Smith and Snout

01/03/2025

Farewell February!!
What a wonderful few weeks of walks we have had!
Many happy pups going into March 😃
Bring on Spring 🌺🌸🌻

25/02/2025

*** Unpopular Opinion ***

I am going to risk writing an epic of war and peace proportions but we all need to be talking about the problems becoming more common in our domestic dogs.

I have an observation to share that is not going to make me popular. I believe that people are losing sight of what dogs are and not addressing their basic needs. This leads to people foisting unrealistic expectations on their canine companions.

We live very abnormal lives in this time. Humans are struggling to navigate our modern world - so is it really so surprising that our canine best mates are struggling too.

We can't let them live as they would wild without us. Our world is far too dangerous. Dogs were not made for this world we made. I often wonder if humans were either but that's another conversation.

Because our lives are so different we need to do more to help our dogs thrive. My grandpa and his dogs used to roam all over the place when he was a child. They were living in a less restrictive time. The world wasn't so big and so urbanized and dangerous and people weren't always plugged in.

Dogs are getting less of our time. People are busy and dogs are missing out on interaction with people, interaction with other animals and becoming more and more isolated.

We field many inquiries where people are unable to attend 4 puppy preschool sessions. This is critical socialisation time. By the time your puppy is 6 months old your puppy's critical socialisation periods are over. You have 7 years to do with a human child what you have 5 1/2 months to do with a dog. If you don't have time to do this properly you don't have time for a dog.

Many dogs are not getting off their own property. Remember COVID lockdowns - that was a glimpse of what life is for many dogs. It wasn't great for our mental health and it's not great for theirs either.

Many dogs don't get play, enrichment or adventures. These are basic needs for them. Humans and dogs have had friendships because we are both a species that thrive on companionship. If your dog is going to spend most of their life alone don't expect them to be well adjusted.

You cannot expect a dog to be a polite canine citizen if their basic social needs have not been met. You can't just put them in your home and expect them to be adaptable or well adjusted. Imagine if children were kept in their rooms until they are 7 years old. Would you expect a child raised like this to be well adjusted or would you expect issues? I would expect issues.

The community at large would have safer dogs if research was done about the needs of a dog prior to getting one. What will he/she need? Can I commit to that?

They need training, socialisation and guidance as to how our world works and they need guardians invested in understanding dogs and covering off more than just the necessities of keeping them alive.

They need our TIME.

Are you someone who thinks about your dog in the frame of meeting your needs or are you the guardian who ensures that your dogs needs are met too?

Get off the couch. Unplug. Participate in the friendship. Include them. Train them. Have a life!

23/02/2025

Ted 😍

It’s always hard when clients move away, but I’m so proud of how far Ted has come. Just six weeks ago, his owner was struggling—walks were miserable as he reacted to every person, car, and dog they passed. He was often on edge at home and couldn’t settle.

I have worked with Ted intensively since then. We built his confidence in many different environments, slowly decreasing distances to triggers while rewarding calm behavior and carefully monitoring his body language.

He eventually met a couple of my calm, indifferent dogs and handled it beautifully. We gradually built up to the point that he was happy in a small group, and he had started to ignore the majority of his past triggers, such as strangers and vehicles.

Seeing dogs feel more comfortable and confident in themselves, and making walks more enjoyable for their owners, is the reason I love working with anxious and reactive dogs
Good luck on your new adventure, Ted 🐾

20/02/2025

The Secret Dog Walker hit the nail on the head here 👏

I love this job and the animals more than anything, but it is extremely tiring, can be frustrating, dangerous, sometimes heartbreaking, and it’s certainly not for the faint hearted. I don’t think people realise how much goes into it ‘behind the scenes’ 🐕

To my fellow dog walkers and trainers, I salute you 🫡

20/02/2025

Dora taking the prize for the muckiest pup so far this year 🤎🌧️🙈

14/02/2025

❤️ Unconditional Love: A Valentine’s Day Tribute to Dogs ❤️

This Valentine’s Day, let’s celebrate the purest love of all—the unconditional love of a dog. They don’t care about your flaws, your mistakes, or your bad days. Whether you’re gone for five minutes or five hours, they greet you with the same joyful devotion.

