The DogCast Radio blog

I'm reading A Dog Year by Jon Katz at the moment. Being a Lab owner I'm loving his descriptions of the peaceful harmony he and his two Labradors enjoyed. I'm also enjoying the vivid depiction of the havoc the arrival of troubled, wild Border Collie Devon brings. It's a very honest account, with Katz owning up to every mistake and loss of temper.

Stockholm University research has shown that dogs are getting "dumber". Researchers found that current pedigree dogs are "disinterested, shy and less responsive to commands than their ancestors." They also found that show-quality and "handbag" dogs are the most likely to be affected by this lower intelligence.

I have to admit to a weakness for black Labradors, since their is one asleep on my sofa as I write this. He is often to be found snoozing on my sofa, but if he feels there is the need to defend his territory, he is up on his feet and barking, quick as a flash. His hackles go up, creating an impressive mohican effect down his back, and his barks are ear-shattering.

If you've ever ben faced with the problem of how to move your dog from one country to another, or over a long distance within a country, you may have considered putting your pet on a plane. Up until now you're only real option - unless you have your own jet - was to put your dog in the cargo hold. This is far from ideal in many ways. Now apparently, with the launch of Pet Airways, you have an alternative.

Since little Bo arrived at the White House he has attracted at least as much attention as his famous owner! So I will confine myself to saying that he looks very cute, and wishing the family and Bo many years of fun together. I will also point out for you some interesting comments.

Over the years of putting DogCast Radio together, I've gathered some great advice from the various trainers, breeders and other experts I've interviewed. Here are some tips for dealing with a puppy.

Start as you mean to go on

I came across Jon Buscall and Kennel Björkwood through Twitter. Jon is a Basset Hound breeder in Sweden, and I am currently arranging a good time to interview him for DogCast Radio. Jon has lots of interesting insights into being a dog breeder, and of course we are often told that the Swedish Kennel Club is a great role model for any Kennel Club to look to.

We've had some gorgeous St. Bernard photos added to the site today. You can see one at the top of this post, but there are more on the site. Check out Best Buddies, Time for a drink and Dr Watson. That last one is not a new one, but I love the comment, with the quick aside reference to drool and shedding! If you go to our St. Bernard breed profile page and scroll down there are more photos of listeners' dogs to see.

For a photo of a St Bernard with lovely calm eyes and such a benign expression, read the story of Rosie.

There have been some unusual dog stories in the news recently. Sophie Tucker the black cattle dog fell from her owner's boat amid stormy weather off the coast of Australia. Her owners assumed the worst when she didn't reappear. However, Sophie turned up months later on St. Bees Island after locals reported her to rangers. Apparently Sophie had swum six miles through shark infested water to get to the island.

I love living in Shropshire; the scenery is beautiful, the people are laid back, and there is lots of space to walk the dogs. Since we've been here I have listened more to Radio Shropshire, and appreciated the sense of community generated and supported by the station. So it was pleasure today to meet Jim Hawkins who presents the morning show on Radio Shropshire. We go to dog training classes with the same trainer (Jill Arnold, Paws4Thought) although at different times, and we have been tweeting back and forth on Twitter, so when Jenny and I were going to be in Telford at the same time as Jim was doing one of his sitting on a bench stints, it seemed a good opportunity to meet up. (Jim sits on a bench somewhere in Shropshire after a show once a week and includes the conversations in his Friday show.)