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HIRING OUR SECURE FIELD
Hi everyone, just a little update. I know there has been alot of confusion regarding whether we are allowed to drive to exercise our dogs. It seems there has been some confusion and misinterpretation from police who have been over zealously stopping people and giving out fines. They have now been told that it is an acceptable reason to take a short trip in the car for exercise as long as people are being sensible. Many MPs across the UK have also now ...confirmed that the use of private hire fields should be encouraged as a way of providing a safe isolated area for dogs to be walked without coming into contact with anyone else - especially those whose dogs have issues. The top judge on law has also stated that people are not breaking the rules by traveling in a car to exercise and that it is merely guidance. I've messaged South Wales police who have said that they will only advise people should they be stopped so as long as you have a genuine reason (of which your daily exercise is), you won't get a fine. Therefore, Wagswood will continue to be available for hire during this time. Should you be stopped by police, show them your booking confirmation and all should be well. If you have any issues please let me know. If anyone wants to start using Wagswood who hasn't joined or done an induction yet, please message me privately - I have created an induction video so it can be done without contact. There is a link in the comments to our members group. For anyone using the field, please remember to wear gloves at all times to reduce the chance of infection from touching the gates :)
https://www.theguardian.com/…/uk-police -reissued-with-guida…
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Scatter Feeding A little activity to keep your dogs busy during this time. This really helps with mental stimulation and using their sense of smell. Will add some more ideas over the next few days :)

Here's the next video on ears, eyes and bums. I would add that if you haven't got some already, it's worth purchasing some Thronit/Canker powder which can be bought on Amazon. It's a brilliant prevention for ear mites or other infections. I clean my dogs ears out once a week with a wetwipe as shown in the video and then put a pinch of Thornit/Canker powder around the entrance of the ear, flip the ear over and rub so the powder works it way down. This will keep ears dry and help prevent any infections and save a trip to the vet :)

So bragging rights for our first picture competition goes to Nala for this sneezing classic! Caught with perfect timing 😂
Our next theme is.... Weirdest sleeping position! Let's see your pics in the comments below :)

Hi everyone, hope you are all staying safe (and sane!) Here is the second video and the most important one. Particularly those with 'poo/doodle' breeds (cavachon, cockerpoo, cavapoo etc) If you follow this advice, this will maintain your dog's coat until I'm back up and running which hopefully won't be too long! Please don't be tempted to buy clippers and try yourself at this point, it's SO easy to cut and cause a nasty injury if you don't know the correct techniques and dire...ctions for clipping , and we don't want an influx of vet trips at this current time when they are already in limited services. If you follow these videos and advice, you will be able to keep your dogs coat in good condition until they can have a full groom again :) As always if you have any concerns or questions whatsover, please let me know, comment below the video if you're unsure of something or feel free to message me privately x
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https://www.facebook.com/221365491355578/ posts/1574475646044549/

Hi everyone, I planned to do some videos for guidance to help you all manage your dog's coat until I can start grooming again. But a lovely fellow groomer has beaten me to it and kindly let me share hers with you. I hope they will be of help to you, any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Will also post a diagram and some extra advice for priority brushing in my next post :)

Just wanting to have something a little more positive on here so its not all doom and gloom! So I thought I do a little photo challenge every couple of days, just for fun and bragging rights. Whoever wins can be our 'cover dog' for that time :) Would love to still see your dogs even if we can't be with them. So here's the 1st challenge. Post a pic in the comments of your dog pulling their funniest face, whichever picture makes us laugh the most wins! Bonus point if you make me so hard I wee myself! 😂😂😂

Thanks so much for bearing with us at this awful time. Reality is really hitting home now with so many going into lock down to try and combat the spread of virus.
As it currently stands, all grooming is suspended for the time being as this is classed as a non-essential service. I will do a separate post on advice for grooming during this time and am available if anyone has any concerns or needs advice. I'll get a video up with a little tutorial for correct brushing methods sh...ortly.
Our Dog's Days Out are temporarily suspended but we continue to keep updated with the guidelines provided by the government and will let you know of any change.
Boarding/Extended Daycare If anyone is in a situation where your dog may need care during this time, after seeking advice from the Local Authority, they are happy for us to continue our boarding service to support key workers who may need it if they are working extended hours and dogs will be left at home for long periods. There may be situations where owners need to go into hospital or those unable to take care of their dogs for various reasons in the coming weeks so if you have concerns for caring for your dog and we can help with boarding, please get in touch. Strict non contact procedures will be adhered to in these cases.
Our secure field is still open at present for anyone who wants to hire it privately ensuring you have a safe space away from the public for dogs to have a good run. Whilst non-essential travel is being discouraged, both question and answer sessions on the BBC news today suggested that taking a drive somewhere away from others for exercise is a good thing as your daily outing so we will continue to open until guidelines change. I've no doubt many of us feel safer in a private space than public areas right now! We will definitely be making the most of it :)
If anyone has any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us and we'll do all we can to help. Thank you all so much for your messages of support and encouragement. We are already missing our furry friends and just hope we can turn the tables on this and get back to normal ASAP. Stay safe x x
Wagswood Dog Park https://www.facebook.com/groups/540960980 056444/
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I am still awaiting confirmation of exact guidance details from the council. It looks like other councils/police/insurance may let us continue to support essential key workers and vulnerable people during this time from speaking to other pet professionals in different areas. I will confirm once I have heard from our own council and business insurance.
In the mean time I will post any advice or guidance relating to your dogs that I think are important or relevant during this time x

