BUSINESS is booming for this dog lover who has turned his animal adoration into a thriving enterprise.

Nathan Dunleavy set up Nathan's Paw Trails and Training in Southampton three and a half years ago, initially as a dog walking and pet sitting service.

When Covid hit, he had to adapt.

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Nathan, who has six dogs of his own, told the Daily Echo: "I had to close down the business for two weeks. Everyone was saying you need to ‘pivot’, move your business online, however, I couldn’t walk people's dogs online!

"I built up this business from scratch and all of a sudden was told I couldn’t operate. There was so much uncertainty. Also, my husband is a travel agent so suddenly both our livelihoods were in jeopardy."

So Nathan retrained as a puppy and dog trainer during lockdown and is now considered a specialist in separation anxiety in dogs.

Daily Echo:

"My own dogs inspired me to go into the training side of the business, he said. "I didn’t get training for the first three and they’re all lead reactive. Also, one of my toy poodles has separation anxiety, so I know the struggle that owners face.

"Since I’ve become a specialist in separation anxiety, I’d say my first case training with a client has changed their life. They couldn’t even leave the dog alone for a few seconds, until they started training with me and they all now have a better quality of life and the tools they need to succeed."

The training arm of the business has only been operating for a year and has already expanded to employ five and scooped a top award as the Best Dog Training Business in Hampshire at the Corporate Vision Small Business Awards 2021.

Daily Echo:

Nathan added: "It’s definitely a growing market. I thought I was busy before lockdown but now it’s insanely busy and I’ve had to take on staff to cope with demand.

"Loads of people got puppies in lockdown and those that couldn’t afford the hefty price tags, mostly got rescues from abroad, which come with a lot of behavioural issues through no fault of their own."

All business comes from word of mouth, reviews and recommendations and customers just can't get enough of the personalised service.

"We treat all the dogs as if they were our own."

Nathan's Paw Trails and Training is our trader of the week. Tell us about your small business by clicking on the link below or emailing lorelei.reddin@dailyecho.co.uk