About BarkLife
Who are BarkLife and what do they offer?
MEET YOUR CANINE CARERS
Tim Crouch
Owner
I’ve always loved animals and pets, having always owned cats and other small furries. My family were acquainted with our current dog, Rocky, during the Covid lock down period of 2020. I immediately fell in love with him and how clever he was. I absolutely loved training him basic obedience and he was very motivated (by food!) to learn new things.
After a 35 year career in Information Technology I got made redundant in 2024 and decided to explore a new path. I wanted to be able to involve Rocky in my work and so decided to start-up BarkLife. I had 6 months notice of redundancy and worked hard investigating and establishing my dog walking business in this time. I enrolled on a professional training course of ‘Dog Walking as a business’ provided by the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT). I’ve also attended a Dog First Aid Training course with Dog-First-Aid-Sussex, which taught me so much but I will definitely be refreshing this knowledge regularly.
Whilst dog walking is not regulated or licensed I appreciate how important a professional service is to anyone looking for care for their beloved family members. Therefore I set out to provide the most professional service I can provide. I deem myself to be reliable, trustworthy, calm, fair and caring and I have a real passion for delivering excellent customer service with an above and beyond attitude.
Dog walking is the start of my journey and I plan to expand BarkLife services to provide Home Boarding / Day Care as soon as possible but this does require a licence from the local authority and an inspection of the domestic property where dogs will be cared for. We live in a detached house with a nice secure garden area so I don’t foresee any issues with this, but will ensure I am fully compliant and then apply for a licence once I am fully operational.
I am also considering other services that I can provide and have listed my offerings on the Services page on this website, but I’m also always open to suggestions and ideas so please share if you have a requirement that you can’t find a provider for.
I’m very passionate about dog training and always practice positive, reward based methods. Dog training, unfortunately is also not regulated, but before I embark down this avenue I will be acquiring recognised professional certifications, qualifications, and relevant insurance but I absolutely will be pursuing this in the mid-term future once BarkLife is established, up and running.
UPDATE: As at 24th May 2024 I have just completed a 3 day Puppy Trainer training course with the IMDT and have passed my assessment. This means I am now a qualifed Easy Peasy Puppy Instructor!
Please do check that any trainer or home boarder you use has the correct qualifications / licences, and above all trust your instincts and ensure your pet is always in good hands!
Rocky
Assistant
Rocky is an amazing Pomeranian x Border Collie cross breed, of course to me he is the best dog in the whole world, and he is indeed very clever, well balanced, polite and delightful. This is probably partly just due to his personality but also the many, many hours of interaction, fun, and positive training we’ve enjoyed together over the past 2 years. We’ve followed a few different trainers, in person and on social media, but we learnt most of our techniques from McCann Dogs who I found to be excellent and really helped Rocky and I build an amazing relationship.
Rocky is very reliable and placid, he can interact with other dogs who want to play but will also judge when others don’t want to interact and will respect their space. He reads other dogs body language well and if snapped at he will give space and respect, I’ve never seen him react back to another dog who has warned him off.
Rocky has many friends including a King Charles Spaniel, a Bulldog, and a Great Dane. He also lives with a Maine Coon Cat who taught him to respect other animals personal space at an early age with her quick left hook paw!
Rocky has his own page where you can learn even more about him here