Early on this April morning terror washed over the former senior public servant, who had turned her gift for training dogs into a fledgling business. She knew the dogs, by now ripping and shaking the wailing spoodles in her care, were bull arabs bred for catching feral pigs.

Bitten on the thumb, kicking at the bigger dogs and screaming at the top of her lungs for help, she picked up one of the spoodles and dropped it over a fence, only for it to race from the yard back to the ferocious melee for a second mauling.

"A woman came out terrified and of all things had a baby in her arms," Ms Grundy said. This was enough to distract the hunting dogs, who trotted off, leaving a shaken Ms Grundy to scoop up Hux and Oscar, by now torn, bleeding and traumatised, and go to the Kippax veterinary hospital.

Dogs off leash are the biggest drawback on an otherwise idyllic career change Ms Grundy and her partner, Carolyn Kidd, another former public servant and one-time classic guitarist, made in late 2014. It began over lunch one day when they agreed to go into business using their marketing skills and knowledge of dogs, gained from volunteering at the pound and obedience school.

From the little girl who played with her corgi Brutus to now, Ms Grundy has watched people's affections and regard for dogs evolve, as has Ms Kidd, whose father remarked incredulously: "'People paying you to walk dogs?' He comes from the generation of dogs roaming and you walking your own dog," Ms Kidd said.

Walking all breeds of dogs for busy public servants, Defence workers, retired and incapacitated people, the founders of Dogs on the Run say Canberrans should prepare for more dogs taking bigger roles in everyday life. They socialised one of the first service dogs in Canberra, Molly the diabetic detection dog. They say dogs are helping people with post traumatic stress and other mental health issues, and should be accepted in public places like shops.

"The community has to realise dogs play that role," says Ms Grundy. "You don't catch dog diseases from dogs, and dogs don't get human diseases from you."

The women say people's understanding of dogs has not grown as widely as their affection for them. Ms Kidd says: "If a dog is on a lead outside a shop I now know you don't just walk up and pat it. That dog is threatened and can't get away and it has its area, and we want to get into its personal space. Sure, the dog may be friendly, then again it might not be."

Ms Grundy says another big mistakes is attributing human-like behaviour and personalities to dogs. "People like to cuddle dogs because we are primates, we like to cuddle. Dogs aren't primates, they don't like to be cuddled, they show affection in other ways."

A pack animal, dogs need a leader. Those without a leader run amok in homes, jumping on furniture and people, become anxious, eat cushions and dig holes. Ms Kidd says they can help by walking and training the dog, but the solution lies in the owner's daily involvement in behavioural issues.

They have achieved behavioural improvements in rescued dogs by winning their trust with non-threatening approaches, cheese and bacon treats and then seeing the subsequent warmth extend to the owner, other family members and friends.