Quick Jump
Here we are at the start of Spring 2019 and last year’s stocks are nearly depleted. To ensure that no items remain for the new fiscal year, we will be offering some great discounts on old items and launching brand new ones!
Some of the feedback we’ve had at LMDI is that many items are more expensive than they need be because they’re personalised (printed, engraved, laser-etched, etc). So while keeping some of these available to those of you who prefer them that way, we will also be offering the less personalised options, which of course will be more affordable.
As you will see further down this blog, we are also introducing homemade dog treats, all of them in pre-assembled kits and ready for you to bake at home. I will share with you my own opinions but would love to read yours too. So do take advantage of the LMDI special offer codes and place your orders using the links provided. And don’t forget to give us your thoughts through our Facebook page and Instagram account.
This week, we distributed our first ever dog-friendly stickers, obviously with the LMDI logo. They are already proudly displayed at the following businesses:
Prestige Café
Vanilla Black
Sally White
Finally, we are proud to have been contacted by families with several dogs, looking for full-time dog walkers as well as regular groomers. This shows how fast our community can grow when we all help each other out and spread the word that we’re all here to help. If it’s dog-friendly, we’re there!
So now enjoy this month’s contributions and get in touch if you’d like to write in next month’s DogBlog. We start working on the next issue as soon as the current one gets published but changes happen up until the moment we press “Post!”.
Get in touch!
CAROLINA FREITAS
Groom Groom
www.groom-groom.co.uk
Dogs are my passion! One day in 2009 I decided I wanted a change. Ok, let’s start from the very beginning.
I arrived from Brazil in 2007 to make London my new home. I first worked in a restaurant and got fed up with it. I never knew what I wanted to do in life, I tried everything and studied Psychology and Nutrition. I did not finish either of the courses. Honestly, I did not think that what I wanted to do for the rest of my life would be found inside a University. When I came to London, I noticed that people with a degree were working alongside me in a restaurant. “Ok – I said – I don’t need to feel guilty for not finishing Uni”.
So the next step was to find exactly what I wanted to do. Something where there was flexibility and would not feel like a job. After a long list of likes and dislikes I was left with: “I like to use my hands” and “I love animals”.
I watched some dog grooming videos and easily found a dog grooming school not miles away. I called them in my broken English and I couldn’t expect the best outcome. The next week I paid for my course and gave notice at the restaurant. I watched all the videos on YouTube and I knew beforehand how to groom (more or less) each breed.
It didn’t take long and I was helping out the newcomers and I knew I was in the right environment. After leaving school, I needed to improve and get some experience. No-one would accept a brand new dog groomer with less than 2 years’ experience.
I ended up in Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. No-one complained about my erratic grooming and disproportional scissoring. An amazing place to work in! It made me a stronger and better human being. After that, time to do serious business. I found a job in London while I was on holiday in Brazil. I also ended up with 3 jobs in the same year. I had a scooter so I could easily move around the city.
Something was missing. I needed my own business. But how? My friend had a van in the south so I spent some time with her and decided to go ahead and get my driving licence.
Sooner after I got my licence, I found a dog grooming van for rent and again the outcome couldn’t have been better. 2 days later I had a big white van in front of my place.
I have now owned “Groom-Groom” for a year and it’s growing stronger by the day. I’ve bought a new van and now I have to say goodbye to my big white one.
I could write a book if I recounted all the adventures of my van and I.
One piece of advice: follow your dreams! Do what you love and you will never work a day in life!
LEIGH ANDERSON
Founder of “Good Doggy”
www.good-doggy.co.uk
I always feel slightly ridiculous when I tell people that my dog will only eat organic food. Chester, my 7 year old Yorkshire terrier has always been a fussy pup, and he’s becoming more and more particular with age.
Despite taste testing numerous brands of meals and snacks, he would just stare at me in distaste at most of the food options he was given. Before long I realised that Chester was choosing to eat the foods with higher quality ingredients and would rarely say no to food containing organic ingredients. I think it’s fair to say that this dog has excessive tastes.
The more I thought about this, the more I realised that although we have become increasingly aware of what we eat ourselves, we are less likely to think about doing this for our four legged friends.
I eventually managed to find a brand of dog food that Chester loves, but it’s always a struggle to find snacks that he’ll stick to.
I started researching canine nutrition and talking to vets and other experts when I realised that the principles which make organic food beneficial to humans, also apply to dogs. In addition to this, plant based foods have as many nutritional benefits for dogs as they do for humans and it made me think of ways to feed more plant based foods to Chester.
As I’ve always been an avid baker I started to experiment with baking my own dog treats focusing on plant based ingredients.
Soon my friends were asking me to bake some for their dogs too, or give them the recipes so they could bake them themselves.
Many of my friends told me they just didn’t have the time or that they were terrible at baking, so I started creating packs with all the ingredients prepped for them. All they had to do was add water and bake (or freeze for the ice lollies which go down very well in the summer months).
It seemed like an obvious thing to do, we have so many baking and recipe kits for humans, so why not for dogs.
After many months of experimenting and many failed attempts I eventually received the seal of approval I had been looking for. When Chester tucked into one of my home baked snacks, and he hasn’t stopped barking for more since!
I now want to share these snacks with other dog owners, although it’s important to me that I don’t compromise on the principles which Chester has created for this brand. So all of the ingredients are organic, they are all human consumption grade (most dog foods aren’t!), our packaging is all recycled and recyclable, and we support local charities with a commitment to donate 10% of our profits each year.
I’m so excited for all of the Let My Dog In pooches to try our treats, that I’m offering 20% off all orders until the end of April with code LMDI20
I’m really keen to get your (or your dogs’) feedback on these treats so please get in touch. I’d love to see your organic pooches tucking into a good doggy treat. So please check us out at www.good-doggy.co.uk. You can find us on Facebook & Instagram, or email us at bark@good-doggy.co.uk with your pics and feedback.
For more ideas and recommendations, try:
Bars & Pubs – http://letmydogin.com/bars-pubs/
Cafés – http://letmydogin.com/cafes/
Restaurants – http://letmydogin.com/restaurants/
Shops – http://letmydogin.com/shops/
And if you have suggestions, reviews and feedback, please drop us a line: info@letmydogin.co.uk or 07932509737
Photos and videos of your dogs, as well as business reviews, are always welcome on our Facebook and Instagram accounts
Finally, if you’d like to write a piece for our monthly blog, all it needs to be is dog-related and dog-friendly.
Top contributors in the last month:
1 – Kelly Marie Stacey
2 – Lucy Williamson
3 – Hayley West
4 – Sam Wright
5 – Julie Leacock
In the last month alone, we had a total of 544 posts, comments and reactions. Keep ’em coming!!!!
