Why your dog will love being part of our happy pack.
WHERE SCIENCE MEETS ADVENTURE!
Dogs aren't simply built to exercise—they're built to explore.
Their brains are wired to investigate new scents, navigate changing environments, solve problems, socialise and experience the world through their incredible sense of smell. These are fundamental behavioural needs, and when they're met, dogs become happier, calmer and more emotionally fulfilled.
Walking the same park, day after day, is not enrichment.
Whether it's Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood or your local park, once an environment becomes familiar, much of the novelty has gone. The scents become predictable. The routes become routine. The opportunities for exploration become limited.
That's why we do things differently.
Every day we travel beyond North London to a different rural location. Ancient woodland, meadows, ponds, streams and open countryside provide constantly changing environments filled with new scents, wildlife, varied terrain and endless opportunities to explore.
This variety provides the environmental enrichment dogs naturally seek. It allows them to decompress, engage their senses, make choices, build confidence, develop healthy social skills and experience the world the way dogs were designed to.
Our Rural Adventure Pack Walks are more than just a walk—they're a half-day experience.
Your dog enjoys the journey to and from the countryside with their pack, followed by up to 90 minutes of off-lead exploration in carefully chosen rural locations before returning home happily fulfilled and ready for a well-earned rest.
For many owners, this also provides an excellent alternative to doggy daycare. Instead of spending the day indoors, your dog enjoys a meaningful adventure that satisfies both their physical and emotional needs.
Because dogs have one short life. Why spend it walking the same path every day when they could be discovering somewhere new?
Better Than the Same Local Walk
A Civilised Commute (No Vans)
The adventure starts the moment your dog is collected.
If you're anything like us, your dog is family. That's why we transport every dog as we'd want our own dog to travel—in comfort, safely secured with their own seatbelt harness, enjoying the journey beside us rather than travelling in a crate in a dark van with no outside stimulation.
Anyone who has ever taken their dog for a drive knows how much they love the journey. They watch the world go by, feel the breeze through the open windows, sniff the changing scents drifting into the car and, most importantly, enjoy being part of the adventure.
For many dogs, the excitement begins long before their paws touch the ground. The journey itself is enriching, building anticipation for the new sights, sounds and smells that await them.
By the time we arrive, they're ready to do what dogs do best—explore, investigate, socialise and simply enjoy being dogs.
Our daily adventure doesn't begin when the lead comes off—it begins the moment your dog jumps into the car.
- The Best Seat in the House: Every passenger gets a window seat to watch the world go by, making the 20-30 minute journey a relaxing part of the day's enrichment.
- Safety & Comfort: Every dog is secured with an individual safety seatbelt and their own harness for a stable, protected journey.
- The Schedule: I collect my pack around mid-late morning, returning them home around 4 pm, happy and settled.
- The Price: £30 per half day Rural Adventure with a guaranteed off lead playtime of up to 90 minutes*
The Science of the Sniff
To us, the world is visual.
To a dog, the world is scent.
While humans have around 5–6 million scent receptors, dogs have up to 300 million, depending on the breed. The part of a dog's brain dedicated to analysing smells is also proportionally far larger than ours. Quite simply, dogs experience a world that we can barely imagine.
Every scent tells a story.
A tree doesn't simply smell like a tree. It reveals which dogs have passed by, which wildlife visited overnight, whether a fox crossed the path at dawn, or where a squirrel disappeared into the undergrowth. Dogs can even detect subtle changes in our body chemistry, picking up scents associated with emotions such as stress, fear and excitement that are completely undetectable to us.
For dogs, sniffing isn't a distraction from the walk.
It is the walk.
Sniffing exercises the brain, encourages problem-solving and helps dogs process information about the world around them. Research has shown that allowing dogs time to sniff can lower their heart rate, reduce stress and promote emotional wellbeing, making it one of the most important forms of natural enrichment we can offer.
Even more remarkably, scent is closely linked to memory. Just as a familiar perfume can instantly transport us back to a moment in our lives, a single scent can trigger memories and recognition for a dog. Every new smell adds another layer to their understanding of the world.
