Vet Pets Magazine

www.petsmag.co.ukJUNE 2015

How To Be The Perfect ‘Pet Parent’!

MY PET: Guy Blaskey, Founder of Pooch & Mutt

It’s A Dog’s Life For A Vet’s Husband...

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This month we catch up with Guy Blaskey, founder of Pooch & Mutt, and his pet dog Pepper. The Pooch & Mutt range features functional grain-free dog food, treats and supplements that are ethical and hand made with natural ingredients that help target specific problems in dogs. Guy is an avid runner and marathoner, with a strong interest in nutrition and wellbeing. He is a regular speaker at the UK's leading trade events, including PATS Telford and Sandown.

What breed is Pepper and why did you choose him/her?Pepper is a cockapoo. I chose the breed because I wanted a dog both small enough to spend all day in the office, and energetic and hardy enough to do 10km runs with me. She is a great dog and she is always learning new tricks. I love cockapoos because of how much

fun they are to train and their ease at picking up new tricks. Pepper’s current favourite trick is playing dead!

How long have you had Pepper?Around two and a half years

Does Pepper come with you to work?Pepper has come to work with me every day since she was 8 weeks old (when I had to carry her to work in a bag!). She is not just in the Pooch & Mutt office to keep us all company either, she has work to do! She tests all products and is used in a lot of our marketing, especially photos and videos for social media. Pepper loves working but she also loves to play as well, which is a nice break for everyone in the office. We always have a drink on Friday, after a long week and Pepper even comes to the pub with us. She’s great for

meeting new people, as she always seems to come out with a new pack of friends!

What difference does Pepper make to your life?Pepper makes a huge difference, she is the best dog ever! She loves to stay healthy and fit, so she’s always out running and playing. She also contributes to everyone’s life in the office as well and makes our working environment so pleasant. Whenever we need a few minutes break, Pep is always ready for a cuddle- which makes getting back to work even harder!

Do you take take doggie-friendly holidays with Pepper?Occasionally, more so when we go and visit friends and family for a break. With Clapham Common so close, Pepper and I are always enjoying the wonderful weather London can provide.

My Pet

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What are the best holidays you’ve taken with Pepper?The best holidays for Pepper are usually trips to my parents in Derbyshire, as she gets to run in fields all day with my parents' dog, Cookie. Pepper loves being out in the countryside and being able to run all over the place. She loves running up hills and will often play for hours in the field.

Do you take Pepper with you to restaurants and pubs? Pepper joins the Pooch & Mutt team for after work drinks in the pub every Friday. As mentioned, she is a customer favourite at our local pub. Everyone seems to know who Pepper is and it wouldn’t be a pub visit without her, as she really is part of the team.

What are Pepper’s favourite things in the world?Pepper’s favourite toy is actually an old towel that is tied in a knot! She can occupy herself for hours with it. She also loves lots of cuddles! Her Pooch & Mutt food and treats are also a must have. Pepper is a big fan of Turkey and sweet potato.

Does Pepper have any tricks or special character traits?She is great at high 5s, you can pretend to shoot her and she will roll over and 'die' and she has used 'Poochie Bells' her whole life, a set

of bells hung on the door that she rings when she wants to go out. Her Poochie Bells are a great way for everyone to know when it’s time for her to go out, as we all share responsibility in the office for taking Pepper out for daily walks.

Is there anything you feel strongly about regarding pet welfare?I am on the board of The Dog Rescue Federation; one of our

main aims is to inform people about the huge number of healthy dogs put down each year, after not being claimed from dog pounds.

We are working to get exact statistics, but estimates are up to 127,000 dogs per year. That is around one every four minutes.

I am dedicated to improving education and information so that the British public has more information about really important causes.

Pepper the Cockapoo

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How to be the perfect pet parent!

SARAH LIDDELL, founder of Day Care 4 Paws, on what it takes to be the perfect ‘pet parent’.

© Adrian Gilfillan | Dreamstime.com

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By SARAH LIDDELL

We all strive for it – how can we do better? How can we ensure we provide all the right things for our pets? How can we know our best friends are truly happy?

