Firstly, thank you to Kate Macdougall, Blink Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC of this lovely book.

I really enjoyed this read.

The narrative from Kate herself was charming. The story was funny in parts and I found myself chuckling along with the various doggy characters and their unique behaviours.

It was inspiring to see Kate see out her ambition of starting a dog walking business when everyone around her, other than her husband, seemed to be against the idea.

It was also really interesting to hear about how the recession hit her business and how she came out the other side.

Overall, it was a really solid read with a good, joyful narrative.

I liked how the book spoke about lots of breeds of dogs and I love the front cover
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

I can't explain how much of a feel-good, heartwarming book this was. It was hilariously funny, and such a perfect book to read in the garden with the wonderful Scottish sunshine we had last week.

The essence of the storyline is this: Kate was working in an antique shop and decided to pack her job in and start dog walking. There's Winston: the dog who isn't allowed to get muddy, Kate’s mother: who doesn't approve of dog-walking as a suitable career choice, and Finn: Kate's boyfriend- who hates dogs. As a dog lover, this was perfect - I loved all the hilarious stories about the dogs and the crazy owners. I just utterly adored this.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who is a dog lover, or if you're looking for something funny. Or even if you're just looking for an escape-read!

This will be out on the 8th April 2021 and I'd highly recommend getting your hands on it as soon as you can! Thank you to @bonnierbooks_uk , @blinkpublishing and @netgalley for this Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was funny and written in an easy, engaging style. No nonsense but imbued with warmth and as much an ode to human behaviour and idiosyncrasies as to that of all the dogs, big, small, old, young, well-behaved, spoilt, loved, overweight, grumpy, and unsociable that Kate MacDougall introduces us to.
I originally thought from the cover and book title, selecting it for those very basic reasons, and probably not even skim reading the synopsis (terrible habit of mine. Maybe they do Human Training classes somewhere near me?!), that this was a fictional tale of canine shenanigans and human romance.
It isn't fictional but there are plenty of shenanigans, ridiculous expectations, chaos, muddy mayhem and a beautiful reward of treats, in the form of the developing relationship Kate has with Finlay. Amongst the doggy dilemmas, we join the couple in their relocations and additions to the family and there is a very touching summary of where some of the dogs, some of the clients and some of the walkers from London's No.1 Dog Walking Agency end up.
I am not even a dog owner myself, we have three cats, but this did not alter my enjoyment of the book, learning how one clumsy young woman stuck trying not to break anything else in a back room at Sotheby's, branches out on her own to set up her own business and in doing so meets a motley collection of dogs and owners, with often hilarious and a fair smattering of frustrating, consequences.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I am so glad I did. Why don't you?

Kate’s book about her quitting her job at Sotheby’s and setting up her own dog walking agency, could not have been released at a more appropriate time. Over the past year, so many people have reconsidered their priorities in life and a change of career and getting a dog seems to be at the top of many peoples agendas. This book will therefore appeal to many. It is a very good read, it features many highs and lows that occur trying to establish a new business, with laugh out loud moments and sad ones that are inevitable when featuring dogs.
Laura has been on such a journey, she writes so well about it and I was really pleased to read all about it. I recommend this book for all, even dog sceptics!
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a funny, engaging read which genuinely made me laugh out loud. I didn't realise it was Kate's memoirs until about half way into the book.

I loved the way the dogs each had their own story and some of the owners made me cringe. (How can you stop a labrador getting muddy?!) I also really enjoyed the depiction of London in the book - it was a character in its own right.

I am definitely a dog rather than cat person and this book was a must read for me based on that alone.

What an absolute breath of fresh air. Such a funny book that had me smiling throughout. I loved how the author captured each dogs character and I could visualise each one. Such a different book

I really enjoyed this book. I secretly want a dog and so this book was right up my street. I did have to keep reminding myself that it was non fiction - probably because I've been reading a lot of escapist literature during the pandemic!
The characters that you come across in this story are wide and varied and made for interesting reading. I'm always fascinated how particular people are about their dogs, and this book reinforced that view.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC to review.

