Melinda

Our family, including two teens, will love and care for your loved ones as our own so that you can enjoy your time away with peace of mind. We participate in Pawshake because we love cute and affectionate pooches (among other animals), and because we do not yet have any pets of our own. We are 'hobby Pawshakers', participating for the love of having pets to stay and play.

As such, we do not accept visitors with chronic health conditions who are likely to create unreasonable messes inside our home/damage to our property, nor do we accept animals with behavioural problems such as aggression or an inability to understand basic discipline (e.g. "Down/Sit/Stay"). We do not take breeds (or mixed breeds) that are known to be of potential significant danger to humans and/or other dogs, such as the Staffy, Pit Bull, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Japanese/Brazilian fighting dogs, etc. Border Collies have jumped our (standard height) fences and been destructive inside our home, so we don’t take that breed anymore either. However, we are happy to walk your Border Collies and other active dogs!

Our yard is big enough for daily exercise involving ball chases etc. and we like to walk dogs on-leash along the Gossan Hill nature reserve tracks, which are just metres from our front door (dogs will never be let off the leash though, due to kangaroos in the area and because we don’t want to risk losing somebody else’s loved one). We’re also happy to take very active pooches to the O'Connor or Lake Ginninderra dog parks.

Pets who live inside are welcome inside at our place too - as long as they are fully trained when it comes to toileting (therefore, we don't usually take puppies) and they possess basic manners. We do not have a pet door. Pets will usually be kept inside if we need to be at work or go out for brief periods on weekends - this is for their safety and your peace of mind (e.g. snakes, extreme heat/cold, escape attempts, dognapping) and for our neighbours' sanity (e.g. constant barking/yelping/whining).

You will need to bring:

- your pet's bed (and portable playpen if still young)

- toys to play with/make them feel at home and/or bones to keep them occupied (if here on a weekday)

- food & water bowls (2)

- enough food for all nights & full days they will be with us - including a measuring scoop/spoon if food not already divided into portions in packets (please do not under-cater for your pet, as I do not stock any spare pet food!), and

- their collar & leash.

Written instructions for feeding or any other routines you would like us to follow are useful. Anything more than "a cup of dry dog food once/twice a day" is considered to be a more complicated feeding schedule which requires written instructions!

For returning clients, please check my availability and submit a reservation request; no need to message me first. For new clients, especially if your booking is for longer than a 24-hour period, I prefer to meet and greet first. Please note that our rate for dog walking is not applicable to home boarding clients - walks are of course included for any guests staying with us!