If you have a dog with a penchant for running away, the Retrieva collar might be of interest to you. I remember interviewing a representative of the company at Crufts 2008 and thinking what a well thought out product it was. Not only does it let you track your dog, it is tamper proof, and will withstand water should your dog take a swim while wearing it.

So not only will it help if your dog simply wanders off, but it should help cut down on the number of dogs stolen. And that can only be a good thing.

Hooray – it’s December! Deck the halls and all that! We’ve put our Christmas tree up, and explained to Buddy and Star that they mustn’t pee on it or try to eat it. They are actually outraged that our local pet store has sold out of dog treat advent calendars, and until more stocks arrive they have to make do with watching the smaller pets in the house receive their advent calendar treats, which isn’t quite the same thing at all!

It’s nearly December and to get you in the Christmas mood early, watch the video attached to this post. That dog is so cute! Neither of ours dogs is set off by singing, although Buddy will howl along if a violin, harmonica or recorder is played for too long in his hearing. I’m never sure if that means he enjoys it and wants to participate, or he’s really saying, “Shut up, this is what you sound like!”

If you enjoy the video you can see many more videos that genuinely feature dogs, and are family friendly at www.alldogvideos.com

On the subject of Christmas, do you give your dog a Christmas present? Ours usually get a new toy, and I think they have as much fun ripping the wrapping paper off as they do playing with the toy. They also usually have a treat advent calendar, from which they are given a treat once a day leading up to the twenty-fifth. It doesn’t take many days for them to realise that the calendar contains treats, and they go and sit below it, eyes flicking up to it, clearly asking for more. Well – it’s only once a year, so why not?

Take care,

Julie x

We have many photos uploaded to the DogCast Radio site, and each one, along with each comment is checked and approved by a one of us to ensure it’s relevant and suitable. The other day I came across one that immediately made my eyes fill with tears. You can see the photo attached to this post. It’s a bog standard shot of a Springer Spaniel, and it’s slightly out of focus, but that’s not what made me cry.