Solo walks and training across the Forest and the Wye Valley. I collect your dog, we walk for a full hour, and I bring them home.
Every booking is a two-hour slot for your household's dogs alone. Travel is inside the slot, so the walk itself is a full hour.
I collect your dog from home and drive to a walk that suits them: open forest, riverside or quiet lanes.
A full hour out, on or off lead depending on your dog's recall. Any training goals get worked on as we go.
Back home, towelled off, fresh water down, and a message to you on how it went.
Group walks often mean four or more dogs at once. I don't do that. Your dog gets my full attention for the whole hour, and I do no more than three walks a day, four or five days a week.
No juggling leads. I'm watching your dog, not a pack.
No strange dogs in the car or on the walk, so there's nothing to set them off.
Recall, loose-lead walking and manners, practised the same way walk after walk.
Your dog gets to know me, and I get to know your dog.
Two-hour slot including pick-up and drop-off, with one hour of walking.
The same slot, with a set training goal we work on each week.
Your dogs walk together. They never share the walk with anyone else's.
I visit you at home first to meet your dog and talk through what they need.
I call in to see your dog at home while you're out or away, including medication and injections if they're needed.
Getting your dog to and from vet appointments when you can't.
Home visits start at £15 a day, depending on how many visits and what your dog needs. Vet assistance is priced on what's involved. Get in touch for a quote on either. Regular weekly walk slots are booked first, so if you want a fixed day, ask early.
I cover the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley, collecting from homes in and around:
Live in a village between them? Ask. If it's on the way, I can usually fit you in.
I'm David. Forest Hounds started because of Lyra, my own dog, who walked these woods with me for years. When she died I didn't want to replace her, but I didn't want to stop spending my days in the Forest with a dog at my side either. So now I walk yours.
I've worked with dogs, and their owners, in Spain as well as here at home.
I'm experienced with large dogs, such as American Bullies and Mastiffs, and with dogs that need medication, including injections.
XL Bullies are welcome. By law they're walked muzzled and on a lead in public, and I'll need a copy of your exemption certificate before the first walk.
I'm fully DBS checked.
Tell me about your dog and I'll get back to you to arrange a visit.