On the pull

I've got two mutts that both look quite Husky-like and they do both like to pull on the lead - I'd love to let them do what comes naturally and pull a sled, but as I live in London it's not something we'd get a chance to do very often!
Is there anything we might buy that wouldn't need a massive snow fall to work? Do you have to have proper 100% Huskies?
Wendy Thompson, Clapham



Dog Scootering is an activity which is rapidly gaining popularity across the UK – dogs love to run and what better way to allow them to; you may have seen somebody in your local neighbourhood whizzing past you on a scooter being pulled by their dog or dogs. It is a great way to exercise and bond with your pet and is suitable for almost any fit and healthy dog.
Dog Scootering is a sport where one or more dogs pull a human riding an unmotorised two wheeled scooter. The human can help the dog along by scooting and together can cover a much wider area than by walking in the same time frame. This is a great way to exercise for both you and your dog. The dog obviously gets exercise by pulling the scooter and running, but people also get exercise, as they have to assist the dog by pushing the scooter, and at times, getting off and running with the scooter, especially up hills! Most dogs take to scootering immediately and need little or no encouragement to run as fast as they can, whilst going out to new and exciting places. As a scootering team get more experienced and confident, you can visit new trails and travel further, and can lead to a stronger bond between owner and dog.
Almost any type of dogs can pull a scooter, from Huskies, to Great Danes, and Schnauzers to Spaniels. The smaller the dog, the more you will have to help out on hills and rough spots. All dogs, regardless of size, must be slowly worked into fitness, along with their owners. Don't expect to run the Iditarod in your first month!
All you need to get started is yourself and your dog, a scooter, a harness and a gangline.
There are a variety of different types of scooter on the market currently, ranging from £150 to £400. Scooters are unmotorised and most have mountain bike type tyres, ranging from 16” to 26”. The scooters have a large footplate to balance, stand upon and kick off from, and usually have a front and rear brake.
You may find some models only have a rear brake, and other models are now incorporating front shocks to absorb the bumps when riding over rough terrain. Most scooters allow the gangline to be connected around the head stock of the scooter, but there are some varieties of scooter which have introduced a “brushbow” attachment, which cover the front wheel. This protects the dogs from the wheel and also allows the gangline to be connected in a direct line to the rear of the harness.
An alternative sport similar to scootering is bikejoring. This is where a bike is used instead of a scooter, although some people view this as a more dangerous alternative, as it can be more difficult to dismount a bike in an emergency. Others feel more secure on a bike.
Scooters are easily transportable. They can fit inside a car (if you don’t mind the mud!), a car boot or can be carried on a bike rack attached to the back or top of a car.
There are two types of harnesses that are generally used for scootering; the X-Back Harness and the Shoulder Harness.
The X-Back Harness is the mainstay product of the majority of professional and recreational mushers. Most commonly seen on pictures of sled dogs around the globe, this harness is the traditional style of capturing a dogs pulling power. It is important the harness fits snugly but not tightly around the neck and extends along the back stopping just short of the tail. As well as sledding and dryland mushing, this harness can be used for skijoring, bikejoring, cani-cross and scootering.
The Shoulder Harness; this style of harness connects around the shoulders of the dog with the hitching point just below the shoulder blades. This has the advantage of allowing all the power generated at the shoulders to be harnessed directly, which is particularly useful when the hitching point is not directly in line with the dogs topline, such as with scootering, skijoring and bikejoring. If the connection point is significantly higher than the dogs topline, then the use of an X Back harness can cause the dogs back legs to be lifted away from the ground slightly reducing the power. Some long distance mushers in the Iditarod have also cited shoulder harnesses put less stress on the lower back and hips of the dog.
Finally, you will require a gangline which is the line that connects your dog to the scooter.
The gangline will usually consist of two sections; the first called a tug line and the second a bungee line. Alternatively, you can obtain a single longer line which incorporates a bungee within. It is important to use a bungee within the lines, as it will absorb any sharp impacts from the scooter away from the dog and make the experience far more enjoyable.
There are double tug lines that are available once you progress to running two dogs. Most double tug lines will come with a neckline, which clips to the collar of each dog, to keep them running alongside each other.
There is no need for any special attachments to connect the gangline to the scooter – the lines can wrap around the head stock of the scooter; alternatively, as previously mentioned, some scooters are manufactured with special connections points for dog scootering.

