Alex S.
Alex S.
Highlights
Pet care experience
What can I say? I just love dogs 🐕
Ofqual Level 3 certified I've grown up with dogs my whole life. My parents found Chiefy the stray German Shepherd before they had any human kids. Chiefy was a gentle giant and had a lovely nature and I was blessed to share the first 12 years of my life with him before he passed. We took a doggy break as we couldn't imagine another dog like him, so I got a little black rescue cat called Panther. Panther ruled the home quite frankly, however when Molly the Black Labrador puppy came along, he eventually learned to live in harmony with his new little (big) sister. Fast forward to more recent times and I fostered a rescue greyhound called Jim. Beautiful Jim was a very complicated big lad. He had a lot of fear based anxieties which presented often as aggression, but over a number of months, I worked with him along with an excellent behaviourist (Clare Russell at clareteachingdogs) and he has now eventually been placed in a home where he has adjusted well and is happy and settled. Jim was a steep learning curve for me as he arrived almost completely undomesticated, in quite a poor condition and totally shut down with some minor injuries. However once he found his voice he became a barky boy and we then had to work on finding a happy balance. He learned to walk well, play, follow a routine and some basic commands and most rewardingly and selfishly for me, he learned to accept affection. He was a huge challenge, but an absolute joy as well and I'll forever be proud of the progress we made together. Once Jim left home, I started to help a few of my neighbours with dog walking and dog sitting and as I was working remotely full time (thanks to a certain pandemic), I was able to start doing this more regularly. This has grown over the last few years and I started to gain qualifications and learn more about dogs so that I could take it further as a career. I was pleased to be able to leave my rather mundane full time job and take some part time work instead to run alongside my doggy duties and that is where we are today. I get to spend the majority of my time with my floofy friends and I'm delighted.
Cat care experience
Alex also cares for cats. Learn about their cat-specific care experience.
Qualifications
Ratings and reviews
Jazzy has had another great day with Alex! Alex provides updates and pictures throughout the day so we can see what Jasper is doing!
Alex took fantastic care of Max and Daisy, we could fully relax knowing they were in great hands. Alex went above and beyond to make our pups feel relaxed and happy during their stay with him. We would highly recommend booking with Alex. Thank you so much for taking such great care of Max and Daisy 😊
5 stars + I would have no hesitation in recommending Alex to anyone considering any aspect of dog care. Ollie doesn't really take to strangers but it was obvious after our meet/trial that he liked Alex. Being an older dog we felt it would be better for the sitting to be in our house so that Ollie was more relaxed. Alex was aware that Ollie can occasionally be reactive but this didn't phase him at all, he took time to find out his ways and was happy to administer medication. We were sent pictures and updates throughout the day which put our minds at rest. It is clear Alex loves dogs and really enjoys taking care of them. It has been an absolute pleasure to deal with Alex.
Jasper has had another great day with Alex. Thank you!
Jasper had another great day with Alex. Alex kept us updated on Jasper's activities throughout the day. He would have been happy to stay with Alex!
Echo seemed to enjoy going back to see Alex again she even knew exactly which door was his 😂 Alex was excellent on keeping us updated about Echos stay!
Calendar and availability
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Schedule
I am available for Daycare and walks 8am - 5pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 8am-7pm Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays Boarding is available, but limited at this point to Friday nights & weekend stays which can start on Friday mornings at the earliest until Mondays at 5pm at the latest.
Where your pet will stay
Home characteristics
Safety, trust & environment
I am in a ground floor flat, so stairs aren't an issue here. I have a garden outside, but it is not fully enclosed. I won't let a dog off lead if it is in my care regardless of its recall skills, so any time we are outside, the dog will be on a lead. In my home, I am very relaxed. I prefer to let the dog be where it finds itself most comfortable. Whether that's on the floor, on the couch, on a chair, on the bed, on my lap etc I really don't mind. However if you specifically don't want your dog on the furniture, I'm happy to comply with your requests. If your dog likes lots of cuddles and play, I'm delighted to oblige, but if your dog is a bit more aloof I'm also happy to give it the space it needs. I don't believe in forcing affection. Dogs are entitled to their personal space and I'm pretty good at reading whether a dog wants attention or not. While your dog is with me, be it daycare, boarding or just for a walk, I consider it the dogs time, so I am their loyal servant. I don't believe in punishment of a dog to force compliance/obedience, so will not agree to comply with techniques such as shouting, squirting with water etc. Happy to walk dogs on a lead or a harness and have good experience of both. Also happy to work with a muzzle if required. Jim the greyhound had to wear a muzzle due to his fear aggression, so I'm not phased by these situations. When booking with a time variance, I'll amend the booking request to the earlier drop off time and later pick up time. This takes pressure off of you to rush to drop off/pick up and helps keep me organised and prepared.
A typical day
There are loads of interesting places for dogs to walk near me. For dogs less able there is plenty of flat grass areas nearby, right outside my house and across the road a couple of minutes walk there are some grassy football friends. For dogs who can walk a little farther, there is a park about 10 minutes walk away and also a secluded walking park that is popular with dog walkers if your dog likes a bit of doggy interaction. For the adventure dogs, there are the woods next to the earlier mentioned park that have nature trails and plenty of places and things to sniff and explore. So really any type of dog can have the walk that suits them with me.
Prices include all fees.