Dogs love us simply because we are theirs. No expectations, no conditions—just loyalty, comfort, and boundless affection. So today, give your pup an extra treat, an extra bit of attention, and tell them you love them. Because their love is one of life’s truly great gifts ❤️

I have spent the week giving out additional cuddles and receiving lots of slobbery kisses in return 💋

11/02/2025

I absolutely second everything Jodie says here! Enrichment is one of the best things you can do for your dogs and their wellbeing 👃

07/02/2025

What a fantastic first week of February! 💙🩵🤍

So many happy pups and even a hint of warmth in the sun ☀️

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! I hope you get to enjoy some quality time with your amazing animals and loved ones! 🥂

05/02/2025

Please be very cautious if you are walking on the beaches 🐕

⚠️ Please be aware that there have been a number of cases of dogs becoming sick, sadly two deceased, after using beaches in Newquay.

Hemlock and palm oil has been washed up along the coast and SWW continue to discharge sewage into the sea (🤬) along with run off from farmers fields - it is advisable not to allow your dog to drink from overflows. There is another outbreak of bird flu so please keep curious doggos away from deceased birds.

Sorry to be the harbinger of doom, but good to be cautious whilst enjoying our beautiful beaches.

02/02/2025

Lovely Odin beautifully modelling his new My Anxious Dog UK Harness. Odin is great with the dogs that he lives with, and others that he knows. However, he can get a bit barky at strange dogs that come into his space. Please please if you have dogs, know people who have dogs, or even just walk where dogs do, spread the word to STAY AWAY from the ones wearing yellow. They could be scared, aggressive, old, in pain, or just grumpy. If you have an anxious/reactive dog, check them out 💛💛

01/02/2025

Please follow Jodie at Trails with Tails. She lost her page and years and years of posts, pictures and followers. She’s a fab local, knowledgable dog walker who has helped me massively starting out 🐕💕

Important Update – New Business Page.

Unfortunately, it looks like I won’t be getting my original social media profiles back. This means I’ve lost all my photos, posts, history, and reviews.

I’m starting fresh, and I need your help! Please take a moment to like, follow, and share my new business page. If you’ve worked with me before, I’d be incredibly grateful if you could leave a review to help rebuild what was lost.

Your support means the world to me—thank you so much.

💖🩵💖🩵💖🩵💖🩵💖🩵💖🩵💖🩵💖🩵💖

31/01/2025

Ending January on a high 🤩

Lots of mischievous dogs this week—I’m blaming the wind and awful weather!

Lots of mud, lots of towels, but plenty of happy pups 😃

Bring on February and longer days ☀️

25/01/2025

Another January week of fun! And I didn’t get rained on once this week 😮😍 ☀️

20/01/2025

💙 BLUE MONDAY 💙

Statistically, today is known as the most depressing day of the year. Yet, I spent it walking 19 dogs (including my own) and every single one of them greeted me with pure joy.

Dogs have this incredible ability to remind us of what truly matters: living in the moment, savoring every second, and letting go of the little things that weigh us down.

They really do bring so much happiness, how privileged we are to share our world with such extraordinary creatures 💙

17/01/2025

The First Fortnight of 2025 🤩 What a lovely start to the year, with 7 new doggos and of course my faithful regulars!
Happy Weekend Everyone 🩷

17/01/2025

😍😍

.secret.dog.walker

15/01/2025

People often ask me if I get tired or fed up of walking, and if I spend my days off relaxing. The answer to both is no 🙂‍↔️
With two young girls and animals of my own, relaxing rarely happens.
My sunny day off yesterday was spent on a big hike with my own dogs and family, followed by another walk with my horse. I also went swimming with my girls and fit a couple of beers in 🍻
Ive never been one to ‘chill out’, I eat and drink far too much for that 🍕😂🫣
So rest assured, it’s just not in me to ever get bored of walking 🐕🚶‍♀️

09/01/2025

What a bloody fabulous day today was!!
A day full of solo training walks.
The sun was out, every single dog behaved impeccably (believe me this rarely happens) and I got to spend good quality one on one time with my own animals too (again a rarity during the week)
I’ve been outside from dawn and finished the day off running in the waves and sitting in the dunes with my boy Mason at dusk. There’s something very special about the light in Cornwall in these cold winter months
🩷 🧡 💛 🩵