February 2012 is live

The weather may be turning colder, but here at Naturally Happy Dogs things could not be hotter! We are delighted to bring you another information-packed issue, with the top canine specialists in the world.

To kick things off, Victoria Stilwell tells us about some of the campaigns she is involved with on both sides of the pond, including puppy farming, which leads into our article from TV Vet Marc Abraham in which he goes into more detail about this huge problem.

Then we have the first in our series of articles featuring the great Roger Abrantes from the Ethology Institute. In this article, Roger talks about the difference between nature and nurture, and how the different stages of puppy development play a crucial part in determining it's behaviour further along in it's life. A must see article!

As if that wasn't enough, we have our first video with TV vet Joe Inglis, who tells us about his new product range from Vet's Kitchen. We look forward to more from Joe in the coming months.

On the training and behaviour side we are very pleased to bring you Mary Ann Nester, who has displayed her heelwork to music skills at Crufts, and in this article gives us an insight into the world of doggy dancing. Along with a video about teaching the heel and recall for gun dogs with Adem Fehmi, and another great article from Lizi Angel about separation anxiety, this is another great month for training articles!

And that's not all. In October last year we went to visit Minnie, the Bichon Frise who became a Minnie-celebrity (groan...) when she reached the 5,000 friends limit on Facebook and was featured in the Times. We have finally managed to bring you our interview with owner John Antoniou.

We hope you enjoy the articles, and look forward to bringing you more great videos next month.

Happy new year 2012!

Happy new year from the Naturally Happy Dogs team!  We hope you had a lovely christmas and that your heads are not too sore after the new year celebrations.

Here at the Naturally Happy Dogs office we have a packed start to the new year, with some absolutely fantastic videos in the January issue.

We are delighted to bring you the first of our Victoria Stilwell articles, starting with Victoria's Story.

Our supported charity this month is Wood Green The Animals Charity, to coincide with a video about their rebranding.

We have also covered lots of new ground this month, with articles on EMRA, Talking Dogs Rally, gundog work, and rehoming older dogs.  Not forgetting behaviorist Jez of course with a great article on dog-to-dog aggression.

What another great months videos, and we can't wait for next month either!

A partnership in action

Today we had the immense privilege and pleasure of meeting Lorna Marsh, and her amazing Canine Partner Eli.  Lorna suffers from Cerebral palsy and is Quadriplegic, and we were visiting to see how much of an impact having a Canine Partner has made to Lorna's life. 

Having already filmed at the CPI headquarters a week ago, we ought to have been well prepared for what we were going to film today.  Not so.  We were simply blown away by what a help Eli is every day to Lorna, doing everything from opening and closing doors, retrieving dropped items, helping to remove Lorna's jacket, flushing the toilet and even clearing up his own dinner bowl. 

Lorna was a natural in front of the camera, and thoroughly enjoyed demonstrating the wide range of skills Eli has whilst explaining how he instills a very strong sense of independence in her. 

We will bring you Lorna's story in the May 2012 issue.

Breed library: Dachshunds

Today we met with Sue Seath who breeds and shows her wire-haired standard Dachshunds and smooth-coated minis.

We had great fun filming this adorable breed, and look forward to bringing you the breed library next year. Thanks very much for your time Sue!

Naturally Happy Pets

'Vets in Practice star' and TV vet Joe Inglis talked to us today about nutrition.  As well as talking to us about his own brand of pet food (www.petskitchen.co.uk), he also gave us an explanation of the different nutritional requirements of a dog as it progresses from puppy, to adult dog, into the senior years.

We thank Joe very much for his time today, and look forward to putting his articles live next year!

Roger Abrantes

It was a great privilege and honour to meet and film Dr Roger Abrantes of the Ethology Institute today. 

Dr Abrantes talked to us about various aspects of canine psychology, and gave an interesting angle on the topic of dominance.  Look out for these fascinating videos in the new year. 

We thank him very much for his time, in the middle of his busy seminar schedule!

Breed library: Australian Terriers

We were very pleased to meet Christine Foskett today with her five Australian Terriers, and delightful little dogs they were too! 

Look out for the new breed library early next year.

Canine Partners

We spent this morning in Midhurst in Sussex today to film at the Canine Partners training centre.

