Willow's Walks and Dog Services

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Willow's Walks and Dog Services

Willow's Walks and Dog Services Christopher McKeown (MGoDT) Dog Trainer and Behaviour Consultant in Welshpool, Mid Wales. Certified and Award Nominated.

*PBI Insured*
*Level 3 Award in Canine Emergency First Aid*

Willow's Walks and Dog Services provide dog walking, training and socialising (including group socialising and pack walks) in Welshpool, and drop-in visits for your canine companions. Some of my services include:

* Dog Walking
* Dog Training
* Drop-in visits (includes feeding, interaction and toileting)

Incorporating Reward Based Trai

ning, my aim is to meet the emotional and mental needs of the dogs that I support, as well as making sure that what motivates their breed is also being encouraged in recreational ways. When you strip away basic obedience training and teaching dogs to behave in a way that you desire, the training I essentially provide is about helping you learn more about your dogs than they learn about you. They're a non-verbal animal that still communicate in so many amazing ways, and it's our responsibility to learn how to understand that so that we can make sure their needs are being met before expecting them to engage in ways that we prefer. I don't work towards "fixing bad dogs", I work towards helping you understand what your dogs are expressing to you and towards their environment. The idea that a dog is bad is driven by our own dislike of a dog's behaviour, but it doesn't determine that a dog deserves that label. That's the stigma I aim to break with my clients. When you understand your dog's needs and what they're communicating, you can help them overcome obstacles that are expressed through various behaviours. Prices vary depending on services you would like provided. All services are centred around each individual animal and to ensure that their needs are met and that they achieve fulfilment.

03/02/2025

We had fun adventures in Forden today! The whole gang enjoyed group walks that included my cherubs, but Cirilla and Brahms have quickly forged a special friendship! 🐾

03/02/2025

Today I focused on settle work (relaxation training) with this beautiful girl, and I was so impressed with how well she behaved in the environment.

I have been focusing on lead walking with Jacs, as well as counter-conditioning and desensitisation to reduce her nerves around other dogs in social settings. She has been engaging so well time and time again, and it was clear that she was ready to take a step further.

It's a big deal for a nervous dog to relax in a confined space, busy with people, other sights, sounds and smells. Jacs was excited to see the staff at Costa Coffee in Welshpool, but once we sat at our table, her tail was tucked beneath her and her ears pinned back as she sat down.

It was important to give Jacs the opportunity to take in her environment and to relax, which was rewarded. When working with a nervous dog, settle work can help to reduce anxiety and improve engagement in an environment that would otherwise be stressful for them without continuity. For naturally high-energy breeds like Jacs, it can also help them regulate their energy and calm down after being in an excitable or stressful situation.

I worked at Jacs' pace, and if the environment was too stressful for her then I would have removed her and created a plan to strip things back that would help her relax in social settings. However, it didn't end up taking long for Jacs' curiosity to take over. Her tail started to stick out, her ears perked as she took in the sounds and her eyes followed what was going on around her. She explored the space around our table, and she actively checked in with me which was rewarded. In order for Jacs to feel comfortable enough to relax in her environment, getting to know it first was important.

Jacs started to relax and stay close to me, and after a while she became a little bit cheeky and attempted to take some treats from my pouch! Something spooked this beautiful girl, and she let out a bark while looking away from our table. I held back with Jacs and waited to see that she was starting to somewhat relax again, reinforcing her calm behaviour.

Once it was established that Jacs was starting to relax again, I moved to a table facing the direction that she was looking towards when she barked. There was nothing in the cafe that looked like a potential trigger to my eyes, par the awning fabric outside that was being challenged by the wind, which could have very likely been a trigger. Nevertheless, I sat with Jacs and reinforced her calm behaviour before we left for a walk to help her decompress.

