As a Kendal and South Lakes dog walker and sitter, I am a big fan of positive rewards. The rewards, which accompany my kind words, are only ever healthy treats, so no matter how young or old, fit or unfit your pooch may be, you can be absolutely sure that I will only ever feed nutritious vegetable based snacks to reinforce good behaviour.

The snacks, which I always have in my pocket whilst out dog walking in Kendal and the South Lakes area, comprise crunchy carrot sticks, roasted sweet potato chunks, and Whimzees veggie sticks, I've yet to meet a canine who does not love their veggies and with these snacks I know they are healthier and free of nasties, which often lurk in commercial dog food. I am always happy to share my canine healthy eating tips with dog owners, and not least, since I have fed my own beloved pooch a home-based diet for the past 10 years.

Many of us appreciate the all-encompassing role social media has in our lives in 2018 and this can easily be seen from a quick look at many dog walking and dog sittings services in the UK, which use Facebook (in particular) to post and share photographs, with live updates of dogs in their care.

As a former criminologist, this simply astounds me. We know that dog theft is a major area of crime so why would anyone with such acute responsibilities for safeguarding the dogs in their care turn to social media to publicise not only their images, but also updates (often live) of their whereabouts...this then inevitably links to the family whom have guardianship of the dog. One does not have to be a detective to then determine 1) where the dog lives, 2) where the dog is regularly walked. This is all the information dog thieves need via social media to target their canine victim(s).

Let's be honest. The main reason dog walkers and sitters turn to Facebook is to a) advertise their businesses and b) for the sheer convenience of providing families with updates of their canine companions. I doubt very much that many dog walkers think of the safeguarding risk with Facebook. But they ought to...they have a duty to keep dogs in their care safe. As a professional dog walker in Kendal and South Lakeland, it is my duty and responsibility to put the welfare of my dogs and their families above my profits. And that is why, I will not use Facebook to share images or updates of the pooches in my care.