We interviewed CEO Andy Cook about the history of the charity, and got to film a puppy training session as well.  We then interviewed 'Puppy Parent' Sue Simms about the work she does for CPI, and also spoke with Rebekah Kendrick, an advanced trainer with Canine Partners who showed us some of the fantastic things the dogs will do for their partners after training. 

We were very impressed by the work this amazing organisation does, and look forward to making them a future charity of the month.

Breed library: Pyrenean Mountain Dogs

Today we went to visit Paul Meakin who shows Pyrenean Mountain Dogs and has them as family pets. 

We were pleasantly surprised to see them living happily side-by-side with 7 cats!  It was great to spend some time with this lovely breed, and we look forward to bringing you the breed library early next year.

NHD meets Victoria Stilwell!

What a great end to our first year, and we could not be more excited about meeting the star of TV's "It's Me or the Dog", the legendary Victoria Stilwell.

We were not disappointed; truly professional, she made light work of our articles, including topics such as compulsive disorders, dogs with children, and more.  We also spoke to Victoria about the campaigns she is involved in.  We cannot wait to bring you these articles in the new year, watch this space!

Pet Blood Bank UK: take 2

To follow up on our interview with Wendy Barnett of the Pet Blood Bank, we have been filming at Davies Veterinary Specialists in Higham Gobion, watching a number of donation sessions taking place.

We were delighted to see how much the dogs enjoyed the whole process, and how calm and relaxed they were too.  We very much look forward to bringing you this feature in March next year.

Countdown to Christmas 2011

With December rolling in and the advent calendars being opened, the Naturally Happy Dogs team was on the road again.  Firstly to Loughborough and the head office of Pet Blood Bank, and to film founder Wendy Barnett about the life-saving work that they have done since 2007.  Filmed in the laboratory where the blood products are processed and stored for later usage, Wendy gave us a brief history into the company and what they do.  We will shortly be filming a donation session to go with the interview, to show exactly what happens during a donation session.

Next, further north and the University of Lincoln, where we met up with Kerstin Meints.   Kerstin is a researcher at the University and has been running extensive studies into dog-child interactions, with particular focus on dog bites and their prevention.  The studies are based around a DVD called 'The Blue Dog'.  The creators asked Kerstin to look into how effective this is as a learning tool for children aged between 3 and 6, a key age group for dog bites in the home and therefore a key target for the education.  Thanks very much to Verity and Rufus for allowing us to film them in one of their sessions too!

But that's not all.  Wrapping up a very busy day's filming saw us further north again, filming for our upcoming breed library, and the versatile Glen of Imaal terrier… more news on the breed library soon, watch this space.

What a busy day, I've a feeling we'll be very glad of the Christmas break!

Merry Christmas to one and all!

In our last issue from our first year, we have a bumper Christmas special featuring some great advice for helping your furry friends cope with the festive season.  Hear advice from behaviourist Jez, and from Veterinary Surgeon Anna Marshall, about the potential yuletide pitfalls and how to avoid them thus ensuring a very happy Christmas for everyone.

Hot off the press is our article covering the Discover Dogs event at Earls Court last month.  That was filmed less than 3 weeks ago, and with Jez's 'Stress free Christmas' being filmed less than two weeks ago, it has been a rush to get it all edited in time... phew, great work Sally!

Also in this issue we hear from Turid Rugaas about coping with the teenage dog, and a feature on the Retrieva tracking collar, a great new product on the market now, well worth a look at.  You can also save £40 off one of these great collars by quoting our exclusive code NATXMAS when you order, so what are you waiting for?

Sally Rowe teaching targeting and another great scentwork video from Pam Mckinnon wrap up another action packed issue (wrap up, get it?)

We are really looking forward to bringing you even more great videos and the best contributors in 2012, have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, see you in January!

On your marks

Today we filmed with our resident trick-trainer (and extremely hard-working editor) Sally Rowe, who talks us through the various steps to training your dog to go to a mark.  Big thanks to Katie Mardell who kindly brought her lively collie 'Poppy' down to the hall for filming

Double trouble

Today we headed down to film with Karen Lawe from the Deaf Dog Network, where we also met up with Dali, a deaf Staffordshire Bull Terrier currently looking for his forever home, and being looked after at Battersea.  This is our second visit to film Karen, and we thank her very much for her time, we are really looking forward to bringing you the first of her articles about the Deaf Dog Network and Living With a Deaf Dog.