For most pets, the basic requirements of food, water and shelter aren’t nearly enough to keep them truly happy. Of course these things are a good start, but to truly go above and beyond their basic requirements, to truly become the perfect pet parent, you need to do more. I’m not talking about Diva-like-dog requirements – no dog actually needs Prada handbags to be carried around in - and indeed I would go so far as to say they probably feel deeply embarrassed about being seen in public being carried around in such a ridiculous fashion!

For the discerning pooch, clearly good quality food - there so many of them about, well worth speaking to your vet about this if you aren’t sure where to start - should be provided twice a day or three to four times a day for puppies. The quantity should be measured out correctly based on your dogs’ size and exercise regime as podgy pooches are unhappy pooches. We all know that nearly all dogs will just eat and eat but no perfect pet parent

would willingly let their dog become overweight.

Exercise requirements vary greatly depending on the breed, size and age of your dog. Again, if you aren’t sure, it is worth speaking to your vet or other doggie professional - such a recognised dog trainer - for advice on this one. Of course, the true perfect pet parent will have the time to devote to exercising their dog daily, but realistically, this isn’t always possible so to ensure your dog stays happy, fit and healthy. If you can’t walk your dog on certain days then hiring a dog walker or enrolling your dog with a doggie day care centre should be high on your list of priorities.

By “exercise”, this doesn’t (or shouldn’t) just mean physical, it should encompass a range of mental stimulations too such as hide-and-go-seek games, interacting with other dogs,

learning new tricks, being taught basic obedience and taking your dog to new places. These things truly make for a well-rounded, happy, waggy-tailed dog.

For the discerning cat owners out there, of course they don’t require “walkies” but the point I made about providing mental stimulation still stands. Many cats, especially house cats, can get bored easily.

Providing toys, large scratching posts/climbing frames and playing games with your cat(s) is a must. Of course some cats seem to relish nothing more than simply eating and sleeping in a spot of sunshine or in front of the fire, but even the most laid-back, seemingly lazy cats should be at least given the chance to hone their natural hunting skills inside with a few games every few days or so with their owners.

Sarah Liddell walks and trains dogs

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One particularly hilarious game (and nigh on always elicits a reaction from even the laziest of moggies) is to use a torch or pet-safe laser beam. Use your wits to try to pretend the beam or red dot is a mouse and play hide-and-seek with it to keep your cat from getting bored within the first 60 seconds. For energetic cats, they usually love nothing more than to chase the “mouse” laser dot up and down the stairs if you have any. A perfect way to keep them both physically fit and mentally stimulated, like killing two birds with one stone, only without the mess!

Edible treats should be only given on special occasions as they are often high in fats and often sugars too. You may feel like your pet is missing our when your friends or family claim they give their pet about six treats a day but in reality you are doing your pet a favour.

Remember your pets don’t feel peer pressure when they meet in the park – they don’t chat about what they do and don’t have or get and don’t get! Treats in the form of cuddles and strokes are a must though.

Stroking our pets has been shown to lower our blood pressure and it is an easy way for us to show our affection for our animals, plus it is also a means of checking for any

abnormalities such as lumps and bumps that may appear from time to time. A perfect pet parent must be prepared to take their pet(s) to a vet when required as of course our furry best friends cannot speak and tell us when something is hurting or when something isn’t right.Fresh water should be available for all pets, at all times (or thereabouts) – of course short trips in the car can go without - as we all know how easily water spills in the boot of a car when you happen to have to stop at any traffic lights!

Grooming requirements vary greatly depending on breed of dog, size, coat type and this also stands true for cats and small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs but do remember to groom or get them professionally groomed in a style that is practical and comfortable.

A true perfect pet parent wouldn’t opt for an impractical style -particularly true for many fashionable “designer cross breed” pooches at the minute, as this is often simply not comfortable for our beloved furry friends.

Sarah runs Day Care 4 Paws, which is a fully licensed Dog Day Care Centre near Consett in County Durham. The business caters for up to twenty dogs per day. Sarah also runs puppy training and socialisation classes and will be starting agility classes in the near future. For further information: http://www.daycare4paws.co.uk http://www.facebook.com/DayCare4Paws.

