Most recent articles

Here are the most recent dog related articles.  We hope you enjoy reading them and we are always grateful of contributions.

Dog Training

04.01.2009 by Esther Wakeman

I recently went on a course called Opening Communications with Rod Roberts.  I had heard his name mentioned before from people doing Working Trials and the general opinion from all I spoke to was positive and that he had a fabulous relationship with his dogs.  The workshop was about how to praise your dog in an effective way and how to read the dogs response to the praise you give.  This sounded perfect for me as I needed to improve my timing with praise and I had no idea whether the praise I was giving my dog was effective or not.

The course was held in a village hall in Suffolk and when I arrived I was met with a warm welcome, a cup of tea and biscuits, so a good start.  The hall was a nice size and there was only 8 people on the course so plenty of room.  Rod gave a lot of information in the first part of the morning about the dogs mind and what state of mind the dog needed to be in for an effective training session.  He is the sort of person you could listen to all day as he clearly knows what he is talking about, and is not just an academic, but has had great success working his own dogs.  The course cost £140.00 and by the first tea break I felt I had already got my moneys worth.  The rest of the weekend was very hands on and we split into groups so one handler had 3 people watching them at any one time.  The feedback on simple things like verbal praise and playing with your dog was brilliant as everyone was there with an open mind and left you feeling very positive.  The variety of exercises that we went through gave a real insight into how we communicate with our dogs and how we can improve this by watching the dogs reaction.  My friend who came with me on the course didn't bring a dog with her and she still felt she got a huge amount out of the weekend just from watching other people and giving them feedback. 

Since going on the course I have found that the training sessions I do with both my dogs is a lot more fruitful.  The progress I am making is quicker and I can see that my dogs enjoy the training a lot more, which is brilliant.  If you are interested in competing with your dog in any discipline and need to improve the way you communicate with your dog, then I would recommend this weekend course to you.  You cannot fail to learn and it is a fun weekend with people who love their dogs.  Rod is an excellent trainer and from the demonstrations with his own dogs, in my opinion, he is an outstanding handler.

Dog Food

20.11.2008 by Esther Wakeman

This month I spoke to a number of dog food manufacturers to find out exactly want went in to their dog food.  Sadly for the most part the answers I got made my stomach churn.  If you aren't sure what is in the food you give you dog then why not give the manufacturer a call?  9 times out of 10 they will be happy to give you a run down of their ingredience and where it is sourced.

One of the dog food manufacturers I spoke to did impress me and I have printed the interview below.

Interview with Stephen Salter of Salters Pet Food

Me: Hi, Stephen, would you be happy to answer some questions about Salters Pet Food?
Stephen: I am always happy to discuss my foods with anyone as we are very proud of what we do.

Me: How long has Salters dog food been available?
Stephen:  Just over 9 years.

Me: Why did you start making dog food?
Stephen:  I was personally unhappy with the quality of leading brands when coming from a meat and meat product background for three generations.

Me: Is Salters suitable for all dogs?
Stephen:  Yes all dogs can be fed successfully on our food and in some cases people have come to us having been on a prescription diet - the dogs not liking the food and the customer certainly not enjoying the price.

Me: What ingredience is in Salters?
Stephen:  All 4 foods are of chicken and rice diets. We also use extra virgin olive oil, maize, egg, autolised yeast (makes marmite), unmolast beet pulp, sunflower meal, linseed, kelp, these are our main ingredients plus vitamins and minerals.

Me: Why do you use extra virgin olive oil?
Stephen:  Extra virgin olive oil is used because it has a whole host of medicinal benefits, one of which it has a terrific stabilisation factor on the gut flora and is also believed not to change molecular structure under heat and pressure (in other words, cooking/extrusion).

Me: Are there any articial chemicals added to Salters?
Stephen:  There are no artificial chemicals/colourants either before or after and we use natural antioxidants to give our food shelf life.

Me: Is Salters suitable for dogs with sensitive stomachs?
Stephen:  It is very good for dogs with funny tummys, also skin, coat and temperament problems.

Me: How much does it cost to feed a dog on Salters?
Stephen:  An average size Labrador can be fed for 53 days from a 15kg sack of Maintenance costing £41.65 for a daily cost of 78 pence.

Me: Where can people buy Salters dog food?
Stephen:  Many friendy pet shops are around the country of an individual and personable nature. We do not supply large chains, supermarkets or pet superstores, the reason being, our food needs to be explained so that the customer gains confidence in the quality of our food having had it explained to them.

Website: http://www.salterspetfood.com/