Dog walking

Hi Guys, I am new to this & the reason I have joined in is first of all because I absolutely adore the staffie's breed. I had 2 of my own. Hooligan went to sleep last year & the sadness of loosing him is one that will never leave me. Then I had Riot who is now living with my ex due to him being able to spend more time with Riot. I am single & working for about 9 hours a day so having a young puppy & leaving him alone so long would not be fair. However I miss them so much (anyone that has had a staff will understand). Basically I am looking for walking somebody's baby. I can do it every day. If anyone has a suggestion to make I will be happy to hear it. Sandra

Hi Sandra & welcome to the forum.

So sad that you had to let Riot live with your ex, was there no way you could have kept him?

If you're serious about dog walking, why not contact your local rescue centre? They all have loads of dogs needing a good walk, and many, many of them are staffs.

I can understand the ex bit, my ex kept my first dog also as I had to move to mums who had a cat and then I couldn't get her back.

I work 8 hours a day and we make it work between mum/friends/walker have you thought of maybe adopting an older dog if you can walk one once a day? Otherwise as Caryll said contact your local rescue they always need volunteers! Good luck and welcome to the forum

Thanks Caryl I need to look into it. I need to know how far is the rescue from me as the ideal would be to do it after work.
I thought long & hard about what options I had to keep Riot with me. However there was no getting away from the fact that he would have been alone too long. I am still so sad about it.
I thougt rescue did not let people adopting a dog unless they can spend time with them. Is this true? xx

Sandra1972 wrote:Thanks Caryl I need to look into it. I need to know how far is the rescue from me as the ideal would be to do it after work.
I thought long & hard about what options I had to keep Riot with me. However there was no getting away from the fact that he would have been alone too long. I am still so sad about it.
I thougt rescue did not let people adopting a dog unless they can spend time with them. Is this true? xx

They'll sometimes let an older dog go to someone who works all day, provided they can get a little help like a dog walker, say at lunchtime.

Most centres, though, welcome good, staedy people to just walk their kennel dogs occasionally because otherwise they rarely get out of their kennels.

Hi Janey, thanks for suggestion. I did not think rescue would let anyone adopt a dog if they are absent for too long. I do not have any family over here that could help me & the friends I could rely on are also working full time.

I think as a good start Sandra if you have some time to walk Staffies and you can help the rescue out then that makes you an

Please let us know how you get on , you don't have to own a staffy to be on here , to have been licked by one is good enough in my book , though we will settle for "seen a pic". Shame things have worked out for you like this but sure you've got loads of love to give so the rescues will love it

Thanks Dave for the kind words. Reading yr message makes me realise how much I have to give & how much i miss giving it out. Once you have had a staff in yr life its hard to all of sudden being without them. Their inner beauty steels your heart! I miss them so much. They so deserve to be happy. I will defo contact my local rescue. Cant be without staffies in my life

im sure any rescue would welcome you with open arms to walk their dogs,your so right in what you say about having a staffy in your life,let us know how you get on

I will Stella. Thanks for the support

It may be worth going along to your nearest rescue centre and having with them there. They well come up with other suggestions that we have not even thought of.

Good luck with it.

Hi and welcome from us and Suki. I also think a rescue center would be able to help you out.

Definitely have a chat with a rescue, the centre that I work at's dog walking hours are between 10-12 and 1-4.30 but unsure if all are the same. We always need people walking our staffies as most people just want to take the little pretty ones out, i'm sure any rescue would welcome a fellow staffie enthusiast with open arms good luck!

Welcome, definitely check out rescue centres I was lucky and matched to Ledger who had previously been left for long periods by previous owners and was ok to be left he sleeps through on nights and he has won my parents over so stays with them when I'm on early shifts but I am also looking at getting a dog walker so I don't have to rely on my parents so much.

As for just walking there are alot of adverts around here at the moment looking for volunteers for the cinnamon trust looking for walkers/fosterers for the elderly

Agree with everything above ... and good on ya Sandra for wanting to have a staffy still in your life but in a correct and responsible way ... as Caryll said, ya never know, you get lucky and be able to rehome an older boy or girl thats just happy to sleep most of the day, and be your best buddy and shadow when ya get home ???

Sandra, I'm in a similar situation.
Here's what I did:
Drove to my local rescue, introduced myself, brought loads of ID and stuff, took a few dogs for walks as a dog walker, then made it known I would like to do short term fostering.
I now collect a dog at the end of the week and keep him until Sunday evening.
This might not seem of much use as it's only for a few days at a time, but the upshot is the dogs get a break from the kennels, you quickly get to see what the dog is like in a house, and that information goes a long way towards getting them rehomed.
The rescue should start you off with the "easiest" dogs.
It's something you, too, can learn a lot from.
I've fostered six in the past couple of months - three have now been rehomed - partly due to the home assessment. I'm hopeful my current foster will be rehomed today, as well.
Really fulfilling.