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I have very specific ideas about how dogs should be trained and, candidly, most trainers fail to impress me. My own education was received from a wonderful, Australian woman called Alison Morgan who, though now in her eighties, is still passionate about dogs and obedience training. I watched her work with her own champion dogs almost every day throughout through my childhood (I should explain that she brought me up), attended her classes and also went to many of the dog shows where she appeared. Her philosophy is straightforward: positive reinforcement of good behaviour and what I would describe as mild disapproval of bad behaviour. Anyway, the result is that although I like lots of dog trainers I meet, there are few that I really admire.
Two that I am more than happy to recommend, however, are Phillip Gazzard and Craig Steiff. Phillip runs Bark Busters for North, South and Central London and Craig runs Bark Busters for West London, Croydon and Sutton. Recently I chose them to look after my sister-in-law Kate’s new lurcher, Jackson, (photos to follow) and my business partner Vicky is actually getting them to help her with her Labradoodle, Rudi. In other words, they are so good we are using them ourselves.
What makes them special? They follow the Bark Busters training philosophy designed in the 1980s by Sylvia and Danny Wilson and which has since become the most popular training method in the world. Indeed, Bark Busters have trained more than 500,000 dogs since it was founded in Australia. Anyway, I am rambling (first day back at blogging and all that). My real point is that if you are looking for a trainer anywhere in the London area I would definitely recommend Phillip and Craig. They have their own website Dog Training London or you can call them on 0808 100 4071.
Only a week now until Crufts. You will find us in Hall 1 on Stand 100. Please, please, pretty please come and say hello if you are an existing customer. And, of course, if you aren't.
We have 20 hampers of Darling's Real Dog Food to give away to dog clubs as free draw or competition prizes. Just drop me an email jonathan@darlingsrealdogfood.com if you want to apply. Also, while I am about it if you run a canine website of any description we have some excellent articles on raw feeding that we will be happy for you to post.
Isn't this photo FANTASTIC? It was sent to me by Robert Woods of Westie ReHoming in Wiltshire. They are his family's family, as it were, of West Highland Terriers photographed on their summer hols on the Isle of Mull. Westie ReHoming is, as the name suggests, involved in finding new homes for Westies. What I like about the organisation is that they are scrupulously careful about choosing new homes for the dogs in their care. The same cannot be said of all such organisations. Anyway, if you are a Westie lover then you could do worse than send a few bob to support its work. And if you are looking for a Westie to love - and you are serious about it - they may be able to help.
Looking for somewhere to stay that will let you bring your dog or cat? Searching for an interesting pet-friendly place to visit? A new site, Pets Allowed, aims to provide users with a free list of suitable accommodation and visitor attractions. It has launched with a good selection (my test searches all came up with a reasonable selection) and I imagine that over time it will get even better as they build up their database. Anyway, Pets Allowed is definitely worth bookmarking.
Every year millions of British dogs and cats - possibly your own - are being put at risk. How? Let me explain. Canine Health Concern has just launched a much needed campaign to try and change the unnecessary and potentially fatal vaccination of dogs and cats. The core element of the campaign is an open letter to Professor Dean of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), the government body responsible for vaccination guidelines and regulation. The nature of the problem is summed up at the beginning of this letter:
"Despite repeated requests over many years, the VMD – a government department - has failed to take action to ensure that veterinary vaccines are administered no more frequently than is necessary, or to warn and protect the public from spurious claims on the part of veterinary vaccine manufacturers and veterinary surgeons. Independent duration of immunity studies have been available since the 1970s to show that immunity to viral disease in dogs and cats persists for years or the life of the animal, and that annual vaccination is not required."
The thing that I found really shocking as I read the rest of the letter was the fact that equivalent bodies in other parts of the world have woken up to the risks and have stopped allowing pharmaceutical companies to promote regular boosters. Why not the British? Hard to say. For a nation of pet lovers we are not shining here and it is important that this issue is brought to the attention of parliament so that pressure can be put on the VMD to make these much needed changes to the regulations.
If you would like to know more about this issue visit the resource area of the Canine Health Concern website and click on books/publications and then look for press releases/letters. It is an eye opener and if you feel inclined (as I did) to take action I hope you will decide to write to your MP.
The BBC reported that this poor stray cat walked into the Scottish SPCA's Wildlife Rescue Centre in Middlebank on Sunday with her head wedged in an empty pet food tin. After the can was carefully removed she was checked over. She has now been taken to the Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Balerno, Edinburgh. Colin Seddon, Scottish SPCA Wildlife Rescue Centre manager, said: "Luckily no damage was done and the little cat was very pleased to be freed from the discomfort that comes with having your head stuck inside a tin can." Proof that canned pet food is dangerous. A reminder that litter is a terrible threat to animals. And a good excuse for me to say that Darling's is as good for cats as it is for dogs. Indeed, we already have some feline customers and we are planning to re-package and slightly re-formulate our recipes shortly with a view to launching Darling's Real Cat Food. In the meantime if you have a cat then please don't hesitate to contact us on 0844 656 1566.
I have very specific ideas about how dogs should be trained and, candidly, most trainers fail to impress me. My own education was received from a wonderful, Australian woman called Alison Morgan who, though now in her eighties, is still passionate about dogs and obedience training. I watched her work with her own champion dogs almost every day throughout through my childhood (I should explain that she brought me up), attended her classes and also went to many of the dog shows where she appeared. Her philosophy is straightforward: positive reinforcement of good behaviour and what I would describe as mild disapproval of bad behaviour. Anyway, the result is that although I like lots of dog trainers I meet, there are few that I really admire.