Jacs is continuing with training to proof the behaviour we have been working towards, and we have objectives yet to meet that will introduce her to socialising amongst chosen dogs in quieter, spacious environments. She has come a long way for a young high-energy breed who was typically a nervous girl, and the hard work her human is putting in away from our sessions is evident 🐾

01/02/2025

🐾 PROFESSIONAL DOG TRAINING 🐾

Applying Positive Reinforcement and Reward-Based Training to cover obedience, house training, socialisation, reactivity, aggression and other behavioural objectives during 1:1 or group settings.

Contact Chris for more details.

Email: [email protected]
Call: 07904144357

Illustration by Digitalis Dog Illustrations

31/01/2025

I have some dates/times available while some clients are away in February. Get in touch to book a training session, a walk or a drop-in visit for your canine companions! 🐾

Monday 10th February 12 pm (TAKEN)
Tuesday 11th February 10:45 am
Monday 17th February 12 pm (TAKEN)
Tuesday 25th February 10:45 am

29/01/2025

Here are some of the beautiful faces I've had the privilege of working with over the past few days!

I have a neglected camera roll of photos that I haven't posted... 🫣 but I have had a busy time with meet and greets, new sessions and planning new adventures that will be advertised when the details are finessed.

29/01/2025

Branwen and Brahms are very lucky to be joining Evans' Happy Hounds' group walks!

I've been very fortunate to become friends with some fantastic people amongst dog walkers, trainers, groomers and veterinarians. Both of my dogs instantly connected with Alice, and I've had the pleasure of working with Paul which I'm sure we'll do again! 🐾

27/01/2025

Thank you for being so patient as we work our way through messages. We've had a lot of requests come our way over the past week, and it's looking like it's going to be a busy year for us with lots of adventures!

We're currently booking in walks and home visits for both myself and Laura over coming months, and I have new training clients starting from this week!

The only additional space for training that I have at the moment is a Friday morning throughout February and March unless you pre-book set sessions.

26/01/2025

Branwen and Brahms ❤️🐾

Brahms has quickly caught up with Branwen, and he’s still growing! He’s been the perfect little helper today with joining clients to help achieve objectives, while Branwen has slept after fun adventures this morning with their friends!

21/01/2025

In case you missed the video I posted, my beautiful walking buddy Gerry (right) and my own handsome boy Brahms (left) have formed the ultimate bromance! ❤️🐾

21/01/2025

Tyson was a star during his training session!

We have moved to an earlier time so Tyson has more exposure to stimuli, and his beautiful sister Connie will be joining plenty of his future sessions. The progress this champion has made was really evident today.

Right at the beginning of our session Tyson expressed a squeal followed by some gnawing on the lead when we encountered a dog, followed by a little bit of gnawing on the lead when we got onto the high street and he spotted another dog. This behaviour quickly dissolved following a few more gnawing attempts, but Tyson instantly listened to the "leave" command going forward.

Tyson very quickly adjusts to other dogs within close proximity and a few minutes of parallel walking, and he also succeeds when there is plenty of distance between him and other dogs. However, there's an in-between point where Tyson can struggle. It's no longer a consistent struggle, but it's still there (around the distance of a single track road).

Today we started to tackle that challenge, and OH MY GOD!!! The results were incredible! This was all driven by positive reinforcement and consistency. There was no shying away despite some funny looks, and a really critical glare from a bystander during those initial lead-gnawing attempts.

We used the length of the busiest part of Welshpool high street, walking up and down (repeat, repeat, repeat) as I exclaimed "Yes!" when Tyson calmly watched other dogs followed by a reward, working towards reducing the reward and focusing on praise. This resulted in Tyson walking opposite some dogs without a marker word or a reward, which enabled me to see that Tyson's negative emotional response was reducing. The fact that we ended our session with Tyson completely ignoring a dog on the other side of the street is a huge deal. With this particular dog, we even sat on a bench opposite (earlier on in the session) as he looked at the other dog and looked back at me without a reaction - leaving the bench not because Tyson started to react, but because I decided it was time to get moving again!

