Crufts 2015

Well we didn't have a stand this year at Crufts but we were certainly kept busy. We had some fantastic chats with many of the other stands and have some very interesting filming lined up for the next few months.

We also tried Riley the German Long Haired Pointer out with a GoPro to get a 'Dog's eye view' of Crufts. Riley wasn't at all phased by the camera on his back and he certainly seemed to enjoy the extra attention it earned him!

Orthopets

Today we filmed a number of interviews with Orthopets in Gloucestershire. They sell orthotics, prosthetics, karts, harnesses, boots and even toe grips for dogs. Rod explained everything to us very clearly and we have come away with a far greater understanding of the options there are available to dogs with a variety of conditions. These videos will take a while for us to edit as we will need to travel around the country to film the dogs using the various pieces of equipment, but we will get working on it asap!

Filming Obedience

Today we went to visit Russell Becque in Hampshire who sets up Obedience practice rings for competitors to have a go at training their dogs in a situation 'in between' their standard training class, and a competitive ring.

We filmed some great cut aways for our videos with Kamal Fernandez, with breeds ranging from Border Collies and German Shepherds, to some fantastic Bernese Mountain Dogs.

March 2015 is live

This month we visit another little known gem of the Kennel Club - The Kennel Club Gallery - containing, amongst many other treasures, the famous cup for Best in Breed that will be awarded this month at Crufts.  We also learn about The Kennel Club's involvement with the Be Dog Friendly scheme. 

As always, we like to bring you information about activities to enjoy with your dog and this month we look at Canicross Safety and Handling Skills in Tracking.

We're also looking at another product, this month: the Magloc - an ingenious device for attaching a lead to a collar or harness just by pointing it in the right direction!

Finally we have some handy training tips for you: how to remove a reliance on rewards, especially useful when competing; how to direct when and where your dog scavenges, so he doesn't find anything horrible of his own; and how to teach your dog to ring a bell when he wants to go outside.  We're full of good ideas!

Obedience and Bikejor

Today has been rather action packed... and great fun.

First stop was with Clare Williams from Chesvale Dog Training Club, along with a few of her fellow trainers, who taught us all about Heelwork and the Novice Recall in Obedience. Along with a 'what is' style video, we filmed a 'how to teach' for each exercise, we're very keen to get these edited and added to the site.

Then it was on to see Jackie England and Jo Hart with Riley, her German Longhaired Pointer for their first ever go at Bikejor. After 20 minutes, both Jo and Riley had (alongside a fair bit of mud) great big smiles on their faces, they definitely seem hooked!

We also got to try out our new GoPro, stay tuned for some 'dogs eye view' footage coming soon!

Scent work in Oxfordshire

Today we were off to Oxfordshire to join Heather Donnelly again, but this time we were filming scent work. Heather told us all about how to teach a passive indication and also how to pair the scent we want the dogs to find with food, so that they start to look for just the scent. This is the same type of training that search dogs do, whether they are searching for drugs, bombs or missing people.

The dogs that were training today were just pet dogs though, with wonderful owners who really understand how important mental stimulation is for our pet dogs, and who thoroughly enjoy spending a few hours teaching their canine companions to learn a new skill.

We're thinking of having a go at this with our office puppy Skyler, it would be great to teach her to find the scent of our lost keys!

February 2015

We've discovered that office puppy Skyler is no lover of the great outdoors in the winter.  That is to say, she enjoys herself when she gets on a walk but the prospect of going on one is not very appealing, despite her warm winter jacket. I think I know how she feels. But, it's a good time of the year to start preparing for those outdoor activities for when the warmer weather comes.

Maybe you've considered Obedience. This month we find out why Obedience is a sport for all breeds, and if you want to make a start on Obedience, how about starting heelwork with the stand beside.

Maybe the idea of Tracking is more appealing, in which case you could find out how to introduce articles in Tracking. Or, if you fancy giving Carting a try, you could learn what Carting equipment you'd need.

