Horse, House and Hound

23/02/2026

Oh when will it stop raining pleasse?

26/10/2025

Came across this article in Country Living - Two walks are the recommended amount for all dogs, as time spent outside is your furry companion's main active time.

"Walks aren't just about keeping your dog physically fit. They also support their wellbeing by giving them fresh air, new smells and stimulation," a spokesperson for the Kennel Club tells Country Living.

Unfotunately those us that work can't always fit two or even one walk a day in. Then don;t have a dog I hear you say ...well for years it was never a problem, but in the last 2 years my lifestyle has changed dramatically so it's been a dilemma for me. I walk my dogs in the woods a couple of times a week so they have fresh smells and the stimulation they need. I know it's not enough but the other option is to rehome them and never know for sure if they are happy and cared for. I have noticed they are more stressed, walking relieves stress and angst, particularly as two of my three are Jack Russell's with seemingly infinite energy. Luckily I live on a smallholding, so if the cat isn't about (cat adopted us recently and so the JRT's have never accepted her) or the sheep out in the paddocks ,they can run around. All I can say in my defence, and to those in the same position, you do your best for them or rehome them. If you aren't working and you still don't walk your dogs outside your home grounds you don't have any excuse, that's just plain lazy. So I would say before you get a dog, think about this huge commitment you are about to undertake, and hope that your circumstances don't change and you have to rethink giving them a home. Afterall, how would you feel if you never left your home?

14/09/2025

19/07/2025

My first ride on Erica Flegg's American gaited horse

19/07/2025

Bailey, adorable woofer at a recent house sit.

21/06/2025

Found this useful article I thought I'd sahre.

30/05/2025

Recently I've met dogs who had rocky starts in life and they've bitten people because people don't know how to behave around them. I cannot stress enough that people need to learn to think like a dog and not like a human. Dogs are not human. A dog will try to assert itself with new people entering it's space so that it knows where it stands, in some cases this means aggression, which is how they would behave towards each other in the wild, until that order is established. When you meet a dog that is known to have 'issues' you must ALWAYS completely ignore that dog, no eye contact, no talking to it, absolutely no engagement with the dog on any level for at least the first 10 minutes. and perhaps through several meetings, until the dog understands you are an Alpha.
This applies to a new companion you have brought into your home until the dog learns it's place - bottom of the pecking order in a human household. You are not being cruel, and they are not necessarily dangerous, it is simply how dogs behave towards one another. If you reach out to stroke a dog with issues you are giving them acknowledgement of their hierarchy and are likely to get bitten or at least snapped at as they try to assert their perceived position.
When you know this you can understand why children have been attacked by dogs, children do not know how to behave around dogs unless they've are taught by a responsible adult, it is natural for a child to reach out to stroke an animal. Children also often have a biscuit or sweets, food is a flashpoint and with a dog who hasn't learned it's place in a household , the consequences don't bear thinking about. I was once in a situation where two toddlers were wondering around with biscuits in their hands with a dog with known issues close by and the people wondered why I removed the biscuits and told the adults off!! So, please take the trouble to learn about how dogs think, don't apply human rules because they don't apply, dogs are nothing if not consistent in their behaviour with the right handling. Of course there will always be exceptions, but animals aren't born 'bad' it's often the inappropriate intervention of humans that makes them that way.