Doggy Holidays

So Mum helped her pal Michelle choose a caravan. The hunt for a good place to site it has begun. Initially Aberbran Fawr is located on a riverside and is opposite another site called Aberbran Fach Farm Campsite, which is located on the other side of the river.

Initially they sited it down the road at Aberbran Fawr. You can find out more about Aberbran here. It is really one of those places in the beacons that if you blink when you drive through it, you'll miss it. nevertheless it is small and cute.

The place is really quiet and scenic and actually deceptively large. Although dogs are meant to be on leads at all times, I have only seen other well behaved dogs on site that have enjoyed playing fetch with me, and we have tired our human family in no time at all. I have yet to meet a dog that does not enjoy camping and the great outdoors. Im sure one exists. However in my circle Im probably unlikely to meet one.

Because in their infinite wisdom they bought a caravan mid season they have had to explore their options. For us canines this is wonderful. Thay have finally placed it at Llangammarch Wells, at the Riverside Caravan park on a seasonal pitch.  Mums buddy would rather have it sited at Oxwich bay. But Hey Ho, you take what you can get when you make impulse decisions.

Impulsive behaviour aside, The caravan park is incredibly quiet and the longer term folk are actually very friendly.There is a lovely river that is just deep enough to have loads of mucky fun , but not so deep that even a timid swimmer is likely to drown.

Rules are strict at Riverside though. never get caught off the lead or your owner may discover the death penalty be proposed. so if you have the proclivity to escape - Just don't. It will all end in tears.

DOGS DIE IN HOT WEATHER -

So I'm sitting in the bay window yesterday watching the world go by. Its half way through the day and these people walk past, with their beloved canine companions in tow. FOR REAL? I think every human should be made to wear a heavy wool coat with at least two layers under that, no shoes on and water available at the whim of someone else! In the middle of the day.

We love you guys, we really do. we love to play, we really love going out. We dont like to got to the vet, and you dont like it either. Veterinary care is not available on the NHS. But taking us out in the hottest summer in two generations is going to hurt us all.

To make matters worse, we dont sweat from our armpits or foreheads. We have limited means to regulate our body temperatures, so come on folks THINK before you take us out. You could get a cooling vest for your dog. Click on the image to find out more. personally I love mine and it makes a huge difference.


Its much more fun being out at beginning or the end of the day when it still warm, but decidely cooler. We do need to go out, so here are a few tips in this remarkably warm weather.

Keep the water bowl topped up. Even when we stay indoors, we cannot remove that coat. It still gets hot for us. So we need to drink much more
Dont leave us outdoors. When there is a kennel or a shelter, it still gets unbearably hot and they arent insulated like a house. Water kept outside will also evaporate really quickly. So if youre going to put us out for a quick comfort break, watch that clock, we cant hack it in the midday heat.

DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. Dont take us in the car unless you really have to. Even with the windows left wide open, It gets very hot in the car. There are some portable air conditioners that you can get that run off the battery while the car is swiched off and you can find out more about it here, but they dont fit all cars and its a cheaper option to leave us at home.

Light coloured dogs often have bare skin on the ears and noses. Yes, you do get sunscreen for dogs and this really makes a difference for them. Try it out, especially if youre going for an extended break on the beach.

We love swimming and its great exercise especially in the but please remeber swimming in fresh water is very different to swimming in the sea. if we ingest too much salt water it can lead to dehydration and death too. Dogs can also drown, so never leave us alone when we are in the water.

Dogs get hayfever. Yep, if you didnt know it before, you do know now. Up to a third of dogs suffer allergies, so be aware that not only the heat but the other vagaries of summer will hurt us too.

If your best friend is panting heavily and salivating much more than usual, accompanie by a bot of disorientation and possibly struggling to walk around, then get them to a vet super quick. They have heat stroke and could die. Dont waste time and ask what ifs - go directly to the vet.

Our faithful humans know that if we are looked after , we provide unconditional love for life. We will chew up unwanted shoes, biodegrade the dinner scraps for you and keep the home safe and secure. All we aask in this ridiculously hot weather is to keep us safe and cool.

