People are often surprised that our walkers don’t carry a tennis ball. For a lot of dogs, the ball is the best part of a walk. So why leave it at home?
Getting dogs excited takes no skill
Warren has three young children who love dogs. They can get a group of dogs excited in seconds. There’s no skill in that, and a ball does exactly the same job.
The skill of a good dog walker is controlling the excitement. We think of a dog’s energy on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is completely chilled and 10 is wound right up. We keep our dogs at a 3 or 4. They can jump up to an 8 to play, and then we bring them back down.
A ball creates competition
When one ball goes flying, every dog in the group wants it. That’s when you get chasing, guarding and the odd scrap. We don’t want to give dogs a reason not to get on, so the ball stays at home.
Calm dogs are good company on Hampstead Heath
Our groups share Hampstead Heath with families, runners, cyclists and other dogs every day. A group at a 3 or 4 listens, so when we meet people our dogs are calm. A group at a 9 or 10 won’t calm down just because you ask.
You can read more about how our walks work, or get in touch if you’d like us to meet your dog.