Home Made Meals For Your Dog

When we rescued him, our labradoodle Ted's fur was not in the best shape and rather sticky; frankly, he also smelled really bad! With the best quality food we could afford to get him and plenty of exercise, we noticed a marked change in his coat and demeanour within a few weeks.

This got me to thinking about canine nutrition and how important it can be for all aspects of a dog's health. I don't make a claim to be an expert, but having spoken to our vet and read around a little, the expert consensus on canine nutrition seems to suggest this is the perfect balance for a healthy, happy dog:

• 60% Meat

• 30% Vegetables

• 10% Grains and other ingredients

Now, I absolutely believe that a high-quality commercial food is a sound basis for any dog's diet, but I also believe that the odd home cooked meal full of vegetables and meat helps round out a dog's weekly diet, and I'll offer some of my favourite recipes at the end of this blog.

First, though, a warning: Dogs can't eat the same foods as we eat. Specifically, avoid feeding dogs any of the following:

• Avocados

• Chocolate

• Caffeine

• Grapes, raisins, sultanas

• Garlic and onions

• Green Tomatoes (ripe red ones are ok)

• Sugar

With this in mind, if you want to give your dog a real treat, try out our Cottage Pie recipe:

Cottage Pie

Ingredients

• 1kg sweet potato

• 250g peas

• One tin of tomatoes

• One celery stick

• Two carrots

• 500g beef mince

• 300ml stock

• Small amount of rosemary and thyme

Method

• Chop the carrots and celery into small pieces

• Add a small amount of oil to a pan on a medium/high heat

• Tip in the carrots and celery, cooking for a few minutes

• Add the beef, breaking up as it cooks. Cook for fifteen minute, until brown

• Add the tomatoes, stock, rosemary and thyme and simmer for 45 mins

• Add the peas once the beef has reduced to a rich sauce

• Meanwhile, cook the sweet potatoes in boiling water for 20 minutes and mash. Leave to cool while the beef simmers

• To serve, allow to cool and tip the beef into your dog's bowl, and cover with a layer of mash.

Depending on your dog, this should make several servings and will freeze well.

Pair well-balanced home cooked food, commercial food and regular walks for a healthy, happy dog!

Teach Your Dog To Have Perfect Recall

When we first met Ted at 14 months, he didn't know his own name, and he hadn't seen grass. He was always friendly, and eager to please, but he hadn't had the best start in life. On walks, everything was new and exciting, and the last thing he wanted to do was remain on the lead. To keep him safe and healthy on his walks and to burn off all of his energy, it was very clear that Ted needed to learn recall, and fast!

Sometimes, a dog walker's job is more than simply walking dogs!

To keep him safe and happy, we followed these simple steps:

1) Teach the dog his or her name. We first taught him his name. This was fairly straightforward: on the lead, we called his name, and rewarded him when he looked at us. Ted is part Labrador, and quite food focussed, but other dogs may prefer fuss, or a toy as a reward. Just make sure the reward is first class, and there is real enthusiasm in your voice when you call his name.

2) Use a long lead. On a longer training lead, we began to repeat the exercise, but ONLY when we knew he had a good chance of coming back. If he was sniffing, playing, or exploring, the effort would not have paid off.

3) Find an enclosed space. We were lucky in that we had an enclosed basketball court in the local park for the next stage - recall without a lead. The trick at this stage is to call the dog back, then LET HIM OR HER GO nearly every time. Your dog must not associate coming back with the end of fun, rather learn that coming back leads to a treat, then more fun. When the time comes to put the lead back on, make sure this event gets the biggest reward and treat of all.

4) Add distractions. At this stage, Ted's recall was good, without distractions.... So, we added distractions in a controlled fashion - friendly dogs in a secure field. Ted was only called back when the play was coming to an end at first, then called back and let go play again.

5) Maintain the training. Finally, we need to maintain this training. Keep the enthusiasm up, return to short-distance recall regularly, keep the reward worthwhile.

When written like this, the process seems very straightforward, but, in real life, things are rarely so smooth. There will be ups and downs on the journey, but I firmly believe, with patience, nearly every dog can learn perfect recall.

Good luck, and drop us a line if you need any support.

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Keeping You and Your Dog Safe During COVID-19

Personally, it has been an unusual year so far. As a family, we relocated our dog walking business to our native North East, just in time for COVID-19 lockdown. It has been said by many others, but this is a strange time for all, and a scary time for many, especially those in a shielded category. This is potentially more true still for those in isolation who usually enjoy dog walking.

Lockdown also poses challenges for your pets. A dog's routine may have changed beyond all recognition, and many dogs will quickly pick up on their owner's anxieties. If you have a high-energy dog, the prospect of fewer walks a day is one that fills many with worry and no little guilt if we feel we aren't exercising our dogs as much as they would like. Ultimately, however long lockdown lasts, it is temporary, and there is dog walking help available, some of which I will mention later. Dogs are focused on the present, and when lockdown ends, they won't give these last few weeks a second thought.

You may also be asking yourself about the safety aspect of walking your dog. Presently, despite media reports, there is no evidence of dogs passing the virus on to humans. That doesn't mean there is no risk, as dog fur may carry the virus, but the risk is one that can be minimised by following this advice:

- Wash your hands when touching your dog, especially after a walk or if they have been in contact with others.

- Walk your dog in your local area, and try to maintain 2m distance from others.

- Avoid contact with other pets and keep your dog on the lead wherever possible.

- If you are self-isolating either due to falling into a vulnerable category or having developed symptoms, or you want to help someone who is, follow the CFSG protocols for handing over of dogs.

Finally, if you are over 70 or in the vulnerable category, get in touch, and, if we have availability, and we can do it safely, we will walk your dog for free. If anyone else wants to book our services, rest assured, we will maintain the strictest safety protocol.

On our walks, we make sure that:

- We wear disposable gloves.

- We use our own leads and clean them regularly.

- We disinfect anything we touch.

- Where possible, we avoid entering client's houses. If we do enter, we touch as little as possible and clean anything we do touch.