Anna's Blog

With firework season coming up Anna welcomes back Dr Sam Gaines of the RSPCA to chat about how you can start preparing your dog now to deal with fireworks that now start at Holloween, through Bonfire Night, Dwali, Christmas and New Year by learning to see the signs of stress in your dog and to create a safe space for them.

Anna and Sam also talk about the progress (or lack there of) of various animal welfare bills currently in Parliament, the increase in dog biting, and a new media campaign to add more breeds to the list of Dangerous Dogs.

This week Anna is joined by Jo Boughton-White, Managing Director of Dorwest Herbs. Visiting their HQ in Dorchester, the Dorwest team show Anna around the facility, and chat about how their award winning range of Herbal supplements are produced.

Conscious of the very best practice with quality ingredients, the supplements are made to pharmaceutical standards. We chat about the history of the company, now run by Jo as the third generation of this family business. Looking back at press cuttings from as far back as the 1950’s , Anna and Jo discuss why the heritage of Dorwest is so significant as they move into their 75th year!

This week Anna is joined by Andy Pearce, CEO of Petcover Insurance. As an expert of many decades in the filed of pet insurance, we chat about why a dedicated pet focused insurance company is the best to opt for.

Specialising in animals should mean that representatives are understanding to your needs, and be familiar with the treatments and emergencies that pet owners will be claiming for. Launching Petcover a year ago into the UK market, it is a long established insurer in Australia.

This week Anna is joined by Debbie Matthews from The Stolen and Missing Pets Alliance (SAMPA) and by Amy Wigg - co-founder of the new Pet Database, talking about National #CheckTheChipDay.

Raising awareness of the importance to keep your pet’s chip up to date, Amy Wigg chats about the newly launched Pet Database, that is the first microchip database that's free for pet owners to upload, and easily access their pet’s chip, and  100% DEFRA compliant.

This week Anna is joined by Will Green MA, Executive MBA Programme at the University of Winchester and Sales and Marketing Director of Paleo Ridge. We discuss sustainability in the pet industry, focusing on the model adopted by Paleo Ridge as a raw food firm supplier, setting eco-standards in terms of making feeding raw not only ‘peace of mind for your dog', but also for the planet.

This week Anna is joined by Martin Williams, the founder of London’s premier steak houses, M Restaurant and Gaucho. He chats about why he wanted to open his restaurant’s doors to dogs at a time when the concept of ‘Dog Friendly’ hadn’t reached the mainstream.

Proud of his decision to incorporate special ‘six-leg’ menus and events for dogs and their people to enjoy, the space at the Victoria flagship restaurant lends itself perfectly being so spacious, it can easily accommodate a Christmas party of rover 80 Guide Dogs - just one of many events he’s hosted in aid of charity, and offering great fun for all alike.

This week Anna is joined by three pre-eminent vets in a rare round table discussion. Recorded at the Natural Pet Care Show, Anna chews the ‘fat’ with Dr Nick Thompson, Lise Hansen, and Andrew Prentis.

This week Anna is joined by Dale Nash from Pawable who chats about a new Collar-gen that’s been launched for dogs.

From the makers of a human collagen called So Body Co, the Collar-gen for dogs was inspired as customers would ask if they could give the human brand to their dogs. Being passionate about preventative care, and prolonging longevity, Anna couldn’t wait to find out more about this product, and discuss the benefits of Collagen as a supplement.

This week Anna is joined by Zazie Todd (Companion Animal Psychology) talking about her new book Purr - the science of making your cat happy.

Zazie has a PhD in Psychology, and an Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour from International Cat Care. Her award winning book Wag was featured in episode: 53 of A DOG’S LIFE and similarly covers all the essentials and latest science to work out how to make your pet happy.

This week Anna is joined by Nadia Leguel founder of Wagit, championing dog friendly, Nadia is bringing her vision to  making it easy to find pubs, cafes, restaurants that are genuinely dog friendly.

The platform which also includes, groomers, pet boutiques, and more is designed with modern pet parents in mind. Wanting to take their pooches with them when out socialising, Wagit makes this so easy with hundreds of tested venues listed. Nadia and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel have spent months checking out places, being tipped off about new venues joining the dog friendly revolution.