“I’ve always been completely obsessed with animals. Both my grandfathers were naturally obsessed and the first memory was sitting on their lap and looking at the animal encyclopedia. ..
When we were young, e had a Yorkshire terrier called Duke. He died when I was 3 or 4 years old. Later, my aunt Labrador Pepsi became my childhood dog.
I myself, my brother, and my cousin were doing a lot of mischief with Pepsi on our side. He was the dog who showed me how great the dog really is.
I’ve always felt like I understand dogs better than people — and they understand me too. While dogs are more emotionally regulated, people have all these social norms and rules.
If I return to school again, I will probably be classified as a neurodivergent. When I was a student, my teachers always said, “Robert is very bright if he just hits himself,” but I was staring out the window, looking at birds, and running in the woods. rice field.
Growing up, I became obsessed with Rottweilers. They were stigmatized and considered bad dogs, which sympathized with me a lot. When I finally graduated from school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I thought I could have a dog.
I begged and begged my mother, and she finally allowed me to adopt a 6-month-old Rottweiler named Bruce.
He was the most cheeky man in the world and was very bold. He was great for me, but so great for my brother. In particular, there was one case in which the entire butt was stripped from jeans while taking a walk in the park.
It’s come to the point where I have to give something, so I registered myself for dog obedience training — not to be a dog trainer, but to understand the blues.
Within 15 minutes of being in the classroom, I had a complete light bulb moment.and Chor, I was vacant and staring out the window, but I was thirsty here.
During the six weeks, I used clicker training to get Bruce to do crazy things. He could open the fridge, close the door, and press a button on the pedestrian crossing — the driver almost crashed the car when he saw him do so!
At the end of the course, I was afraid to sit on the exam. I think I’ve been exposed to PTSD since I was a student. I continued to postpone and postpone, but behold, I got a score of 92pc.
Then, as I went out to the green with Bruce for tricks and training, people approached me and said, “Can you help me?” I think that is the beginning of my career.
Currently, my work includes dog training, walking, and puppy social classes. When I started, I wanted to be not only a dog walker, but also the best dog walker. I charge € 20 for each walk, and sometimes people will say, “Yes, that’s a terrible lot.” However, if you want to become a premium service, you need to charge a premium fee.
I drive a pickup truck and collect dogs from their home. My morning starts with a quick lap of Terenure, Rathgar and Donnie Brook.
Then I hit N11 and play Foxrock, Monkstown and BlackRock. My clients tend to be wealthy people such as lawyers, doctors and judges.
Dog boots have four anchor points. When getting off the jeep, wear a rappelling harness with two large steel clips up to 800 kg. With a safety clasp, there is no risk of anything breaking or the dog loosening.
Looking at a dog walker without proper equipment, and worse, seeing a dog walker removing the dog from the lead can be quite frustrating. Most dogs don’t have good recollections, so if you remove them from the lead, they can cause havoc. That’s probably one of the main reasons I don’t walk around the city anymore.
I was in every big park in Dublin when I started the business, and Covid was both a blessing and a curse in that regard. I was one of the few industries that wasn’t hit by a pandemic. Everyone had a dog, which opened more doors.
At the same time, everyone is now in the park with their dogs and most dogs are untrained. So lately I tend to climb the quiet mountains of Wicklow. There may be only one or two people walking other dogs there. I usually walk 5-10 dogs at a time, depending on the day. My record is 16 dogs at a time. I have to be honest, it looked pretty interesting.
Still, when people take pictures, it really annoys me. I think it’s strange to see a man walking down the road with a lot of dogs, but people take out their cell phones before engaging with me. I’m fine with the person doing it, but since I’m a person, I might say “good morning” first.
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Rob Walsh knows almost immediately if a new dog will settle in his herd.Photo: Mark Condren
Do you have an order for a pack? Yes, the women in the pack always call shots. There are one or two boss ass complaints. I set the parameters and they keep it and make sure the group is clean.
The word “alpha” is often used in dog training, but I totally disagree with that idea.
I think there are dogs that look great and obedient dogs, but they are not always the “top dogs”.
But one thing that human psychology and dog psychology have in common is that there is always a dog underneath, just as there are always poor children who are bullied at school. Many of the dogs in the pack have been with me for a very long time. I knew some of them because they were puppies, and they are now 8 or 9.
I am not accepting a new dog walk client. In fact, I spend half a day moving people away and explaining that the pack is full. However, if there is space in the group, you will usually know if this works within 4-5 seconds of the first interaction.
Be careful when adding new dogs to the pack. Young puppies haven’t developed their social skills yet, so I won’t take them. After seven months, the dogs are mentally ready to join the gang, but each dog is different.
For some dogs, it’s too exciting for them and they can only come one day a week. Other dogs love to be part of the pack and look forward to their daily walks.
We have a very healthy group dynamic and I don’t know if it’s because I’m good or lucky, but I’ve never had a fight within the group.
Never take a stressed dog for a walk. It’s not fun for them and I would get angry if they didn’t have a good time. I sometimes have to tell people that it didn’t work after a walk, and it can really annoy them. Similarly, I had to tell people that they couldn’t train their dogs.
Some people don’t, but as trainers, we have a duty to pay attention to the general public. If a family member or person thinks they can’t have a dog, I have to tell them to consider dog rehoming. That’s the worst part of the job. You have to have some very difficult conversations — and it’s a heavy sh * t.
But still, the good ones far outweigh the bad ones. It may sound cliché, but the most important thing the dog has taught me is that it exists at that moment. And in this era, I don’t think anyone really is at that moment.
People are very stressed, running from A to B and crazy. But taking a walk with your dog is easy, but you are fully present and working on the situation. “
Rob is on Instagram @the_irish_dogfather.
As Katie Burn told me