If you want something useful for all training, Kamal Fernandez tells us how to increase an interest in rewards.

This month we also learn about muzzle training, as it's better to be safe than sorry, and about a new product called the Doddle.

Finally, we learn what sort of campaigns The Kennel Club get involved in.

Gearing up for Crufts this year

We're already looking forward to Crufts this year but for the first time in a few years, we won't have our own stand. I (Sally) will be there though, we have some important chatting and some even more important dog-watching to do! There are over 400 trade stands there so plenty to keep ourselves occupied.

If you want to go to the event, we will be running a few competitions soon for tickets, or to secure your place early you can purchase tickets from

www.crufts.org.uk/content/ticket-office

Filming Nina Bondarenko

It was unsurprisingly chilly as we headed off to London to meet up with Nina Bondarenko today. Nina has some ingenious ways for training perfect heelwork and loose lead walking for the biggest and bounciest of dogs and we wanted to capture these for Naturally Happy Dogs.

We had taken office dog Sandy with us to help demonstrate a few of the techniques and Nina was joined by one of her students with a lovely husky cross who was an expert lead-puller. Needless to say, Nina soon had them trotting along perfectly.

Happy New Year 2015

We're getting the new year off to a good start with quite a few videos on training.  Beginning with the very young dog, Nando Brown shares his ideas on what to do when your puppy bites you. If you're having problems with a noisy dog, Ian Dunbar shows how to teach growl and shush.  In the first of his videos, Kamal Fernandez, a trainer in competitive obedience, tells us how to motivate our dog. Brenda Aloff is also on hand to show us how to enable our dog to feel comfortable with us being the one in control, especially useful if your dog is nervous or reactive.

We have another video on carting, this time on the training process, and in another video, little Skyler has her first tracking lesson.  We also have another of our product videos, this time looking at the Green Feeder.

Finally, we begin a new series which takes an in depth look at The Kennel Club where we find that a lot more goes on than we might realise.

Filming at the KC headquarters

We had a lovely day today filming at the Kennel Club's headquarters in London. Caroline Kisko told us all about everything the Kennel Club does, including their extensive campaigning work and their 'Be Dog Friendly' scheme to encourage places and venues to become dog friendly.

We also met Ciara Farrell from the library who told us all about the Kennel Club gallery and showed us some of the fascinating collections from the library.

Seasons Greetings :)

We would like to wish all of our members happy holidays, we hope you enjoy the festive season with your four legged companions.

As dog lovers, we're well used to the concept of getting up and going outdoors.  This month’s issue has suggestions for outdoor activities you might not have considered.  There’s Tracking and Carting, and for the very fitness minded, we continue our series on Canicross.

If you're looking at training, we have videos on Puppy Socialisation and the Recall element of the Good Citizen’s Dog Scheme.  We even find out what it's like Working as aDog Trainer.

This month sees the launch of a new series of videos where we review different dog products.  With the help of our ever willing office dogs Sandy and Skyler, we tried out the Nina Ottosson games: the Dog Brick and Tornado.  Both get a two paws up from Kevin from the Naturally Happy Dogs team.

Finally, Di Johnson, one of the top Show Judges in the country, shares with us her views on how dog shows have changed over the years.

COMPETITION: Share a photo of your #poochpassenger and win!

Do you have a dog which is the perfect driving companion? If you do, the #poochpassenger campaign from The Car Buying Service is something you should definitely give a go!

All you have to do is share a fun photo of your four-legged travel companion enjoying a car journey on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #poochpassenger to be in with a chance of winning a £50 Pets at Home voucher.

The Car Buying Service are also donating £1 to Manchester Dogs’ Home for every entry that gets submitted so regardless of whether you win you will also be helping out a worthy cause by entering the competition. For more details on the campaign, full terms and conditions and to see all the entries so far, visit www.thecarbuyingservice.co.uk/pooch-passenger