This made me think of a book I read years ago. The Common Years by Jilly Cooper. Both chronicle the lives of people and dogs and in a similar part of London.

This book however is a witty account of Kate's years of setting up and establishing her dog walking agency. I leaves you laughing, sighing, nodding in agreement, horrified and a myriad of other emotions. It is well worth reading even f you do not own a dog, but if you do will appeal even more.

Great light reading which will keep you entertained and make you wonder why some people ever bring a dog into their family and you will be glad, for the dogs involved, that Kate and her team came into their lives.

London’s No.1 Dog-Walking Agency - Kate MacDougall

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley.

Kate MacDougall always knew her heart wasn't really in her job at Sotheby's. All around her, her friends were finding their dream jobs and whooshing up career ladders, fulfilled and glowing with success, flush with easy credit. After yet another breakage, this time of two precious porcelain pigeons, she had enough, and walked out of her comfortable, snoozy, back-office existence into the unknown world of the then-nascent gig economy.

London's No 1 Dog-Walking Agency is the story of her next 5 years and the dogs (and people) she meets along the way. There's Winston, the Labrador who isn't allowed to get muddy, even after owners split up and then enlist Kate in their custody battle. There's the chic trio of Islington couples whose immaculately arranged dog walking schedule is thrown off when one of them gets off with the dog walker Kate has employed. There's Kate's long-suffering, dog-agnostic boyfriend Finn, and her mother, who is always on the alert for wedding bells and grandchildren. Amongst all this, there's Kate herself: trying to work out what she wants from life and when, and how to get there.

Kate cleverly provides the reader with insight into the dog-walking business, with this memoir. In places, I forgot that this book was non-fiction with some of the dog owner’s comments.

Wrongly on my part, I had requested this book based entirely on the cover and the title. Until I started reading this book I was not aware that this was a non-fiction book, which is not usually my style. However I was surprisingly impressed by this book.

Rating 4/5

I'm not really a dog person, but this was a fun wee read! Kate's memoir tells the story of how she established a dog walking agency in London when nobody in the UK had really heard of dog walkers. A nice mix of doggy tales, obnoxious clients and Kate's personal and family life.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

One of those books you almost don’t choose and then spend the whole book being grateful you did
This is a feel good, really feel good book about yep dog walking and Kate’s adventure’s as she leave Sotheby’s to set up her business and walks the various dogs, I didn’t realise until the end it was a true story (even though the characters name was the same as the author 😁😁)
It’s funny, very funny and LOL funny, heart warming, sad, joyous, clever and also a real ‘peak’ into someones personal growth
I am a cat person, as lots of you know, but I fell in love with the Dog’s in the book, the good, the naughty, the pampered and the ultra pampered, the finicky and the not so fortunate, all are here and all presented so well you want to meet them, the owners equally described brilliantly, flaws and all ( and they have many )
Set in London, the author takes you through her growing into adulthood via the dog walking agency and I honestly cant put into words how good, special, emotive and lovely this book is

10/10
5 Stars

I loved the cover of this one and the concept without realising until mid way through that this was Kate's memoirs! This made it even better to know that the episodes were true! The dogs were the stars of the show, especially Stanley and Rabbit! I loved reading their stories and their interactions with their handlers! It started well and I enjoyed the part where she was setting up the business and meeting the dogs.

I did feel that the book got bogged down a bit in too much detail later on with the details of her life and family.

Overall I think any dog owner will love and identify with some of the characters in this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Blink Publishing for allowing me to read this book in an exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, I requested it for the cover and had no idea it was a memoir and that’s reflected in my rating. I felt that it was very wordy, but now I know that’s a memoir it makes sense!

I love dogs- so I loved all the different dogs in this book and seeing how they behaved on the walks. It just goes to show that dogs and their owners have their very similar traits.

Saying that- the way that some of the dog owners treated their dogs (Labradors not allowed to get muddy or jump in puddles! ) made me think that some people don’t deserve dogs.

But at least the dog walkers gave them some freedom!

