“If you feel there's something out you're supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.”
The beginning
Growing up it is safe to say I was obsessed with dogs but had somehow never thought to work with dogs. At 21, having rescued two dogs, one at this point a young puppy, I decided to start this business which was called Amey’s Dog Services at the time. My thirst for knowledge was insatiable and I spent many years researching and studying as much as possible about dogs, their behaviour and training.
Before making this move, I had been working in an office and struggled daily to find someone reliable and trustworthy to walk my own dogs, let alone look after them for longer periods of time if I needed. After all, putting a member of your family in someone else’s hands and trusting them to look after them as you would yourself is difficult to find.
After being let down again and again, I really focused on turning my dream into a reality by getting my qualifications and starting my own business so that I could give people a service I had missed out on.
I finally became an accredited dog trainer under the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers in 2015 and later joined the Pet Professional Guild and passed the Professional Accredited Canine Trainers qualification.
The Middle…
After a lot of happy clients, I began to grow the team to be able to train others in the way I do things and grow the business. During this time, I developed my skills and expertise I went from two dogs, to three, then after meeting Fabio, my boyfriend who quickly became my partner in both work and life, we added our fourth dog Run.
I had entered the world of dog sport and competed with my second dog Ezra in Competitive Obedience and also IGP which is a three-phase sport including tracking, obedience and protection.
I fell in love with dog sport and continue to do this with my youngest dog Run, focusing on the precision needed for these sports and the beauty of it all.
Since then I have built up the business to be supported by a fantastic team who walk the dogs we care for so that I can more easily split my time and expertise on the dog training side of the business. All of the dog walkers have the added benefit of being trained and viewing the dogs as a dog trainer would do, always aware of body language, communication and mental stimulation.
Until now…
In 2022 after seeing how successful online dog training can be and reflecting on our lives we decided to look at doing things differently. We decided we would move to Portugal, Fabio’s homeland, so that I could obtain residency and we would then be able to split our time between there and the UK and in 2022 that is what we did.
We spent a couple of years sorting residency for me, spending most of our time still in the UK to ensure that it was all running smoothly and more recently we set up Among Dogs PT, a dog hotel, day care and training facility in Portugal so that we can spread the love further and give people in Portugal a place that can give their dogs the love and respect they deserve whilst also helping the rescue dogs here by allowing one room of our hotel to be used for fostering and help for particular charity cases, as well as raising money and helping with consultations in various rescue centres.
As we continue to split our time between the two, we are comfortable that this gives us the best ability to balance family and work whilst helping a large number of dogs in both countries find love, safety and stimulation.
We hope that with our experience, reliability, passion and knowledge we can continue to make a difference to the dogs we meet and give people the tools they need to manage their pets and make their dog-owning experience more enjoyable and less stressful.
