When it comes to wildlife aware dog walking, we believe that dog walkers themselves must lead the way.
We are building a community of dog walkers who are passionate about protecting nature, so that our sensitive ecosystems are around for generations to come. But we are only a small team of dog owners, and we need to hear from you – so we are launching our Dog Walker Survey.
What is in the survey?
Our survey covers everything from how you walk your dog, to your opinions on commercial dog walkers. All the questions are optional and anonymous, just tell us as much as you want to, but the more information you give us the better resources we can create.
We want to get an idea of what the average dog walk looks like, as well as any variations, and we also want to know what people feel about dog walking.
What are we hoping will come out of this?
From guided waggy walks to training guides, we have lots of ideas about how to help dog owners have better walks. Our approach is to give people all the tools they need to keep them and their dogs safe and happy, while keeping an eye out for wild animals and the environment.
Not everyone has access to qualified dog experts and there is a lot of conflicting advice out there, so we try to create clear, informative and evidence backed resources.
We have heard people say they struggle to find new walks, so we are building a list of featured walks, with all the information a dog walker should need before visiting.
We are also working with landowners to create activity trails and safe areas for dogs to play. We would like to make sure there are loads of options and opportunities for dogs to have the best walks, but we are always looking for new ideas.
We also want to make sure we are reflecting the needs and opinions of a variety of dog walkers and, importantly, their dogs! Our dogs all have individual preferences and what one dog loves on a walk may not suit another. Hopefully by collecting these answers we can improve and expand the resources we create and collaborate on.
For example, we have some questions about paid dog walkers and a voluntary commercial dog walker charter. This business is currently unregulated, so we want to work with commercial dog walkers to create a system that will benefit their business while allowing owners choose a dog walker who is going to be more responsible with their pet. The questions in our survey will help us to start these conversations and build the behaviours in the charter.
We want to expand our selection of featured walks, and make sure that they include all the information dog walkers find important. We also want to work with landowners to create new and better spaces for dog walks. And we would love to work with dog focused businesses to help get the best advice out to all dog owners.
How can you take the survey?
Simply use this link to go to the survey.
