A Professional, Friendly, Reliable and Ethical Dog Walking and Training Service

Bark and Stride was established in 2014 and is run by Sammi, who has over 35 years experience of owning and walking dogs.  Prior to becoming a Professional Dog Walker, I worked with children, young people and their families in a variety of settings, after gaining my BA Degree in Youth and Community Work, in 2004.

I spent over 20 years continuing my professional development and was trained in several Parenting Programmes. You may be thinking, “What’s this got to do with dogs?” I have to point out that there are so many similarities between how the human and canine brain function, dogs also share the same hormones which have an affect on their emotional state that can affect behaviour.

Since starting group walks I have developed more than just an interest in canine behaviour and have graduated from The Dog Trainer Certification Program with The Dog Training College (DTC). The course has been incredible and has opened my eyes to a much wider world of Dog Behaviour and how dogs learn.

I like each dog to have an enjoyable positive experience. This is something that takes a lot of careful planning, introductions and is about me knowing the dogs in my care. As in a similar way people don’t always get on, the same is true of dogs. Therefore, the groups have to be carefully matched. I have to take into account, gender, breed, size and maturity of each dog.  We then have to find out what area of the van the dogs like to travel in.

I am a Canine Body Language Specialist, a Puppy Training Certified Specialist, a Reactive Rascals Specialist and trained to deliver the Puppy Lab Programme with The School of Canine Science (SoCS). I have a passion for helping reactive dogs after living with a rather large one, Oscar.  I like to find ways to help them gain confidence and be more comfortable in themselves. I use positive reward and do not believe in physical or emotional punishment. I focus on the behaviour I’d like and reward it, and by building a positive calm relationship with the dogs.

I am also trained as a ‘Canine First Responder’ and able to give first aid if the need arises.