Besides the equipment stated above, there is plenty more items and supplies you may wish to take with you whilst out scootering:

• Water and Dog Bowl – dogs will drink lots of water especially after exercise. Always make sure your dog has access to fresh clean drinking water before and after exercising.
• Treats – you will want to reward your dog after a great time scootering!
• Poo Bags – most places now request that you use poo bags after your dog. This is a good reason to encourage your dog to go to the toilet before starting your scootering session.
• Protective Equipment – you may wish to wear a helmet, wrist guards, knee pads and or googles when scootering, depending on the speed of your dog and the type of surface you are scootering on.
• Dog Booties – Booties protects dog paws from hot pavement, sharp gravel and stones. There is often an adjustment period for the dog's paws, and they may get sore or cut initially if on a longer run, until they toughen up. The owner should ALWAYS carry booties along for cuts and abrasions, and to prevent infection.

Getting started for the first time
For your first run with your dog, choose a familiar route or trail. A good choice is to take the dog to a fun place he's used to visiting, so he has a destination in mind, like the park. A recognised trail is better than an open field because a dog does not know the direction to take when facing an open field. A narrow trail is better than a wide one. If you can, bring a family member or friend on a bicycle, and ask them to ride in front of you.
The dog's first lesson is that the scooter is FUN because he gets to RUN. Keep the run short for the first few trips. Stop well before the dog is tired. Stop while he still wants to go. The first run might be as short as a few minutes or a few miles. Remember that a dog that is out of shape and/or overweight will tire quickly and even can damage joints or pull muscles.
Most people starting out will have just one dog. As always start off slowly. Before you start off on the scooter, walk the dog a little so he has the opportunity to go to the toilet. This will reduce the possibility of your dog having to stop whilst running in harness.
Put the dog into his harness and attach them to the scooter with the gangline. An assistant is useful to hold the scooter (one foot on the scooter pad, both brakes squeezed tight) whilst you hook up your dog.
Once you are rolling, keep your fingers on the brake levers, and use your brakes lightly as needed to keep the gangline tight at all times. Ride to the side, not directly behind your dog and have fun!
Watch your gangline carefully – you do not want to ride over it and get it stuck round your front wheel or the dog's leg. Keeping the lines tight is your responsibility and can be done by using the scooter brakes lightly whenever the dog slows down. Do not let the scooter ride up next to the dog. The dog's job is always to hold the line out tight in front of the scooter. Novice dogs may pull sideways sniffing and lifting their legs. They will suddenly stop to poo as running causes the bowels to move. When first training the dog, steer the scooter to one side of him so that if he stops suddenly, you will miss him if you can't stop in time. Do not ride directly behind him.
If your dog gets confused, you or your helper can run beside him with a leash while the other rides the scooter. Keep encouraging him to pull. Heel trained dogs may be unsure that it's okay to be out front and pulling. Once they catch on, most dogs really love the pulling and running aspects of scootering. Again start off with short distances and build up gradually. Another way to encourage your dog to run is by getting somebody (your assistant!) to cycle in front calling your dog on.
A very important part of the training is command training. Remember, you cannot easily reach your dog without stopping and getting off the scooter and it may be too late to sort the issues, so an obedient dog which listens to your commands is very important. It will also make the experience far more pleasurable if both of you know what you are doing and what is expected.
The basic commands are "Gee" for right turn, "Haw" for left turn, "Straight on" for straight on, "On by" for overtaking or passing a distraction. There are many other commands such as "Hike on" or "Get on" for speeding up, or "Steady" or "Easy" for slowing down. Many people use these commands or variants of these, but the main thing to remember is to be consistent. "Whoa" is essential to get down before hooking him up to the scooter. Having good brakes on the scooter is essential for stopping dogs as most dogs consider the command "whoa" as only a suggestion!
Teach your dog mushing commands even when out walking to get them used to them:

Some basic commands:

Gee = Go Right
Haw = Go Left
Straight On = Straight On
Hike / Pull = Go Forward
Whooa = Gentle Stop
Trail = Stay on the trail
On By = Go past (e.g. past a distraction)
Easy = Go Slower

These are just examples. Use whatever commands you feel comfortable with; just keep them consistent.
The younger a dog is in terms of training, the easier it tends to be to train them. However when it comes to strenuous pulling exercises, it is advisable to let them finish growing and for their hips to have fused before undertaking any serious training or exercise. Many dogs start being trained from 6 months to work in harness, but will not pull any significant weight for any distance until they are at least a year old.
It is recommended to get your dog checked over by your vet before starting to scooter.

