A little bit about us...
We are a dedicated, close-knit team committed to expanding our expertise year after year. Based at our training facility in Derry/L’derry Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, we continuously push ourselves to grow and excel in our field .
Lisa
Senior Trainer & Founder
4 years professional experience
Worked with over 2000 dogs
Grew up around dogs specifically show line German Sheperds and then moved to working line labradors. First dog was a jack russel named Patch, after that was a collie X bully called Pitch who I rescued in New Zealand and then the dog you all know and love so much Fara. Fara is a lab x husky who I re-homed whilst living in Canada, she is the face of Ruff Walks and the reason I started this business and want to help other pet owners. Pet dog training is my passion.
I hope to add a Dutch Sheperd to our crew in the future and compete in protection sports.
Current Dog
Fara – Labrador X Husky from Canada – 7 years old in October 2024
Favourite Small Breed
Miniature Schnauzer
Fun Food Fact
When eating Jaffa Cakes I eat all the chocolate first, followed by the sponge and finally the jelly part.
Gareth
Co-owner - Dog Trainer, Dog Walker, Cleaner, Organiser and basically keeps the ship afloat all round kinda guy
2 years professional experience
Joined in October 2022
Lucky enough to be Lisa’s partner in life and work (lucky him)
Grew up with an array of dog breeds in his life – everything from boxers and jack russels to a border collie.
Studied business at university and went on to complete a masters in small business innovation in 2022. He then joined Ruff Walks as a dog walker, applied his knowledge and expertise and quickly grew our dog walking crew client base from 8 dogs per week to over 200. Became a co-owner in 2023, bought his first dog Coffee (a working line labrador) in February 2024 and quickly fell in love with dog training. Currently training Coffee to work alongside the gun with a possibility of competing in field trials in the future.
Current Dog
Coffee – Working Line Labrador – 1 year old in December 2024
Favourite Small Breed
Jack Russell
Fun Food Fact
Buys the 4 bar kitkat and bites the entire thing without breaking each stick of separately.
Samantha
Dog Walker and Pet Photographer
Dog Walker and Pet Photographer
Our very first hire – Samantha joined the team in April 2023 as soon as we got the keys to our training facility. She and her dog Rocky started out as training clients of Lisa’s in September 2022. Lisa made a note that if she ever needed to expand the team she would reach out and hopefully poach this client from whatever job she was in, almost 2 years later and here we are. Samantha is one of our dog walkers – specifically she works with the more difficult large breeds clients we have. She has a passion for pet photography and has already completed her Level 1 photography course. She is currently studying her level 2 alongside a photoshop course. You’ll see plenty of her work on our social media over the coming years.
Current Dog
Rocky – Cane Corso X Bulldog – 4 years old in December 2024
Favourite Small Breed
Chihuahua
Fun Food Fact
I can’t believe she’s telling the general public this one – she bites the ends of a twix bar and uses it as a straw to drink her….CHICKEN CUPPA SOUP!
Kirsty
Dog Walker
Joined the team in 2024. Used to live in England and run her own dog walking service. Moved back to Ireland with her partner and their dog also named Farrah.
Currently one of the dog walking team members and hopes in the future to delve into the world of dog training and behaviour, which we will be only too happy to assist her with.
Current Dog
Farrah – German Sheperd X Staffy – 8 years old in August 2024
Favourite Small Breed
Lhasa Apso
Fun Food Fact
Likes to bite the ends of Kitkats and use them as a straw to drink her tea (Very important to note it cannot be a kitkat chunky)
Tiarnan
Junior Dog Handler
The youngest member of our team who joined us in 2023. Tiarnan recently finished his studies in school, he is taking a 2 year study break before heading of to university. He has grown up around dogs his whole life, usually lurchers, greyhounds and labradors. He started as a dog walker but has quickly shown an interest in training and has moved into running our structured day services. He’ll be the face you see on site each and every morning so be sure to say hi.
Current Dog
Ash – Whippet X Collie – 2 years old in January 2025
Favourite Small Breed
Dachshund
Fun Food Fact
Likes to dip his Mc Donalds chips into his milkshake – he swears its the best thing EVER!
