Blogs

Thank you, Halo Dogs, for looking after Whisper our Weimaraner so well over the past few months!  There are no words to do justice to how good Justin, Viktor and the team are.  They clearly love all the dogs they look after and Whisper absolutely loved being collected in the School Bus by Viktor, ready for a full day of adventures at Halo.  

Whisper is a high energy puppy, full of beans, however she was always returned to us with a waggy tail after a day at Halo, before curling up in her basket for a long rest!  It was great to read what Whisper had been up to each day on her daily School Report.

We always used Halo for boarding overnight when we needed to be away and again, we can’t recommend this service highly enough.  She was treated like one of Justin’s own dogs and we feel like it was a real holiday for Whisper too.  The team really take an interest in the dogs and their owners and Justin has been very flexible, fitting Whisper in at short notice when we had family emergencies.  Justin is an absolute star!  Whisper will miss the team at Halo and her doggy pals now that we have moved overseas.  Thank you, once again, for all your help with Whisper!

Ella, Tristan and Whisper

We have a wonderful, energetic Alaskan Malamute named Kai who is just over a year old. Like all dogs Kai needs a lot of love, attention, walks and play time. Unfortunately my partner and I work full time and we were finding it increasingly difficult to give him the attention he needed within our busy schedules.

This is when we turned to Halo Dogs who have been life savers for us.

A couple of days a week the school bus comes along and picks Kai up to take him to day care. Later that afternoon they drive back a very different dog to the one that left in the morning: The dog they return is so happy and content after spending the day playing with other dogs, going for walks and getting lots of attention. He’s also one thing we had very rarely seen Kai before – tired!

After a day at Halo Dogs Day Care, Kai is just content to sleep. Previously the only way to achieve this was a 20km walk! It’s great to know that Kai is looked after all day by attentive staff and then returned home content. On his first day the staff at Halo stayed in contact to let us know how he was getting along and put our minds at rest, this being the first time we’d relinquished care of our gigantic, crazy puppy to other people. It’s also great to know that he is getting regular socialisation with other dogs as that means I never have to worry about how Kai is with other dogs on walks. I’d highly recommend Halo Dogs day care for anyone who wants a happy dog!

Rachael and Kai

We had a business trip planned soon after we got our Bichon Frise, Cocker Spaniel Cross puppy, Amelie and we were worried about where she could go to be looked after for the week.

We were so relieved to have discovered Halo Dogs.

Amelie hadn’t had much time with other dogs and was quite whiny. After a week with Justin, Viktor and the rest of the Halo Dogs team, Amelie returned very muddy, tired a much calmer and happier dog. The pick up and drop off service is excellent and it is great to know Amelie is running around and playing with lots of other dogs in a well-managed and kind environment. We’ll be in touch again to book her in!

Charlotte, Gareth and Amelie

We have had a lot of behavioural issues with our 2 year old Frenchie, Chunky! He started to show aggression as a puppy towards strangers, children and dogs. You might call it fear aggression of a sort. As we had a baby on the way, this was a bit of a nightmare.

We went through 3 separate trainers, including one of the most well known in the country, before we met Justin.

In all 3 cases we felt very let down, with poor advice and poor follow up. The ‘famous’ trainer we went to gave us advice that made the dog considerably more anxious and therefore more aggressive.

In the first session Justin came to our house, it was clear he was cut from a different cloth than anyone else we had met, he spent 4 hours with us, and it was clear he was not going anywhere until the job was done. He is tireless in this respect.

A good mix of common sense advice and real passion, he gave us tools to work with that made an impact on Chunky’s behaviour over the following months.

A few months later with a house move and a small child, we really took our eye of the ball with Chunky, and he regressed a lot (house moves and babies are the 2 big stress points in a dog’s life, Justin told us). However at this point we were also really stressed and were wondering about our ability to cope with the dog, a child and a falling down farm house! On top of that a local dog trainer had advised us to have the dog rehomed immediately or be put down!! We were at a low ebb to say the least.