There was a duo of Spaniels that I could see were causing Tyson to pant and express wide eyes as he started to become overwhelmed and stressed. He was really trying his best not to react, and the most he did was some lead pulling which reduced and stopped by the last encounter with them, and we were able to walk opposite the dogs with Tyson being rewarded when we'd completely passed them and he didn't react or pull on the lead (an easy way to reinforce the wrong behaviour when we're not focusing on all the small details that lead up to a potential reaction).

I'm not done! On our walk home, we encountered that first dog that Tyson squealed towards followed by gnawing on his lead. This time, he started to pull when he saw the dog. I utilised the clicker to break his fixation and then I threw down a scatter feed facing the dog so that Tyson still had full view. He was lifting his head to look at the dog and then chose to eat the treats instead of reacting. When he'd finished eating, the dog was still in sight but Tyson just watched it walk away, therefore preventing the potential of him reinforcing his behaviour and not ending our session the way that it started.

Please have compassion for reactive dogs and their owners and/or trainers. The way a certain somebody looked at him today broke my heart. We (humans) all have fears with more resources to help overcome them than dogs do. While the methods used in positive reinforcement and reward-based training are simple, each dog's mind is different in regard to what makes them tick and what makes them terrified. Hold hope and love in your heart for them. If you have the opportunity to throw judgement, then you also have the opportunity to have compassion.

21/01/2025

Gerry was joined by Brahms during his walk today, and it's safe to say that they've formed the ultimate bromance! They enjoyed off-leash madness! 🐾

20/01/2025

We had a fun time in Forden today! The whole pack enjoyed outdoor adventures, finishing with Stormzy and Nyx who were joined by Branwen!

The narrative of this photo is as follows...

Stormzy: "Sheep!" 🐑

Nyx is in her own little world, no narration is needed for that cherub!

Branwen: "Look at Laura, you guys! If we all look at the same time we'll get something tasty!"

20/01/2025

Mabel said "AAAAAAAGH IT’S MONDAY!!!" along with some other choice words that I dare not repeat. Thankfully I'm immune from the Monday Blues with a job like mine. Come hell or high water, if there's a dog then I'll be there!

18/01/2025

Yesterday I had the privilege of pet sitting my four legged friends in Forden! Stormzy was the best cuddle buddy, and this little white cloud with legs is the newest member of the pack! I enjoyed spending time with her. She looks like butter wouldn't melt, doesn't she? 🥹🐾

17/01/2025

HOUND, HOOF AND HOME
Professional Home & Animal Services and Sitting 🐾

BOOKING DIARY OPEN FOR 2025/2026.
My diary is filling up fast-thank you so very much!

•Fully and comprehensively insured.
•Canine First Aid & CPR Qualified.
•Extensively experienced with dogs, cats, small animals, equines, farm animals, poultry and exotics.
•Experienced with reactive, nervous, elderly and rescue animals.
•Fantastic personal and professional references available.

Offering bespoke services tailored to your animals and home, including but not limited to:

•Animal Sitting
•Dog walking - regular and adhoc
•Drops ins
•Day sits
•Long term sitting
•Light home maintenance cover/housekeeping
•Smallholding sitting
•Equine yard cover
•Pet transportation/chaperoning
•Wedding care/chaperoning
•Canine/Pet photography sessions

•I am able to offer 24/7 company and care if required-this is my full time job so your animals are always my priority.

•Covering Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Oswestry, Newtown, Telford, Newport and all surrounding areas. I cover nationally also, but travel fees apply.

Please pop me a message if you’re interested or would like some further information.

Shares always appreciated🥰

Roo xx

15/01/2025

Dogs of all ages are welcome to join our social walks, taking place in Welshpool at 12 o'clock and utilising local walks as well as social stimuli (high streets, public dog friendly parks etc) to allow your canine companions the opportunity to fulfil their natural social needs as pack animals in settings that also help them succeed as domesticated companions.

