The DogCast Radio blog

I recently met my young niece’s boyfriend for the first time. I felt protective and wanted to establish that this young man was a suitable escort for my niece, but I didn’t want to come over as heavy handed and intrusive. What conversation could I have with him to set my mind at rest? What question should I ask to gain the measure of his character?
And then it came to me in a moment of inspiration.

“So,” I asked, “are you a dog person or a cat person?”

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It may seem as familiar as the nativity at Christmas, but it’s time for a reminder about puppies and Christmas. Don’t buy a puppy as a Christmas present. Apart from anything else, Christmas is far too busy a time for most of us to devote the necessary attention to a new dog. The comings and goings will make it impossible for them to bond with their new pack and settle into a new home.

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The American Veterinary Medical Association has produced its 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook. The statistics included make fascinating reading. For example, while there are 43 million dog owning households in the USA, there are 37.5 million cat owning households. However, there are more cats – 81.7 million – than dogs – 72 million – in the country. So clearly there are a lot of multi-cat houses.

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I’ve been very busy recently recording interviews for future shows, and one that sticks in my mind is one with Margaret Flack. Margaret, with the Kennel Club and the UK dog newspaper Our Dogs, is mounting a campaign to stamp out puppy farms, dog dealing and dog smuggling in the UK. I hope she is successful, and so should each and every dog lover in the UK - and beyond.

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I've just come across the Animal Saviours website, who have an onine petition to stop animal suffering in China. Live animals are being skinned for their fur in China. If you would like to stop that, please visit the site and sign the petition at the site www.animalsaviors.org/index.html

Be warned that the video and some of the still images on the site are distressing. But think of your own dog - or cat - and imagine them caught in that nightmare situation.

The site proclaims, "Only animals should wear fur" and I wholeheartedly agree - do you?

Take care,

Julie x

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We have a lot of photos uploaded to our breed profile pages, but this one recently caught my eye. It’s Springer Spaniel Willie Nelson Jennings. It’s not only a beautifully composed photo, but I love the dog’s expression. He looks so wonderfully serious, yet you know probably a split second after the camera clicked he was bounding off to have more silly Springer fun.

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I’m interviewing Cynthia Miller next week about her positive approach to rescue dogs. Cynthia has two beautiful rescue dogs of her own, Malteses Lulu and Lolly. Cynthia decided that people need to adjust the way they think about rescue dogs, and to that end Cynthia, Lulu and Lolly have released a music video called Rescue Dog Rock.

It’s a refreshing change to see rescue dogs portrayed in a way that makes you think, “Hey, I want one of those!” rather than making you feel sorry for dogs cast in the role of victim.

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This sign at a local Forestry Commission site always makes me smile. I carry a supply of poo bags with me on every dog walk, and conscientiously bag it and bin it. However, the Forestry Commission here asks dog owners to stick and flick it.

This requires owners to simply pick up a stick and flick the poo off the path, and hopefully means that main paths are poo-free. That’s fine with me, and in the main it seems to work no worse than other locations that require owners to scoop the poop.

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The Kennel Club has at last reacted really well to the furore created by the Pedigree Dogs Exposed Documentary, with this announcement “Kennel Club to Clamp Down on Breeders to Safeguard Health of Pedigree Dogs”. (www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/2089/23/5/3)

The firs new standard is for the Pekingese, and demands the breed has a muzzle rather than a completely flat face. (www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/196)

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Buddy and I entered a heelwork to music competition at a companion dog show recently. I was thrilled – but nervous - to learn that Kate Nicholas, of Kate and Gin, would be judging the competition. They would also be putting on a display of their own doggy dancing too, and I was greatly looking forward to that.

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