Kevin the Collie Dog Care

Dog camp

kevin — Fri, 18 May 2012 09:44:39 +0000

We are still experiencing a number of heart-stopping scary moments courtesy of Lula. She may be playing perfectly happily at our local open space when she suddenly decided to run off in the other direction. This happens whether she is playing with her ball, or with a group of other dogs. It is impossible to predict when it will happen, and we always leave her lead attached for ease of catching her. I have special whistles in my pocket at all times, and sound them loudly as I chase her on one of her escape bids. All they really do is attract the attention of passers-by, who usually help to stop her. Sometimes she reaches the garden of our friends whose house is at the edge of the field, but on another occasion she was chasing another dog who was on the way home, and Lula ran across a road in hot pursuit. It is pure good luck that she avoided being run over by a car. We have decided some drastic action is needed. I have heard about some very good trainers at K-9companions.com, who run a boot camp for dogs with all sorts of behaviour and training needs. The training ranges from one-on-one sessions for a single dog, through group sessions and they even offer a boot camp where the dog stays at the school for more than a fortnight. The last offering can make a big difference to dogs with extreme issues. I think we will need a few private sessions, but I remain hopeful that Lula can curb her Terrier instincts.

Judge the service

kevin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:46:06 +0000

I am all in favour of review sites, where consumers can post their experiences of a particular product or service. But there are so many sites where the content is not genuine, and it is difficult to ascertain whether the contributor is genuine or not. One giveaway is where a forum post is made by a member who has only made one contribution – and these are quickly exposed by other members as a put-up job. To help car dealers present a genuine snapshot of the quality of their customer service, a new consumer site called Judge Champion has been established. This will be a website only for car dealers who are committed to customer satisfaction. It is not a place for glossy PR puff – although good testimonials will be published on the dealer’s website, on Judge Service and shared on social networks. Judge Service also takes customer data and uses its software to get their feedback to their experience with the dealer’s staff. This is a good step forward in the car sales and service sector, and definitely one to be encouraged. Find out more at judgeservice.com

Dog help and advice

kevin — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:41:16 +0000

As any dog owner will tell you, there are many occasions when you need help and advice in looking after your pet, especially in relation to your dog’s health. I know that we often turn to the internet petforums when we have some kind of concern about our dog’s behaviour or her health. For example, there was the occasion when she got hold of a box of chocolates by climbing on to the end of the settee and leaning over to the coffee table. By using her very flexible neck muscles, she managed to eat at least six chocolates before we realised what had happened. Theobromine poisoning can be a really serious threat to a dog’s life, but Lula seemed totally unaffected. Fortunately the chocolates had fillings and the coating was not very high in cocoa content, or the outcome could have been a lot worse. I read on a terrier forum about other people’s dogs who had to have their stomachs pumped – and worse. More recently we have been looking for help regarding her state of high excitement when she plays with her newest squeaky toy. When she received the toy as a Christmas present we were really pleased as the squeak mechanism was robust, and she could not break it. Normally squeaky toys have lasted less than a day, but this one is still fine after four months. She really likes chasing it, and she can also play with it on her own as she kicks it like a football. But when we take it away from her, she howls like a creature possessed. Last week I stupidly allowed her to play with it in the evening, and when the time came to go to her crate she was screaming and wailing as she desperately wanted to carry on playing! This is a real problem as we have to get up early in the morning and we did not want to keep the neighbours awake. The next day I found other dog owners’ experiences on petforums and discovered that we should routinely be taking her toy away so that we are in charge of the start and finish of the game. Let’s see how far we manage to put that into practice.

Money for bones

kevin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 17:13:58 +0000

All you dogs who are looking for a little extra income should be aware of the power of affiliate programmes to help you. You could be out at the park chasing your favourite ball and your website is working hard to make you a bit extra, which could pay for your next bath and clipping. Blue Global Media is one of the agencies where you can sign up for potential extra cash, it is an Affiliate network that specialises in financial products. Love them or hate them, there are plenty of readers searching for loans online and you may just as well direct them after they have read about your latest doggie cuteness. By joining a cash advance affiliate program you could help your family raise enough for a few trips to the nearest doggie swimming pool, and maybes a couple of nice big ham bones at the same time. Just think how grateful they will be no longer can they say it’s a luxury dog’s life – you will be earning your own keep

Public info

kevin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 17:04:42 +0000

In our cafe we have a lot of publicity material for other tourist venues, and these can take up a lot of space if you are not careful. The solution is to use good quality brochure stands Australia as this is an important piece of hardware. Brochure displays are the kind of thing that you never really notice unless they are not right. Think of the times you have been browsing and the stand starts to whiz around too fast, causing you to jump back with a start. Or, for example, the times you have tried to turn the carousel only to find it creaks and resists all movement. Or maybe the stands are leaning forward at a a crazy angle, preventing you from seeing the titles of the material that is being displayed. It really is imperative to find good quality, reliable brochure stands Australia for your business. If you look out for brochure stands Australia you will spend your cash wisely.

