Anna's Blog

Hercule’s self-proclaimed ‘ultra-realistic’ style is akin to that of a small child who has never seen an animal before and is only just learning how to hold a pencil properly, but people like it. A large social media following and worldwide media coverage catapulted Hercule into the limelight and he has used this exposure to raise money for his chosen charities, Turning Tides Ending Local Homelessness and StreetVet.

Hercule does not take paid commission requests. All of the portraits are free and are just uploaded to his social media pages in return for a discretionary donation to the charity (more information can be found on the Facebook page).

To date he has raised over £260,000 and counting and this fundraising has seen Hercule receive a Points of Light Award from the Prime Minister, recognised by The Big Issue as one of their 100 Change Makers for 2021, and named as the ‘Creative Fundraiser of The Year’ at the 2022 Just Giving Awards.

Bone broth is ‘en trend’ at the moment that’s not just for dogs but for humans too!

That’s indeed for good reason as Bone broth is one of the oldest and simplest natural superfoods, known for centuries for its health boosting effects.

Once considered a bit of a ‘eccentric’ thing to do many of us, like myself, have made our own bone broth. It is a bit of a faff to be honest, and the aroma of chicken whilst exciting to the dogs, it is a bit pungent.

As Paleoridge has just launched its range of Bone Broth in three varieties: Lamb, Beef and Chicken, its been wonderful to have a choice of broths just delivered. I trust Paleoridge’s ethics, and that the bones used are antibiotic and hormone  free, and that the water used is filtered.

This week we’re joined by Author and Journalist, Beverley Byrne, who talks about how she’s recently exchanged facts for fiction in her published book of short stories entitled The Dog Gets It!

Inspired by her own Labradors, Lily and Dora, all proceeds are donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind. Beverley talks about why she’s chosen Guide Dogs and how the Charity inspired the short story called 'The Dog Gets It!' Beverley's love for Labradors shines through and we chat about why the remain in pole position as Britain’s most popular breed.

This week Art Critic, Estelle Lovatt FRSA , comes back to chat about the landmark art collection in The Wallace Museum - Portraits of Dogs: the faithful and the fearless. We chat about why this collection spanning 300 years truly captures the essence of living with dogs and their role as man’s best friend

This week Anna is joined by Trainer and Behaviour consultant, Hannah Molloy. With a BSc in Animal Behaviour, she has written “What’s Your Dog Thinking?’, starred on Channel 4’s Puppy School and most recently organised sessions at APDAWG on ‘Dog Bites’.

We discuss how Hannah decided make dogs her main focus rather than working with horses or cats. She started her career working in the Birmingham area and over seven years trained over 10,000 dogs in group sessions and one to ones.
We chat about why dog bite incidents are on the rise and whether it's directly related to the the pandemic, and the sudden surge in dog ownership, or whether it's a problem that’s been brewing for sometime.

Since qualifying as a Canine Nutritionist over a decade ago, it astounds me that pet parents are still drawn into glossy brand packaging, rather than reading the labelled ingredients in dog’s food and making informed choices.

With mixed messages about what dogs need to eat to thrive, yet science concurs that dogs are physiologically and biologically designed as carnivores - needing to eat meat.

More and more processed dog foods are containing potatoes and sweet potatoes as cheap fillers, and low-grade protein sources. It allows pet food manufacturers to claim their food is grain free.  Billed as healthier, but ‘grain free kibble could be packing in even more carbs!

Vet and Environmental campaigner, Andrew Prentis is also  a ‘fellow’ at Imperial College. He is amongst the team of scientists that have advised pet owners to be more sparing in their use of toxic flea and tick treatments, warning that they are entering watercourses and damage aquatic ecosystems.

Reviewing 160 scientific papers on the impact on aquatic ecosystems of imidacloprid, a pesticide used in 138 pet treatments sold in the UK. They found that “one monthly flea treatment for a large dog contains enough imidacloprid to kill 25 million bees".  

This week Anna is joined by Esther Logue from Paleoridge. As the  leading raw food firms’ Content & Communications’ Manager, we chat about the success of this year’s Crufts, and how the company brought feeding raw to life at the biggest dog show in the world. We talk about why Crufts is such an educational platform and so needed in an age where dog ownership has boomed almost making it unrecognisable compared to back in circa 2002.

When I was invited onto BBC Radio 4’s ‘You and Yours’ programme recently to discuss Dog Dental Month. Presenter, Winifred Robison, spoke to Dr Karolina Enlund, who led a Swedish study into dog dental health, sent out to over 200,000 dog owners. The research found that the vast majority of pet owners do not brush their dog's teeth at all, and Dog Dental Month is about providing easy and cost-effective methods to clean your dog's teeth at home.