Big welcome to this Annex pup who started a few weeks ago and has been such a great addition to our group! Here she is at our local dog park, Ramsden. We love you already, Molly!
Welcome Oli the Rescue Dog
We’re flipping for Oli the rescue dog! This Annex pup had her first dog walk this week and did fantastically. She is starting on private walks with the plan to graduate to offleash dog walks when she’s ready. So far, she’s blowing us away and making gains we weren’t expecting so quickly so … Go Oli!! You rock, sweet girl!
Thank you to Benevolent Beasts for sending this sweetheart over. We promise to love her each and every walk!
Welcome Rudy, the Cockapoo!
Earlier this week, I got an Instagram follow by Rudy’s mom, and I was pumped! I know this lovely lady from outside of the dog park (say what???) and she is awesome. Even better, she wants us to walk her dog. EVEN better still, her dog is this adorable muffin!
Rudy had his first offleash dog walk yesterday at Stanley Park and did SO well. He is definitely born to run and we’re happy to keep on running with him! Rudy, we love you already buddy!
Welcome Yara, the Rottweiler
This precious Christie Pits’ pup started walks this week and has been doing GREAT!! She loves running offleash with her new friends at the dog park, and we love having her out with us. Welcome, sweet Yara!
Picture of the Week: Rosie the Dog Walker
Picture of the week: hands down Rosie, the Havapoo, walking Baymax, the English Bulldog, at Coronation Park. I guess we found our new dog walker already :)! But, really, Rosie is only available part-time so we are still looking … Have a great weekend and enjoy lots of cuddles with your dogs! Woof!
Welcome Olive the French Bulldog
I cannot get over this little munchkin! Welcome Olive!
Not only is Olive ridiculously cute, she is SO good at the dog park. The only issue? Everyone wants to take her home.
Thanks so much to the wonderful Sarah Rix at Kindred Spirits for referring her to us. We will definitely give her the best walk possible and love her each and every walk … with the intention of not dognapping her despite her adorableness! Self. Restraint.
We are Hiring: Offleash, Group Walks; Private/Semi Private On-leash Walks
Woof! We are looking to add 2 dogwalkers to our team.
Please email in our contact form or at katefink375@gmail.com if you are interested and meet the below requirements:
Group walks ($30-$50 hour/depending on route).
Per dog pay based on experience and evidence of ongoing canine education
Requirements:
2 years minimum professional handling experience
Must have a vehicle
Must be R+: no heavy handling or prong collars in our house
Must work well as part of a team, be responsive during work hours, interesting in continued learning about dogs and able to take not just the easy pups
Be available minimum 2-3 hours between 830-230 M-F
Semi-private/private walks- $20-$45/walk
Same as above. Vehicle not necessary but ideal candidate has or is comfortable taking the subway so they can walk in different areas.
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!
Picture of the Week: Fresno, Maebe and Tako
I love this picture of Fresno, the Bernadoodle, Maebe, the Potcake, and Tako, the Shiba Inu taken this week at Stanley Park. It was so great to see the dogs loving the snow. I have to admit, as much as I like the warm weather, there is no better time to be a dog walker than on snowy days. Get her, Fresno!
So long Winston. We loved you, buddy!
Last night, we lost a true champion. Winston, you were the loveliest, sweetest pup. I loved how you’d pop your mouth open when expecting a treat and how willing you were to let us guide you on walks although you clearly had the strength to do whatever you wanted. I told your dad that everyone who walked you loved you dearly and that is so true. We all loved this boy. Winston, you will be missed. You were definitely loved.
Welcome Takoo, the Shiba Inu
Welcome Takoo the Shiba Inu! Takoo is the first Shiba Inu we’ve walked and I couldn’t be more excited to get the ball (finally!) rolling. This loyal and independent breed are great with families and, so far, he’s been nothing but wonderful with ours. This Annex pup had his first walk earlier this week and did really well. Like most young dogs, it will be all about recall for the next while and, thankfully, he’s with the right lady; Traci, his walker, has been dog walking for over 20 years so she knows a thing or two about teaching recall to new dogs (hello high value treats and a long leash). Takoo, we love you already, buddy!
Welcome Zirko the French Bulldog!
This adorable (!!) French Bulldog had his first walk this week and did SO WELL, coming out of his shell quickly at Cedarvale Dog Park. He’ll join fellow French Bulldog, Hercules, on our weekly adventures, no doubt snorting and snoring as only Frenchies can do! We love you already, buddy!
Welcome Poppy, the Aussiedoodle
Big welcome to little Poppy who had an awful case of the Mondays yesterday judging by this picture :) This Yorkville puppy has been training with us for the past month and joined offleash dog walks last week. She is as sassy as she is adorable and a very welcome addition to our group. You can find her running around, zoomies full throttle, at Ramsden Dog Park. Welcome sweet Poppy!
