Most of us know we may eventually have to face losing a dog, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier when the time comes. I know this from personal experience. I lost Missy in August 2023, and then Roxy in March 2025. Both are still very much missed. When a dog has been part…
Fireworks can be frightening for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets too. Dogs often get most of the attention during fireworks season, but small animals can also be affected by sudden bangs, flashes, unfamiliar smells and changes happening around their home. The difficulty is that fear may not always be as obvious. A rabbit…
October is National Pet Wellness Month, which makes it a good time to think about dog wellness and what we actually mean when we say a dog is “well It is easy to think of wellness purely in physical terms. Is your dog eating normally? Are they a healthy weight? Are their vaccinations and parasite…
Updated September 2026 Is your dog’s food causing itching, ear problems, or an upset stomach? Possibly. But food is only one of several possible causes. Dogs can develop genuine food allergies and food intolerances, and the signs can include itchy skin, recurrent ear problems, vomiting, diarrhoea and excessive wind. Those same signs can also be…
Updated September 2026 [Yes, dogs can eat some foods that we eat. But that does not mean everything on your plate is suitable for your dog. Some plain human foods can be used as an occasional treat. Others are too rich, fatty, salty or heavily seasoned. A smaller group can be genuinely toxic. The simplest…
Updated September 2026 Knowing your dog’s weight is useful. Knowing what their body actually feels and looks like is even more useful. Two dogs can weigh exactly the same and have very different body conditions. Breed, build, muscle, age and individual shape all matter. That is why veterinary professionals use body condition scoring alongside the…
Changing your dog’s food sounds simple. Finish one bag and open another. For some dogs, that causes no obvious problem. For others, a sudden change can lead to loose stools, diarrhoea, wind, vomiting or simply refusing the unfamiliar food. Unless your vet has advised you to change immediately, I would normally introduce a new diet…
Updated September 2026 You pick up a packet of dog food, and somewhere among the ingredients, feeding instructions and marketing claims are two surprisingly important words: Complete. Or complementary. They may not be the most exciting words on the packet, but they tell you something much more useful than whether the food is described as…
