The DogCast Radio blog

I'm so proud tonight - Jenny and Star passed their Bronze Good Citizen award tonight. They came home with a certificate and a rosette, and a feeling of achievement. This scheme is run by most Kennel Clubs around the world, so wherever you live, check out if your KC offer the awards. There are three levels - Bronze, Silver and Gold - and each level is an eight week course. You can take each level again, if you don't quite make it the first time.

Stephen Foster is the author of Walking Ollie and Along Came Dylan. You can here him talking about his dogs and his books in episode 77 of DogCast Radio. Stephen was interesting and amusing to interview, and I enjoyed his books.

There's a lot of panic in the news about "Swine flu", which apparently is a very inappropriate name. Egypt are killing all their pigs. What's next - should Guinea Pig owners worry? Then maybe it'll be rabbits, then cats and then perhaps dogs? Well if you listen to the proper authorities rather than sensationalist reporting, things aren't as bad as they might seem. And according to the ASPCA - the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - there is very little risk of dogs being affected.

Through the wonders of Twitter, I came across a site called 2 dogs 2000 miles. Luke lost his dog Malcolm to canine cancer. Now Luke and his remaining dogs Hudson and Murphy are in the middle of walking from Austin to Boston, hoping to raise awareness of canine cancer and funds to help fight it. Luke has a clear vision of what he aims to do, and a firm belief he can do it.

After our excellent walk on Sunday, Buddy had a delicate problem in the evening. How can I put this? Aromas of a most unpleasant nature emanated from his vicinity. Poisonous miasmas if you will. Wind. Gas. Call it what you want, it had us running for cover, wafting it away with a magazine, and opening windows. Yes, it was pretty horrible.

We went for a walk on Cannock Chase today, and Buddy and Star found some friends to play with. The child in the photo detected a child-friendly Lab and came straight over. From then on Buddy lay on his back to have his tummy rubbed by the child. All would have gone on peacefully, were it not for the presence of an enthusiastic German Shepherd Dog puppy and Star, because all of a sudden they both wanted in on the action. The child was happy to fuss all three, and Buddy was happy to lie on his back in the middle of it all!

We have an interview with Deborah Howard, the founder and president of CAPS in the latest episode of DogCast Radio -out now! Below is the latest news from CAPS:

Animal Planet Airs Special: Puppy Mills Exposed
Deborah Howard President of Companion Animal Protection Society Helps Expose Inhumane World of Pet Shops and Puppy Mills
 

Cloning dogs is still a new and controversial area - and now they've gone and made it even more controversial. They've created cloned glow in the dark dogs. I'll say that again, just so you know you read it right - they've cloned glow in the dark dogs. Glow in the dark Beagles to be exact.

Of course the first thing that springs to mind is "Why?" What is the point of a dog that glows in the dark? (Apart from the fact you probably wouldn't lose him on a moonlight walk.) Why on earth tinker with a dog's DNA to make him glow? Now the team

Do you live with an Australian Terrier? If so and you have anything to say about the health of the breed, then Doreen Simpkins wants to hear from you. Doreen can be heard in Episode 75 of DogCast Radio, with a profile of the breed. She breeds awesome Aussies, and now she has been asked to sit on the breed health working group. She is interested in collating information and/or research from as many different sources as possible.

Just spotted this very odd video of wolves eating berries - not the kind of behaviour you expect of them! I know they hunt as a pack, but surely usually the prey moves a bit more? But then our dogs love fruit and veg too. Buddy likes apple and banana, while Star cannot rest if you are eating a pear and she knows she will get the core. She sits waiting patiently like a good dog, but she makes eye contact to ensure you know she is waiting patiently like a good dog.