Picture of the Week: Baller
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you have a dog or work with them and know first-hand how much the dogs LOVE the snow. In THIS regard, winter is the most fun time of year to be a Toronto dog walker. In other regards (hello, freezing temperatures and dog parks feeling more like ice rinks than grass) it can be the least.
The dogs don’t seem to mind the ice all too much though :) They’re just happy for the snow. Here’s Fresno, the Bernadoodle, loving life this week at Stanley Dog Park, located in Toronto’s King West area. Clearly, the cold is a non-issue for this ball loving, super social pup!
We love you Fresno!
Stay safe, warm, and, ideally, surrounded by dogs this winter!
Happy First Birthday, Churro!
Birthday Girl!
they say it’s your birthday!
Happy first birthday, Churro! This Seaton Village, Mini Goldendoodle is so much fun to walk; she LOVES to play, is incredibly sweet, and just has a lovely nature through and through. We love you, Churro!
Welcome Maebe the Potcake
I want to extend a big welcome to Maebe the Potcake! This park loving pup had her first walk yesterday and rocked it.! We’re so happy she took a break from the banana stand to join us and can’t wait for more adventures to come. Together, we are working on loose-leash walking and focus (which is very typical for a dog her age) but really she is a freaking rockstar! Maebe, we love you already and promise to give you the best dog walk possible each and every walk.
Best of 2020: Bogey, the Morkie, and Monkey, the Jack Russell Terrier
Best of 2020: Bogey the Morkie and Monkey the Jack Russell Terrier slipping each other a bit of tongue en route to the park. These Annex dogs are truly "amoureux" (in love!!)
Best of 2020: Lucy, the Boston-Terrier French Bulldog Mix, and Oslo the Mini Goldendoodle
I love this picture, taken last spring, of these two Seaton Village pups going bananas at Winston Churchill Dog Park. Lucy and Oslo, we love you!
More Best of ... Action-Fill Dog Walks To Peanut Butter Filled Boards
The month of our best moments of 2020 continues on Instagram with Scrabble, Baymax, Rudy and Beau going wild in the private dog park, Oslo enjoying a Saturday treat during a sleepover, Bowie and Scout getting cozy, and Oakley, Frankie and Beau going wild at Coronation park.
I’m getting so much joy sifting through the best moments from 2020 and hope that you are too! The dogs bring their all each and every walk, so we do too!
If you’re looking for a Toronto dog walker or force-free dog trainer, we are currently accepting new pups in our service areas. If you are outside of our service area, please feel free to reach out; I will always offer to connect you with another force-free walking company that I can vouch for. The city has a lot of great walkers, outliers that shouldn’t be walking dogs at all, and everything in between. If not us, let me help you find someone great so your dog ends up in good hands (and on great walks!) In the meantime, keep loving your dogs and we’ll do the same.
Welcome Tuna, The Saluki-Mix
I’d like to extend a big and belated welcome to Tuna, the Saluki-mix.
This Bloorcourt rescue has been working with us on-foot with the goal of making it to the dog park, which he is on track for!
Working with Tuna is a good reminder that we have to respect our dogs’ comfort levels and help them, not force them, to get them where we want them to be ... because the latter just won’t work. We can put dogs prematurely in the dog park, but we’ll likely end up even more set back than when we started, so we don’t!
Thank you very much to our friends at When Hounds Fly for referring this super special dog to K9 Kate’s. We promise to love him each and every walk!
Best of 2020: The Pictures and the People
2020 was not an easy year at the best of times. Many of us saw our lives upended in various way- we lost our jobs, our health, and the everyday social interactions we all need to thrive.
Through it all, there was this bright spot in the dogs, in their joy as we ventured out to the dog park and in their parents’ pride as they saw their confidence grow or their behaviour (hopefully!) improve,
Throughout the month of January, I’ll be posting highlights from the past year on our Instragram page: @k9katetoronto.
Some of the year’s brightest spots, though, may not be in those pictures so I wanted to mention here. I want to personally thank the walkers and the trainers who help make this company what it is: Mark, Allie, Elana, Joe, Hilton, Traci, and Katherine on the streets, and Natalie and Andrea training the city’s pups using the force free methods we so deeply believe in and advocate for.
I’m grateful to be surrounded by people more talented than me in so many ways, people who will keep K9 Kate’s running as Toronto’s best dog company on at least one more arbitrary list, per year :)
Also, thank you to our incredibly supportive clients, some of whom have been with me from year 1, all of whom I hope will be with us for years to come.
Stay safe and keep loving your dogs!