Monday 24 June 2013

Make them WANT to come back to you!

I see this all the time when out walking my dog or client’s dogs, people with trouble getting their dogs to come back to them.

It’s a real shame to see owners shout aggressively at their dog’s and then act bewildered as to why their dog won’t return to them. Would you head to someone who was calling out to you aggressively? I know I wouldn’t!
Another thing I see is when the dog finally does return to his owner, he is punished for doing so because “he should have known better”, when, in fact, what’s just happened is the dog has been punished for coming back to his owner, making it less likely that he will come back to them next time they call!

One thing I do with my dog, and client’s dogs who I walk off lead, is give them a reason to come back! Find what that particular dog loves, and use that as a reward when they come back to you.
 For example I walk a yorkshire terrier who thrives on verbal praise, a German spitz who loves her treats, and a Jack Russell who loves her ball, so I use these things to my advantage. If they stay close by or come to me when I call them, they get the things that they love, making them want to come back to me.

A re-call is vital for all dog’s to have, as it’s matter of safety, so it really does worry me when I see dog’s not responding to their owner’s calls, because what would happen if the dog got out on the road?

If you are having trouble with your own dog’s re-call, just remember some key points, reward your dog for checking in with you on walks, reward them when they come back to your call, never punish a late re-call (just go back a step and practice on lead for safety), and always stay patient and calm.
Practice makes perfect, so just keep pairing your dog’s name with fun rewarding things!

www.4pawswalkies.co.uk

Monday 10 June 2013

Beware of telephone advertising scams!

One of the most frustrating things about owning a business is the vast number of telephone scammers who call our business phone. Every. Single. Day!
Being in a business service where it is essential for us to take calls in order to make arrangements with potential clients, we have to answer every call, especially now that these scammers seem to be wising up and will call on a mobile number so not one we can choose to ignore (like the obvious 0800 numbers). We have since saved the continuous culprits under various forms of "don't answer" so as to conserve us some energy!

What I really want to talk about though, is what to be careful of saying to them over the phone. If you say 'yes' to something on a business phone and that phone call is being recorded, you may find yourself in a binding contract! They will often call in relation to advertising opportunities with the big companies such as Google, Facebook or Yell, to the unaware it's easy to be warped in by this, especially if you're a new business and want to explore every advertising opportunity available to you. These are all scams though. You can advertise on Google through Google adwords which is free to set up and then from there you will pay by click, they even allow you to set a monthly budget. As far as advertising on Facebook goes, just don't agree to anything over the phone. We don't have an advert on Facebook, we just post our page around on various groups; however, I assume the set up for an advert is similar to everywhere else and can be done online. Yell offers free advertisement but they may call you concerning the advert and then you may find yourself 'promoting' the ad for a fee, even though there is no need to.

As a business owner you will come across such calls, very likely on a daily basis. If you find yourself talking to one of these lovely people (which you will) just tell them you are not interested or tell them to email you (which they won't because they can't trap you in a contract over email!). Do not agree to anything over the phone (I can't stress this enough) as only personal phones are protected from this, agreeing to such a thing on a business phone could land you in a contract. I would recommend purchasing a separate phone as your business phone so as to have personal affairs dealt with on your personal phone.
These companies have several alias's and several different numbers, they will often ring on a mobile (as those are seen as trusted numbers) but don't be fooled by this. Don't give these scammers the time of day and, remember, just say NO!

www.4pawswalkies.co.uk