We got in touch with our Dog Walking friends to get to know their businesses, we quizzed 5 professional Dog Walkers to find out a little more about them and their amazing jobs! In PART ONE we got to catch up with Amy and Sophie - you can read more here. In Part 2 we caught up with The Woof Pack managed by Saz & Milo!

The Woof Pack | Facebook

Meet Saz and get to know the owner behind Woof Pack services, a professional dog walking service with assistant Milo, a Jack Russel Terrier (pictured on van!)

Location: covering East Lothian in Scotland

How Did you get into Dog Walking?
I grew up on a farm with working dogs and family dogs (Border Collies , Jack Russell Terriers and a Doberman x Retriever) and was a super outdoorsy kid. It was always my dream to be a dog walker but stuck to more “mainstream” jobs in retail & business banking through lack of confidence I could be successful as a Professional Dog Walker.
I hit 30yrs old and had a bit of a lightbulb moment : “why am I wasting my life in jobs that give me zero satisfaction and I just wait for payday to make them seem worthwhile”. I also by this time, had Milo and HATED spending approx 10hrs a day away from him and paying for a doggy daycare to look after him. 

Luckily, my job at the time as a Business Manager for a Bank, meant I was able to go part time and set up The Woof Pack. Within 6 weeks, I was in the fortunate position of being able to say I could go at it full time and by some coincidence, the day I was going to hand my notice in to the bank, was the same day they communicated I was being made redundant. FATE OR WHAT?!

What type of services do you offer?
Group Walks only. This can be anything from 4-8 dogs of all breeds, sizes, natures!

What does your day to day schedule look like?
6am (early riser) - wake up and flick through the usual social media pages 😂
Then it’s right out for Milo’s first walk of the day. He’s a super active wee guy (just turned 5yrs old) so normally has 5-6 walks a day and in between these….has a tennis ball in his mouth!
7.30am-8am - Cup of tea, toast and check diary for the day (although it’s ingrained in my head….the OCD in me checks and checks again). Sort keys for the dogs I’ll be collecting with no owners in, full up the treat bag and check the vans sorted for what that day needs. This is basically things like towels/drying coats for rainy days or beach trips, bottles of water & water bowls, poo bags, cooling mats.
8.10am-8.50am - out in the van and collecting the doggos for group walk 1 of the day! Milo always sits shot gun and knows all the streets the dogs houses are on. He always gets super excited at a couple that are where his wee besties live! 
9am-10am - usually out on group walk which can be at beach, woodland areas, fields etc! Some of these are little hidden gems and we meet next to no-one (other than some other PDW we know) or they can be slightly busier places where there’s more general public. I’m really lucky all my groups are well behaved pups & they can go to any location and behave accordingly…..minus the odd wee slip up (dogs will be dogs!)
10am-10.30am - Drop off Group One and pop in to see our only Home Visit for a quick 20-30mins.
11am - Start collecting Group Two whilst drinking a bottle of water/can of monster and maybe a wee cheeky biscuit or packet of sweets!
11.45-1.00pm - Group Walk Two. Our walks are 1hr minimum but some days I’ve seen us be out for longer because we lose track of time/really enjoying the walk!
2.00pm - Me and Milo are home for the day. He gets a tennis ball out and I go to the gym!
4.00pm - Chill time. I don’t normally have lunch but after walking anything between 10-12miles and going to the gym, I can be a little peckish. Light snack and LOTS more water and probably another cup of tea!
6.30-7.00 - Milo’s last walk of the day. This is usually super chill and just up to the park next to our house. He would happily take his ball up and have it chucked around but I tend to hide them and just encourage a walk and a sniff. He needs to relax and decompress after a busy day with up to 12 other dogs!
8.00pm - Shower, Dinner & social media check! Probably have telly on in the background but usually concentrating more on what new bits I can get for Milo or trying to get more interactions on his Instagram page!
10pm - BED! Always in bed early which is why I’m probably up so early in the morning!

Tell us your must haves when walking?
Clip leads and slip leads for ALL dogs I have out. You never know when you might be in a situ where you need to lead up the whole pack!
Poo Bags….for obvious reasons!
Vet Wrap! I learned in my K9 first aid training that this can be used for SO many different injuries/accidents and not just on dogs!
Treats. Lots of treats! The dogs I walk must have good recall but everyone has their off days and sometimes the treats get a quicker reaction than me calling on them!
A gun-dog whistle. Some dogs respond to whistles rather than their name being called!

Whats the best part of your job? 
Ohhhh - I’m not sure there’s a single best part.
One is that I get to spend my whole day with my own boy, Milo. We have a ridiculously amazing bond and genuinely are miserable to even be apart for a few hours. But secondly - the love I get from all my dogs. I’ll never be bored of the excitement from them when I pick them up, the slobbery kisses or bruises on my legs from their happy paws jumping at me!

And the worst part of the job?
Losing a dog. I’ve (fortunately) been in position of losing some dogs that have moved away from my area or the owners circumstances have changed and they don’t need a walker any more. I cry like a baby every time and even well up thinking about the dog months after they’ve left! It’s cheesy but each dog genuinely makes a wee pawprint on my heart and it’s never filled when they go.
There will be the day I know I lose a dog through ill health/getting old or an accident and I DREAD it. I always feel like it’s something I just won’t get over!

If you weren’t a dog walker what job would you have/like?
Working with rescuing animals. Whether it be in SSPCA or a rescue centre. I’d love to be partly responsible for saving/rehabilitating and rehoming an animal into a new loving home!