It's been a funny old couple of years, with lots of change here at Actidog.
Last year involved a house move for me and the pups, which was stressful and not the most straightforward process, but I'm now happily settled into our cosy little cottage in Slaithwaite, a lovely rural village just outside Huddersfield. There are lots of brilliant trails around the area and it has a great community vibe, which is so nice when you're finding your feet in a new area.
Sadly, the past few months also saw a real slowing down in my old boy Loki, who - having already been well retired from canicrossing - had been undergoing treatment for OA. While his treatment team and I worked hard on maintaining his mobility and comfort - using a combination of medication, hydrotherapy, laser and physio - arthritis is a degenerative condition which cannot be reversed. He also faced a fairly recent diagnosis of kidney failure on top of his musculoskeletal issues. So, with a rapid decline in his health and wellbeing, we said goodbye a few weeks ago. Heartbreaking for me to let my boy go, but I find comfort in the knowledge that I was there with him at the end, that he is no longer in pain and that he had many happy years with me before his illness.
Nanook is still her ever-exuberant self, keeping me busy even at the age of 12, which no one believes when they meet her! Nanook is also retired from canicrossing, but older dogs still benefit from keeping an active mind and body, so we're still out walking on our countryside trails, which she loves. We even recently had a new adventure trying out mantrailing with our friends at Sniff and Trail UK - I wasn't expecting too much from Nanook, but she took to it really well. Just goes to show that sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks!
You might also have noticed some new services from Actidog landing for 2025 - we're expanding into dog walking and pet drop-in visits alongside canicross sessions, and I'm really looking forward to meeting lots more of your lovely pets! I'm focussing on solo dog walks, which means I can adapt every walk to the specific needs of each dog - whether that's around reactivity or other behavioural concerns, health issues and age. Giving dogs my full focus and attention on a 1:1 basis means I can provide a high quality service for you.
Finally, as we're now located over in the west of Huddersfield, I've found a new location in Slaithwaite to start offering canicross tasters. It's a great little spot with quiet and mainly flat trails that are great for starting out running with your dog. This location also means that those of you who are travelling from the North or West have another option to hopefully make your travel a bit easier. We'll still be offering sessions in our existing Huddersfield location on the other side of town too - take your pick of which one works best for you!
Comentarios