Cats need entertainment too!

Vet Pets Magazine © Andres Rodriguez | Dreamstime.com

It’s a dog’s life for

STEVE ANKERS is the author of ‘It’s a Dog’s Life For The Other Half’ - a very entertaining account of what happens when your brother and your wife are both vets. There is no escape from call-outs in the middle of the night, disrupted dinner parties, uneaten Christmas lunches, weddings thrown into disarray by escaping animals, and having to act as the stand-in (untrained) veterinary nurse in emergencies. Life may be chaotic and unpredictable when you’re a vet’s “other half” – but it is certainly never boring! Steve wouldn’t have it any other way ….

the other half!

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By STEVE ANKERS

Broken nights, anti-social hours, eye-watering dinner table conversations, maggots under the finger nails – and that’s just me, the vet’s husband. As for my wife, well…

How did it come to this? I could have married someone from a more respectable profession, like parking warden or investment banker, but no, I had to fall for one of the young vets at my brother’s practice in Northumberland, and I should have known better.

It’s not just the vet’s sleep that’s disturbed, you know, when the phone goes at 3 a.m. to report a road traffic accident, or inform us that a Thai water dragon has its lip stuck to the side of the tank or that an owner is concerned because her dog won’t come out from under the bed. And why do callers ask what other vets are available: how many do they think might be sitting around in our kitchen at that time of night?

It was common practice on night calls, after our daughter was born, for us to slip her into the carrycot and for the three of us to head to the surgery as there would otherwise be nobody around to assist if emergency treatment were

required. Once the more old-fashioned clients had established that, despite clearly being the male, I wasn’t actually the vet and that my wife would be taking on the more technical roles for tonight’s performance, I became not only the unpaid anaesthetist and general dogsbody (a sort of Debbie McGee to Paul Daniels) but also the shoulder to cry on, dispensing

essential advice on such emotive matters as whether the newly terminated Tyson should be accompanied into woofy

afterlife by his collar, favourite toy or the household cat. I listened attentively one night as the vet carefully outlined the tried and tested procedures which would

come into operation now that the beloved family pet had gone to meet his doggy maker. She covered everything from the lying at rest of the newly deceased pet in the veterinary practice’s special, dedicated, state of the art storage facility (or fridge) through to the cherishing services provided by a selection of local pet cremation businesses.

“Well, you’ve certainly put our minds at rest,” said one grateful client. “We thought you just burned them.”

The author’s wife treating ‘Bruno’, one of BBC TV’s Spring Watch hedgehogs fitted with a tracking device.

“I could have married someone from a more

respectable profession... but no, I had to fall for

one of the young vets...”

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Evenings out can be a fraught occasion if the wife is on emergency duty. More than one concert or play has been augmented by the sound of the vet’s pager or mobile phone sounding at a sensitive moment during a violin solo or operatic death scene, and meal times can frequently be disrupted, at home or away.

One vegetarian restaurant, that fortunately knew us well, took a while to get over the sound of the vet answering a call on the landline in their kitchen with the words:

“And can you describe the motions? Is there blood in the stools?” We tipped well that night.

Even if work is over for the day an evening out can still be challenging. The wife can sometimes be taken out and introduced to normal people at parties. To be fair, she generally scrubs up well after surgery and is careful to check with me before we go anywhere that

she hasn’t still got poo in her hair, but her social skills can leave something to be desired.

Woe betide any friend proudly informing us of their new canine

acquisition. “Oh, not a Westie! How much trouble is that going to be! Great Dane? They don’t live long you know – have you warned the children? A Cavalier? You’re kidding, right??”

Of course, if I hadn’t spent my life surrounded by vets, I probably wouldn’t have ended up sharing my home with the kitten that wanted to be a goalkeeper or the duckling that thought her mother was a rabbit. Or got to experience the joys of assisting at a lambing or being spat at by a llama. Or chasing escaped wallabies at a wedding reception or helping the family’s camel to remember its lines in the

nativity play.But, hey, it’s still been a bed of roses. I feel I must stress this.

