Two black terriers running along a woodland path beside a flint wall on a Brighton dog walk — Furry Adventures walk the woodland and Downs paths around Brighton six days a week

Brighton business

Kelly was on maternity leave, walking neighbours' dogs alongside the pram. Amy was finishing an Equestrian Management course at Plumpton. The family had time and animal experience going spare, and what turned that into a limited company was not ambition. It was insurance.

"The line between favours and a company was insurance, honestly," they say. "The moment you're regularly responsible for someone else's dog, doing it properly means insurance, first aid training, DBS checks and proper paperwork. We wrote that list down one evening and realised we'd already decided."

The idea was Amy and Kelly's. Jack found out and wanted in straight away, without being asked. Nobody needed persuading, and the only thing they had to hold back on was starting. "We had to stop ourselves starting too soon, because we wanted all the paperwork and insurance sorted before we took on a single dog."

Amy had always intended to work with animals. The only open question was what form it would take. Her course at Plumpton finished at the point the business was taking shape, which she describes as the right moment rather than a fallback.

Family run
Fully insured
DBS checked
Pet first aid trained

A Furry Adventures walker with three dogs on a chalk track on the South Downs above Brighton — A pack walk on the Downs, capped at four dogs per walker

Their insurance covers six dogs per walker. They walk four.

Furry Adventures is registered with Brighton and Hove City Council's voluntary scheme for professional dog walkers. It is not a legal requirement. You show the council your insurance, your first aid training, your DBS checks and your paperwork, and you agree to their standards on dog numbers and behaviour in the parks.

"Nobody has to sign up," the family say. "But that is exactly why we did."

Dogs per walker on a pack walk

Four walked. Two spaces the policy allows for, left deliberately empty.

"Six is legal on paper, but more dogs means more risk and less attention on each one, and that's not a trade we're willing to make."

They almost always walk in pairs anyway. With three of them working, the ceiling is four dogs per walker across two walks a day, six days a week, which works out at around twenty four dogs a day at full stretch. They are not close to it. When they get there, they say they would rather run a waiting list than bring someone in quickly.

Nobody has been turned away yet, but the policy is already written down and the whole team knows it. "A full diary is a full diary. We don't push the limits."

4Dogs per walker

£16Pack walk

6Days a week

The £16 is where they intend to stay for a standard pack walk. They priced from their own costs upward rather than from competitors downward. Three of them, their own van, no office, no franchise fees. "If costs move, prices move, but we're not doing a cheap first year then a jump."

The day runs to a fixed shape. Van loaded by half seven, first dogs picked up from half eight, morning pack out on the Downs, drop offs, home visits over lunch, second pack out early afternoon, everyone home by five, van hosed out. They do not split Sussex into territories. They run two rounds, one along the coast from Brighton across to Worthing and one north from Brighton towards Haywards Heath, because pack walks only work when the pickups sit close together.

A chocolate labrador, a cocker spaniel and a black terrier resting on grass during a Brighton dog walk — Dogs at rest mid walk, which the family say is the point of choosing quieter spots over the beach

Ask them the best place in Brighton to walk a dog and there is no pause

Best, and not close

Stanmer Park

Woods, open parkland, water for the dogs, and enough space that a pack can stretch out without tripping over picnics. The Downs above the racecourse comes second, chosen as much for the sight lines as the space. You can see a loose dog or an oncoming horse from half a mile off, which matters when you are walking a group.

Worst, and they mean it

The beach

Even in the months dogs are allowed on it. Gulls, food, crowds, bikes and other dogs everywhere. They say most dogs find it overwhelming rather than enjoyable, so the beach is kept for one to one walks with the occasional dog who genuinely likes it.

"An overstimulated dog isn't a happy dog, it just looks like one."

They know the 2023 public space protection orders without looking them up. Dogs are off the beaches from May to September apart from a few designated stretches. All three grew up here, and they argue that knowing the local restrictions by instinct rather than by map is half the reason to use a walker from the area.

What Brighton owners get wrong most often

Recall, by a distance. Every dog comes back fine right up until there is a seagull, another dog, or half a dropped sandwich involved. "Recall in your kitchen and recall on the Downs are two different things." They would rather an owner was honest about it than optimistic, because the walk is planned around the dog somebody actually has rather than the one they describe.

The worst weather is not the weather you would expect

Not the wet days. Rain can be dressed for and most dogs are indifferent to it. It is the hot ones that cause the problem. Walking a dog on hot pavement in the middle of the day is not safe, so walks move to early morning and evening, or get swapped for a home visit instead.

"A soggy walk is still a walk. A heatwave means telling a dog who's desperate to go out that it's not happening, and they don't half let you know what they think of that."

What do you tell a nervous first timer that a five year old business would not have to?

"Everything, is the answer."

A business with five years of reviews behind it can point at them. Furry Adventures cannot, and instead of working around that they have built the offer on it. Come and meet them first. Meet the dogs they already walk. See the van, the insurance, the DBS checks and the first aid certificates. The meet and greet is free and carries no obligation.

Free meet and greet before committing to anything
Insurance, DBS and first aid paperwork shown on request
Registered with the council's voluntary walker scheme
Four dogs per walker, under a policy allowing six

"We're not asking anyone to trust us blind. We're asking them to check."

What they offer

Pack walksFrom £16, capped at four dogs per walker

Solo walksOne to one, including quieter routes

Home visitsPop ins over lunch and through the day

Pet sittingIncluding overnight stays

Pet taxiVet runs and transport

Walk packsPre-paid blocks, up to 20 per cent off

They are realistic about the first year. It is not full time income for all three of them yet and was never planned to be. The intention is two of the three full time by the end of this year, with the others building towards it. As they put it, they would rather grow off a waiting list than off a loan.