Surgery with Noel

Up bright and early today to visit Noel Fitzpatrick at Fitzpatrick referrals near Guildford in Surrey. Fitzpatrick Referrals are committed to providing the best compassionate care, surgical excellence and rehabilitation – the gold standard of care.  They offer all the options available in neuro-orthopaedic surgery today.  Achieving the best possible quality of life for pets, Fitzpatrick Referrals strives to make the impossible possible.

Noel explained in detail elbow problems, hip dysplasia, a spinal problem and cruciate ligament problems. He even let us video a couple of operations - one took just over half an hour and the other lasted just 4 minutes!

We hope to bring you these fascinating videos very soon.

Alarms and Raw feeding

Today we met Victoria from Animalarm - the digital thermometer that can actually text you when it is getting too hot or cold for your dog in your car / kennel / conservatory / boat etc! She showed us how the fantastic product works and even left us with one to test out with our own dogs. That will be very useful for checking that the temperature isn't getting too cold for our office dog Lady who has just had her 15th birthday!

We also met Catherine from Albion meat products. Catherine started selling raw meat dog food from the back of her car and now has a company with a fleet of drivers delivering around the country.

We look forward to bringing these videos to you soon.

Discovering Dogs

We spent today at Discover Dogs in Earls Court, London - a very good but very tiring day.

We filmed some great articles though - Tony Nevett and Caroline Kisko told us about Bark and Read, the Kennel Club's scheme to support organisations which take dogs into schools to help children to improve their reading. The calm, non judgmental nature of the dogs means that children improve in confidence and ability very quickly. Danny the lovely greyhound even gave us a demo with some young visitors to the event.

We also met Carolyn Menteith who explained about the benefits of the Companion Dog Club and then Bill Lambert to learn about the Assured Breeders Scheme.

November 2012 videos

Our November issue is live and this month sees the first of a series of great videos on the work of Pets as Therapy dogs, Introduction to P.A.T. dogs, and the invaluable work they do. Pets as Therapy dogs and their dedicated volunteers can be found working together to promote health and wellbeing in a variety of settings, from hospitals and care homes to schools for children with learning difficulties. It’s amazing how beneficial a visit from a dog can be both to the physical and mental health of a wide variety of people.

We learn how we can improve our chances of Buying a Healthy Puppy from Margaret Carter at Cavalier Matters. Cavaliers have more than their fair share of health problems and Margaret has learned, as have so many others, the problems that can beset you if you take on a dog with health problems.

As well as those, there are videos on: training - Teaching Agility Jumps; health – how to take a Dog’s Temperature; alternative therapy – TTouch Observations; practical matters – Making the Most of Pet Insurance; and animal behaviour – Reinforcement and Punishment.

We really do look at a wide variety of topics at Naturally Happy Dogs. Sled Dog Harnesses anyone? With winter just around the corner, who knows what we might be needing...

Dangerous dogs and not-so-dangerous dogs

On Saturday we visited Wheldon Law in Hemel Hempstead - Specialist Canine and Criminal Lawyers to find out all about the dangerous dog laws, what they mean and what to do if you are involved in an incident with a dangerous dog. Tina Hay explained to us what Breed Specific Legislation means for people who own dogs who are of a certain 'type'.

On Sunday we were back with Adem Fehmi from Dog-ease who showed us some more gundog training, including how to train a dog to stop on command and how to overcome some typical 'problems' with retrieving.

Grooming and Gundogs

Another busy weekend, on Friday we visited Trevor Pearman from Pedigrees n Pooches based at Fosters Pet and Garden Centre in Hertfordshire.

Trevor was nervous but was excellent in front of the camera, very clearly showing and explaining to us:
- Bathing dogs
- Drying dog
- Plucking dogs ears
- How to find a good dog groomer

On Saturday we attended Dog Ease training school near Buntingford to film some of their agility class and also film Gundog trainer Adem Fehmi explaining how to teach a dog distance control.

These videos should be coming to you over the next few months.

Give a dog a P.A.T.

With autumn approaching, the Happy Dogs team were on the road again, this time in Buckinghamshire to catch up with the great work being done by Pets As Therapy, a nationwide charity with volunteers visiting a wide range of establishments, from schools to care homes.

First we met with Chief Executive Lisa Coles who talked to us about the organisation in general. Then we met with a Regional Coordinator Jennifer who took us to Stoke Mandeville hospital and St Leonards care home so that we could see first hand the good these animals do.

We'd like to thank the volunteers (Sylvia and Myrna) who talked to us about their work and also the patients, and everyone at Pets As Therapy who made us feel so welcome. We look forward to bringing you the first of these videos in November.

