If you’re looking for a dog walker in Hampstead, there’s one question worth asking before anything else: does your walker hold a Hampstead Heath licence? Since April 2022, anyone walking dogs on Hampstead Heath as a business needs one from the City of London, which looks after Hampstead Heath. Every Premier Dog Walkers walker who works on Hampstead Heath holds that licence. Here’s what it means for dog walking on Hampstead Heath, and for your dog.
What the Hampstead Heath dog walking licence is
Hampstead Heath is one of the most loved open spaces in London, and it’s busy every day with families, runners, swimmers, picnickers and a great many dogs. The City of London introduced its professional dog walking licence to keep that mix working: to protect the wildlife, to limit disruption for other visitors, and to make sure commercial dog walking on Hampstead Heath is done safely.
Walking dogs commercially on Hampstead Heath without a licence is an offence, and walkers who break the scheme can be fined. To be granted a licence, a walker has to provide:
- their contact details and a photograph,
- a risk assessment,
- public liability insurance of at least £2 million,
- two customer or character references.
Once approved, the City of London issues each licensed walker with photo ID, which they can show to Hampstead Heath staff whenever they’re asked.
Four dogs per walker on Hampstead Heath
The licence limits each professional walker to four dogs on Hampstead Heath at the same time. We walk within that limit on every walk, every day. It suits the way we like to work anyway: a small group is easier to keep calm, easier to keep in sight, and far more pleasant for everyone else enjoying Hampstead Heath.
A group of four also means your walker genuinely knows each dog in it: who needs a moment to warm up in the morning, who has a best friend in the group, and who would happily keep going all afternoon.
The Hampstead Heath dog walking code of conduct
Alongside the licence, the City of London publishes a dog walking code of conduct for everyone who walks dogs on Hampstead Heath, professional or not. Licensed walkers agree to follow it. In plain terms, it asks walkers to:
- keep every dog under proper control and in sight at all times,
- be able to recall any dog they’re walking,
- make sure dogs don’t distress wildlife, especially waterfowl, or damage habitats by digging,
- pick up after every dog and use a bin or take it home,
- carry a lead for each dog,
- make sure each dog wears a collar or tag with the owner’s phone number,
- put dogs on the lead when staff or signs ask.
None of that feels like a rule to us. It’s simply what a good group walk on Hampstead Heath looks like.
How our dog walking on Hampstead Heath works
Our Hampstead walks are group walks, and we offer a morning and an afternoon round:
- Morning walk: your walker collects from home around 9:30. You don’t need to be in, because we hold your key.
- Afternoon walk: collection around midday, and home again around 1:30.
- A full hour of walking: never less, and the driving isn’t counted in it, so your dog is out of the house for about an hour and a half.
- A WhatsApp from your walker: a video of your dog in action, and who they’ve been running around with today.
Depending on your dog, the group heads for the wooded West Heath or the open Hampstead Heath Extension. Stephanie has walked Hampstead for seven years and chooses her group with real care. Jack takes the high-energy dogs onto the West Heath, because his own calm never rises to meet theirs. Ashley takes dogs who need to open up and stretch out onto the Hampstead Heath Extension. You can meet all of them on our Hampstead dog walking and daycare page.
Why a calm group matters on Hampstead Heath
We can’t control the other group coming the other way, but we can control ours. We think of a dog’s energy on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is fast asleep and 10 is wound right up. We keep our dogs at a 3 or 4. They can jump up to an 8 to play, and then we bring them back down. That’s also why our dog walkers don’t throw tennis balls: a ball creates competition, and we don’t want to give dogs a reason not to get on.
A calm group listens, comes back when called and passes picnickers, children and wildlife without fuss. That’s exactly what the code of conduct asks for, and it’s what makes Hampstead Heath work for everyone.
Questions to ask any dog walker in Hampstead
Whoever you choose to walk your dog, these are fair questions to ask:
- Do you hold a current Hampstead Heath licence, and can I see your photo ID?
- How many dogs will be in the group?
- Is it the same walker every time, and who covers when they’re away?
- How long is the actual walk, not counting the drive?
- How will I know how the walk went?
- What insurance do you carry?
Our answers: yes, every walker on Hampstead Heath is licensed; never more than four dogs per walker there; the same walker every day, with cover from someone in the team who already knows your dog; a full hour of walking; a WhatsApp video every walk; and £2m insurance. Every walker is trained by Warren and police checked.
Prices and booking
Walks are £25 each, and we ask for a minimum of two walks a week. All our walks are group walks. If you’d rather your dog had a whole day out, our dog daycare in Hampstead takes dogs for four hours in the Secret Woodland we’re lucky enough to use, run 100% by Warren, for £55 a day including pickup and drop-off. You can read more in what happens on a dog walk with us, or on our dog walking page.
Want to know which walker and group would suit your dog? Call Warren on 020 8442 0520 or send us a WhatsApp message, and we’ll arrange to meet your dog.