Hi everyone, apologies for not getting back to you sooner for those who have asked about us continuing services after the government announcement tonight. I wanted to make sure I was as informed as possible before making a decision.
Please bare with the long post.
I'll be completely honest, after reading everything I can on it and looking at what others are doing, I am still confused on the exact legalities and guidance we are being given. Morally, as a collective, we should ...all be cutting down on non-essential services to help slow down the spread of the virus and do all we can to protect vulnerable groups so many other dog business providers such as groomers have shut straight down from tomorrow. This was my initial reaction as want to do all we can to be responsible and protect as many people as possible. But the government is putting things in place to do all they can to support front line workers so they can continue their vital work. Whilst many of our customers will be working from home and are able to take care of their dogs at the moment, there will be keys workers doing longer hours than ever, who would consider our help essential so they can carry on knowing their dog is well cared for. And I know I personally can't bare the thought of a dog home alone for 24hrs as mum is a nurse stuck at the hospital or an owner goes into hospital and is unable to take care of the dog. The government hasn't said anything specific for animal care providers. We are going to find out tomorrow where we stand legally and with insurance on carrying on a limited service for those really need us. We may be able to provide boarding or daycare for those in need of our services as this may be classed as us working from home (with strict non contact measurements in place). If you'll please bare with us, we will reschedule all of tomorrow's grooming and Dog's Days Out (but please contact us if you are booked in and your dog will be home alone) while we make further enquiries tomorrow and keep you updated once we have clarified everything.
We still have the field at Wagswood which is available for private hire for those looking for somewhere isolated to exercise their dogs away from members of the public. We will put precautionary measures in place, gloves, disinfected gates, space between bookings etc so it will be as safe as possible. We will arrange for those who normally come to our Dog's Days Out and are continuing to pay for walks if we are not able to provide the service, to have a slot to use the field instead as a thank you so you can take your dogs there if you'd like to :)
Once we know more, we will let you know and thank you for bearing with us and all being so supportive during this time. Please all stay safe and well, and give your dogs a massive cuddle from us, we're missing them already x x x
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Muddy March Madness

CORONA UPDATE - a few bits to help us 'Keep Calm and Carry On'
Just wanted to say a massive thank you, particularly to our walking customers for all your support and kind words over the last few days. As you can imagine, this is a very scary time for us as we are self employed so those of you who are working from home and continuing to pay or use our services are really helping to keep us afloat during this difficult time. We can't thank you enough! We will continue to opera...te as normal for as long as possible. For anyone working from home or self-isolating as precaution, we will continue our Dog's Days Out Service. But if anyone in your household is showing any signs of illness, please inform us and we will discuss your situation individually. We are carrying gloves and sanitiser, taking extra precautions with cleanliness between pick ups and keeping contactless wherever possible.
For anyone coming to the house for grooming or dropping off/collecting dogs, to minimise contact further, can I ask that you bring your dog to the gate at the bottom of the drive, remove their collar/harness and lead and send them through the gate and I will receive them on the other side (and chat at distance! 😂) I'll then spray the gate once you've left. That way we can continue as normal as safely as possible.
If anyone is able to send payments via PayPal or bank transfer rather than cash at this time, that would be a great help too to keep contact to minimum.
Hope you are all keeping well and safe. If anyone is self-isolating and needs any help with anything during this time (doesn't need to be dog related), please do call on us if there's anything we can assist with. Happy to run errands or help in any way we can while we're still out and about.
Let's hope this situation passes quickly and we all get through it relatively unscathed x x x
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I have an unexpected grooming slot free tomorrow at 10am if any of my regulars want it?

We got some more sun today. Yey!

❗️⚠️CORONAVIRUS - IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BOARDING, DAYCARE & WALKING CLIENTS ⚠️❗️
Hi everyone, we've been following the progress of the virus and keeping up to date with all current advice. We plan to continue with services as normal unless we are personally affected then we will review and keep you all informed.
BOARDING BOOKINGS: ...
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