(pictured is Sylvia with Hetty the dog meeting patient Maurice at Stoke Mandeville hospital)

Back to Wood Green

Happy Dogs was pleased to be invited back to Wood Green The Animals Charity headquarters in Godmanchester, this time to film articles covering rehoming a pet, both from the angle of current and prospective owners, and also a piece with Tracey Hill about Paw-to-Door, their trial scheme which aims to re-home animals without the need for a stay in the shelter itself.

We would like to thank Tracey, and also Barbara Fances and Victoria Cannon for their time today, and look forward to bringing you these articles in the coming months.

Itchy and scratchy

Today we met up with Richard Allport during a consult with Michelle Brown and her Jack Russell Jake.

Jake has been biting and scratching his skin in various areas, including his legs, feet, tummy and around his ears. Michelle wanted an alternative to the 'masking' effect of steroidal drugs, and so consulted our natural vet contributor. Both Richard and Michelle kindly agreed to allow us to film this consult, the second time that Michelle had seen Richard about this problem.

We look forward to bringing you this article soon.

October 2012 dog videos go live

October's videos are now live, including articles by Dr Ian Dunbar, Dr Roger Abrantes, Jane Harvey, Margaret Carter, Alex Wilson, Sophie Flux and Neil Flint...what an expert filled month!

Our diary for the rest of this year is filling up rather quickly with filming for the next 6 month's issues, we look forward to bringing even more top canine experts to your computer screen soon!

Agility introductions

Today we visited a local agility class - Wrayfield Agility Club who were holding one of their regular 'taster' agility sessions for people who hadn't done agility with their dogs before.

Some of the students were brave enough to try teaching their dogs a few pieces of agility equipment 'to camera' with help of dog trainer Sally Marchant.

The videos on how to teach Jumps, Tunnels and Weave poles will be coming soon.

Basset Griffon Vendeen (Grand)

We spent a lovely day today in a gorgeous National Trust area just outside Tring with Vivien Phillips and her Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen (and her Dachshunds, Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens and Beagles although we weren't there to film the other breeds!)

Vivien was a natural in front of the camera and we are looking forward to bringing you her fascinating insight into this great fun breed.

Our September 2012 issue is live

This month, Jez gives us a fascinating insight into Understanding dog language. We get some useful overviews on dog training techniques. Grisha Stewart tells us how Behaviour Adjustment Training (BAT) works in practise in Behaviour Adjustment Training: Case studies and Dr Roger Abrantes clarifies what is really meant by ‘reinforcement’ and ‘punishment’ in dog training in Reinforcement and punishment explained.

It’s good to have fun with your dog. Dr Ian Dunbar is a great believer in the value of playing tug and tells us how it can be a useful tool to support other training in Playing tug and , for all those would-be canine film stars out there, Sally Rowe teaches how to get your dog to go to a ‘mark’ in Teaching tricks: Mark.

On a more practical front, we can learn about Choosing the right harness, Doggy day care and the ins and outs of pet insurance in Pet insurance explained.

Food and diet

We were sent some useful information recently that we thought you might be interested in. For more great ideas, we have a number of 'how to' recipe video ideas in our 'Diet and Nutrition' video section.

Healthy Dog Food: 4 Things Your Puppy Will Love
If you've been looking at some of the labels on commercial pet food products lately, you may be wondering: how is this supposed to be healthy dog food? There has been a series of scandals recently regarding tainted and low quality pet foods being sold in supermarkets around the nation. 
This has prompted many people to ask themselves weather the foods that we give to our pets are actually safe and good for them. One thing that pet owners need to be aware of, is that unlike human foods, dog food must be certified to be able to meet a dog's nutritional needs, no matter what brand of food it is or where it is sold.

A dog has certain nutritional needs that will differ from humans. According to veterinarians, the best diet for a dog would be one that contains roughly half meat and half vegetables. Avoid foods that have too much grain, wheat, or other ingredients that are simply used as fillers and offer very little in terms of nutritional value. 

While grains can be used as part of a healthy diet for a dog, as they provide long term energy, the problem with them is that they are often used as a cheap filler and to boost the protein count on the label. The best type of food is one which has meat as a primary source of protein.
If you want examples of healthy dog food that provides the proper nutrition and is enjoyable for your dog to eat, then here are four healthy meals for healthy weight. 

Organic Canned Dog Food 
Many pet owners would say that this is the very best that you can offer to a dog you love. It contains organic chicken, turkey, liver, sea salt, kelp, flax seed, plus all the essential nutrients and vitamins to help your pet thrive. It is also a food recommended by veterinarians for dogs that are recovering from health issues.