When and where can I do this?
Depending on your dogs overall demeanour and your general control, this can be done on virtually any off road trail that is firm enough to cycle on. Generally pavements and roads are not advisable as the hard surface will put impact pressure on the dogs joints and the risk of incidents with traffic and pedestrians is high.
The best time of year and weather to scooter in will heavily depend on your dogs coat and temperature tolerance, while it is typically a winter activity for densely coated northern breeds, other dogs with thinner coats would be able to run at virtually any time of year as long as you avoid particularly warm days.
NEVER scooter in hot weather. Cool weather is best for your dog. In warm weather, scooter in the cool of the day.
There is a fair bit of information available online on the sport and I would recommend anyone seriously looking into the sport to read “Dog Scooter: The Sport for Dogs Who Love to Run” by Daphne Lewis.
Further information can also be sourced from www.run-dog-run.eu a free internet forum for dog running enthusiasts. Equipment is available from www.snowpawstore.com as well as other stockists.
Lastly, but most importantly – have fun scootering! Your dog will love it, you will love it; you’ll become a team and you’ll get fit too! Dog scootering is addictive!
Matt Hodgson, Snowpaw Ltd

New pup new food

I'm about to pick up my beautiful Labrador puppy and I've been reading up about nutrition. The breeder feeds something very cheap and full of E numbers. I'd like to move on to something much healthier but I'm too nervy to take the jump to raw feeding and to be honest I don't think I can commit to the shopping!
What healthy puppy foods can you get and how do I change her diet over.
Jerry Sampson, Stow-on-the-Wolds

Bringing home a new puppy for the first time is a thrilling experience for everyone concerned.
By the time you acquire your puppy he will already be weaned on to solid food. Changing your puppy’s diet should be done gradually over a period of a few days. Any sudden changes in diet could upset the puppy’s digestion or deter him from eating. Breeders will usually provide you with some of your puppy’s usual food which will help him settle into his new home. When changing the diet to a new type of food, mix the old and new food together gradually increasing the amount of the new food he receives and decreasing his old diet over a week or so.
It should be remembered that for the first six months of life puppies grow at an astonishing rate, a growth that we humans take up to 14 years to achieve. This rapid development requires a high calorie intake to enable the dog’s full growth potential to be achieved. At peak growth this feed intake can equate to as much as twice the requirement of adult consumption. Though this should be split across at least three meals per day, as puppies’ stomachs are small and only able to cope with small frequent meals.
The higher the quality of nutrition at this stage, the better chance the puppy has of developing to its full potential. Feeding your puppy correctly is essential to support resistance to the initial challenges of life, ensuring long-term health and providing solid foundations for adulthood.
A feed especially formulated for puppies should be your be your first choice.
Naturediet Puppy/Junior has been developed specifically to meet the nutritional needs of the growing puppy. Like all Naturediet feeds, Puppy/Junior is 100 per cent natural, with at least 60 per cent real meat content and no artificial preservatives or ingredients. The feed contains all the nutrients required for growth, while ensuring that your puppy’s body condition does not develop too quickly for his bone growth.
For more information on Naturediet Puppy/Junior click here
Carl-Michael Carey, Naturediet PR

