Arthritis in dogs is such a common problem as the dog ages, and it is not confined to particular breeds. Our Kevin suffered quite badly – he was a Collie/German Shepherd cross. Many other breeds also develop this painful ailment, including Labradors, which have a tendency to be overweight. One of the first things an owner can do to alleviate the rpoblem is keep the dog’s weight dow. The second thing is to feed them a supplement like glucosamine sulphate. This has been hailed by many humans as a ‘miracle cure’ and it seems to help dogs as well. You can give your dog a reduced dose of the human version, or buy a special formulation for dogs. remember to give the supplement every day for at leats a month before you can expect to see results.

We found our most recent guest, Trixie, to be a delightful house guest who settled in easily with us.  She is affectionate, house trained and quiet.  Her only slight failings were a desire to sleep on our bed. and a tendency to flatulence.  Maybe we got off easily with our own Kev, but he never made any embarrassing sounds or smells.  The delightful little Trixie, on the other hand, emits some awful smells – usually when she is sitting on someone’s lap. We tried to give her a sort of colon cleanse detox by restricting her diet to the dry formula supplied by her owner, but it made no difference. The little princess still caused many bouts of “who did that” and much waving of papers to get rid of the smell!!

I regretted volunteering to take Sadie and Tye for a week when their stay coincided with our worst snowfall in many years, as Tye pulls strongly on the lead.  A lot of dog owners can let their dog walk off the lead in icy conditions, but Tye’s recall skills are non-existent.  When we collected the dogs on Sunday the road was really slippery and we skidded a few times, but we all got home safely.  Walking the pair on Monday was still tricky, but they loved getting out into the fresh air.  It looks as if they had not been out often over the past few weeks as they have both gained weight.  A small dog like Sadie, who needs arthritis treatments, cannot afford to put extra weight on her joints. So it is down to us to get them fit again.

If you live anywhere in the UK you will be aware of the chaos that has resulted from this week’s snowfall. because we are not accustomed to very cold weather we do not have much of the equipment that snowy lands use to ensure business as usual. The snow arrived here in Sussex on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday most airports were closed, and trains remained in their sidings.

Trixie’s owner was booked to fly back from Belfast on Tuesday evening, and as I write this on Friday he has still not been able to get a flight to Gatwick. So Trixie has stayed here for another two days, lapping up the attention she receives! This well behaved Jack Russell has been a star guest at three of our Christmas church services, and is enjoying herself playing snowballs. Unfortunately I have to take her walking in the cold, but that is the responsibility of caring for dogs, I guess. When we took her to the beach shown in this photo, my hands were so cold that I went to the ladies’ simply to warm them up using the hand dryers.

Tomorrow Trixie is due to leave us, and she will be sorely missed.

Sharing your life with a deaf dog

Owning a deaf dog can be both a rewarding and educating experience. Owning a dog that has good hearing and sight can often lead us into being a little lazy, when it comes to establishing effective patterns of communication between us and our pet. For the most part we struggle through with a few voice commands and maybe the occasional hand signal, that often change depending on the situation. Fortunately, in a lot of situations our dogs learn to navigate their way around our impromptu communication style and, begin to ‘catch on’ to what it is we want from them. Read more »

To The Dogs

I don’t know what I would do without my dog. The unconditional love that she gives is something I cherish. It truly makes the heart sing. Then there are those big brown eyes, elegant muzzle, wagging tail and eager demeanor. What’s not to love? Read more »