Rehearsals for The One Show

It was great to be back on The One Show last night – and to meet the new presenters, Jason and Alex, who were really friendly and seemed to have taken over from Adrian and Christine very well indeed. Alex seems to be quite similar to Christine in how she comes across (which is no bad thing!) and James is like a less grumpy and more cheerful version of Adrian! Although I thought Adrian was great when he was on the show,  I can appreciate now that he was a bit difficult and I know from talking to the production team that he wasn’t always the easiest person to work with! Jason seems to be much more relaxed which makes the whole athmostphere in the studio better and more enjoyable.

As well as meeting Jason and Alex for the first time it was also really interesting to meet Deborah Meaden and James Caan from Dragon’s Den who were on the show. I already knew Deborah slightly as she’s supported my Campaign for Real Pet Food, but it was great to finally meet her in person as she’s such a passionate pet and animal lover. We had a good chat in the make up room about the horrors of sheep farming in Australia where they routinely cut the skin off the back end to prevent fly strike, which is something she is campaigning against.

All in all it was a great show and although my piece on fleas at the end was a bit rushed I hope I managed to get across all the main points! If you missed the show or want to watch it again, you can do so on the i-Player at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tmtjv/The_One_Show_31_08_2010/

It was great to see all the bottles being filled and I’m really excited about finally having these products available – I know that lots of you have been waiting for this first batch!

We should have the finished products ready for sale through the online shop by the middle of next week (26th August), but we do have a few bottles available now if anyone is desparate for them – just give us a ring on 01285 711151 and it’s first come first served!

So it’s great news that we expect to have our larger 7.5kg bags available within the next 3 weeks which should make it easier for those of you with big dogs!

We are also about to be launching puppy, senior and light varieties, in 1.3kg and 7.5kg bags, and these should also be available by the end of August.

And finally, for all those of you with stiff or creaky dogs, our amazing new Active Joints glucosamine sauce is very nearly here – it is being produced as I speak and should be ready for you to order by the end of next week!

The roundworm toxocara canis, which is most commonly found in puppies, can cause serious health complications in children including blindness if the larvae of the worms damage the eyes which can happen in rare cases. Therefore it treating worms is not just essential for the wellbeing of your pets, it’s also crucial for the health and safety of our children.

Thankfully preventing and treating worms has never been easier thanks to modern worming preparations, and there is no excuse for all pet owners not to be keeping their pets – and their families – safe from worms.

1. Worm puppies and kittens every 2 weeks – this is the period when roundworms are most prevalent and they are passed across the placenta and in the milk from the mother so it is crucial to worm regularly at this time
2. Worm adult dogs and cats at least every 3months – this is the generally accepted minimum interval for dogs and cats, but you should worm monthly if your cats are regular hunters as this is one of the main sources of worms, or if your dogs live very active outdoor lifestyles
3. Use good quality wormers – just like with fleas you get what you pay for and cheap wormers from pet shops are likely to be ineffective

The most obvious and common problem is skin disease and this is often caused by an allergic reaction to the flea’s saliva (which is considered one of the most allergenic substances on earth!)  which makes their host itchy – and itching then leads to skin damage, hair loss and secondary infections. In the worst cases animals can be left practically bald and covered in sores if flea infestations are left unchecked.

As well as causing skin problems fleas can also transmit other parasites, specifically one of the most common species of tapeworm which is passed onto the host when they eat the fleas which contain the larvae of the tapeworm.