Puppies have higher energy needs than adult dogs (up to twice as much weight for weight). But this does not mean that puppies should have large amounts of high energy food. Many health problems of growing and adult dogs are caused by excessive energy intake in the growth stage. For example, it is well known that overfeeding puppies contributes to skeletal and joint problems particularly in larger breed dogs. Your Labrador comes into that category. Hip dysplasia is a real concern.
For a long time it was believed that hip dysplasia was purely a genetic defect which could be eliminated by selective breeding. That failed to work and it is now accepted that over-nutrition is a major contributing factor. In spite of that, most commercial foods for puppies and growing dogs contain high levels of fat and protein which encourage too-rapid growth and excessive weight gain. The aim is to keep your puppy lean. But beware - If you do people will stop you in the street and tell you he or she is too thin; there are so many overweight dogs that this has become the norm.
Slight underfeeding is not harmful whereas overfeeding causes lasting problems.
Of course you don’t want his bones sticking out.
The Burns Puppy Guide may be helpful.
John Burns, vet, Burns Pet Nutrition

Unfortunately most pet foods don't list all the artificial additives, colourings and chemicals they put into the food they produce as there is no legal requirement to do so. It means the customer has no idea what's in the pet food they are buying. The only guarantee that you are buying a pure food is if it's certified organic. I emphasis certified as the law currently also allows pet food companies to call their food organic even if it isn't - so you must look for certification on the pack!
The word 'natural' on the pack is no longer an indication of something good, as this word is used all over the place by marketers and can mask all sorts of unnatural things!
A good thing to do is to take a good look at the food you are buying - how does it smell? Does it smell rancid or just yukky? That's a clue to what's being used. Do the kibbles look very dark? This could be a sign that they are full of fat. You can also do a 'home test' on this by putting a small handful in a bowl of water and waiting for about 30 mins - if it's very greasy you will see a very thick film of grease on the top of the water. There should just be a very thin film on the top.
A good food should smell delicious, not overpowering and if it's a wet food, you should be able to see nice pieces of ingredients, rather than a brown mush!
Henrietta, Lily's Kitchen


Although diet is crucial in maintaining good health in all dogs, at no stage is it more important than during puppyhood. This is when the foundations are laid for the rest of the puppy's life in terms of the puppy's immune system, bones and joints and temperament. The sheer number of options available can be daunting for a new puppy owner, and since every food claims to be the best, the whole issue can become a bit of a minefield. There are both good and bad dry and wet foods alike but price is rarely the best indicator of quality. When choosing a new food, always start by looking at the ingredients list. Firstly and most importantly, each entry should be clearly defined and should not leave any room for error. Ambiguous terms like cereals, by-products and derivatives are usually a bad sign. If you're looking to feed naturally you'll want to steer clear of any foods with ingredients like preservatives, flavourings, colourings, E numbers or EC permitted anything. The order of the ingredients on the label reflects their abundance in the food - the first ingredient is the most plentiful and so on. Most natural nutritionists agree that meat should be the primary ingredient in a dog's diet and should therefore be the top ingredient in your puppy's food. There are also a number of ingredients that are well known for being problematic in dogs - wheat, soya and dairy products are usually best avoided.
Once you've chosen a food for your puppy you'll have to make the switch.
Changing the food can be a stressful experience for the puppy, so don't try changing until the puppy has had at least 2 weeks to settle into its new home. For a healthy puppy the change should be made over roughly 3-5 days to allow the system time to adjust. Start by replacing a small amount of the current food with the new food and day by day increase the proportion of the new food until only it remains.
Alan Creaser, Director, Natural Dog Food Company

Retraining a deaf dog

I rescued a seven-year-old Neapolitan Mastiff with severe ear problems about a year ago. He has had a number of chronic ear problems in the past, left untreated by his previous owners, which have now caused abnormalities in both ear canals. Yesterday the vet had to perform a bilateral TECA/LBO and he is now completely deaf.
Does anyone have any experience of retraining an older dog who has lost his hearing? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Kim Stock