5 Best Places to buy dog toys anywhere in the UK

I have had quite a few messages on Facebook, asking Where are the 5 best places to buy dog toys in The UK. Although there are some great individual shops and boutiques, they deserve a page all of their own. This post will cover stores that you can reach from just about anywhere. So here's the list

Wilko - We had never considered Wilko until Mum went in there one day to buy stationery and discovered a fantastic selection of really good quality plushies. Now I am renowned for killing the plushie and pulling the eyes out if they freak me out, so finding just the right toys was great, Most of Wilkos plushies have cloth eyes so they don't freak us dogs out so much. Additionally they are very affordable and made to survive. These are plushies made for dogs, not a stand in child's toy. They have a good selection too, everything from Puppy toys to Senior toys and accessories. My first ever gift came from Wilko. A bone plushie - the one I taught Auntie Sarah how to play fetch with - Aaaah the memories.

Pets at Home - I could never exclude "THE" pet supermarket from this list. These guys have aisles and aisles of toys. The most difficult thing is when Mum takes me in to choose. I mean for real? Id love to just take them all. But being a discerning dog, I am always able to leave with ears held high. The best quality plushies, Kong toys, all season toys, water toys, training toys, you name it they have it. If you join their VIP club, you'll also get regular vouchers in the mail. Most of my readers will not be allowed in Tesco, Asda or the other stores, but Pets at Home is great, you can do the shopping and let Mum or Dad pay!

Tesco Extra -As they say at Tesco every little helps, Mum has discovered that she can get
Harringtons at Tesco, so when she takes a run down the A470 to get some her own Gluten free stuff, she always comes back with a surprise for me. Tesco seems to have procured some toys that will actually survive the ravages of a dog day afternoon. I have the most amazing bunny (That I wont let Pepe get near, for obvious reasons), This bunny also has cloth eyes and the almost indestructible squeaker inside. But tesco has other stuff too - balls, rope toys, and the most fabulous squeaker toys. The best toys from tesco are undeniably the selection of balls and squeakers. Youhave to remember though that its at the the Extra stores that you will discover the greatest variety of choice.


Asda - These guys made it onto the list because they have a toys that took me MONTHS to destroy. And not without effort. In fact Mum went back and bought another one. I saw this plush bear and thought to myself, that Id have that squeaker out in seconds! Boy was I wrong. The damn thing had no les than EIGHT squeakers in his belly and you bite on one and another squeaks. The distraction is mind boggling. Unfortuntely Asda doesnt seem to list all their toys online, so I cant even post a link to this amazing toy at the time of writing, but I will have you know, they still have them in stock - mum was in just last week, looking for one that will last to Christmas and maybe even beyond.

Amazon - if your folks havent bought anything from Amazon for you, you really need to provide some digital education. With Amazon the one click purchase option just makes it all so much easier and theres stuff on there that you just cant get anywhere else. The delivery is awesome and if you buy stuff on Amazon like Mum does for me, then being a Prime member pays off too. With Amazon Prime you get to watch Prime Video too. mum leaves home with watching any of selection of really good canince appropriate movie content. My well documented Go Dog Go was bought from Amazon and this was the best investment that Mum has ever made.

Plushies - that last and some that dont

The first plushie that I can remember owning was a huge yellow chick. It was about as big as me and had these realy scary eyes. Auntie Sarah bought me that plushie. he was great fun, I just couldnt deal with those eyes. Big black eyes that never blinked staring straight at me all the time.

I know that she thought she was being kind to me. But the nightmares SO I destroyed the eyes. The only way I could cope was to get rid of those eyes.

The something happened.

I discovered fluff. You know the insides of the plushie. Man that stuff feels good between the teeth and inside the mouth! AS the humans would say - better than....ahem just very good.  Anyway, how do these people think? I got rid of the eyes and really enjoyed the fluff - Only for Auntie Sarah to buy another plushie - WITH EYES! i mean didnt she get the message?

It was then that Mum embarked on a mission to find the indestructable plushie. In all honesty if she found one without eyes it would probably have remained intact. I'm sure went through hundreds of them.

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Teddy is going nowhere

So in all this exploring the beacons, Mum meets up with a dog lover. I suppose it was bound to happen. Anyway as it turns out, this dog lover has two poodles. Now Ive never been a poodle man myself, but Wow this has been a learning curve.

I always though Poodles were too posh to ..... well do anything really. The bloke is called Pepe (pronounced Peppy) and he was a grumpy sod to start off. We had a little disagreement which resulted in his fur getting a little ruffled.

Anyway, we sorted it out and are now inseparable although I'm not sure about Pepe's intentions, as he seems not to be so into the girls.... if you know what I mean?

