The Great OutPaws

10/08/2025

In June the Great OutPaws turned 9 . But it was also the month this little fellow crossed the rainbow bridge.
Not long after TGOP was founded this handsome fellow became a TGOP member , our Oscar . He was the longest reigning doggo and OG!
Even before he joined our walks Em and I knew Oscar as he was our dear friends dog , living just round the corner from us .
So yep we knew Oscar his whole life . And he was the best , and we miss him .
He will be remembered for being so SLOOOOOWWWWWW !! 🙈And for loving a good SNIIIIIIIFFFF and for just being the best and least phased dog ever !

His first walks were with our previous own dogs Piper and Wilf , and Oscar never admitted it but he definitely loved Miss Winnie Bear too when she came along ! ( despite her being a total lush!)

I can’t tell Winnie her pals have crossed the rainbow bridge , and that somehow makes me so sad. 😢 but I guess that’s the beauty of being a dog ! Each day is a new day !

We’ve had our fair share of losses this last few years , and it’s been extremely hard. But we are eternally blessed to have had the pleasure and to be entrusted to care for these wonderful creatures.
Sleep easy Oz!
🌈💙

29/07/2025

I only use natural flea drops from the herbal dog co occasionally on Winnie and a essential oil spray from the vets . After reading this I definitely won’t be leaving Winnie’s fur outside after a brush through!! Super interesting!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15jqpduC8Y/?mibextid=wwXIfr

PLEASE RECONSIDER GROOMING YOUR DOG WHILST OUT ON WALKS (or in the garden!)

This - along with letting them swim in waterways - could be killing wildlife.


It's that time of year when you see random distributions of dog fluff out on walks.

Kanita is also blowing her coat, and Mohawk has been having a big coat change too recently. There's something very satisfying about gently pulling those loose tufts of hair out. If you know, you know.


I don't blame people for thinking that it's easier to groom a super floofy dog outside to save covering their house in hair- BUT if that dog receives anti-parasitic treatment, this may be harming wildlife.

A study in the Netherlands detected two active substances used in routine pet anti-parasitic treatments in the nests of great t**s- who had collected hair in order to build their nests.

Another study by The University of Sussex found that screened nests contained 17 out of 20 insecticides screened for. 100% of nests contained fipronil and 89% contained imidacloprid.
A higher number of unhatched eggs and dead chicks were associated with higher numbers of chemicals present in the nests (with dog hair being used to build the nests by the birds).


Many of these chemicals in these treatments are thought to be harmful to birds. It is also thought that they are damaging to insect populations (including bees) as well as contributing to pollution of waterways and damaging aquatic ecosystems - contributed by people letting their dogs swim in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers etc.


If you routinely use parasite control medication on your dog please do not let them swim outdoors (especially soon after treatment) and avoid grooming them outside (or bag up the hair as you groom).

There are some suggestions that oral medications are less damaging, but they don't just sit in the digestive system. They are transported around the bloodstream- which supplies nutrients and oxygen to the whole body. Toxins leave the body via excrement, urine, sweat, hair and skin cells- albeit predominantly via the former two.

Whilst topical treatments pose a greater risk - especially soon after treatment- it cannot be assumed that there is no negative affect from oral treatments. The research identified that dog hair is linked to bird deaths and that specifically states that dogs owned by volunteers donating nests received parasite control via collars, spot on and tablets.
Chemicals from Nexguard and Bravecto were not screened for in the study and thus are not ruled out as safe nor established as harmful (to birds).


The recommended frequency of use of these products continues to be called into question, as is the risk of adverse side effects in pets!

Veternarians are being encouraged to prescribe them based on risk to the individual.
Assessing individual risk is not easy for veternarians to do in the time that they have, so you can help your vet help you by intensively reading information on these products rather than administering them every 1-3 months in blind faith that it's the right thing to do and without consequence.

Our wildlife is in decline and if we care about nature- we all need to do our bit.

That may include reviewing the specific medication you purchase from your vet or you may decide to use them less frequently, such as treating as needed or seasonally (instead of across the year).
You may delay letting your dog swim post treatment for as long as possible, or consider alternative prevention such as worm counts, flea combing or natural repellents (although do note, some ingredients in these could still be toxic to some species of wildlife).


Again, whether to treat or not should be down to INDIVIDUAL RISK. What poses a risk to individuals in one area may differ to others elsewhere.

But it's also your personal choice and I want to make it clear that this post is NOT telling people to NOT treat their pets but simply to be aware of the potential impact of such treatments and to adjust our habits (swimming, grooming outside) accordingly.


Are there other things that damage the environment? Of course.
But this is a page about dogs, so content will be relevant to dogs.

You can use the fact that XY and Z also harm the environment as a justification for doing nothing, or you can consider whether there are small changes you are able to make. The cumulative effect is what causes these issues to escalate, and thus the cumulative effect is also capable of making some positive change.


Note: If you don’t use anti parasitics on your dog & groom them outside, then the hair may be beneficial for the birds. However, do consider that grooming products and other medications may pose a risk - should you use these.

These were the resources linked into the comments, but Ive opted to bring them here for ease. Within some of these you can be linked to the research on this topic and you will find much more detail on this emotive topic.

