Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Your Dog

When it comes to your dog’s care, only the best will do. Our pets are family members, and whether you’re looking for a dog walker, pet sitter, groomer, trainer, or boarder, choosing the right professional can feel overwhelming. At the Animal Focused Alliance, we are committed to helping raise standards across the pet care industry. Every day, we see wonderful examples of pet professionals who are dedicated, responsible, and passionate about the animals they work with. But we also know that not everyone offering services is doing so from a professional standpoint, with training, insurance and legal requirements overlooked. That’s why the Animal Focused Alliance believes it’s vital for pet owners to know what to ask, what to look for, and how to feel confident that the business they trust…

Ever fancied trying a new activity with your dog? In Your Dog Junior, we will be checking out some different canine sports that you might like to try. This issue, we have something that you might enjoy if you like music and dancing… What is heelwork to music? It is a dog activity where handlers create routines set to music – with their dog! It’s an official activity recognised by the Kennel Club, the leading dog organisation in the country. Many people compete in heelwork to music and the finals in our country take place at Crufts, the biggest dog show in the UK – and the biggest dog show in the world! Heelwork to music comes in two different forms. What are the two types of heelwork to music? There…

Many dogs seem to go from a calm, mildmannered companion to a frenzied screaming beast when you open the back door. He may be bird or squirrel obsessed, perhaps there are people on a footpath, or he hears another dog. At night, there might be night-time visitors such as hedgehogs and foxes, or does he just need something to do to let off steam from his confinement indoors? Whatever the cause, a few simple management tools can help calm the chaos! After you have worked out why your dog behaves this way and checked you are meeting all his needs both physically and mentally, the first step is management. It’s hard to change some external factors, such as birds in a tree, but you can help your dog manage his…

Nestled just northeast of Cheltenham, Cleeve Common is both the largest common in the Cotswolds National Landscape, and its highest point at 330m high. The area, which boasts views of the Severn Vale, the Malvern’s, and the Black Mountains in Wales, serves as a stronghold for threatened grassland habitats, being rich in wildflowers like wild thyme, rock rose and orchids. The area is also home to a variety of insects, reptiles, birds and mammals including some less common such as glow-worms, and ring ouzels. The common is a very popular walking location. However, the Cleeve Common Trust asks that dogs are kept on a lead around livestock grazing on the land.…

* Check before you travel. KENNEL CLUB AGILITY SHOW AT THE OGILVIE DOGS TRAINING CENTRE Isla Farm, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 0BJ 18-19 October and 15-16 November, 2025 Try your hand at an official Kennel Club agility event at the Ogilvie Dogs training centre where you could potentially win a range of prizes, from a trophy, to free hire of the facilities. To make sure you have a fair chance at winning, you’ll be able to enjoy three runs of the course one of which will be graded for jumping, and two for your dog’s agility. Quality judges will oversee a safe and fun course with a warm-up jump and soft line contacts; all of which is enclosed in a fenced ring with safe entry and exit points. ● To find…

Is your dog excited to see you when you get in from school? It’s a great time to enjoy spending some time with your best friend. Here, we share some ideas of things you can do together for after-school fun… TEACH A TRICK Want to teach your dog a party piece to impress all your family? Teaching your dog to balance a treat on their nose is sure to draw a big applause! Step 1 Ask him to sit and gently support his chin with one hand so his nose is parallel to the ground while you place a biscuit on top of it. Use a treat that is a bit boring rather than super-tempting. Step 2 To start with, gently hold the biscuit in place for a second, then…

With autumn evenings beginning to draw in, the skies will soon be bursting with the colourful sparkle of firework displays. While this can be an enjoyable experience for people, the loud bangs, crackles, and flashing lights are often too much for our pets. If you find that your pup often cowers under the sofa when the fireworks displays are on, there are some practical steps you can take to help keep them calmer and minimise fear. Small changes to their environment combined with natural calming products can make a significant difference to their mood. Here, we help you start making a plan for your anxious dog this firework season. Why do fireworks make dogs anxious? Fireworks can be overwhelming to some dogs. Unlike us, dogs don’t understand that fireworks are…

Choosing a dog is something that will impact your life for many years and a variety of factors will influence your decision. These will include the reasons you want a canine companion, your lifestyle, personal circumstances and goals. In this feature we look at six different potential dog owners, with ideas to help find a perfect match. 1 The adventurer! The adventurer is someone who is fit, active, and enjoys long, invigorating hikes in the countryside. They long for a dog to enjoy the experience with them, and would like a breed that is loyal, athletic, and always happy to walk in different weathers and over different terrain. The walks could involve negotiating gates, walls, and stiles, so a dog that is not too heavy to lift might be a…

HOW THEY FARED Lowa claims that “the Innovo is just as at home on a daily countryside dog walk as it is hiking in the Lakes” – so that’s exactly how we tested them (so long as you substitute the Lake District for the Yorkshire Dales). These lightweight hiking boots were put through their paces on daily dog walks along farm tracks in the south Lincolnshire countryside and while hiking around the hills near Settle and Horton-in-Ribblesdale. They encountered a variety of terrain. Fresh out of the box, the Lowa Innovo GTX Mid look fantastic. The Seaweed/Dune colour wave on the pair I tested is very appealing, with layered patches of suede providing texture above the hard rubber outsole. Boots earn only a few brownie points with looks, though –…

Whether it’s their distinctive fur pattern, or the Disney film, the Dalmatian is an instinctively recognisable breed with a history that makes it no surprise that Cruella De Vil was so interested. While the Dalmatian may be in the limelight today, their origins are relatively unknown. Records suggest that Egypt’s King Cheops owned one in 3,700 BC, making the Dalmatian one of the first domesticated breeds. Some 2,000 years later, Greek frescos depict white dogs with brown spots chasing wild boars. Other records dating back to 400 BC record crossbreeding between the Cretan Hound and the Bahakaa dog or white Antelope dog to create a breed capable of both hunting deer, and running alongside horses. Dalmatians first came to the UK in 1780 as carriage dogs, the reason they are…

I am a holistic vet working in first opinion practice, as well as taking referrals from other vets. But what does being a holistic vet mean for my patients, and how might a holistic approach help your dog? Holistic, in a veterinary sense, means the assessment and treatment of the whole patient, including behaviour and environmental factors rather than focusing just on symptoms. I would argue that most good general practice vets take a fairly holistic approach to their patients. It is usual to ask about a dog’s diet and lifestyle, activity and behaviour at annual health check appointments, as well as when an animal is ill. Because our patients can’t talk, vets tend to ask a lot of questions and examine the whole dog during a consultation. Holistic vets will…