Notley - Walking Client

Donna at Polite Pups Training has been walking our fur baby (and Corgi) Notley for about a year and a half now.   I cannot recommend this company and Donna enough.

 Corgis are herding dogs that need work to keep their minds busy as well as their bodies.   I have had dogs for more than 30 years and walked Notley daily myself.  However, I got ill a year and a half ago and was virtually unable to walk and needed Donna to walk Notley for me.   By hiring Donna, Notley was still able to get his needed exercise.  I have gained some mobility back and can once again walk Notley, but still I can’t give him the long walks with the speed that Donna does.  So even now I continue to have Donna walk him to supplement the exercise I can give him.

Value for my money is also very important to me.  Donna always gives Notley long walks of more than 60 minutes, and I have checked the prices of Polite Pups Training services, and they are extremely reasonable, one of the economical out there.  It’s tough to compare Polite Pups Training’s prices because one of the guiding principles is that Donna works with only one dog at a time.  In my experience this is unique.

Since Notley is very chill about other dogs, and actually gets more vigorous exercise playing with other dogs, I encouraged Donna to feel free to walk him with other dogs.  After Donna had been walking him for a while, she knew how he reacted with other dogs.  So a few times she has found compatible dogs that she has brought along to walk together, despite this meaning extra driving for Donna.  Notley has benefited from playtime with the other dog—he comes home with that satisfying exhaustion that all pet owners know and appreciate.  I know I do!  I really value that Donna was able to listen to my suggestion and found ways to incorporate it into some of Notley's walks.

Another thing I am really aware of about Donna at Polite Pups Training is that she always has time to chat.  We’ve discussed some of the things I have trained Notley to do and how to build on those to train him to respond better.  He’s a puller and a barker (Corgi = barker) in our house and yard with other dogs.  I have been able to implement some of her suggestions so that he no longer pulls as much.  Barking has been a much tougher thing to train, but even in that, we have made positive strides.  I can distract Notley from his barking at the window by encouraging him to play with his ball.

To help Notley with his mental stimulation, Donna has shown me how to make scent games for him to search for food.  She has given him a lick mat (a rubber mat that I can spread liverwurst into the patterns and then leave it for him to keep busy and work to get the yummy stuff out of the mat).  She also brought us a clicker and showed me some videos to help me begin to clicker train him.  She also does mental stimulation on the walks. 

Notley’s recall was very poor before Donna came into his life.  Now he listens almost 100% of the time when I say, “Notley Come”.  I couldn’t believe he was my dog when I first saw the video that Donna had taken of him on her walk when she called him to come!

Donna also sends regular emails with information about dog behaviour and things that dog owners may find useful.  For example, at the beginning of the pandemic quarantine, she sent an email with several suggestions on things we could do to keep our dogs exercised while we were at home.  

Lastly, Donna is well versed in the problematic health issues for different breeds.  Corgis are long-backed dogs that can develop disc problems in their spine and eventually have difficulties walking.  She is always aware of this and does not let Notley jump overly high.  On the odd occasion Donna does take him in her car, she always safely secures him for safety.  Dogs are her passion and she always makes their care and health the priority.

Whenever I hear of anyone having behavioural or training problems with their dogs, I always suggest they contact Polite Pups Training.  I regularly run into other Corgi owners through the Calgary Corgi Meetup Facebook Group that need a bit of help and I know I can recommend Donna at Polite Pups Training with confidence knowing that the owner will have a quality and affordable experience if they do decide to contact them.  Honestly, there is not a better dog walker or care giver for your fur baby out there.  If you need assistance, try Polite Pups Training.

Aileen