Our archive wellness season continues with this classic episode where Anna is joined by Dr Nick Thompson, known as the Holistic Vet. We chat about vaccines, but also about minimising chemicals in your home. Science proves that indoor environments can be 100 times more toxic than outdoors. With this in mind Dr Nick talks about his experience using ‘probiotic therapy’. We chat about his experience with his own dogs in terms of Dental Care and with Dog Dental Month upcoming, it's a timely reminder that tooth brushing is not always the full proof answer in dogs or indeed humans. This why diet plays a major role. Dr Nick has long championed feeding a raw balanced and complete diet and we chat about why keeping your dog’s mouth full of good bacteria, rather than creating a sterile environment created by sterile diets, is so easy yet important! Biscuit kibble gets stuck in dogs gums, and tiny particles remain overtime to create a pro-inflammatory reaction and gum disease. Conversely, feeding raw fuels the digestive system, the microbiome, and creates an environment in the mouth for good bacteria to flourish and counter any bad bacteria, which helps keep disease at bay. This coupled with regular treatment with Ingenious Probiotics’ Dental Spray has Dr Nick’s thumb’s up. Similarly for dogs fed on kibble diets especially adding some Collar-gen will replenish what is missing from a sterile biscuit diet. Collagen depletes in all mammals with age, and as a structural protein is essential for strong bones, and healthy soft tissue, including teeth and gums.

Nick's Website

Nick's Instagram

If you love A Dog's Life and would like to help support the show why not become a Patreon backer where you can also have access to some exclusive content.

If you want to move your dog to a raw diet or even switch brands we wholly recommend Paleo Ridge

For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.uk

Music and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

We kick off our wellness season with this classic from the Dog's Life Archive. Dr Lise Hansen talks about the benefits of the Titre Test.

Order Lise's book:
https://www.hubbleandhattie.com/shop/HH5415/

And follow her on:
@alternativevet

Find out more about Earth Animal and order your No Hide Wholesome Chews today! Tell them Anna sent you!
https://www.earthanimal.com/our-products/uk-no-hide-natural-treats

Follow Anna on:
https://annawebb.co.uk

Music by Mike Hanson
Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd @gruffpawtraits
Art work by https://jaijo.com

As we continue our short literary season, we replay one of our favourite shows: Anna's chat with Dr Zazie Todd - CompanionAnimal Psychology - talking about her book Purr. In our conversation on cats , the lack of science on their behaviour (compared to dogs), she recount several hilarious anecdotes on Gremlin, which will make you realise why she named him Gremlin, the lengths he went for to help Molly when she was poorly, and why Gremlin was quite a cat for someone’s first feline! He is so missed, but we hope is he is reunited with Molly across that rainbow bridge.

Zazie's website
Instagram: @ZazieTodd

For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.uk

Music and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

Cover art by Jaijo

Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd at Gruff Pawtraits

To advertise on or sponsor A Dog's Life email: info@theloniouspunkproductions.com

As our Literary season continues, in this classic episode from the archive, children’s author, Jane Elson, joins Anna to discuss why animals, especially dogs, feature in her books. Dyslexic herself, Jane writes for those with reading difficulties, highlighting how animals - dogs in particular - help children in so many ways, not least in learning to read out loud. In her multi award winning ‘Moon Dog’ , she depicts the horrors of the puppy farming trade. Raising awareness for the next generation of dog owners, she worked with the charity All Dogs Matter to convey the horrific details, and the effects of losing a puppy on the whole family. In her latest novel Storm Horse, inspired by the racehorse Seabiscuit, who in the 1930’s represented hope for the Americans struggling through the Depression; and why history can inspire the present. Jane also highlights why horses help build children’s confidence, helping them learn to read and be in the moment. Weaving characters through her series, she’s inspired by London and the legacy of her own kitten called Crayon who sadly died very young.

Published by Hachette, Storm Horse and Moon Dog both mark the era of the pandemic and work on several levels making them great for grown ups too!