Not only that, but we will actively work on desensitisation around social stimuli, and neutrality work in described settings to reduce behaviour presented by dogs who are usually overstimulated, as well as engagement work to help shape your dogs' focus on you in a public setting.

The cost of these walks are £15 per dog (lasting up to an hour per walk). While nervous dogs and excitable dogs are also welcome, companions who are dog or human reactive/aggressive are not suited to these walks and I recommend 1:1 training before attending any kind of group setting.

14/01/2025

Nellie is one clever puppy! 👏🏻🐾

Following a successful initial training session, I now have the pleasure of exploring Nellie's behaviour in social settings, with lead walking and with recall training.

Today we focused on recall training, and she was the most engaged girl. I'm every dog's biggest cheerleader, and I particularly utilise that energy during recall training. It's so important that when you want to motivate your dog to make the decision that you want, that you communicate to them with your whole spirit and to not shy away from showing them how big of a deal it is that they choose you!

14/01/2025

Bailey was a fantastic boy during his training session yesterday as we focused on settle work!

His engagement with the "place" command and utilising the settle mat have definitely been paying off. We were briefly joined by a gentleman who wanted to discuss... you guessed it - dogs! Bailey initially attempted to gain our new friend's attention with his paws, but his attempts were ignored and I prompted him to place his paws on the floor. Within a couple of minutes Bailey gave up and returned to the settle mat.

While he has 1:1 training, his brother also joins some of our training sessions to explore their behaviour together when walking on the leash. With how well Bailey engages with me, I'm always looking forward to seeing how he progresses 🐾

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Gerry was joined by Brahms during his walk today, and it's safe to say that they've formed the ultimate bromance! They enjoyed off-leash madness! 🐾

Santa's litter helpers (those letters can be rearranged to reveal a different man they might like to help out at times) were giving their all for some treats, mid-photoshoot 🐾🎄

Branwen and Brahms stepped back from their cherub duties yesterday and impersonated a pair of hooligans! There's nothing better than finishing my day with these two ❤️🐾

These video clips don't even capture a fragment of the joy I feel when I'm spending time with the Barnett Pack, and Branwen the honorary Poodle! The girls are currently splayed out sleeping. I think all the playing has finally caught up with them! 🐾

Mabel started learning the "back" command during her drop-in visit today, and her brother Enzo has learned "high five" and will soon be learning "wave" 🐾

Stormzy was too fast for Nyx and Branwen today! He was the ultimate ball master and nobody could compete against him ⚡️🐾

Well that's another win for Stormzy! 🐾 The beginning of today's session focused on what Stormzy enjoyed, which included off-leash fun and utilising new tug toys to channel his innate behaviours in a recreational way. Then he decompressed by getting his nose down with some relaxing scatter feeds before we focused on our objective. Today's objective with this handsome boy revolved around relaxation training. During my last solo session with Stormzy, we utilised an outdoor space for the same objective, and today we went indoors. The difference between outside vs inside spaces for relaxation training is confinement, hence why utilising outdoor areas with more space to move about are ideal settings compared to indoor areas where that freedom is massively reduced. We occupied a table at The Bay Tree in Welshpool, and Stormzy was exceptional. There were already tables taken by other people with one including an active child that made use of the limited space. While Stormzy calmly took in his environment, his focus naturally gravitated back towards me. He relaxed enough that we exceeded the initial amount of time I planned on spending inside, which was 20 minutes. We ended up spending 30 minutes in the lovely establishment, and by the time we did leave, the other customers had already paid their bills and braced the rain outside. We utilised our chosen spot because it's a space Stormzy's humans would like to take him to in the future, and now we can take him together so I can demonstrate what worked in helping him to relax around stimuli that was once alien to him. Starting with burning off energy through off-leash fun and engaging in activities that help him express his natural behaviours, to decompressing and helping him enter a relaxed state of being before embracing the objevtives, everything that helped Stormzy succeed today will become part of a structure that will help that success continue... and then some! 🐾

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