I always hoped that my dog, Kevin, would walk down the aisle at my wedding, but in the end this was not possible. We lost Kevin five months ago and past week the wedding took place on a fantastic sunny day in Sussex. Fortunately, we scattered Kev’s ashes near the church so we were able to visit the site and remember him before the ceremony. Here is a nice picture of the spot, beneath a holly tree. We have planted wild flower seeds for a permanent memento of our lovely dog. We did manage to have some dogs at the service, and I will be posting some pictures of my ‘dog bridesmaids’.

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Life without your dog after he has died can be hard. It is just over two weeks since Kev died and we have said we will wait for a few months before deciding whether to get another rescue dog. If we get a younger dog, we know the commitment could be more than ten years so we intend to take at least one holiday abroad before adopting our next pet. There could also be the need for some extra safety equipment to stop the dog falling on the stairs. In the meantime we can continue with our sponsorship of a dog in the care of Dogs Trust. This is the next best thing to having a dog of your own, but it is still hard when they show all the appealing faces of the dogs in their TV ads!

I know it may sound stange, but my house was really not dog friendly until last week. When we moved in here the stairs were not carpeted. Instead they were painted wood, which may look very trendy but it is noisy, cold and very difficult for a dog to climb. The hous has three storeys so this made life very difficult for me – an elderly dog with arthritis. I had several tumbles because there was nothing for my claws to grip on to, and Mum had to carry me up and down as much as possible. Now we have carpet on all four flights. Not only is it much quieter but a lot more comfortable for me. There are still a few more home conforts missing: next week they are going to get a new TV, and there is a lot of talk about whether they can install a wall mounted tv stand themselves. I hope they do something cos I am fed up with the telly being o the floor. yesterday I walked over the remote and I switched channels with my paw. I thought it was a good trick, but they were not veruy happy.

Teaching your Dog New Tricks

We all know for a fact that dog ownership brings about a lot of responsibilities. Out of the many important duties needed in taking care of a dog, one must consider obedience training or teaching your dog a few basic commands. As a new dog owner or trainer, here are a few basic tricks that you can apply to your pet.

Trick # 1: Heel – The essence of the heel command is to tell your dog to walk directly beside you. This trick lets your pet stay by your side rather than going through various places which will make it difficult for you to take control of his sense of direction. This order is very simple and effortless which can be easily learned by your dog within a short period of time. Read more »

You probably read how upset we all were when my lovely doggie blogging friend Oscar the Airedale died recently. He was just a young pup and he got very ill suddenly, so his loss was a great shock and really tragic. His Mum and Dad heard from a lady who makes little felt models of Airedale terriers, and this is the photo of the one that she sent to Oscar’s Mum and Dad. It is a lovely way to remember a dog, I think.

I heard today that new regulations in Camden, a north London borough, could affect me when we walk there. The council plans to fine anybody who walks more than four dogs together, AND anyone whose dog is off the lead in public streets, public open spaces and parks in the borough. I know we are worried when we see dangerous dogs off the lead but there are times when a dog can safely walk off the lead in quiet streets. A dog needs time off the lead every day and if you live in a town you cannot always take your dog as far as the ‘designated exercise areas’. The Kennel Club is encouraging dog lovers to lodge objections to the new dog control regulations in Camden – the deadline is 15 March so please send a letter now. The Kennel Club criticised the fact that all the council did to publicise the consultation period was to place an advertisement in a local newspaper.