That skill comes from experience.

Experience comes from not quitting.

Not quitting comes from being paid properly.

So if you’ve got a dog walker you trust:

🐶 Don’t haggle

🐶 Don’t compare them to “someone cheaper on Facebook”

🐶 And if you think they’re under-charging… tip them

Tips say: “I see you. I appreciate you. Please don’t leave the industry.”

Because good dog walkers aren’t expensive.

They’re rare.

And your dog would absolutely pay more if they had opposable thumbs 💸🐾

05/02/2026

🤎

31/12/2025

✨ Happy New Year from Wags and Wonders ✨

As this year comes to an end, I’ve found myself reflecting on just how far this journey has come.

I started the year with a failed business behind me, full of worry and very little hope that I would ever succeed. I had only a few clients, so much uncertainty, and then life hit even harder losing my father-in-law while trying to grow a business, grieving, and doing my best to keep my family afloat. Some days felt unbearable, and giving up felt easier than carrying on.

But through hard work, patience, tears, and determination… something beautiful slowly began to grow.

Client by client. Walk by walk. Dog by dog.
Wags and Wonders grew and kept growing.

Now, as I step into 2026, I’m surrounded by an ever-growing Wolfpack, and this business is truly flourishing. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself. I can’t quite believe this is my job that I get to spend my days caring for some of the most incredible dogs and working with the most wonderful, supportive clients.

Your continued trust, kindness, and support mean more than I could ever put into words. I am endlessly grateful to each and every one of you for believing in me, especially when I struggled to believe in myself.

Here’s to resilience, growth, love, and an exciting year ahead.
Thank you for being part of the Wags and Wonders journey 🐾💫

✨ Happy New Year ✨

25/12/2025

🎄🐾 Wags and Wonders wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas! 🐾🎄
May your day be filled with joy, love, and a little extra wonder. ✨

20/12/2025

🐾That’s a wrap for 2025 at Wags and Wonders! 🐾

We are now officially closed for the year and will be reopening on Monday 5th January.

I want to wish all of my wonderful clients a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🎄✨
Thank you so much for the incredibly kind thoughtful Christmas gifts, and ongoing support — I am feeling extremely grateful.

It has been such a joy caring for your dogs this year, and I already can’t wait to see all those happy faces (and wagging tails) again in January 🐶💛

Thank you for being part of the Wags and Wonders family.
See you in the New Year! 💛

17/12/2025

Wags & Wonders Christmas pawty 2025🎄🎅🏼🐶🐾♥️

01/12/2025

🖤

28/11/2025

🌟🐾Welcome, Buddy! 🐾🌟

Say hello to Buddy, our newest Spaniel Cross at Wags and Wonders! 🐾
He’s sweet, curious, and full of joyful energy — the perfect addition to our pack.

We can’t wait to share his adventures with you. Welcome to the family, Buddy! 💛

31/10/2025

🎃🐾 Happy Howl-o-ween from Wags and Wonders! 🐾🎃

Wishing all our furry friends and their humans a safe, spooky, and tail-wagging Halloween! 👻✨

Whether your pup is rocking a pumpkin costume we hope your day is filled with treats (and no tricks!). 🍬🦴

Remember to keep your pets comfy, calm, and away from chocolate—because the best kind of magic is a happy, healthy companion. 💕

18/09/2025

🤎

As we use foster homes us admin rarely get to actually meet our dogs so it is nice when we get the chance to do just that. This weekend I went to meet the lovely Blake who is in foster with the equally lovely Richard in Daventry Northants. Blake has had a couple of meet and greets but no one has chosen to adopt him yet. So I wanted to know why.

Lets start with the positives

Stunning looking liver and white 5 year old springer
Fabulous in the home - clean and settles well.
No aggression
Absolutely fine being handled
Extremely intelligent
Great personality
Good recall (in a secure field)

So what is the problem? He is horrendous on the lead! Not just springer bad, he is shocking. Nose down, weaving and pulling all the time. To know why we need to know a bit about his history. He was being left up to 7 hours a day alone and wasn't walked much nor had he seen a vet in over 3 years. So now in foster he is getting several walks a day and quite frankly its blowing his mind. Added to that a high prey drive and walks are a combination of free hunting and reacting to other dogs, people, cars and cyclists etc. You his handler on the other end of the lead does not exist. He has no idea you are even there. This is not helped by him being in an urban foster environment and all the distractions that brings. Not selling him much am I? 😄

So we changed his lead from a harness to a cani collar to get some control and after a while we had a sort of loose lead walk. But give him an inch and he was back to sniffing and weaving again. But we persevered and things got slightly better. We also managed a good long sit to just gently take in his environment. A big positive was a nice sit and then we played find the treat to encourage some interaction between us and on several occasions we did get eye contact. This was also used to distract him from people and other dogs and worked very well. This was all in an hour. It was hard work and I have to be honest only a slight improvement but just think what could be achieved with time ?

So Blake is now looking for a Foster with a view to adopt home. In his new home his needs are

Dog free
Child free
Cat and other animal free
Rural with a secure garden
Someone who has the time to train him (and yes he is very trainable)
Someone who likes a challenge ( I would have took this boy in a heartbeat if I matched the criteria!)
Someone physically strong as he is a strong fit lad

I know there is someone out there for this boy so if it is you follow the link below and fill in that application form :) I cannot tell you how lovely he is and what a fantastic companion he will be

https://spanielaid.co.uk/spaniel/blake-sa4664/