Follow Jane on Twitter @JJELSON35 and Instagram @JJElson35

For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.uk

Music and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

Cover art by Jaijo

Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd at Gruff Pawtraits

To advertise on or sponsor A Dog's Life email: info@theloniouspunkproductions.com

As we continue our Literary season, Anna talks to best selling author, Marika Cobbold, in this classic episode from the archive about her latest novel, On Hampstead Heath, where a small dog, Gillie, plays a central role in driving the plot. Gillie is based on her own dog, Gilbert, who was stolen and later found dead in another part of London in 2019.

Find out more about Marika here

Or follow her on Twitter on @Marikacobbold

Get your copy of On Hampstead Heath

For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.uk

Music and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

Cover art by Jaijo

Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd at Gruff Pawtraits

To advertise on or sponsor A Dog's Life email: info@theloniouspunkproductions.com

To launch our Literary Season, we revisit our chat with author Simon Garfield about his book Dog's Best Friend, from January 2020.

If you want to move your dog to a raw diet or even switch brands we wholly recommend Paleo Ridge

For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.uk

Music and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

Cover art by Jaijo

Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd at Gruff Pawtraits

To advertise on or sponsor A Dog's Life email: info@theloniouspunkproductions.com

To mark the start of flea season we bring you this classic episode from the archive. 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 tic 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". In the decade up to 2019, the sale of the pesticide for veterinary use in the UK increased 152 per cent. In that year, 2,500kg of the substance were sold for veterinary use, not much less than the 4,000kg used in 2014 for combined agricultural and veterinary use. We discuss how we can change our approach to parasite control in our pets by adopting a Test Before You Treat approach that’s used in Scandinavia where Vets only prescribe treatments if an animal actually has fleas. Certainly where wormers are also concerned (similarly penetrating waterways and the landscape), there’s an easy alternative simply by testing your pet’s poop. If no worms are found, why give your dog a wormer? One of the sticking points of the discussion is that the market for parasite control in the vet industry is valued at £170 million. We chat about how practices could recoup this revenue in other proactive ways.

Instagram: @the_environmental_worrier

Website: vetsustain.org

If you love A Dog's Life and would like to help support the show why not become a Patreon backer where you can also have access to some exclusive content.

If you want to move your dog to a raw diet or even switch brands we wholly recommend Paleo Ridge

For more about Anna go to annawebb.co.uk

Music and production by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

Cover art by Jaijo

Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd at Gruff Pawtraits

To advertise on or sponsor A Dog's Life email: info@theloniouspunkproductions.com

When we’re chatting to Dom Burke, Behaviour Officer at Dogs Trust about the Charity’s advice for dog owners wanting to travel safely and responsibly on trains with their dogs.

New research, from Trainline, has found 11% of people in the UK now travel to work with their four-legged friend, rising to 20% among Gen Z. Reasons for this include relaxed attitudes towards dogs in workplaces, the high cost of dog care, and the rise of hybrid working.

Two-thirds of people say their dog dictates their travel habits. Almost a quarter (24%) of people now make daily journeys with their dog, with almost half (48%) doing so several times a week.

Despite this, many owners admit they don’t feel completely confident about how to travel by train with their pets due to a lack of clear guidance. The report has found 55% of dog owners would travel more if they had better advice on how to keep their pets safe and comfortable on a train, with the safety of their dog, fear of annoying other passengers and worries about dog mess among their top concerns.

Dogs Trust, in partnership with trainline.com, is offering advice on the key skills to train your dog to make for smooth train travel, and highlighting why teaching your dog to enjoy the experience covers all the basics for socialising your dog. From polite meeting and greeting of lots of different people, settling for the journey, walking to heel, toileting on a cue, leaving bits of food that might be on the platform, coping with the sights, sounds and smells and much more.

Follow Anna on:
https://annawebb.co.uk

We encourage you to feed your dog raw and believe Paleo Ridge is the best place to start!

Produced by Mike Hanson for Pod People Productions

https://podpeopleproductions.co.uk/

Music by Mike Hanson

Cover photo by Rhian Ap Gruffydd @gruffpawtraits

Art work by https://jaijo.com