Dangerous dogs and not-so-dangerous dogs

On Saturday we visited Wheldon Law in Hemel Hempstead - Specialist Canine and Criminal Lawyers to find out all about the dangerous dog laws, what they mean and what to do if you are involved in an incident with a dangerous dog. Tina Hay explained to us what Breed Specific Legislation means for people who own dogs who are of a certain 'type'.

On Sunday we were back with Adem Fehmi from Dog-ease who showed us some more gundog training, including how to train a dog to stop on command and how to overcome some typical 'problems' with retrieving.

Grooming and Gundogs

Another busy weekend, on Friday we visited Trevor Pearman from Pedigrees n Pooches based at Fosters Pet and Garden Centre in Hertfordshire.

Trevor was nervous but was excellent in front of the camera, very clearly showing and explaining to us:
- Bathing dogs
- Drying dog
- Plucking dogs ears
- How to find a good dog groomer

On Saturday we attended Dog Ease training school near Buntingford to film some of their agility class and also film Gundog trainer Adem Fehmi explaining how to teach a dog distance control.

These videos should be coming to you over the next few months.

Give a dog a P.A.T.

With autumn approaching, the Happy Dogs team were on the road again, this time in Buckinghamshire to catch up with the great work being done by Pets As Therapy, a nationwide charity with volunteers visiting a wide range of establishments, from schools to care homes.

First we met with Chief Executive Lisa Coles who talked to us about the organisation in general. Then we met with a Regional Coordinator Jennifer who took us to Stoke Mandeville hospital and St Leonards care home so that we could see first hand the good these animals do.

We'd like to thank the volunteers (Sylvia and Myrna) who talked to us about their work and also the patients, and everyone at Pets As Therapy who made us feel so welcome. We look forward to bringing you the first of these videos in November.

(pictured is Sylvia with Hetty the dog meeting patient Maurice at Stoke Mandeville hospital)

Back to Wood Green

Happy Dogs was pleased to be invited back to Wood Green The Animals Charity headquarters in Godmanchester, this time to film articles covering rehoming a pet, both from the angle of current and prospective owners, and also a piece with Tracey Hill about Paw-to-Door, their trial scheme which aims to re-home animals without the need for a stay in the shelter itself.

We would like to thank Tracey, and also Barbara Fances and Victoria Cannon for their time today, and look forward to bringing you these articles in the coming months.

Itchy and scratchy

Today we met up with Richard Allport during a consult with Michelle Brown and her Jack Russell Jake.

Jake has been biting and scratching his skin in various areas, including his legs, feet, tummy and around his ears. Michelle wanted an alternative to the 'masking' effect of steroidal drugs, and so consulted our natural vet contributor. Both Richard and Michelle kindly agreed to allow us to film this consult, the second time that Michelle had seen Richard about this problem.

We look forward to bringing you this article soon.

October 2012 dog videos go live

October's videos are now live, including articles by Dr Ian Dunbar, Dr Roger Abrantes, Jane Harvey, Margaret Carter, Alex Wilson, Sophie Flux and Neil Flint...what an expert filled month!

Our diary for the rest of this year is filling up rather quickly with filming for the next 6 month's issues, we look forward to bringing even more top canine experts to your computer screen soon!