I'm sorry to be a bit late picking up on this, Kim. I am a former dog trainer and APDT member. I had a deaf Border Collie who died of cancer aged 14 years having led a 'normal' life. As well as training my own deaf dog I have also helped loads of other owners to train their deaf dogs. I have written a book, 'Hear, Hear' details of which are on my website www.deaf-dogs-help.co.uk. It shouldn't be so difficult training a dog that has lost his hearing so I've outlined some important things to bear in mind and some training exercises.
Hand Signals
The primary form of communication will be hand signals. They must be:
- Consistent. Everybody in the family must use the same hand signal for the same command.
- Simple. The dog will have much to learn without confusing him with over-complicated hand signals.
- Clear. Ensure the dog can see the hand signal. If the hand is held away from the owner's body as much as possible, the owner's body won't silhouette the signal.
- Exaggerated. Eventually, when the dog is off-lead, he must be able to see the hand signal from some yards away, so use exaggerated, and expansive signals.
- Structured. With a hearing dog, an owner can use a normal, soft tone of voice to 'ask' the dog to sit, for example. Assuming the dog knows the verbal command for 'sit' but chooses not to obey, the owner can use a firmer tone of voice to 'tell' the dog to sit. With a deaf dog this is not an option. Hand signals should therefore be structured so that an ordinary signal is used to 'ask' and a firmer signal used to 'tell'.
- Commands. As well as the commands the dog is expected to obey, a hand signal for 'good dog' and 'bad dog' must also be developed.
Body Posture
- Relax. A relaxed body posture is essential during training. A dog may read the signs of stress or anxiety in its owner and consequently may not respond as well as it might.
- Bending Over. Some dogs are intimidated by an owner bending over it, particularly when the owner is 'calling' it back. The owner bends over and the dog stops a few yards away, not wanting to go underneath the owner's body. Alternatively, some dogs see bending over as a sign of play and will jump up towards the face. If it's necessary to get down to the dog's level, it's best for the owner to crouch down rather than bend over.
- Leaning Forward. Leaning forward slightly is part of the two-stage structure of 'asking' and 'telling'. When 'asking' the dog, the owner should be standing up straight. If the dog chooses not to obey, assuming he knows what the signal means, the owner 'tells' the dog by leaning forward slightly, taking one step towards the dog and using a firmer hand signal.
Facial Expression
- Happy Face. When training a particular exercise, if the dog gets it right, smile and say 'Good dog'. This will automatically brighten up the owner's face and the dog will eventually associate a happy, smiley face with the face he's done the right thing.
- Blank Expression. While the dog is still working out what is being asked of it, the owner must have a blank facial expression, so as not to give away any emotion. The owner is not pleased because the dog is not doing what the owner wants so there's no happt, smiley face. Neither is the owner displeased because the dog is still learning and is not choosing to ignore a command so there is not harsh, scowling face from the owner.
- Scowl. A harsh facial expression is used only when the owner is certain the dog understands a command but is choosing not to obey. A scowl, leaning forward slightly and the firmer hand signal will then all be used to 'tell' the dog rather than 'ask'. The harsh facial expression will also be used when the dog is getting into mischief and the owner needs to communicate his displeasure.
Motivation
With a hearing dog, the dog learns by associating what he's doingwith the verbal command being used by the owner at the time. So when the dog is in the processes of sitting and the owner says, 'sit', the dog pairs its action of sitting with the word 'sit'. In addition, the consequence of the dog sitting is rewarded by a food treat and if a dog finds a behaviour rewarding, he is more likely to repeat the behaviour. With a deaf dog, the process is the same except the dog associates his action with a hand signal. However, to get the desired response from the dog, it must be motivated, and whatever is used as a motivator, is used to reward the dog for correct behaviour.
Most dogs are motivated by food; toys motivate others and just being stroked motivates a few dogs. The first task for an owner is to find out what motivates their dog. If it's food, it shoudl be a high-grade motivator like cheese, sausage or frankfurters rather than its normal dog food, which it will have every mealtime. If it's a toy, it must be the dog's favourite toy.
Having found what motivates the dog, the owner can use it to get and keep the dog's attention. This is essential for training. If the owner hasn't got the dog's attention, training will be impossible.
Sit
Show the dog a food treat and place it in the palm of the hand with the fingers out stretched. Place the thumb over the food treat and turn the hand over for the palm is facing downwards. Position the hand just over the dog's nose and move it slightly back over his head. As he looks up and back towards the treat, his rear end will go down. As soon as he's sitting, give him the treat, smile and stroke him. When the dog is consistently following the hand with the food treat, move the treat to the hand not being used to give the signal and try the same hand signal. As soon as he sits give him the food treat from the other hand, smile and stroke him. At this point the dog has paired his actions with the hand signal.
Down
