Historic Middlesex’s dog walkers picture is an unusual one: rather than independent businesses or marketplace profiles, the genuine finding here is council licensing. Two boroughs run real, currently-live schemes requiring professional dog walkers to hold a permit — which tells you something useful even before you get to the Google-rated walkers we found on a second look, further down.
Ealing: a public register of licensed walkers
Ealing Council requires a permit for anyone paid to walk dogs in its parks: “if you are paid to walk dogs, you need to have a permit to use our parks.” Applicants need £5m public liability insurance, a risk assessment, a method statement and vet/trade references, and must disclose any dog-related convictions; up to 15 permits can be issued per organisation. Successful applicants appear on the council’s own public directory, which currently lists nine names: Alphas Canine Care, Amigos, Bark Brigade, Bethany Hardy, Donna Graver, James Hamlyn, Rachana Jacob, Shanice Noble and The Dog Dorm. This is a genuine council register rather than an independent verification of quality — on our first pass none of the nine turned up with a website or social presence of their own beyond the council listing, though a second look, further down, did find their own websites for Amigos Mutts and Moggies and Bark Brigade Ealing, so treat this as “licensed to operate,” not as a reviewed recommendation.
Hillingdon: a licence requirement, no public list
Hillingdon Council runs its own professional dog walking licence, with unlicensed paid walking risking a fine of up to £100. Licensed walkers are capped at 6 dogs in Hillingdon’s green spaces, and every employee of a walking company needs their own individual licence rather than one covering the whole business. Fees are £175 for residents and £250 for non-residents on a new licence, with renewals at £155/£230. Unlike Ealing, the council doesn’t publish a public list of who currently holds a licence.
One independent lead, held back
Sophie’s Dog Walking, based in West Drayton and listed on Hillingdon Council’s own business directory, serves Hillingdon, Uxbridge, West Drayton, Hayes, Cowley and Yiewsley — squarely in scope. It has its own website and a Facebook page, but the only dated evidence we could find of recent activity (a single review from 2021, a listing “last updated” in mid-2024, a dead blog link) is stale enough that we can’t confirm it’s currently active to our usual bar. We’re naming it honestly as a real business with an unconfirmed current status, rather than either hiding it or presenting it as a confirmed recommendation.
What didn’t turn up
On our first pass, no independently verifiable business with a genuinely active website or social presence turned up for any other historically-Middlesex town, though a second look, further down, found walkers with their own websites around Twickenham, Harrow and Ruislip. Harrow, Hounslow, Brent, Barnet and Haringey have no confirmed dog-walker-specific licensing scheme of their own (only general park rules, or licensing that covers boarding and breeding rather than walking); the same is true for the Surrey district covering Staines-upon-Thames and Sunbury-on-Thames. We also couldn’t confirm a single Rover.com or Bark.com profile clearing our usual 50-review bar — searches were heavily contaminated by wrong-country results (an Enfield in Connecticut, a London in West Virginia, a Britain in Virginia, a North Middlesex in Ontario all turned up for simple place-name searches), and Rover’s own anti-bot protection blocked us from opening individual profile pages directly, so this is a genuine gap in what we could verify rather than confirmed proof nothing exists there.
Whoever ends up walking your dog, a bit of separation anxiety on the first few visits is normal. A calming bite before they head out can help take the edge off. If the anxiety doesn’t ease with time, that’s worth raising with your vet.
A second look on Google Maps
Google Maps shows more walkers across west London and old Middlesex than our first pass found. These have a listing, their own website and at least 10 reviews, all rated 4.5 or better when we checked.
LondonWoof
★★★★★ 4.7 · 164 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford.
View on Google Maps
Waggle & Purr
★★★★★ 4.9 · 62 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford.
View on Google Maps
Helens pet service
★★★★★ 4.6 · 50 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford. Also offers boarding and day care, which are licensed activities, so ask to see the council licence if you book those.
View on Google Maps
Walks 4 Ur Dog
★★★★★ 4.8 · 25 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford.
View on Google Maps
ding dogs
★★★★★ 5.0 · 19 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford.
View on Google Maps
Sammy & Mim
★★★★★ 5.0 · 14 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford.
View on Google Maps
Amigos Mutts and Moggies
★★★★★ 5.0 · 11 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford. Also on Ealing Council’s permit list above, which is a useful second check.
View on Google Maps
Bark Brigade Ealing
★★★★★ 5.0 · 10 Google reviews
In Ealing and Brentford. Also on Ealing Council’s permit list above, which is a useful second check.
View on Google Maps
TonguesOut
★★★★★ 5.0 · 47 Google reviews
In Twickenham.
View on Google Maps
Walkies with the Webbs
★★★★★ 5.0 · 10 Google reviews
In Twickenham.
View on Google Maps
Debbies Doggies of Harrow
★★★★★ 4.5 · 31 Google reviews
In Harrow and Ruislip.
View on Google Maps
Brittany’s Dog Services LTD
★★★★★ 5.0 · 21 Google reviews
In Harrow and Ruislip.
View on Google Maps
Carlen’s Canines & Companions
★★★★★ 5.0 · 29 Google reviews
Came up in a Harrow search without a clear area, so ask where they work.
View on Google Maps
Pets Kingdom
★★★★★ 5.0 · 30 Google reviews
Came up in a Harrow search without a clear area, so ask where they work.
View on Google Maps
If you are in Ealing or Hillingdon, ask any walker for their council permit or licence, since both boroughs require one. We haven’t tested any of them and Google ratings come from the public. TW K9 Complete Dog Services (4.9 from 59) and Dog Pet Care – Teddington/Richmond (5.0 from 31) are well reviewed but have no website on their listings, so we’ve left them off. Walkers in Bushey and Watford came up in the Harrow search and belong to Hertfordshire, so we’ve excluded them.
Alongside finding a licensed walker, it helps to have a few places in mind for your own time with your dog: see our secure dog fields in Middlesex and our dog-friendly pubs, cafés and restaurants in Middlesex.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a licence to walk dogs professionally in Ealing or Hillingdon?
Yes — both councils require a permit or licence for paid dog walking in their parks and green spaces, with fines for walking unlicensed.
Is Ealing’s list of licensed dog walkers a recommendation?
No — it confirms they’re licensed to operate in the borough’s parks, not that we or the council have independently reviewed their service.
Are there dog walkers for hire in Harrow or Hounslow?
On our first pass we couldn’t verify an independently active business or a council scheme in either borough, but a second look on Google Maps found some walkers around Harrow and Twickenham with websites and 10+ reviews, listed above. We found none in Hounslow.
For everything else dog-related in historic Middlesex, see our Dog Services in Middlesex hub — and for somewhere good to put those licensed paws to work, our guide to Middlesex’s best local dog walks covers Bushy Park, Osterley and more.
Written by Georgiana & Figo, who thinks any walker patient enough to handle a cocker spaniel’s enthusiasm deserves a medal.