Controlling and preventing fleas is an important part of looking after your pets and there are many ways to do this including sprays, drops and tablets. Here are my top tips for keeping your pets flea free:

1. Check your pets regularly for fleas – look in the fur at the base of their tale for the tell-tale black specs (flea dirt) and the fleas themselves (tiny brown insects that move very fast!)
2. Prevention is better than cure – so use a flea control product regularly to prevent infestations
3. Don’t let your guard down in the winter – in modern centrally heated houses, fleas can breed and flourish in the winter as well as summer so you need to protect your pet all year round
4. Treat the house as well as the pet – if you do have a flea problem you need to treat the house with an insecticidal spray as well as your pet as up to 90% of the problem can be in the carpets and bedding which is where the larvae and eggs will be
5. You get what you pay for – avoid cheap and cheerful flea preparations from pet shops and supermarkets as they won’t work. It’s better (and cheaper in the long run) to use proper products from your vet

Treating and preventing ticks is relatively straightforward and many modern flea preparations will also deal with ticks – your vet will be able to advise on the most suitable preparation for your pet. It’s also worth avoiding areas where ticks are more common such as damp areas with long grass, and always check your dog when you come back from a walk in the summer to make sure he hasn’t picked up any ticks. If you do find a tick, here are my do’s and don’t’s to help you deal with it properly:

Don’t pull the tick off by hand – this will leave the head parts in the dog and lead to an infection

Do use a tick hook to remove the tick – these are special little hooks that safely remove ticks and you can get them from your vets or pet shop

Don’t burn a tick off – it’s not effective and is likely to injure your pet (and you)

Do use a flea spray – most flea sprays will also kill ticks and dabbing a little onto a tick using some cotton wool or spraying it directly onto the tick will usually kill the tick who will then fall off after a few hours

Don’t panic, and do talk to your vet for advice!

For more information visit www.lungworm.co.uk

Trying to select a worthy winner in these classes is hard enough, but then having to deliver the devastating news that little Tricky Woo hasn’t made the top three of the dog with the cutest nose to little Tommy is almost impossible. With usually only 3 rosettes to give out, there are usually at least 10 disappointed owners left wondering why the nasty vet from the telly didn’t pick their dog, and this makes the decision making that much harder – especially so when there are children involved.

At the Paws in the Park event in Cheltenham a couple of weekends ago I was asked to judge the ‘Best Junior Handler’ category and my heart immediately sank. This is the worst nightmare for a judge at one of these events – lots of lovely children with their beloved pets trying their best to impress with their dog handling skills – and one mean vet having to disappoint the vast majority of them!

In these situations the best one can hope for is that there will be one or two entrants who are clearly the most worthy winners. This makes the decision making process that much less stressful and also generally makes the disappointment for the rest of the field a bit easier to take. Thankfully on Sunday this was the case and it was clear that a little boy called Gabriel and his dog Jazz were the obvious candidates for the top prize. Gabriel was one of the youngest handlers in the class, and Jazz one of the largest dogs, so it was all the more impressive how he managed to control the dog and even got him to perform a faultless sit, stay and recall manoeuvre.

With the ‘Best Junior Handler’ class out of the way it was time to turn my attention to the next category which was ‘Best Senior Dog’ and here again I was very relieved to find an obvious candidate for the top spot. A little terrier called Millie made her entrance onboard a homemade dog wheelchair, and her owner proceeded to explain all the medical problems Millie had faced in her 18 years and how well she was still doing despite suffering from kidney problems, arthritis and various skin lumps.

By the end of the day I was exhausted and very thankful that the dog show season is drawing to a close – I’m not sure my nerves will take too many more days like this!

Our new home is literally just around the corner at Unit 17 Horcott Industrial Estate in Fairford (we were at unit 28) which makes the moving process much easier than if it were miles away – although having said that it’s still going to involve a large lorry, forklift truck and lots of man hours this afternoon!

We are expecting some distruption of our telephone service thanks to the inability of BT to simply move our phone across 100 yards (how hard can it be?!) but we expect tobe fully up and running as usual by tomorrow. And in the meantime, orders are being dispatched as normal so there should be no interuptions to our online service.

Joe & Jill's in Asda

I’ve just seen our Joe & Jill’s natural cat food in pride of place in our local Asda store which is really amazing – let’s hope they fly off the shelves and keep lots of cats healthy and happy!

Don’t forget you can use our new store checker to find your nearest Asda store stocking both Joe & Jill’s and Vet’s Kitchen.