For years I’ve read comments on dog owner Facebook groups that complain about how expensive pedigree dogs are and how it’s better to adopt not shop. I’ve written about this before, but when we started this puppy project I decided that I will track the costs so that I can both see for myself whatContinue reading “What goes in the cost of a pedigree puppy?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
PSM promotion mode at Hond 2022
We went to the biggest dog show of the year yesterday just to walk around like PSM advertising with our shirts and bags 😁 (not registered because we originally had other plans for this weekend) We met some nice people like the chairman of the Dutch association for Irish Water Spaniels whose tip for thoseContinue reading “PSM promotion mode at Hond 2022”
The path to a “well-trained dog” is paved with tiny tiles
Dogs have taught me to become a much more patient person – progress is gradual, skills are learned in small increments, and some days, you just have to let it go with a shrug. But if you persist and just keep doing small things every day (or every 3 days!), one day you’ll realise youContinue reading “The path to a “well-trained dog” is paved with tiny tiles”
Much ado about retractables
Controversial POV: I’m a HUGE fan of flexis – so much so that I wish there was a 10 metre one in small, but unfortunately 8m is the longest that they make. I even walk my dog with a flexi AND a collar. In short, I’m one of those people who the Dog Internet lovesContinue reading “Much ado about retractables”
A love letter to my heart dog
Nell was lovely, charming and extremely lovable… But if you shared a life with her, she was not an easy dog to love – she was intense, loud, exuberant, demanding, opinionated, short-tempered and persistent. She challenged me year after year to learn more about dogs and how they think because in many ways she theContinue reading “A love letter to my heart dog”
An extraordinary dog
With incredible sadness we need to share the news that our beloved Nell unexpectedly and suddenly lost her fight with cancer on Thursday night. We discovered 2 weeks ago that her lymphoma had returned immediately after chemotherapy ended, which was extremely bad news. We did not want to cut her life too short for our emotional orContinue reading “An extraordinary dog”
How to think about your dog’s age
Someone asked about the age of adolescence on a dog related social media group, and after typing up my answer, I thought I’d post about it too. The short answer: It depends on the individual dog and their gender – like in humans. The long answer: Personally, I use a rough benchmark that around 9Continue reading “How to think about your dog’s age”
Recall is (mostly) based on relationship and trust
I saw this post yesterday (also at the end of this post) and it resonated because I see so many questions on dog groups all the time about recall. People think it’s a training issue and in some ways it is, but mostly… it’s about relationship and trust, but nobody (especially new dog owners) don’tContinue reading “Recall is (mostly) based on relationship and trust”
Puppies & physiotherapy
If your dog is very active (e.g. a sporting or working breed) it’s a really good idea to have them checked 1-2 times per year by a physiotherapist. Grace has been a rocket-monkey-otter hybrid since she arrived as a 16 week old puppy so for our peace of mind it’s been invaluable to know she’sContinue reading “Puppies & physiotherapy”
The complex issue of neutering dogs: a research review
Ever since we got Grace, I have been grappling with the decision of neutering. For now, we are keeping her intact but at some point in the next 2 years we need to think about it seriously so I started collecting evidence. I still haven’t read everything in detail because there is so much toContinue reading “The complex issue of neutering dogs: a research review”
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