With the dog sitting, lower the hand with the food treat slowly to the floor positioning it between or just in front of the dog's paws. The dog will lie down in an attempt to get the food treat. As soon as he is lying down, give him the treat, smile and stroke him. Gradually the dog will understand that the hand on the floor will be the signal to lie down. At this point, lower the hand to wihin, say, two inches off the floor and wait for the dog to lie down. When he's doing that consistently, lower the hand to within, say six inches off the floor, so eventually the hand is lowering les and less leaving the owner standing and pointing to the floor as the signal to lie down.
Heel
During training the dog must be walked consistently on either the left or right of the owner. It doesn't matter which. It's important to keep a loose lead because if there is tension on the lead, the dog will pull against the tension, hence teaching the dog to pull on the lead. Having the dog on the left, for example, the owner should hold his left hand with the food treat down by his left leg and in line with the dog's nose. As the owner walks off the dog will follow the hand with the food treat. After two or three steps, stop, give the dog the treat, smile and stroke the dog. Repeat the process but walk four or five steps before rewarding with the food treat. When the dog is consistently following the hand with the food treat, move the food to the right hand but still keep the left hand as if it still had the food treat in it. After a few steps, stop and reward the dog with the food treat. At this point the dog has started to pair his action with the 'heel' hand signal.
If the dog starts to pull ahead, change direction or do an about turn, give the 'heel' signal and start again. If the dog pulls ahead again, it may be necessary to walk two steps, change direction, take another two steps, change direction and so on. The dog will start to realise he has to pay attention to its owner, as he doesn't know where he's going. If the dog jumps up, stop. Do not look at or touch the dog and wait for him to calm down before setting off again.
Eventually, the hand signal will be a straight left arm held downwards with the fingers of the hand also outstretched.
Stay
It's important the dog is looking at the owner, so stand in front of the dog and raise an arm as though taking an oath in court. At this stage it doesn't matter if the dog is sitting, lying down or standing, providing he's staying. Later, once the dog will sit or lie down on command and understands the 'stay' signal, the two can be put together for a sit/stay or down/stay.
Take one step back and immediately return to the dog. Smile and reward him. As the dog becomes more competent at staying, gradually move further and further away. The hand signal will alter slightly the further the owner goes from the dog so the arm is outstretched and the hand is vertical, like a policeman stopping traffic. If the dog wanders off during the exercise, just return to him, put him back and start again. If the dog looks away from the owner, stop and get the dog's attention before continuing backwards. Don't forget to smile all the time the dog is staying to reinforce what he's doing.
Recall
This is probably the most important exercise any owner wants to teach their dog. There are two components to getting the dog to come back to its owner. First the dog must understand and obey a 'recall' signal. Second, the dog must be taught to voluntarily pay attention to his owner.
The recall signal must be expansive and exaggerated. Have all the members of the family in the garden each with food treats. To start with, the dog may have to be lured with the treat to go to the first person but when he gets there, hold the collar so he doesn't run off, and give him the food treat. The next person then 'calls' the dog. When he arrives, hold the collar and
give the food treat. The dog will soon get the idea that going to each member of the family is fun and rewarding and will soon pair his action of going to someone with the 'recall' hand signal. Remember to smile when he's doing the right thing. Also remember not to bend over the dog until taking hold of his collar.
When the dog is going to each member of the family consistently, move to unfamiliar but secure surroundings, like a neighbour or friend's back garden.
The next stage is to teach the dog to voluntarily look at his owner. With the dog on a long line, walk around the garden holding food treats or his favourite toy, allowing the dog to wander wherever he wants. Eventually the dog should look back towards his owner and when he does, give the recall signal and when he arrives, give him the food treat or a play with the toy.
If the dog doesn't voluntarily look at his owner, walk into the dog's line of vision to get his attention and give him the 'recall' signal. Once the dog knows the owner has something he likes, he should start to get the idea
to look to the owner in the hope of getting food or a play with his toy.
There are two things to remember. First, the line is only on the dog to stop him wandering off. It is not there to tug him back. Second, only reward the dog when he has fully returned to the owner and has not returned just part of the way.
When on a walk change direction frequently to keep the dog guessing where he's going. If he doesn't know where he's going he is more likely to keep an eye on the owner. Also take a toy and play with the dog for a few minutes then take it away before the dog gets fed up playing. A few minutes later, take the toy out again and play for a few minutes more. This will keep the dog guessing when he's going to be played with and he's then more likely to keep an eye on his owner.
All this and more is explained more fully in my book, 'Hear, Hear' but in the meantime I hope this has been some help.
Good luck - and have fun!
Barry Eaton
www.deaf-dogs-help.co.uk

