Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Afghan Hound Racing

There is a small greyhound stadium close to me for amateur greyhound racers.  A friend wanted to go so I thought I’d ask round and see when the next race was on.  Turns out the greyhound races are over for this year, but there are still a few Sundays of afghan hound racing!

I’ve never heard of afghan hound racing before and the idea to be honest sounded quite preposterous, and i did wonder if someone was pulling my leg but no, apparently Read the rest of this entry »

Heartworm in Scotland

Scientists have found heartworm in Scotland. Heartworm is one of the most dangerous canine parasite and can be fatal. They say the parasite Angiostrongylus vasorum, also known as the ‘French heartworm’, may well be moving north because global climate change is causing warmer conditions in northern European countries (have they seen the rain we’ve been having?? Anyway I digress..)

Heartworm is carried by snails and slugs, which have certainly increased in Scotland because of warmer temperatures. The parasite is normally found in Southwest England, as it’s warmer there. Heartworm has also been brought back from other countries by dogs who have picked the parasite up there whilst on holiday. Other parasites have also been found in Northern Europe that normally wouldn’t survive our cold climate.

Symptoms of an infected dog include Read the rest of this entry »

Shock Collars to be Banned in Wales

Last week the Welsh Assembly said it would ban electric shock collars from being used in Wales. They will be the first British assembly to do this following the Kennel Club (KC) campaign last autumn when they called for a public consultation on a ban in Wales.

Details of the ban will now be drawn up. They may also look at whether or not the sale and possession of electric shock collars should also be banned.

Wrexham AM (Assembly Member), Lesley Griffiths said: Read the rest of this entry »

Dogs Under Surveillance

This week, the Council for Companion Animal Welfare (CAWC) published a report, which may be implemented by the government and have a huge intrusion on dog owners lives – any pet owner potentially but dog owners always seem to get the brunt of it.

The scheme they propose to develop is for companion animal welfare surveillance – this is meant to improve companion animal welfare.  They say many key organisations are enthusiastic about the idea, even though it will present ’significant challenges’.

They suggest running a pilot scheme with Read the rest of this entry »

RSPCA Pleas To Stop Puppy Trafficking

The RSPCA has said it estimates around 1000 puppies are imported each week into Wales and many of these have been exposed to disease and may become ill within just a few weeks of going to their new homes.

The RSPCA’s chief veterinary adviser, Mark Evans, said: “Puppy trafficking is a despicable, profit-driven business.  We want the dog-loving public to destroy the puppy trafficker’s market. If you’re planning to buy a puppy, do your homework.  Question everything and make absolutely sure the puppy you buy has come from a loving, caring home. Let common sense prevail and if something doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t, so walk away.  The RSPCA believes that many are likely to have been exposed to disease and may become seriously ill, or even die, within days or weeks of entering their new home.”

Personally, I have actually bought Read the rest of this entry »

Cop Borrows Dog To Trick Thieves

A story in the Manchester Evening News this weekend made me laugh.

A copper was chasing two teenage suspects down a street and she grabbed a passing Labrador and shouted:

“Stop! Or I’ll release the dog!”

The two teenagers didn’t know it wasn’t a police dog, so they stopped!

24 year old, PC Leanne Murphy from Oldham said:

“When I gave the lady her dog back, their faces were quite a picture,” she said.  “They didn’t say a word. They started to cry.”

The copper of four years Read the rest of this entry »

Simon Cowell To Leave Millions To Dogs

On Friday, I posted an article about how real estate property magnet Ms Leona Helmsley has left billions to dogs in her will.

That may sound madness to some people, but it’s certainly more common than you might think and something that many rich people do, unwilling to leave their fortune to ‘greedy humans’.

In an article last year with the News of the World, TV’s Mr Nasty of X Factor and Pop Idol fame, Simon Cowell told them that when he dies he may well leave the bulk of his fortune to his dogs too.  Simon Cowell’s fortune, as you can imagine, is in the region of £200 million.  He said: Read the rest of this entry »

Billions Left To Dogs In Will

Today I was reading an article in the New York Times about how real estate and hotel magnate, Leona Helmsley, who died last August aged 87, left $12 million to her Maltese dog Trouble (pictured here with her).  Apparently, leaving this estate to the dog led to death threats against Trouble, so the executors have had to pay $100,000 per year in security for little Trouble.

However, she has also left her entire estate, valued at $5 – 8 billion to the care and welfare of dogs.  Ms Helmsley lived an interesting life, building her property and hotel empire in Manhattan, being sent to prison for tax evasion and was the subject of a 1990 film.  She was known to Americans as a symbol of arrogance with an impatience for humans.  Now she has proved that by leaving the bulk of her estate to dogs, which even if valued at the lower end of the estimate at $5 billion it is more than all the 7,381 Read the rest of this entry »

Paper Training Your Puppy

If you are lucky, then your puppy will have been part paper-trained by the time you get him, but you will still have to continue the good work when you get him home.  After all, he’ll be in a new, strange house and probably a little scared at his first time away from his mum and litter, surrounded by new smells and new people.

The first thing to do is to make sure Read the rest of this entry »