Despite being such pals Pepe is the king of destruction. When he comes to mine to play Mum has to hide the intact plushies away. That fantastic Moby Dick from Kong that Mum bought at the vets when I had that special operation and my very very precious Teddy from Wilko both get placed out of reach long before Pepe even reaches the town limits.

Thing is I have a reputation for being destructive and these two toys have lasted a very long time. Aside from the Christmas hedgehog from Aldi that has survived a record two and a half years, these two toys are the most precious.

Gluten free for dogs - for real!

From the time that I was adopted by Mum, I have had a bit of an iffy stomach. She reckons that it was because I was weaned onto cheap brandless food that was inappropriate for me at the time.

I can remember her reaction when she realised that Dad had brought me home. I could tell from the start she wasnt to be messed with. He went off to college the next day and after a mornings work she bundled me into car and I just knew that it was all over - She was taking me back!

On the way to "taking me back" she stopped at this huge place that I now know is called Pets at Home - a supermarket just for all the furry members of the family.

I went in with her and she put me in the trolley and walked me round. She bought loads of stuff. A bed, blankets, bowls, toys and even a raw hide chew. I did wonder who the lucky one was to be getting all this stuff, because I was being sent back to that horrible place.

Anyway she put me back in the car and then something weird happened - we went home. Huh? I thought she was taking me back. She had made no secret of her intentions the night before. We got back indoors and what happened next? She lay me in the bed. That really good quality food - It was for me! and the toys - I didnt know what they were then - but she gave them to me anyway.

She changed her mind - Oh my goodness, this steadfast, no nonsense tough woman had decided I could stay! AND she bought me stuff. Bonus.

Gluten Free

She soon realised that my tummy just wasnt playing balll, so she tried everuthing until she discovered Naturo. They have a grain free range of really delicious meals. Mum called them microwave meals or TV divnners because they look like the ready meals that she sometimes buys off the shelves.

My TV dinners are awesome. I dont get them all the time. After a lot of trial and error she discovered that Harringtons Hypo Allergenic gets my tummy into the shape it should be in. When for any reason she cant locate that Lilys dry food seems to do the trick.

From time to time, she may ask me if I want to try out something different, and we do. Its always the good stuff. She checks to make sure the food isnt full of fillers and that I get a decent amount of protein. Anyone who looks at me today believe that I was once the runt of the litter. The ugly duckling - always comes as a surprise.

Go Dog Go

All of you that know about my fetish with fluff, will also know that there is one thing that I love far more than fluff. - A ball. Any ball, as long as it can be thrown and even better if it can bounce. It was me that taught the folk at home to play fetch. but that's a story for another day. This ones about satisfying that endless need for ball retrieval.

I drive my whole family crazy with fetch. They love it really but I don't understand how they get tired so quickly. I mean there's nothing more exciting in this world than playing fetch all day. 

Honestly if the would just let me I would play ALL day. Well my first Christmas came along and was really hoping for some sort of glamorous all singing, all dancing ball. I was not at all ready for what came out of that box!



Its called a Go Dog Go. It was designed by people for people that cant keep up with their best friends need to keep playing fetch. I even works on autoplay. now this is one of the best investments that Mum has ever made in my happiness quotient. I can play this thing for hours. The batteries aren't too bad either.

Mum loves it because it even has a remote control, so she can join in the fun too.This s a really awesome oiece of kit. Ive had it for two years now and it is still going. if I have to compare it to how many plushies she brought home in two years, she has paid for them in the Go Dog Go several times over.

The Great Trek

Mum decided that she had enough of city life. Admittedly there was more to it than that, She also got sick of travelling to Cardiff all the time. A 350 mile trip each way became a bit of a bind by the time she had done it most months over a year. I was wondering of course about other things. Like, whether the Welsh dogs would understand my Glaswegian bark. 

The move was unusual to say the least. It took three attempts to get everything she wanted in the house. And the travelling OMG! What was she thinking? The first journey when she took me to approve the property was a day trip. 

Thank Goodness the scenery was amazing, because it was otherwise very, very hot. And Ive never seen so many sheep in my life! Except for now of course when I see them every day.

Living in the Beacons has changed my quality of life exponentially, from being a city dog. I dont mind that I'm a country bumpkin now. We have moved into town, but its a three minute walk from the house to Priory Grove a four mile countryside walk that takes us right back home. Its like having a river in my own back yard. The mud is truly excellent and the long grass, all the sticks to find and the squirrels to chase are ideal to work up an appetite.