About me
Hello! I'm Claudia, a 26 year old animal and nature lover from Devon. I am qualified to look after your pets and have worked with a variety of animals over many years! Claudia's Canines was set up in May 2021, and since then, I've walked and taken care of a variety of different dogs and pets, and have treated every one like they're my own. Experience and knowledge is hugely important when looking after animals, but so is care, and compassion. I want all the animals in my care to be safe and happy, and for owners to have peace of mind that their four legged friends are being provided with high-quality care.
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I have always known that I wanted to work with animals and have built up my experience over the years by volunteering and working closely with a range of species. I wanted to set up this service to use that experience to benefit you and your beloved pets. Whether it's dog walking, spending time with your disabled or rescue dogs, cleaning out your animals' enclosures or feeding your reptiles, I've had plenty of experience with it all.
From the age of 16, I have been working with all kinds of animals. My own pets throughout my life have included dogs, guinea pigs, a horse and even a royal python and a crested gecko! I enjoy taking care of scaly critters and invertebrates just as much as the cute and cuddly animals!
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My Experience
Since I had my first animal-related job at 16, I have been working and volunteering with animals such as mice, cockroaches and snakes all the way up to deer, alpaca and horses. That's over 10 years of building up my skills, plus the voluntary work I did at a younger age. I've worked at a few family attractions as an animal keeper for a number of years, taking care of a long list of animals including lizards, crocodiles, emu, goats, wallaby and lots more, so if you're looking for someone to care for your pets no matter what they are, you've found the right person! I have been professionally trained on the husbandry of these animals, plus many more.
One of my favourite animals to look after is, without a doubt, dogs! My family has always had them around and we currently have three. Watson and Marco are two rescues that I worked with at a sanctuary in Cyprus. I flew there and lived there for three months in 2020 to help care for their pack of 50-70 rescue dogs, and I loved it! During my time there I got to work with dogs of all ages, breeds and abilities including nervous and disabled dogs. Walking, feeding, cleaning, wound care, bathing, and medicating were all part of the long list of daily jobs. My other dog is a rescue called Maya, who we took directly off the streets of Egypt in 2022. We started completely from scratch with her, and she has flourished! I'm very proud of how she has turned out.
​My time in Cyprus has been extremely valuable to me as I have learned a huge amount about dog behaviour, socialisation, general care and specifically how to care for disabled and nervous dogs from people that have been working with and rehabilitating rescue animals for many years. It inspired me to start this business and use my knowledge to provide not only a high standard of animal husbandry, but to really care for the animals I look after. I have now been in business for 3 years and have many happy clients who know their animals are safe and happy with me.
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My Qualifications
Experience counts for a lot but I am also qualified to look after animals. I have achieved a Level 3 Diploma in Animal Management, which has helped me with my career in working with animals. This course covered lots of different things including, behaviour, nutrition, welfare, husbandry, and so much more. It set me up for a career in animal care, and I'm constantly applying my knowledge from it into my every day work.
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As of March 2025, I completed an online course by a well known dog behaviourist covering the following topics:
- Dog body language, splitting, play bows, and 'fun policing'.
- Trigger stacking, the emotional bucket, decompression.
- Dog law in the UK.
- Play: healthy, balanced, unbalanced.
- Walking with a sensitive dog, understanding their triggers and accommodating their needs on walks.
- Social preferences in dogs.
- Matching up groups, introducing new dogs, managing resources on walks.
- Working as part of a team around the dog, communicating with clients or other professionals, changes in behaviour including sudden reluctance to go on walks.
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I am also trained in pet first aid having done a practical course, which I re-do every 3 years.