I’ve seen some impressive looking blades in the wife’s surgery and I’ve witnessed at close hand how she applied them to our tom cat’s most sensitive parts, and it’s really, really not in my interests to complain.

Steve Ankers is the author of It’s A Dog’s Life For The Other Half. ISBN: 978 1 86151 199 7 RRP: £12.99 www.memoirspublishing.com Available from: Amazon.co.uk; Barnes and Nobel; Waterstones; WH Smiths and Google Books (Also available as an ebook.)

Follow Steve at: www.sankersblog.wordpress.com.

Steve gets to grips with a wilder patient

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May was turning out to be a warm month. Not that I needed to feel the heat. Blodwyn, the bull terrier, was able to raise the temperature simply by her presence. She’d steamrollered into my consulting room with jowls sloshing from side to side, ears flapping like out-of-control windsocks, her

owner, Mrs Evans skidding in behind her. By the time we had wrestled Blodwyn onto the table and collapsed in a sweltering heap on top of her the temperature had definitely soared.

‘It’s her ear,’ spluttered Mrs Evans, her face puce.

‘Blodwyn didn’t see eye to eye with my neighbour’s Alsatian.’

There was a jagged tear in the dog’s left ear. As I tried to examine it, Blodwyn swung round, her vast lolling tongue showering me in a spray of hot spittle. Talk about letting off steam. It was easy to stitch the wound but it took the two practice nurses to hold Blodwyn down while I administered the anaesthetic. There was a lot of mutinous muttering. A lot of hot air.

A few weeks later the bull terrier was back in. ‘It’s her eye this time,’ shouted Mrs Evans above a boisterous bark from Blodwyn.

‘When I let her out last thing there was this terrible commotion. I think our neighbour’s cat must have

Retired Vet MALCOLM D WELSHMAN B.V.Sc shares with Pets Magazine readers another of his short stories based on his many years in practice. Battles With Blodwyn is the story of a very bouncy bull terrier.

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strayed into the garden.’

‘It should have had more sense,’ I muttered, as in a sea of flying dog hair, Blodwyn was levered onto the table. Two nurses held her down while I nervously peered at her partially closed left eye.

‘Did the cat get her?’ asked Mrs Evans.

‘Most likely,’ I said as I gently pressed on the lower lid to evert the conjunctiva. It was red and swollen. Something was protruding. I fetched a pair of artery forceps and waved them in the air.

‘Are we ready folks?’

The nurses nodded. I cautiously pulled down the lower lid again, opened the teeth of the forceps and fastened them on the foreign body I’d spotted lodged in the conjunctiva. Blodwyn howled. She swung away. The table, two nurses and Mrs Evans were dragged across the room while I was left holding the evidence. The tip of a cat’s claw.Before the month was out I had to make a house visit.

‘We were up on the Downs,’ said Mrs Evans ushering me into the lounge.

‘Blodwyn spotted a pheasant and gave chase into the bracken. Now she can hardly stand.’ This time there was no boisterous greeting from Blodwyn. She was lying stretched out on the hearth rug,

panting heavily, her body quivering.

‘When did all this happen?’ I asked.

‘Must have been about an hour ago. I heard this yelp in the bracken and she came rushing back to me. By the time we’d got home she’d collapsed.’

Mrs Evans knelt down and stroked Blodwyn’s head. But there was no response. All her zest, all her

bounce had vanished.

I ran my hand down her back, noting her left hind leg seemed to be swollen. ‘Help me roll her over,’ I instructed. With Blodwyn levered onto her left side and her right leg pushed back, I was able to examine the inside of her left thigh where there was less hair. I could see a small area of mottled red and purple bruising; and on closer inspection two tiny puncture wounds.

‘She’s been bitten by an adder,’ I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. ‘That’s why she’s in a state of shock.’ Mrs Evans’ hand flew to her lips. ‘But don’t worry. We can remedy it.’

I gave Blodwyn an anti-inflammatory injection and promised to visit the next day.

‘So how is she?’ I enquired, standing in the lounge, beads of perspiration dripping down from my forehead.

