The DogCast Radio blog

Sometimes blogs should carry warnings. Last Saturday I was catching up with my blog reading, and was working my way through my “favourites”. I was bemoaning the fact that one dog blog I regularly read hasn’t been updated since mid-October, while I opened the next blog, which was Stephen Foster’s. (http://walkingollie.wordpress.com/) I found myself looking at a post titled Leaving Ollie, and immediately alarm bells rang.

Keeping an eye on dog-related news items is part of compiling DogCast Radio, and it seems there have been some unusual mishaps recently.

If you have a dog with a penchant for running away, the Retrieva collar might be of interest to you. I remember interviewing a representative of the company at Crufts 2008 and thinking what a well thought out product it was. Not only does it let you track your dog, it is tamper proof, and will withstand water should your dog take a swim while wearing it.

So not only will it help if your dog simply wanders off, but it should help cut down on the number of dogs stolen. And that can only be a good thing.

Hooray – it’s December! Deck the halls and all that! We’ve put our Christmas tree up, and explained to Buddy and Star that they mustn’t pee on it or try to eat it. They are actually outraged that our local pet store has sold out of dog treat advent calendars, and until more stocks arrive they have to make do with watching the smaller pets in the house receive their advent calendar treats, which isn’t quite the same thing at all!

It’s nearly December and to get you in the Christmas mood early, watch the video attached to this post. That dog is so cute! Neither of ours dogs is set off by singing, although Buddy will howl along if a violin, harmonica or recorder is played for too long in his hearing. I’m never sure if that means he enjoys it and wants to participate, or he’s really saying, “Shut up, this is what you sound like!”

If you enjoy the video you can see many more videos that genuinely feature dogs, and are family friendly at www.alldogvideos.com

On the subject of Christmas, do you give your dog a Christmas present? Ours usually get a new toy, and I think they have as much fun ripping the wrapping paper off as they do playing with the toy. They also usually have a treat advent calendar, from which they are given a treat once a day leading up to the twenty-fifth. It doesn’t take many days for them to realise that the calendar contains treats, and they go and sit below it, eyes flicking up to it, clearly asking for more. Well – it’s only once a year, so why not?

Take care,

Julie x

We have many photos uploaded to the DogCast Radio site, and each one, along with each comment is checked and approved by a one of us to ensure it’s relevant and suitable. The other day I came across one that immediately made my eyes fill with tears. You can see the photo attached to this post. It’s a bog standard shot of a Springer Spaniel, and it’s slightly out of focus, but that’s not what made me cry.

I love this photo of Star finally getting her man. She had been trying for ages to lick his ear, and he had fended her off and fought valiantly for ages. Then at last she wore him down and he gave in.

She’s just so intent on licking, and he’s laughing and squirming at the same time, it always makes me smile.

After talking about CAPS in my last blog post, who work tirelessly to improve the life of companion animals, today I received news about a website that seeks to unite companion animal owners. At ThePet.net, you can share your knowledge and experiences of hotels, shops and services with other pet owners all around the world.

You can hear one of the founders, TV vet Marc Abraham, talking about the site in Episode 62 of DogCast Radio.

If you’re into dogs and art, there’s an event in December in Massachusetts that might interest you. And while you’re enjoying the art, you can know you’re improving the lives of animals who really need help.

Episode 77 of DogCast Radio is now available.

The photo here shows author Stephen Foster with his rescue dog Ollie, a Saluki cross, and the latest addition to the family, Saluki Dylan. Ollie inspired Stephen to write Walking Ollie, about the adoption of Ollie, and the difficult relationship that developed between them. Ollie was found living wild as a young pup, and was left with many emotional problems. The book that tells his story is honest and moving and very funny.

Stephen later decided that Ollie needed a canine companion, and so pedigree Saluki Dylan joined the household, inspiring in his turn Along Came Dylan. You can hear Stephen talk about his absorption into the doggy world, and his take on living with dogs. He was a delight to talk to.

The other interview in the show is with veterinarian Paula Terrifaj. At the moment we’re all feeling the effects of the credit crunch, so Paula has very timely advice about how to spend less at the veterinarian without compromising your dog’s health. Paula has some great ideas.

There’s also my thoughts on that ever present chore of dog ownership – walking the dog. When it’s cold and dark most of the time in winter, it can seem extremely difficult to spend so much time outside exercising our two, but it has to be done.

Whether you’re out walking your dog, or tucked up in the warm at home, put us on your MP3 player, or access us via your computer, and we’ll do the rest!

Take care,

Julie x