It may seem as familiar as the nativity at Christmas, but it’s time for a reminder about puppies and Christmas. Don’t buy a puppy as a Christmas present. Apart from anything else, Christmas is far too busy a time for most of us to devote the necessary attention to a new dog. The comings and goings will make it impossible for them to bond with their new pack and settle into a new home.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has produced its 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook. The statistics included make fascinating reading. For example, while there are 43 million dog owning households in the USA, there are 37.5 million cat owning households. However, there are more cats – 81.7 million – than dogs – 72 million – in the country. So clearly there are a lot of multi-cat houses.

I’ve been very busy recently recording interviews for future shows, and one that sticks in my mind is one with Margaret Flack. Margaret, with the Kennel Club and the UK dog newspaper Our Dogs, is mounting a campaign to stamp out puppy farms, dog dealing and dog smuggling in the UK. I hope she is successful, and so should each and every dog lover in the UK - and beyond.