Chunky went to stay with Halo for a week, where he got on perfectly with the staff and other dogs…Relief! On the back of this Justin was able to give us some really good common sense advice on how to handle the dog and how to train him over time to improve his behaviour.

Almost immediately we felt able to cope with our dog again and whilst we all know Chunky is never likely to be the most sociable dog in the world, we are all in a good place with him, he is happy, we are relaxed, and we keep working on him every day to make him a confident well behaved Frenchie!!!!

We are happy dog owners again. Justin spends real time with dogs and their owners and has an amazing level of passion about what he does. Dog psychologist, maybe human psychologist too!!

Matt, Alex and Chunky

Our 2 year old German Shepherd, Maia loves Halo Dogs, and we do too. It’s the most wonderful collection of people. Justin and all the team there are so knowledgeable about dogs, and it’s clear that they truly enjoy what they are doing.

When we went out to the farm to meet them, we immediately saw that they are really thoughtful and engaged with the dogs they accept and the farm itself is gorgeous.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for our dog to be able to go for the day, play with other dogs, run around, be outside, and be supervised by people who care about her and who really know what they are doing.  She is so happy to leave with them in the morning that it’s embarrassing!  And she comes home tired and relaxed after a long day of activity.

We found Halo Dogs just after we moved back to London after a couple of years in the US, where Maia had a big garden and lots of other dogs to play with, very different from our life here where we have a new baby and we both work.  We were really worried about her well-being and her continued socialisation.  But Halo Dogs is wonderful for her, and really easy for us.

They pick her up and drop her off, they know and like her, they are always pleasant and flexible and available for a chat about our dog, and we feel truly lucky that Justin and the others are part of our lives!

Tatiana and Maia

Our 6 month old Miniature Schnauzer, Byron loves Justin, Viktor and all the team up at Halo Dogs.

The environment, the care and the support Justin and his team provide has been invaluable to Byron and to myself. Byron has been at school at Halo Dogs since June, and is wonderfully socialised.

Any excess puppy energy is well-spent running round the farm, and playing with his best doggie friends.

I have complete peace of mind when I come home from work that Byron has had an energetic, happy day, and won’t be taking out his frustrated energy on me. I highly recommend Halo Dogs to anyone who wants to provide a happy, caring environment for their dog during the day.

Joo and Byron

I can’t say enough to praise Halo Dogs. I was introduced to their service through a friend of a friend and was desperate to find someone caring to look after my little rescue dog on days when I couldn’t be there. From the first minute I met Justin, I knew we had found someone special and that any service run by him had to be equally special.

We first visited on a Saturday afternoon, to give Justin a chance to assess CJ and check she would fit in at the farm. We expected to spend maybe half an hour on this but, in the event, Justin spent hours with us. Not only did he spend careful time with CJ, showing gentleness and skill in the way he handled her and talked about her, but he answered all our dumb questions and talked to us for as long as we needed about many aspects of her care.

My experience of Halo Dogs, unsurprisingly after that, has turned out to be just as special. Which is not surprising with a leader like Justin. His team are lovely, efficient and reliable and sweet, sweet, sweet to the dogs. And I can’t say enough about Justin who is one of those rare individuals in life who really cares about his team, his clients and most of all, about dogs. His knowledge and skill is top class but he shares it with generosity and compassion. He has been there for me any time I have needed advice or help and because of the relationship he has built up with us and with CJ, he is the very first person I call now whenever she has a little triumph and overcomes one of her many fears.

Thank God for Justin and thank God for Halo Dogs. Special people in an increasingly cruel world.

Ursula, John and C.J

I think I was one of Justin’s first clients at ‘The Dog House’, as it was then called, so I don’t know why I’ve never yet managed to write a testimonial for ‘Halo Dogs’ given that I must be their biggest fan and I never, ever miss an opportunity to talk about them to anyone prepared to listen!