I did enjoy this book once I realised it was a memoir and it was great to hear Kate’s thoughts and see how she balanced her real life and her job, and how she managed to get a dog around her dog hating boyfriend.

Who became her husband.

He came around in the end though.

It was a great book, with a range of characters and dogs, that you will fall in love with!

3.5/5 stars.

As a dog mum, i was instantly drawn to this book - the title, cover and blurb all appealed straight away. I loved the mini stories of each of the dogs and how the agency grew. Lots of funny bits along the way. A must read for dog lovers.

I was gifted this arc thanks to Readers First and Bonnier Books. I was also approved for the e-arc thanks to NetGalley.

Before receiving this book, I had read the preview which included the first 2 chapters and this was my first impression of the book:

The title of this book is was intrigued me. I couldn't tell if it was fiction or non-fiction at first but I wanted to read it either way.

I just love the idea of dog walking as a full time job! Surrounding yourself with dogs rather than people just sounds ideal to me.

I suppose when you think of dog walking, you think more about the dogs rather than the owners. From the couple of stories in the sample, you can see the different types of owners and instantly know which ones you would find difficult to work for.

I love getting insights into jobs that I would never get the chance to work in, and this is one of those! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this book and the dogs stories/adventures.

Having now read the full book, this is my full review:

Having thought about it, ‘London’s No 1 Dog-Walking Agency’ is a rather cocky name for a new business but I suppose that’s how you draw people in - it makes them wonder what it is that makes you number 1 in the business.

I loved this book - really enjoyed it. It was a lighthearted, easy read but it was also fun to read about the different clients that Kate had. And all the quirks that came with them!

I enjoyed what I managed to read of this book. I have up though because my copy jumped around too much - as if sections were missing - so I have preordered this book on Amazon instead. I definitely want to read it based on what I have read so far.

There are lots of lovely little snapshots in Kate's tales of her journey into setting up her own dog walking business. I did find, at times, that I wasn't sure if I was rooting for her business to succeed or not - she waltzes into it so dreadfully unprepared, I just kept thinking how on earth/why on earth did people trust her with their dogs! But she gains experience and skills over the years, of course, and learns more about the dogs, and importantly, about the owners.
The Stanley/Tom story line was my favourite in this book, and I found it very moving. I also particularly liked the things that Kate's mum would say, and the depiction of their relationship!
It could have been a little tighter I think, as some parts felt a bit repetitious. But I think it'll go down well with dog-lovers.

I cannot recommend this glorious little book enough. It is joyful and beautiful and made me laugh and cry. Towards the end the Stanley/Tom story line literally had me in bits but because I could feel the emotions. I cared. You only care if the author writes a story that makes you care.
I am not going to write a synopsis as they are all over the internet but if you love dogs and/or London then you will love every second of this book and even if you don't I can't believe this perfectly little story won't warm your heart.

This book is like sitting in front of a warm log fire, wrapped in a blanket with tea and crumpets and loyal doggo sleeping by your side. It feels warm and safe. Bit like a hug and I have given it 5 stars and if the 11 books I have read so far this year there is only one other who got a 5 stars out of me. This is a book I will be buying a copy of to keep on my shelves and some copies for friends who I know will love it.

In case I have not made it clear. I love this book and you should buy it.

‘...if you cannot summon up even a minuscule morsel of joy on seeing a puppy, then you might want to rethink your entire personality.’

As a big dog lover I looked forward to reading this book. The author has written a memoir with a difference. Each chapter focuses on one of the dogs she walked and among the funny anecdotes she tells her story.
From leaving a job she hated she decides to become a dog walker in her 20s. Despite some difficult owners, dogs and a financial crash, she manages to keep her business going.

I really enjoyed this book and found it was an easy read. I liked that each chapter focused on a different dog and I could picture them and their personalities. Some of the anecdotes about the owners and their dogs are quite funny, and some parts are sad.

The cover is lovely and eye catching and I would pick it up if I saw it in a shop.

If you’re a dog lover I recommend this book, it’s a fresh take on a memoir and a good read.

Thanks to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for a copy of this book for review.