Walkies with kat

07/06/2026

🐾 Puppy Walk 1-2-1: The Power of the Randomiser 🐾

We all want our puppies to be friendly and social. The mistake many owners make is allowing their puppy to say hello to every dog and every person they see.

At first it's cute... then they grow up! Suddenly you're dealing with pulling towards dogs, jumping up at people, dragging you across the pavement, or planting themselves on the floor because they expect every dog to come and play.

So from Day 1, we teach our puppies a simple game: The Randomiser.

🎲 Sometimes we play.
🚶 Sometimes we ignore.
👋 Sometimes we say hello.

This applies to both people and dogs.

The key is that your puppy never knows which option is coming next, and permission is always given by you .

By creating unpredictability, your puppy learns:
✅ To focus on you
✅ To walk nicely past distractions
✅ That not every dog is available to play
✅ That not every person wants to say hello
✅ To wait for permission before engaging

Remember, our goal isn't to stop our puppies being social. It's to teach them that being social happens on our terms, not theirs.

The best puppy walks aren't the ones where they meet everyone—they're the ones where they learn how to make good choices around everyone. 🐶💙

05/06/2026

🐾 A huge welcome to our newest Mantrailing teams! 🐾
They started the session looking a little unsure and wondering, "What exactly are we doing?" 🤔

By the end, they were tracking like pros and getting stuck into the game with confidence! 🎉

It's always amazing to watch dogs and handlers grow in confidence as they learn to trust their noses and work together as a team.

We can't wait to see how these teams progress on their Mantrailing journey and celebrate their future successes. 🐕👣

Well done everyone – what a fantastic start! 💙

03/06/2026

🚨 The Dog Escalation Pyramid 🚨

A bite rarely comes out of nowhere.

Dogs often give us lots of warning signs first – yawning, lip licking, looking away, walking away, freezing or growling. When these signals are missed or ignored, behaviour can escalate.

🐾 Listen to the whispers before they become shouts. 🐾 Never punish a growl – it's valuable communication.
🐾 Prevention is always better than cure.

The more we understand canine body language, the better we can support our dogs and help them feel safe. 💙

Have you spotted any of these subtle signs in your own dog? 👇

14/05/2026

Mantrailing is more than following a scent trail — it’s built through learning, motivation, and partnership. 🐾

Using both classical and operant conditioning, dogs learn to love the search while building confidence, resilience, and problem-solving skills. That’s what makes mantrailing such an incredible activity for both dog and handler. 💜

12/05/2026

Sunday’s mantrailing session in Basingstoke gave us a great opportunity to really test our dogs in a rural environment 🌿🐾
This week we used camouflage hides, making it much harder for the dogs to spot their person visually. It was amazing to watch the dogs work right up until the very last second, truly using their noses and problem-solving skills to locate their hidden person.
The session gave us such a good insight into how well people can actually hide and just how determined our dogs are when they stay committed to the trail. Every team worked incredibly hard and it was brilliant seeing the dogs push through the challenges and trust their scent work.
A really fun and rewarding session all round! 💙

11/05/2026

Saturday’s mantrailing session down in Gosport was so much fun! 🌊🐾
This week we worked in a large open space next to the seaside, with hides set near the water adding an extra challenge for the dogs. We had lots of different distractions to work through including sea breezes carrying scent in different directions, undulating surfaces, people passing by, and huge open spaces with very little containment.
The dogs did an amazing job adapting to the environment and working through the challenges with confidence. It was great to watch teams problem solve together and have so much fun while doing it! 🐶💙
Well done everyone who joined us this weekend!

05/04/2026

Happy easter everyone

17/03/2026

Mantrailing Monday was such a great day! 🐾

We had such a laugh out there, but it wasn’t just fun (even though there was plenty of that!). It was a really good opportunity to see how our dogs work in more open spaces and around real-life distractions.

Sometimes those distractions can feel like a setback, but actually they’re where the magic happens ✨ They teach us to slow down, be patient, and really trust our dogs. And when you do… you start to see the positives come through.

Every dog worked so hard, and it was lovely to watch those little wins build into bigger successes 💛

12/03/2026

Hi everyone, I just wanted to pop on and explain why things have been a little quiet from me recently.
They say never to work with animals or kids… well I’ve somehow decided to do both! 😅 I’ve taken on a role working with children, alongside continuing my work with dogs.
Alongside this, we’ve also had some family illnesses which has made things a little more challenging, and it’s meant I’ve had to step back from the business and social media more than I normally would.
Over the next couple of weeks things should hopefully start to settle down, and I’m planning to take a bit of time to focus on getting myself back on track mentally so I can give my business the time and energy it deserves again.
Thank you so much to everyone for your patience, support and understanding while I’ve been a bit quiet. Sometimes life asks us to slow down and focus on family and ourselves for a little while.
I’m really looking forward to getting back to things soon and continuing to do what I love.

07/03/2026