Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Scottish dog scam

Potential dog owners looking for a new puppy are being warned by the Scottish SPCA to be wary of a scam that involved offering puppies to new owners for free providing the purchasers pay for the transport of the puppy.

The buyer sends off the money and lo and behold no puppy arrives.  A similar scam has been running for years in the auto trade but now it appears the scammers are trying to take advantage of dog loving folks!

Reportedly, several people have been conned by this trick and the Scottish SPCA is making a real effort to get this publicised in the media so that people won’t fall for it any more.

So, if you are offered anything like this, steer well clear!

Eye laser surgery for your dog?

I’ve raved before about the new modern medicines and treatments available for man’s best friend, the dog, but I never thought that you could get eye laser surgery for them.

I suppose now I think about it there is no good reason why you shouldn’t be able to have laser eye surgery for any pet, after all, their eyes surely can’t be that different from human eyes.

Apparently though, eye laser surgery in the canine sense is Read the rest of this entry »

Dog wheelchairs

I’ve discussed in past articles about dog wheelchairs, because although dogs can live longer thanks to modern medicine, good pet insurance and the like, there still seems to be few companies out there that can actually cater for elderly dogs in this fashion.

Sure, there are plenty of companies manufacturing and selling wheelchairs for humans, but I’ve only found two companies, one US and one UK, that sell wheelchairs for dogs.

Is it because, despite the fact that a dog is meant to Read the rest of this entry »

Gumbo causes media argument

Eastenders St Bernard, Gumbo, has caused quite a few arguments in the media of late as people call upon the BBC to not be so hypocritical.

As dog fans will no doubt be aware, the BBC late last year broadcast a documentary about pedigree dogs and how they believed the Kennel Club was promoting a culture of breeding for looks rather than health and welfare.  They showed how dogs have changed over the years with breeding and that inbreeding has resulted in unhealthy dogs.

Later, the BBC demanded that the Kennel Club should drop 14 of the most unhealthy breeds, the St Bernard included, from its Crufts dog show or it would stop broadcasting.  The Kennel Club refused and the BBC dropped Crufts.

Gumbo has caused issues because in Eastenders he is portrayed as a top show dog and his new owner Braldy uses him to make money at dog shows and offers him as a stud dog.  In actual fact, Gumbo really is the son of two former Crufts champions, so who is the hypocrite now?

Dog films

Is it me or are there an awful lot of dog related films coming out at the moment?

Off the top of my head, the ones I can think of at the moment include:

• Marley and Me (think I might watch this one, I quite like Jennifer Aniston films when I’m not in the mood for an action film or anything, they’re quite easy-watch stuff)
• Beverley Hills Chihuahua (I mean, what?  the stuff they come out with!)
• Hotel for Dogs
• Bolt

I sometimes wonder if they do it on purpose.  It’s the same with war films or other such ideas, they’re just like buses, you wait for ages and then three come along at once.  For dog lovers, they’re now stuck for choice and I’m sure not everyone will go to the cinema to watch all four.

Personally, I think I might try to see Marley & Me but then again, I might wait to watch the DVD.  I’m interested to hear what everyone thinks of them though so feel free to drop a comment if you’re going to see them or not

Dogs and fleas

Of all the little parasites that a dog could pick up, along with ticks, I think fleas is probably the worst.  In fact, I think fleas are worse than ticks because although ticks look worse and are painful to remove, getting rid of fleas once they’ve infested your house is hard work.

It is for this reason that you really must make sure that you start a flea prevention routine from the moment you get your dog or puppy and keep it up.  It isn’t that hard either, you can just buy a spray or cream and it needs applying monthly or sometimes quarterly depending what you buy.

Set it on your kitchen calendar to remind you when it’s next due and stick to it.  It might be a pain in the bum to remember but that five minutes spent is better than several hours trying to get rid of them later.