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/66973

https://www.veterinaryirelandjournal.com/small-animal/359-cat-and-dog-parasiticides-and-the-environment

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725000737?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=908a988c1c6d63c1

https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/post/veterinary-drugs-found-in-bird-nests/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/243875/toxic-flea-tick-treatments-polluting-uk/

https://www.pan-uk.org/garden-birds-are-being-poisoned-by-pet-flea-treatments/

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/looking-after/managing-land-and-water/water-quality/flea-treatments-and-their-impact-on-water-quality

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/flea-treatment-toxic-to-wildlife

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/23/flea-treatments-cats-dogs-environmental-hazard

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7738705/

https://www.bva.co.uk/take-action/our-policies/responsible-use-of-parasiticides-for-cats-and-dogs/

https://www.bsava.com/position-statement/parasite-control/

11/05/2025

Recently in The Great OutPaws💞🚶‍♀️🐾🦮💙

11/02/2025

True story ! 🤣

.secret.dog.walker

13/01/2025

It was a challenging week last week in The Great OutPaws- but between us we managed to keep the good ship TGOP afloat .
It’s still challenging out there with the continued slow thawing of the snow . But thankfully it’s a little bit warmer .

Em has a lot more dogs than I , and a lot are further a field than mine for pick ups so more challenging to get to. So it was only safe and sensible to cancel .
Eventually being able to get out and do a group walk toward the end of the week with her old ma doing the driving ( though I think she would have preferred me not to 🤣🤣🤣)

Em and I would like to thank everyone who was supportive of us last week !
It’s the last thing we want to do but safety comes first and foremost.

As lovely as it has been to look at and walk in when we have made it to the woods let’s hope any more snow is on a weekend! 🙈

06/01/2025

A post we’ve been meaning to do for a long time
Not one we have been eager to do.
From mid 2023 until the end of 2024 we’ve had to say goodbye to so many of the TGOP doggies
💙 Bailey - mischievious and slow . As slow can be until he got a scent of a doggie he liked and then boy could he move!
The loveliest little fellow.
💙Chester - who after puppy visits had only just joined Emily’s group walks and was being such a big brave boy. He was Reggie’s little brother from another who was only a pup when he passed and hadn’t been with The Great OutPaws very long . Only now it seems appropriate to share .

💗Bonnie - queen bee ! A real character who had everyone herded up and given half a chance in a pen knowing old stalkey eye !

My mum and dad’s dog who had occasionally joined the gang back when we first began , my friends dog who passed suddenly .
We learned of one of our ex TGOP doggies passing and one other of the gang whose humans would prefer to keep private passed too . We mention you because we haven’t forgotten.

Too many and of those who have passed , some real shocks. Too many and way too young to leave this world .
These losses have hit hard and your memory lingers 💔

But we loved you no matter how long you were with us and you’ll always be a part of TGOP X
Here’s just a few pics of those we can share

31/12/2024

Well what a year it’s been! A crazy one 🤪

Can’t believe another year has gone by and I’m still doing what I love 🐶💓

It’s been a challenging year but also a rewarding one! We’ve had new dogs join and to see their confidence grow in the groups is heartwarming!

We will still think about the dogs that have gone to doggy heaven and will always have a special place in our hearts at The Great OutPaws💚

I would like to thank my mum for helping me out when I’ve been poorly, hurt my back, van broken down and so on…😂

I would also like to give a BIG THANK YOU to all you lovely owners!! Thank you for supporting us for another year & trusting us with your doggies! It means the world to us that we have such amazing owners💗

Another big thank you to the dog walking community! No matter how big or small the problem is they will always come rushing to help!!

I’m very grateful for the people around me in this job and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas & have a lovely new year🎆

Can’t wait to get stuck back in next week! (With the mud returning of course 🤣)

All my love

Emily 💚🐶🖤

02/11/2024

2/2 Fire works -
You can also try this

http://www.mekuti.co.uk Ear work - TTouch can be used to normalise a situation, whether it be health, confidence or behaviour. Tension around the head and ea...

02/11/2024

1/2
Fireworks
I shared this previously for dogs afraid of fireworks and had some good feed back .
If you can connect to a speaker then perfect

Original Youtube channel 10HoursOfEverythingSound and music videos for personal growth: https://soundsforhealing.wordpress.com/

20/10/2024

Well wasn’t my Saturday filled with puppy love !
I had the pleasure of some 1-1 training with little Buddy here !

His humans are first time dog owners and want to give him the best start .
We worked on recalling away from off limits things and teaching Buddy to drop too .
One of the most common puppy training conundrums ( I don’t like the term issue so conundrum it is !) is getting our pups to do something other than the thing that can be harmful and unsafe , yet for the pupper is perfectly normal exploratory behaviour.
So that’s what we did and we talked about diet and gut health , floor surfaces and exercise . Yes those are pretty damn important too and the foundations of a perfect Great OutPaws pup .
Next visit , we’re off to the park to add some more layers of perfect pupness to little Buddy’s life !

17/10/2024

Love this post and the comments 💞💙

02/10/2024

Can you help?
I’m looking for a couple more people and thier dogs to help me with my course case studies .
Your dog can’t have been to the vet about a musculoskeletal issue or have a diagnosis of any musculoskeletal issue for this .
Any other diagnoses are fine though.

If you suspect something is going on with your dog physically or have noticed changes behaviourally then taking part could be of huge benefit to you.

If you’re interested in helping me let me know in the comments and I’ll messge you to tell you more about what’s involved . Or you can private message me if you prefer

Thanks
Sam