Perhaps that's why you'll so often see a dog pause, close their eyes for a moment and take a long, deep sniff.
They aren't wasting time.
They're reading the world.
Variety Is a Dog's Best Friend
Just like us, dogs can become bored of the same surroundings. That's why we keep every adventure fresh by visiting a different rural walking location each day.
From ancient woodland and peaceful ponds to open meadows and forest trails, every walk offers new scents, new sights and new opportunities to explore. Dogs can run freely, splash in swimming spots if they enjoy the water, sniff to their heart's content and simply enjoy being dogs in the wide open countryside.
Our favourite adventure spots include:
- Trent Park
- Whitewebbs Woods
- Horsenden Hill Woods
- Barn Hill Ponds
And we're always discovering new places to add to our adventures, ensuring every walk brings something different for your dog to enjoy.
*Please note: To keep the dogs safe in hotter weather, it may be necessary to alter our walking locations to local areas
Total Peace of Mind
Welcoming a new walker into your dog's life is an exciting step, and we aim to make the transition as smooth and comfortable as possible for both of you.
Each pack consists of up to six well-suited, behaviour assessed, friendly dogs who are individually chosen to ensure a harmonious and enjoyable experience for everyone.
To help your dog feel comfortable and confident with me and the pack, I invite you to first join us for either an entire pack walk or a part of it before your dog starts walking with us regularly. This gives your dog the chance to settle in and allows you to ask any questions you might have about the walk or my approach.
Together, we’ll ensure your dog feels at ease and enjoys a positive, enriching experience with their new walking companions.
Understanding Dogs, Not Just Walking Them
At The Highgate Dog Walker, our walks are guided by more than experience—they're guided by a genuine fascination with how dogs think, communicate and learn.
Over the years, I've dedicated countless hours to studying canine behaviour, dog psychology, body language, learning theory and modern, reward-based training methods. While the dog training industry isn't formally regulated, I'm committed to continually expanding my knowledge through books, courses, webinars and evidence-based research.
Why does that matter?
Because understanding dog behaviour helps me create happier, safer and more successful pack walks.
I pay close attention to each dog's body language, confidence levels, play style and individual personality. Every dog is behaviour assessed before joining a pack, allowing me to carefully match dogs that are likely to enjoy each other's company and communicate well together.
Rather than simply exercising dogs, my aim is to provide experiences that support their natural behaviours—exploring, sniffing, socialising, problem-solving and moving through varied environments at their own pace.
This science-led approach helps create walks that are not only enjoyable, but also mentally enriching, emotionally rewarding and tailored to each dog's needs.
Because when we understand dogs better, we can give them a richer, more fulfilling life.
After all, a dog's world is only as big as we make it. That's why every walk should be an adventure—just for them.
LONG LEAD RECALL DOG TRAINING
When your dog joins the pack, they not only get to explore and socialise but also learn essential behaviours like recall.
They start with a long lead, which allows them to enjoy their surroundings while gradually understanding what's expected. As they observe the other dogs in the pack responding to recall, they begin to realise that coming back leads to positive rewards.
The pack dynamic plays a key role in this process. Your dog will see their packmates returning when called, which helps reinforce the idea that recall is part of the routine. As they gain confidence, they'll start responding more reliably to recall, eventually without the need for a long lead.
With positive reinforcement and learning from their fellow pack members, your dog will soon make recall second nature.
YOUR DOG IS IN SAFE HANDS
For your peace of mind, I am:
Fully insured
Enhanced DBS Cleared
Canine First Aid certified
I have been a pet owner and carer for over 30 years.
I am experienced with large and small breed dogs, including:
Sight hounds
working breeds
and toy breed
* Weather conditions may effect our regular schedule
Our Service Areas
While we are based in Highgate (N6), our rural pack walks are available for dogs in Muswell Hill (N10), Archway (N19), Crouch End (N8), East Finchley (N2), and Finchley Central (N3).
Sharon provides truly fantastic dog care services. Our Cavapoo absolutely loved his time with Sharon; he was so excited when he realised he was going with her and genuinely seemed disappointed to leave her! He always returned home happy, well socialised and exhausted from his lovely long walk
Amanda Horne