ASDA dog insurance

Dog insurance is a pretty important dog product.  The dog might not know it, I’m sure mine doesn’t realise I fork out around £25 per month to insure her, but if anything were to happen I think I’d be pretty upset if I couldn’t help her because I’d cancelled her insurance to save a few bob.

Dog insurance doesn’t have to be as costly as it used to be, and I certainly don’t have to pay out £25 per month – I just want the extra benefits that come with it – in fact, many supermarkets, including ASDA, now offer dog insurance alongside other insurance products and they can start from as little as £8 per month.

The most important thing is to have something in place to make sure that should the worst happen you know that you can cover it.

Using a psychic to find a lost dog

Now I love my dog and if she went missing, I’d be gutted, however, one rather wealthy couple have really gone all out to find their dog.

Bracco is an Italian hound, worth around £1200, but naturally he is priceless to his owners.  He went missing in January when he got excited and ran off following a deer.

Since then the couple has taken two weeks off work, costing them around £3000 as it’s unpaid leave, to search for the dog and have even hired a private plane to search for him, bought night time binoculars to help see him and now had a psychic reading to see if it they could help.

I’m not sure if I’d consult a psychic to find my dog.  The couple said of the psychics:

One told us that she had spoken with Jacob, who said he was ‘OK and trying to make his way home.’

He said he had just wanted to go on an adventure. He is still alive and wants to get back.

Now, excuse me, but doesn’t a psychic make contact with spirits from the other side?  So if he’s still alive, how did he talk to them?  Load of rubbish if you ask me.

Safety round garden ponds

In the summer, we are all aware and generally quite careful about the safety of our pets round garden ponds, particularly where dogs are concerned if only because some of them have the rather annoying habit of jumping in to cool themselves down and enjoy a good swim!

However, in the winter months, it is just as important if not even more important to watch our dogs around water, whether that is garden ponds, the little lake in the local park or the nearby river.

When the weather is like it has been in the last couple of weeks, the water can freeze over and it is impossible to know how strong the ice is, so when you are out walking your dog or just letting him or her out into the garden to relieve themselves or get some fresh air, be sure to watch them at all times.

Even better, if you have any garden ponds, make sure you set up a perimeter around it so the dog cannot even get near.  If that is what you decide to do, then make sure the perimeter is safe, has no holes in it and just in case check it regularly and carefully.

Ponds in a garden can look great and if you’re going to get one put in your garden, then make sure you purchase from a reputable supplier and get it done properly.  There are some great garden pond designs around and you can choose the one that not only suits your garden but is safer for children and pets too.

Garden ponds are not just dangerous for children but for dogs too!

Popularity of the custom hoody

Last weekend I went to Liverpool, and yes, got the usual jokes about being careful where I left my car if I wanted to keep the wheels, etc etc.

Isn’t it funny how we feel the need to label and stereotype people?  People from Liverpool get a pretty poor stereotype as we imagine youths running round in hoodies, terrorising people and stealing anything that isn’t nailed down.

In the last couple of years, I wonder if the hoodie is perhaps making a comeback as I’ve seen a lot of people, older and more respectable people than you might imagine, wearing them.  In fact, companies are even getting personalised or custom hoodies made now for staff and team events.

Whatever we follow as fashion, we even feel the need to inflict it upon our pets, which in most cases usually means the dog.

Years ago, it was enough that we made and bought little jackets for our dogs to walk in.  This I could bear because at least it served a purpose.  Yes, dogs have their own fur coats so should not need jackets for protecting them from the cold but as we cut or groom our dogs, as I do with my own dog, then sometimes it makes sense.

However, the latest fashions from humans have now become the latest fashion for dogs too.  Yes, you can now buy your dog little dog boots, dog jackets – in many styles from camouflage to burberry check, dog hats, diamonte collars, t-shirts, jumpers and now even a hoodie!

So I guess if the trend is to purchase a custom hoody for ourselves, it doesn’t take much of a leap of imagination to see us buying custom hoodies for our dogs and even a matching set.  What is the world coming to?