Barking Up The Wrong Tree

How long should a dog toy last?

I bought my shih tzu a new dog toy the other weekend, from Pets At Home.  It was a long sausage shaped soft toy, which was a dog in a super buddy costume.  It had a single squeak in it and there were three different sizes available, so I chose the middle one.

Unfortunately, my dog doesn’t like plastic toys, she prefers soft squeaky ones, so I know they won’t last forever.  Thing is, I kinda expected it to last longer than ten minutes!

Yep, within ten minutes, the squeak was out, fluff was all over the floor and my dog was sat in the middle of this chaos looking decidedly pleased with herself.

What a total waste of money!

I don’t mind that the toy won’t last that long.  Most of her other soft squeaky toys simply lose their squeak within a few hours but at least they stay sealed up and she can keep them to shake around and play with.  So I would not recommend the Super Buddy dog toy from Pets at Home, unless all you have is a mild chihuahua who just wants to cuddle it.

Dog Food Best Before Dates

Did you know that the best by date on pet food is very different to our food?

Several times, someone I know has purchased their pet food from a discount store and found it is past its best by date and the dog has become ill.  The date on most dog food, whether dry, wet or treats, according to manufacturers, is not the date when the food is out of date.

It is very confusing but this date simply means that the level of nutrition they guarantee is no longer guaranteed as some ingredients and nutrients fade over time.

There is no actual use by date.  There is no information telling you how old the food is, or the shelf life of the product, and it varies by manufacturer.

To ensure you have only the freshest food, there is some great information in the article Take Care With Dog Food ‘Best Before Dates’

Taking Photos of your Dog

This weekend, I took about 50 photos of my dog in the space of about ten minutes as she lay on the settee between my brother and father, in an effort to try and get at least one or two decent pictures without the usual doggie red or orange eye. It amused me greatly to look up from my camera and see my brother looking decidedly dazed by the flash of the camera

At least the days of wasting film and money are gone, oh the joys of digital photography!

Anyway, somebody told me today that there is a way to get rid of red eye when taking a photo of an animal but they couldn’t quite remember what it was, which was a bit annoying as that could save me some time. Apparently, it was something to do with standing closer than you mean and then backing away, as it’s something to do with the cornea of their eye or something like that. Anyway, I’d be rather pleased if anyone could give me some advice on it and if I find anything I’ll post it here. Thanks!

Emigrating with your dog

Emigration seems to get much more complicated if you have a dog.  A friend of mine is considering emigrating to New Zealand as her father has moved out there, and she has just booked flights to visit for three weeks.  Quite a sensible move, seeing as she has never been there before, however, I’m not sure if even three weeks is long enough to make a lifelong decision such as that.  She’ll have to be very careful not to just feel like she’s on a great holiday and really look carefully at other factors that affect lifestyle and living out there.

However, another complication is that she has a dog.  Obviously, flights to New Zealand are quite long so there are some serious health and safety issues to check out for her dog if she decides to go, and what happens if the dog doesn’t like the climate?  She’s a five year old shih tzu and used to British weather - she could have a big shock!

The people I bought my house from also emigrated to New Zealand and only eight months later they were back, claiming that the salaries were ok but tax was high and the cost of medical care was too high as was the cost of living.  So what would happen if my friend changes her mind?

It’s not like taking your dog to Europe where you simply get him or her a passport and you can go back and forth as you please.  There are quarantine requirements so if she came back, the dog would have to go into quarantine for six months I think it is.  The nearest quarantine place to her is Manchester, about an hour’s journey for her, so for six months, she would have to visit her dog.  Emigration with your dog is definitely more complicated and in my opinion, probably not worth it.

RSPCA Hate Campaign

The RSPCA has jumped on the recent pedigree dogs publicity bandwagon and has announced that it is boycotting the Kennel Club’s Crufts campaign. They say it is because the KC is encouraging the breeding of unhealthy and deformed dogs.

I can’t help but think this is a bit cheeky. The RSPCA attends Crufts every year and have always worked closely with the Kennel Club.

Now, there’s been a bit of publicity from the BBC and the RSPCA is publicly backing off from the Kennel Club. That’s all very well but are they saying that they hadn’t noticed before now? And shouldn’t their response be to work with the Kennel Club, not just to back off? Ridiculous.

