Latest pet news

Woodland walks – Are we going out now?    If strolling through treescapes sounds appealing you can now find the nearest accessible woodland walk by accessing a new database set up by the Woodland Trust.   VisitWoods.org.uk has been developed to help people discover the 14,000 woodland areas in the U.K. with public access.   The site lets you share your experience and upload photos and comments. What would your dog say?   Saw lots of squirrels…….some really muddy streams……. plenty of sticks……

Cats prefer natural food – Recent research done at the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition has shown that cats give preference  to food that is similar to their natural prey.   It’s been a two year trial and has shown that cats regulate their own diet with some savvy nutritional wisdom, they have the ability to select 52 per cent of their daily intake from protein, 36 per cent from fat and 12 per cent from carbohydrates.   The conclusion was that cats are highly skilled carnivores – I think we all knew that anyway.   Small mouse anyone?

Posh Pets – Every year the Kennel Club does a ‘most popular breeds’ list and this year, for the first time, the Pug has made it into the top ten.   There is an increased demand for toy dogs with sales of Chihuahua soaring – small is beautiful obviously.  They are easier to look after which is probably why they have become more popular.   Dog registrations were down with 257,062 pedigree puppies being registered,  There are 210 breeds of pedigree dogs and these are split into 7 groups.    Some are classed as Native Vulnerable Breeds with fewer than 300 registrations a year – these include the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Skye terrier.  Numbers of both these breeds have dropped in the past year.   Gundogs are still the most popular group and the Labrador Retrievers top the list again with 44,099 registrations in 2010, almost twice as many as the breed in second place – the Cocker Spaniel.

The ‘Top 10’ and some Celelbrity Owners: 1.   Labrador Retriever  – Gwyneth Paltrow,    2.  Cocker Spaniel – Charlize Theron,    3.   English Springer Spaniel – George Bush,    4.   German Shepherd dog – Shania Twain,   5.  Staffordshire Bull Terrier – Vin Diesel,    6.   Border Terrier – Andy Murray,   7.   Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – Courtney Cox Arquette,   8.  Golden Retriever – Renee Zellweger,   9. Pug – Jessica Alba,    10.  Boxer – Jodie Foster