The term ‘rescue dog’ covers any number of situations where a dog needs a new home.

Most commonly, family circumstances change and the family pet becomes displaced and ends up in a rehoming centre through no fault of their own. Sometimes owners divorce, emigrate, need care-based accommodation or, sadly, die. There are also instances, all too often, where dog ownership doesn’t meet expectations or a dog/owner match doesn’t work out. They can sometimes be bought as gifts, and land in a household that is simply not ready for the responsibility.

Short in stature but always big in personality, small dog breeds are growing in popularity, with almost 40,000 French Bulldogs being registered with the UK Kennel Club in 2020 alone (source: Country Living). The preference for smaller dogs might be linked with many of their benefits such as requiring less room, portability and cost to feed – and compared with their larger counterparts this makes a lot of sense!

“Almost anything big dogs can do toy breeds can do as well! From becoming service dogs to working as therapy dogs there are many small dogs doing very big jobs. Toy breeds excel at obedience and agility, scent work, tricks, and other sports. Don’t underestimate these pint-sized athletes— if given the opportunity, toy breeds can make great canine competitors in performance events.”

[American Kennel Club]

When you take on a puppy’s health and wellbeing, its nutrition is a huge part of your responsibility. Nutrition covers everything that contributes to your puppy’s growth and development, specifically her bones, teeth, healthy vision, coat, organs, joints, and muscles.

January is typically when we look ahead and decide what we can do better. We might think of home improvements, sleeping habits, our weight, the level of exercise we need and how we eat. But why not reassess your pet’s needs and do a 5-point check to see how you can make life as good as possible for them too?

It’s not just us humans who look to the new year to begin a healthier regime! Sadly many of our dogs are not in perfect condition either and a new year presents the perfect time to assess the situation and do something about it.

As we head into 2022 there is still some uncertainty surrounding the viability of public events in light of the ongoing Covid-19 situation so we’re setting this diary of events out with one eye on the news! For now, we’re going to outline the various dog focused events that we’ve come across for the new year ahead with optimism and our fingers crossed.

Whilst it’s true that the Christmas period might mean your dog has more attention than usual, it can also be a bewildering time for him with several important factors to consider before you even think about pulling the first cracker!

The many benefits of dog walking are well documented and regular walks form part of our daily routine. But it is really easy to get into an unthinking pattern of where and how we walk our dogs. There are lots of adventures to be had out there with our canine companions so why not try something new?

“…animal welfare organisations have been warning that pets who have never known anything other than their humans being around all the time could struggle to adjust when owners return to the workplace post-lockdown.” [The Guardian, July 2021]

There’s no feeling quite like the excitement of getting your first puppy. To make sure they have the very best start with you, you’ll need to prepare for their arrival, covering off a few essentials: play, food, sleep, house training, medical care, exercising and socialising.

With our ever-changing, eclectic British weather we have to be on the ball when it comes to looking after our dogs. What is an ideal environment in the morning can have changed completely by the afternoon so we have to be mindful of making sure our pets are going to be comfortable – whatever the weather.