Mrs Evans was about to reply when I heard this pounding on the patio. I scarcely had time to turn before thirty kilos of bull terrier tore in through the French windows and rammed into the back of my legs. I went flying and collapsed on the carpet. Tongue lolling, back end swinging from side to side, Blodwyn stood on my chest and gave a deep woof of welcome.

‘Well..’ said Mrs Evans with a nervous little laugh.

‘She certainly seems pleased to see you.’

I remained flattened on the carpet. Having been bowled over by Blodwyn, I was too stumped for a reply. Malcolm D. Welshman is the author of the bestseller, Pets Aplenty available from Amazon on www.tinyurl.com/mxg85wnHis website is www.malcolmwelshman.co.uk.

‘I scarcely had time to turn before thirty kilos of bull

terrier tore in through the French windows and

rammed into the back of my legs.’

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We’ve teamed up with Arty Lobster (www.artylobster.com), a company that specializes in 3D pet sculptures, to launch a brand new official day in recognition of pets that have gone to the rainbow bridge.

National Pet Remembrance Day (Sunday, July 5), which has launched on social media under the hashtag #PetRemembranceDay, has been set up to provide an opportunity for people to celebrate the lives of departed pets and the increasing number of ways in which to commemorate them.

A Twitter chat will take place on Sunday July 5 using the hashtag #PetRemembranceDay for people to show their support and share thoughts and photos. 

In addition, people can nominate pet owners who have lost their beloved companion animal to have the pet commemorated as a 3D sculpture.

Please post your suggestions on either the Arty Lobster or Pets Magazine Facebook pages. 

Lars Andersen, Managing Director of Arty Lobster, said: “We’ve launched National Pet Remembrance Day with Pets Magazine because we wanted to create

a space for people to remember their departed companion animal.

“While it’s now accepted and acceptable to grieve for a much-loved family pet, we still, as a country, do not really know how to remember our pets and to deal with their loss.

“Pets are increasingly regarded as members of our family, and

basically we do not remember them as we should.”

To find out more, visit the Arty Lobster or Pets Magazine Facebook pages. 

For more information about 3D pet sculptures, visit the Arty Lobster website at: www.artylobster.com.

Date For Your Diary: National Pet Remembrance Day (05.07.15)

Activities for National Pet Remembrance Day (Sunday

July 5) could include:

• A memorial service in a place where the pet liked to walk or play. 

• A memento mori such as a sculpture of the pet 

• A living memorial by planting a tree or flowerbed 

• A pet portrait featuring the pet or their image printed on a coaster or other accessory

• A scrapbook with photos and other reminders of the pet.

• An online memorial with photos of the pet 

• A poem about the pet 

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Sophie’s Choices

Old Mother Hubbard Dog Biscuits

Founded in 1926 in the US, all-natural treat company Old Mother Hubbard is available exclusively from Pets at Home nationwide and online. The treats contain wholesome, all-natural ingredients in a wide variety of flavours from chicken to cheddar cheese. Nine variations will be stocked at Pets At Home designed to cater for the dog’s individual needs, including; low fat, fresh breath, puppy and even hip and joint support. We love their small size and tastiness; they do seem like a healthy option.

For more information visit Pets At Home.

Nutriment Dog Food

Nutriment is an award-winning, family-owned dog-loving business whose innovative small-batch recipes are made wholly from human-grade meat & veg, a generous dash of metabolism-friendly superfoods (kelp, salmon oil, coconut oil…) Nutriment’s commitment to RAW pet food is founded on a proud, long-standing relationship with a number of the UK’s leading top dog breeders and vets.

Never having tried RAW food before, we started slightly tentatively on the sample batch. Our panel of canine tasters, including me, love, love this food, especially the natural taste. It’s certainly got the ‘lick factor’ and I’m certain there’ll be a repeat order. I tried the Dinner for Dogs range, which is designed for smaller dogs. My Collie friends sampled a batch for working dogs.

For more details visit www.nutriment.co.

Personalised Pet SculpturesIn association with...

Top product picks by our resident reviewer Sophie, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

www.artylobster.com

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