If you want to skip commercial dog food entirely and make your own, there are some options which are open to you. After all, dogs have been domesticated long before commercial pet food came into existence. Here are some ideas:

Hamburger meat, seafood and liver combination 
This is done by preparing 2 pounds of hamburger, 10 ounces of shrimp or lobster, plus 1 cup of raw liver. You can add half a cup of brown rice to the mix as well.

Vegetarian meal 
While dogs are carnivores, some of the meals can be vegetarian. One idea to make a vegetarian dish is using 2 lbs of grated carrots, 3 bunches of grated broccoli, 2 cups of brown rice and 4 grated zucchinis. 

Dog meatloaf plus vegetables
You take 2 lbs of lean ground beef, add 2 carrots, 3 small potatoes, 1 chopped celery stalk to make a meal that your dog will definitely love and enjoy eating.

These are just some examples of recipes you can make at home. Before making your own dog food, you need to do your research, as there are items such as grapes, chocolate and some onions can be very harmful to dogs.

Fantastic new veterinary practice

We have had a lovely day today in Swindon with Joe Inglis and Jez, celebrating the opening of their new 'Vet's Klinic' surgery. It really is great to see such innovation in the world of general veterinary practices, this Klinic has a large glass fronted room for preparing dogs for surgery and completing minor procedures such as dental work.

The vets will use iPads to record their client's information and behaviourist Jez will also be able to use their technology to record behaviour sessions for owners to watch back afterwards.

We have been ultra efficient at editing this video and so it is live already here.

We look forward to them opening a new surgery closer to us, we will certainly be one of the first to sign up!

While we were there we met up with 'Mugly'- officially The World's Ugliest Dog! We asked his owner Bev to explain how he got the title, that video should be live in our September issue.

Animal Aiders and Portuguese Water Dogs

We went off to Bury-St-Edmunds today to interview Sophie Flux from Animal Aiders.

Animal Aiders provides practical and high quality vet led courses in animal first aid throughout the country. With her invaluable help, we were able to produce videos on: basic health signs - how to tell when something is wrong and what to do; eye injuries – signs of and how to treat; poisons and poisoning; and heat stroke. Sophie was a perfect host and a dream to film. We look forward to meeting up with her again for more articles in the future.

It was all go today, after filming Sophie in the morning, we were off to another part of Suffolk to meet Jocelyn Creffield to interview her about Portuguese Water Dogs. PWD’s turned out to be an affectionate and lively breed. As the name suggests, the dog is native to Portugal, is an excellent swimmer, and worked for hundreds of years helping fishermen. The “lion trim” they were given, where the rear is close cut, helped them to work in the water, and is still used in the show ring today. Many thanks go to Jocelyn for her time and hospitality. We look forward to adding this video to our breed library soon.

Cavalier Matters

We met up with Tanya Ledger and Margaret Carter from Cavalier Matters today.

Cavalier Matters is a not-for-profit organisation set up to provide health and other information about the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. It’s brilliant website may be full of fun cartoons but is jam packed with useful information on serious issues for CKCS owners.

It’s founder, Tanya, was prompted to set it up after she discovered her own Cav suffering from some serious health issues. We did an interview about the organisation, one about health issues and another about how to buy a healthy Cav. Tanya is keen that future CKCS owners don’t face the problems she had to.

August 2012 is live

Our August issue is live, this month we have some practical demonstrations including Behaviour Adjustment Training in action to help a dog overcome it's fear of vacuum cleaners and an instruction video on how to clip your dog's claws.

We also have a very interesting article on the Critical Periods of a puppy's development, an explanation of the assessment process at Canine Partners and we find out more about the research behind the CV247 cancer therapy.

We met up with Xtradog to find out about the benefits of harnesses, Lizi Angel gave us some advice on how to help dogs with Separation Distress and Jez discusses how he would help an unusual problem of a dog who didn't like 'walkies'.

German shorthaired and longhaired pointers

Today we travelled to Cambridgeshire to meet David and Eileen Winser and their German Shorthaired Pointers and the less common German Longhaired Pointers. David and Eileen have 3 Longhaired and 2 Shorthaired pointers and a litter of pups. It was a real pleasure to meet them and their very well trained and well behaved dogs. Even the 7 week old pups were demonstrating lovely recalls and sits! We should be bringing that video to you soon so do keep an eye out on our video library Breed Section.

Sex and growling!

We travelled to Buckinghamshire today to see the great Ian Dunbar at his seminar at Amersham Rugby Club. He very kindly spent much of his lunch break with us and we have some fantastic new videos on inappropriate sexual behaviour, unwanted toileting behaviour, playing tug and teaching 'growl' and 'shush'. Ian was, as always, a natural in front of the camera and we filmed these four great videos in no time, leaving him in peace to eat his lunch before returning to the packed venue for his last day teaching during this trip.