Manic Morph

I’d like some advice regarding my recent family addition; a two-year-old neutered male Border Collie called Morph, who’s been living with us for seven-and-a-half weeks. I know very little of his history as he was a stray.
We discovered he was microchipped, but when we spoke to the people he was registered with they told us they had lost him four months previously, had seen him walked by someone else and he looked so happy they didn’t want him back, which sounded a bit suspicious to me.
I decided to give him a trial and he hit it off with my Border Collie bitch, Ebony. It has become evident, however, that he has received very little training or stimulation of any sort. He pretty much has every problem an under-stimulated collie could have. He chases everything (including my cats), he stalks cars and sometimes he tries to catch them, throwing himself at them. Ebony also had this problem when we first bought her and I managed to stop it, but she was younger and a lot easier to hold on to than Morph!
He also takes food from the worktops and barks constantly when he’s in the car. I’ve tried a humane collar that shoots out air when he barks. It was fantastic at first, but then he discovered that it was just as fun to bark at the air coming out of the collar. When he’s not barking he’s licking the windows or grating his teeth on them. I don’t know whether this is because car journeys are stressful for him or whether it’s because he wants to chase the cars.
When excited, Morph tends to use us as springboards. He also fixes his sight on various things (quite often light bulbs) and just stares at them and jumps straight up at them. He also chases his tail; in fact he’s chewed the end of it off.
I love him to pieces and I know that he hasn’t been with us very long, but I’m wondering if I’ve taken on a dog that’s too much and if he would be better off with someone who had more time to devote directly to him. I’m self-employed and the dogs are with me as much as is possible. They also have a three-hour (minimum) walk each day.
I know he’ll be the most fantastic dog once he’s trained. I just want what’s best for him. I’d rather rehome him sooner or later if I have to, but directly, and not via a rescue centre. Is there any advice you can give me with his multitude of problems?
Amy Britcher, by email

Ashes to ashes?

I'm wondering if anyone else has read what's in their dog food and has gone ugh!
I feed a really top notch food that's meant to be really healthy - yet even that has 5% Ash in it.
What is Ash and why is it in seemingly in every prepared dog food? Is it just something to bulk it out - surely it can't be healthy eating ashes?
Will Holmes, Weybridge

It is a legal requirement that the amount of ash is listed although I don’t see the point myself.
John Burns BVMS MRCVS, Burns Pet Nutrition

What's a Belly Band?

Just heard that the KC have concerns about the misuse of belly bands, I'd never even heard of them before then. What are they, what are they meant to be used for and how could they be abused?
Sarah Stevens, Slough

A Belly Band seems to be an American invention - it's a wrap secured by velcro that goes around a male dog's middle stopping them weeing or even mating! Correctly used they stop dogs from scent marking - particularly useful for hard to housetrain dogs or dogs that may be incontinent. Incontinence pads can be used inside the wrap. The KC are worried about these wraps being too tight or being left on for too long.

Heavy price to pay

I had to change vets recently due to having no transport to travel to the practice I have used for 20 years, which is 10 miles away.
The medical records were transferred for my dog Millie who has a heart problem. She has been taking Fortekor 5mg, for which I have been paying £26.54 for 28 tablets. After a consultation (as a new patient) I was given the usual tablets but was charged over £42 for them. When I questioned the price difference I was told that this was the price they were charged from their supplier. I explained I would find it difficult to afford this price and she then said that perhaps they could do a 'deal' and suggested £31.50.
Is it a common thing for medication to vary so much in price between different vets? I find it quite shocking.
Deborah Lyons, Leicester