The DogCast Radio blog

Something to watch out for at Crufts:

 Support Dogs Introduces its First Canine Patron at Crufts.
NEC Birmingham, 5th-8th March 2009, Hall 2 – Stand 58

Support Dogs is pleased to announce that Saba, a rescue Saluki cross, has been honoured to become the first canine patron of this unique UK assistance dog charity.

We were off to training today, and I wanted Buddy to “toilet” before we went to the class. I always feel (based on experience) that he concentrates better without a full bowel impinging on his brain. The same could probably be said for many people, but I digress.

So this afternoon, in what the media and weather forecasters are describing as arctic conditions yet again, Buddy and I were pounding the streets near the training venue. I repeatedly issued the command to “hurry up” which is our code word attached to toileting.

Crufts is only just over a month away. In five weeks’ time we’ll be smack bang in the middle of it all. This year’s Crufts could of course be quite an unusual one.

There's been some some good, some bad and some just plain funny celebrity dog related news lately. First off, Burt Reynolds has adopted a rescue dog
. His criteria for choosing the dog? - she reminded him of Steve McQueen. Now there's something you don't hear every day!

This one, I just don't understand. Joan Rivers is convinced she ate dog

I mentioned Lee Gibson's new DVD last week, and it was while we were working with Lee that Buddy did one of the funniest things he's ever done. We were completely new to agility, and so we started where Julie Andrews recommended starting - at the very beginning. Lee believes in getting the basics right; of teaching your dog the commands for each piece of equipment, teaching a right and left command, teaching a pause on the contact points, and a priority is learning to trust your dog, and giving him the space to let him get it right.

It's an approach that pays dividends. You simply can't

We went to the Museum of Iron in Ironbridge, Shropshire, UK, last week. We've been before and I always admire this beautiful Greyhound table. Not only is it a fine example of craftsmanship, but the dogs look so proud; supporting and defending the table at the same time. Do you think they'd try and sneak the odd scrap as well though? They certainly would if they were Labradors!

It does pose a few questions - like what kind of tablecloth would you have to buy to allow for those dogs' heads? I also wonder about the people who

I haven't posted since Friday because Jenny and I spent the weekend stuck in bed with a horrible cough and really high temperatures. It was a real pain; we had to cancel a long anticipated family outing, as well as some quite important dog training. All the weekends when we had nothing planned when it wouldn't have mattered, and we had to be laid low this particular weekend. Ah well, worse things happen I know. I hope your weekend went well.
Anyway, Episode 81 of DogCast Radio is now available with two smashing interviews.

Lee Gibson of Lee Gibson Training has brought out a fantastic DVD to help you with agility training. Buddy and I went to him for lessons when we started agility, and I can thoroughly recommend his approach. Lee believes in

I suppose every dog owner thinks this, but I think that I live with the nicest dogs in the world. I'll give you an example of what leads me to think this. When our dogs are asleep, obviously we try to avoid disturbing them, but sometimes it can't be avoided, and sometimes it happens by accident.

The other night I was busy sorting out my clean dry laundry, and putting it away. I was walking into the bedroom with my arms full of "smalls".

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and if you fancy having a night at a dog friendly hotel, you could win yourself one for free in this competition, run by ThePet.net. You can hear an interview with the site's creator, TV vet Marc Abraham in Episode 62 of DogCast Radio.

Win a romantic Valentine’s night for two, with puppy love included, thanks to ThePet.net