Tag Archives: dog

Now that Christmas is finally over it’s time to reflect on how my holidays went. Christmas is for dogs too and we should never be forgotten. My humans were invited by BMW to the National Concert Hall in Dublin for lunch and a Christmas concert featuring the Snowman film and a live orchestra. Despite my loud protests, dogs weren’t invited so where would I be left while the concert was on? Well, I needn’t have worried. After we parked the car at the hotel we took a short walk along the canal. It’s really lovely along there with all the swans and ducks. The ducks seemed friendly but I have a healthy respect for swans so I kept my distance. We arrived at a lovely place called Mutt Ugly, a dog groomers and crèche. Once I got over the shock at the name – surely I’m not an ugly mutt – we went inside and I got a great welcome. …

With the current heat wave showing no signs of abating, Škoda are highlighting the dangers of leaving your pets in a car in hot conditions. Even a few minutes in a hot car can prove fatal to a dog. A car’s interior can reach 47 degrees in an hour when the outside temperature is 22 degrees. If it rises to 26, a car can reach 37 degrees in just 10 minutes. Such temperatures can prove fatal to a dog in under 20 minutes. You can take precautions to keep your dogs safe on a hot day: Never leave your dog in a car in warm weather, even if it feels cool outside. Don’t excessively walk or over-exercise your dog. Avoid walking your dog at the hottest time of the day – often morning or later in the evenings can be cooler. Always take plenty of water with you when out with your dog. Make sure your dog has shade to …

By Daisy Galvin It’s absolutely vital to keep an eye on your health, particularly when you’re a media star like me. I always make sure that I have regular checkups at the vet and insist that my innoculations are always up to date. The innoculations are especially important if you go on trips like I do. Most hotels will insist on seeing your medical records and I would be mortified if I was ever found wanting. It’s also vital for your passport if you want to go abroad. I’m not saying a visit to the vets is a particularly pleasant experience but it’s just something you have to do. I was very lucky to be looked after by the wonderful Charlie Kenny ever since I arrived in Ennis. He always had a kind word for me before doing any work and was always able to calm me down even when I was anxious about what was about to happen. Charlie …

AN international investigation has begun following a massive cocaine seizure at Shannon Airport on Easter Sunday on an aircraft that had come from the US. As a result of routine profiling, officers from Revenue’s Customs Service seized 3.4kgs of cocaine, valued at around €240,000 at the airport. Their detection dog, Ollie, who has had a huge amount of success in tracking drugs over the last few years, was again involved. The drugs had been concealed behind a panel in the aircraft cabin.

THE key to any training is knowing how to motivate your dog. Knowing your dogs’ likes and dislikes will impact your training enormously. When we talk about rewards in training, it’s not all about food. We humans all have different things we love to do as a reward, a nice meal, shopping, chocolate and shoes. Dogs are not so different; they all have their own reward preferences. Does your dog prefer cheese or chicken or would he much prefer a good game with a toy or a chase game with a ball or frisbee? Generally, most dogs adore food and would most likely prefer a smelly bit of sausage to anything else. However, the terriers may prefer a good tug game with a ragger toy, while collies and sheepdogs have a preference for chase games like fetch. One dog may really enjoy being petted, while others may not, so our response when giving a reward when we are training our …

THE 70TH annual Scariff Show took place last weekend and the competition was as fierce as ever for this milestone year. Among the events was a special dog category event, helping East Clare Musical Society select a suitable dog actor for their forthcoming production of Annie. Four candidates were selected to play the role of Sandy and, after a trial period working with these dogs, one lucky canine will be selected to perform in December. The shortlisted entries included Jessie, owned by Paul Brooks; Monty, owned by Eleanor Walsh; Sammy, owned by Caroline Ford; and Muffy, owned by Holly Sturton, who will play the role of Annie for the production. The top four dogs will work with a trainer, once rehearsals begin. Chorus rehearsals begin on Tuesday at 8pm in the music room at Scariff Community College. Anyone interested in getting involved are asked to come along, new members are always welcome.   Carol Byrne

A YouTube clip recorded in Ennis of a dog bringing toys to a baby had clocked up almost nine million views on Wednesday evening. The clip is one minute and 46 seconds long and, at the beginning, the dog brings a toy away from the baby, who is seated on a chair. When she begins to cry, the dog brings toy after toy over to comfort her, almost covering the child, such is his determination to rectify the situation. The baby’s name is Laura Olivia and she is the daughter of Daniel Drzewiecki and Julija Kolpakova, who are both from Eastern Europe and have lived in Ireland for eight years. Speaking on Wednesday, Julija said, “My boyfriend made it a few months ago, when our child was two months, and he uploaded it. It got very popular a few days ago!” She said Daniel had wanted to make a different type of clip. “He wanted to film how Laura would …

FOLLOWING on from the dog bite prevention article a few weeks ago, here are some tips for parents and dog owners to help keep children safe: THE three most important things to teach your children Some dogs don’t like hugs and kisses. Teach your children not to hug or kiss a dog on the face. Hugging the family dog or face-to-face contact are common causes of bites to the face. Instead, teach kids to scratch the dog on the chest or the side of the neck. Be a tree if a strange dog approaches. Tach children to stand still, like a tree. If children flap around, run or make squealing noises this can excite a dog even more. Trees are boring and the dog will eventually go away. This works for strange dogs and anytime the family dog gets too frisky or becomes aggressive. Never tease a dog and never disturb a dog that’s sleeping, eating or protecting something like …