From there, we headed on over to see Jez.  Once again we were very impressed at his professionalism and knowledge, he is always a pleasure to film.  Jez completed our December issue with a very detailed breakdown of the potential dangers around the festive period, and what we ought to look out for in terms of our furry friends.  He also filmed another two fascinating articles for the new year, so watch this space!

Discover Dogs 2011

What a great day we had on Sunday, filming at Discover Dogs show in Earls Court, London!  Firstly we met and interviewed Caroline Kisko, the Kennel Club's Secretary, who gave us a breakdown of some of the activities happening across the two days.  This fed into an interview with Faye Moore of the Young Kennel Club (YKC), who explained about the benefits of joining for children and young adults aged between 6 and 24, and talked to us about the team building days that they organise, including Outward Bound and Go Ape.  We hope to bring you these interviews very soon...

Next in front of our camera was Marc Abraham (aka Marc The Vet) who caught up with us in between his very busy schedule of seminars.  He talked to us about an issue close to his heart – puppy farming.  He has started a high-profile campaign called Pup Aid which has attracted the support of a large number of celebrities.  In this article, which we'll bring to you early in the new year, Marc explains how to identify a mass-bred dog, what problems they can come with, and what you can do to help eradicate this terrible practice.

To finish off the day, we interviewed Jo-Ann Essex and Lesley McFayden from the East Anglian Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club, who talked to us about Staffie breed generally, the great work they do with them in agility, and about the National Stafford Weekend.  We will bring that article to you in March of next year, in time for the National Stafford Weekend. 

We even found time to catch up with Joe Inglis on Joe's Vets Kitchen stand, very good to see him too!

Wow, time to recover now, and of course loads of editing!

Golden Oldies

Today we visited Jean Adams who has homed two adorable Jack Russell-Chihuahua crosses from the Oldies Club, a rescue organisation that re-homes the more mature rescue dog.

In this fascinating interview Jean talks about her experience with the Oldies Club, why she prefers the older dog to puppies, and also touches on the benefits of fostering.  We very much look forward to bringing you this article in the new year.

Jordan Shelley - after The One Show

Today we had the good fortune of meeting with Jordan Shelley, the dog trainer and fosterer made infamous by his recent appearance on BBC's "The One Show".  A furore followed that appearance with many from the dog behaviour and training world up in arms about his use of dominance-based techniques, in particular their use on national television without adequate information about how potentially dangerous they can be.

Many people, faced with the ferocity of opinion against them, would have faded into the background as quickly as possible.  Jordan, however, decided instead to seek the best advice he could get.  Armed with advice from Beverley Cuddy of Dogs Today magazine, and within a week of The One Show airing, Jordan was on a plane to visit and learn from the best – Ian and Kelly Dunbar.

The next two weeks saw Jordan attend the APDT Annual Conference, where he listened to some of the keenest minds in positive reward based training.  He attended Ian Dunbar’s SIRIUS puppy training classes, as well as his Science Based Dog Training (With Feeling) seminar, and spent the two weeks living with Ian and Kelly and their three dogs.

Upon his return, he agreed to talk to Naturally Happy Dogs on film about his experience, what he has learned, and how he intends to move forward with his newly learned techniques.  Please click here to watch this article.

Naturally Happy Dogs learns about feeding raw meat with BARF

Sittingbourne in Kent, and Naturally Happy Dogs are on the road to visit BARF Pet Foods UK, which offers the largest selection of raw foods and supplements available to the UK market.

Whilst the raw food market in Germany, where Managing Director Andreas Dauer moved from recently, enjoys a 30% market share, in the UK it only stands at around 1%.   When Andreas moved to the UK and tried to source some raw food for his Bernese Mountain Dogs, he realised that there wasn’t a huge selection available and seeing an unfilled niche, started his company just over a year ago.

In our article which we will bring to you early in the new year, we hear about some of the benefits of the “Biologically Appropriate Raw Food” diet, how and why supplements can support it, and also how you can move your dog across to it from classic processed kibble.

November 2011 is live

This month we have some great videos including DogLost, Teaching your dog to roll over, an introduction to Galen Therapy, The benefits of Fun Scentwork, Environmental Enrichment for your dog,  Surgery for bone cancer, a look at chain collars and their alternatives and how we can use fish oils to treat inflammation. What a month!