Dog shop

kevin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:49:07 +0000

Well it looks as if Mum has decided to find a more dog-friendly business, where I can be with her all the time. At the moment that is not possible as there is no space in the cafe for me to sit. So she is on the hunt for a shop, so that she can have a little play pen in the corner for me. I am sure I will help her to sell more as well, due to my charm and personality. I have heard her making calls to Business Brokers who can help her in this search. Apparently she met a friend recently who has just negotiated on a Law firm for Sale so Mum said, “I wonder if they can help us, Lula? Would you like to hold court all day in your own cute little shop? This is going to be a big investment so she needs to do plenty of research. At first they offered a Physiotherapy practice for sale but that is not what we are looking for. A nice shop selling unnecessary – but totally desirable – trinkets is much more up our street. Wish me luck.

Words

kevin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:54:51 +0000

I heard a funny story at my German class the other night. The teacher, who is German, has an English friend who delights in writing to her in her Mother tongue. The trouble is, he composes sentences in English and then puts them through Google Translate, then cuts and pastes the result into an email. The finished letters are a comedy turn for anyone who undrestands the language because they bear no resemblance to the intended message.. This is why a good translation service is still essential for business if you are dealing with clients in other countries. Otherwise your attempts to communicate could have extremely embarrassing outcomes. Imagine if you inadvertently included suggestive wording or oaths, or addressed your target audience in the familiar person instead of using a more formal tone. That could be the end of your huge overseas deal! A translation agency can advise you on much more than the right words to use – the ‘mot juste’. They can also tell you which media would be suited to your requirements, end even when to time your approach. Other countries will not share the same religious holidays and translation agencies are experts on avoiding offence by making an overture at a sensitive time in the calendar.

Spice girl

kevin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:25:54 +0000

Vintage Fever is a big thing, certainly in the area where we live. Furniture and ephemera from the fifties and sixties is in big demand with kitchen ware that I remember from my youth fetching high prices. When I first set up home, a spice rack was on everybody’s wedding list. These 1970s spice racks were mostly made of pine, with space for six matching containers, usually prefilled and labelled. The first example that I ever owned was a wall spice rack and the great thing about this was that it had room for twelve individual bottles. The word was rather a misnomer at the time, since most people’s taste buds did not tolerate spicy food and the kitchen spice racks sold in the shops were generally filled with herbs such as parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to coin a phrase from a famous song! Even oregano was considered rather outre. Now, of course, most of us reach for coriander or cumin without a second thought.

Scrub

kevin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:27:30 +0000

Whenever we visit the vet’s I notice that the staff follow the same hygiene procedures for pet care as for human care – and rightly so. Cross infections are just as dangerous for dogs as for people, so it is reassuring to see that the veterinary nurses wear scrub uniform although some pets freak out at the sight – or maybe the smell. The uniform is quite memorable for a dog, so a good or bad experience with someone wearing a green lab coat will remind them of the colour forever afterwards.

A friend of ours was in hospital in London and he split his time between his bed on the medical ward and the pub in the street below, where he could be found proudly wearing his scrubs top. It obviously made him feel important. In fact he managed to take it home and even bought another from http://www.blueskyscrubs.com. It takes all sorts, I guess.

Lula loves to play

kevin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:58:59 +0000

Lula and Sadie

Four months since she arrived here, Lula has settled in very well. Every morning she leaves her crate and runs upstairs to jump on to the bed and rub noses with me, then she lies on the bed for just a few minutes. Next she scampers downstairs into the back garden to wake all the other dogs in the neighbourhood – and the humans. After this she waits patiently in an armchair for me to get ready and at 8.30 we go for her first – and best – walk of the day, where she plays with other dogs. Near our house is an open space, reasonably secure, which is a magnet for local dogs and their owners. We all arrive at the same time, so that the dogs can play together and get some good exercise. Up to fifteen different dogs usually show up, of various breeds and sizes. They are well socialised and not aggressive – this is a godsend, and I know we are very lucky.

Sometimes Lula likes to play ball, and she retrieves it very well. But she is often outrun by a smaller dog like the Jack Russell shown in the picture. The short-legged dogs just seem to run faster for some strange reason! There is a well-used footpath running through the field and lots of passers-by enjoy the sight of dogs playing. the best times are when a group of dogs plays chase and they run huge circuits around the open space, accompanied by excited barking from Lula!

After half an hour of sniffing, rolling in foxes’ smells and chasing each other, the dogs have had plenty of exercise and their Mums and Dads need to go to work. We all go our separate ways to feed our four-legged friends and prepare for the day ahead. The dogs go home to sleep and recharge their batteries ready for their next walk.