Training with Dog Collars

Lately, somebody I know has been having real trouble training their dog and somebody suggested that they try a few training dog collars.

To most people, dog collars are mainly decorative and to make their dog look nice.  Dog collars range from the simple plain coloured leather or cloth ones, to the fancy bling ones with the dog’s name lettered on the collars.

Of course, a dog has to wear a collar by law so they also serve some purpose and hold the dog’s tag on the collar, detailing the owners address and/or contact telephone number.

However, dog collars can have a much more serious purpose and can be used for dog training.  There are remote dog collars, which are usually bought online as many pet stores do not stock them, and there are also barking collars, so help stop your dog from barking.  Electronic barking collars are banned in Wales, but currently still allowed in England and Scotland, but there is a kinder collar too, which simply sprays the dog with a citronella spray.

Dog Bowl On Dragons Den

Last night’s episode of Dragon’s Den showed a lady called Natalie, who had invented a Non-Spill dog bowl.

I thought it quite a clever invention - it holds water and lets just enough water up for one mouthful of water for a dog at one time, which prevents the dog dripping water all over the car.  If you put your brakes on or the bowl was rolled, then the force would close the hole.

Natalie had also sold 22,000 of the dog bowls in the last 5 months and made a net profit of £13,000, however, she wanted to take the product to the USA along with a similar version for smaller dogs, another for cats and a larger bowl for owners with multiple dogs.  After all, Americans do spend a lot of money, more than £10 billion per year, on their dogs.

Unfortunately for Natalie, the Dragons turned her down for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, they thought she should crack the UK market before venturing into America and they also thought it was more of a lifestyle business than an investment and she didn’t really need to £100,000 she was asking for.  Theo Paphitis offered a few words of wisdom and advised her to license the product to somebody else for the American market and after Natalie had left the Den, he did comment to Duncan Bannatyne that somebody looking to take a product to America without the necessary knowledge would be like walking into the lion’s den.

I thought it a shame they couldn’t help her, but hey, that’s business.  Personally, I’d have bought one!

Pedigree Dogs Also Being Abandoned

Apparently, this has nothing to do with the recent television coverage over pedigree dogs, but more to do with the credit crunch.  People are abandoning their pedigree dogs, dogs who have lived with them for years, in rescue shelters and dog homes because they say they can’t afford them.

What absolute poppycock!

No matter how bad things got, you wouldn’t see me abandoning my shih tzu - although I appreciate she isn’t the most expensive dog in the world, I still have to pay for her grooming and dog insurance.  After all, she’s a member of my family.  If things got really bad, I wouldn’t abandon my mother, so why should I abandon my dog?

There are ways to cut down.  Buy cheaper dog food, buy cheaper biscuits or cut out the treats, lengthen the amount of time between dog cuts, but don’t abandon your dog.  If you must rehome him or her, find a family member or friend to take the dog if you can.  The shelters say people are coming in with tears in their eyes, obviously distraught at letting their dog go - but this is not the answer!

Teach Your Children About Dogs

In my opinion, all children should be educated about dogs and shown how to behave properly around them.  Even if the parents are afraid of dogs, I think they owe it to their children to ensure they don’t grow up in the same way with the same fear.

Not only is this for their own safety, such as learning not to run up to a dog and try to grab or stroke them (especially without asking the owner’s permission), but also so they learn about caring for animals.  Even if a parent doesn’t want to get a pet for the child, it is so important that they learn about animals and how to look after them.  Having pets is great for children, it gives them a companion and friend they can talk to and love and reduces stress - which children suffer from as much as adults - but naturally it isn’t always possible in every family.  There are other ways they can learn, such as going to pet farms or visiting the RSPCA or friends animals.

First Cloned Dog Fathers Pups

The first ever cloned dog, Snuppy an Afghan hound, has become a dad with a cloned dog mum.

They had a little of ten puppies, although one died.  The other nine are perfectly healthy.

The breeding of cloned dogs “opens the way for cloning sniffer dogs and seeing-eye guide dogs, which usually have to be sterilised for training and lose the ability to reproduce.”

What are your thoughts on cloned dogs?