When I lost Cracker [my beloved 14 year old German Shepherd] to cancer a couple of years ago, I didn’t think I could face having another dog.  I was looking after my 85-year old mum who needed full time care at that time, as well as working.  But although I was heartbroken and missed Cracker desperately, I couldn’t contemplate replacing her, the situation was just too difficult. My daughter, however, thought otherwise; my dogs have always been such an important part of my life and she felt the gap was too painful for me.  So at her insistence, bless her, I ended up with Charlie, the last [but not least!] of a litter of 11 German Shepherd pups who I was virtually dragged in chains to see and, of course, couldn’t resist once I’d seen her.

My mistake;  I’d forgotten that having a 12-week old puppy is a bit like having a baby all over again, really hard work , and between caring for my mum and looking after Charlie, I was beyond exhausted and almost at my wit’s end when I first heard of ‘The Dog House’ and the service they had to offer.  I rang Justin and he came to ‘interview’ me at home to see if I was a suitable owner for The Dog House clientele and if Charlie would be a suitable pooch to introduce to the pack. I was beside myself at the thought of being interviewed, convinced I’d blow the whole thing and was on my best behaviour.  Charlie, on the other hand,  wasn’t remotely bothered at being interviewed and  bounced around noisily for the duration, taking not even the slightest bit of notice of me as  I tried to surreptitiously demonstrate to Justin how well-behaved and well-balanced she was, highly trained…… etc. etc. All to no avail:  Justin didn’t seem to notice, he just chatted happily to my mum and they got on like a house on fire while I was dragged around the lounge floor at the end of a stringy chewed up toy. Anyway, fortunately, the upshot was that Charlie started being picked up by Justin in the mornings and whisked off to The Dog House for balmy, action-packed days on the farm.  She  was delivered  back home [happy and exhausted] while I was still at work, when Justin would then sit and chat to my mum, something she really enjoyed and looked forward to do and something I’ve always been eternally grateful to him for.  I think he lit up her day almost as much as he did Charlie’s.

And then, when my mum died, there was Justin again [and Sal and the rest of the team] unbelievably supportive and whisking Charlie off to the farm for as long as it took so that I could sort out everything that needed to be sorted.  They just swept in and did everything to make life so much easier for me and my family at that awful time.

I now have a beautiful, beautiful two year old shepherd who is happy, bouncy, glowing with health, gentle, well-socialised and a joy to have around, much of which I’m certain is due to the incredible love, care and stimulation she’s been given at the farm at Botany Bay  [… as well as extensive  training from me at home, obviously……]

The team all have such an affinity with the dogs in their care [in fact I sometimes worry Charlie forgets who she’s supposed to love best…]. They put everything into the dogs, and you get everything back.  They’re a shining example of how to treat and respect animals and what you get in return if you do.

I simply can’t praise Justin and the rest of the Halo team enough.  They have made such an enormous difference to my life, to my Charlie’s life, and no doubt to the lives of countless other dogs and owners.

But above and beyond that, they are now rescuing and rehoming dogs who aren’t as fortunate as most of Halo Dogs pack, and for that I take my hat off to them all, and to Justin in particular.

[Sorry for the length of this diatribe: but they’re worth it; trust me.] Oh … and then there was Lola, my daughter’s little ‘jug’ who now goes to Halo with Charlie, she’s  the one that looks a little  bit like Yoda out of Star Wars….

Pam, Katy, Charlie and Lola

Sunny the Boston Terrier loves her days on the farm! Having joined the pack at just 11 weeks old, she’s been well socialised since an early age helping her to be a very happy, healthy and friendly pup.

The Halo team are all total dog lovers, and I know that along with the agility and training, Sunny always gets her daily dose of extra cuddles too!

As well as providing excellent doggie daycare, Halo Dogs has offered me tons of support, advice and reassurance with puppy training and health concerns, invaluable for a first time dog owner who asks a lot of questions! And I love the videos they make too.. Halo Dogs is a hidden treasure.

Kate and Sunny