But apologies to the true Hounds, actually I am a Border Collie. My nom de paw so to speak was given to me by Janet Fox, from Windermere, Oakhill Vets, who won the competition to name me. I am also lucky enough to be the mascot ( they call it a logo) for Well Balanced Pup and that is where you can reach me if you want to email me (scout@wellbalancedpup.co.uk) with any dog, cat or small furry animal story, photo or video clip that you want to send me, but you can also register and put your comments on this blog. Have a look at the bottom of this page. Apologies if I am a bit biased to my own kind - but don’t forget to remind me if I forget to cover all us companion animals.

I have been looking at You Tube this week and have been really enjoying some of the dog clips on there. One I’ve really been enjoying is from yolle 555 the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJkO4xDUBS0 and all you Border collies out there will really enjoy it. Bu is an amazing dog - she has trained her companion, Sylvia Trykman to work with her on an amazing routine, a bit like a Central European Fox and her companion, Mary Ray.

There’s also one of Bu skate boarding which I really enjoyed - I might have a go at that myself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDlViZtFSJM&NR=1.

Anyone who is interested in learning tricks there are loads of good dog clubs where you can train your companion in dog handling skills. I’ll try and find out about some local ones over the next few months.

The big story this week is the ongoing saga of the BBC documentary on pedigree dogs and all the ones who are ill because their companions weren’t careful about genetic diseases their parents might be carrying. Some of it’s a bit technical but for anyone who is interested in the science of it the BBC Science correspondents had a bit on their site too. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3413581.stm but at the end of the day it sounds like there are lots of sad and unhappy dogs out there through no fault of their own.

For the real scientists there’s also a bit on the “Dog Genome” project http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3136470.stm that says that dogs and humans are more alike than mice and humans - well I could have told them that.

Any way the BBC may pull out of broadcasting Crufts and the RSPCA and Dogs Trust have already said they wont be going and the Kennel Club have lodged a complaint to OFCOM. Well all I hope is they start working together because as we all learn at Puppy Parties you never get anywhere if you get involved in fights. Your companion just stops taking you interesting places.

All the Dog Blogs have been barking away and some of the companions haven’t cooled down before they’ve written their blog and have said things they may regret later. I’ll have to remember that one myself. The problem they say is that people are more interested in how dogs look than whether they are fit and well and can run for miles and live for a good long life. Its pretty sad really but there are also lots of people as well who are really careful about doing all the right things to keep their dogs healthy. Perhaps this will mean the people who aren’t will have to start doing the right thing. The BBC had over 1000 comments on their website about this story and about 80 that were rejected ( I wonder what they had to say).

For any dog interested there’s lots of real dog blogs around. One good local one is Dotty’s Blog at SARDA Lakes site. http://www.sardalakes.org.uk/dogblog.html. Dottie is a search and rescue dog who works with the Mountain Rescue Teams in the area to find people who are lost on the fells. I’ll try and get an interview with her next week, she spends lots of time training and goes avalanche training in Scotland every year.

Also Dogs Trust have an Office Dog called Poppy so I’ll see if I can contact her soon too.

Anyway, nice to meet you all and keep an eye out for my blogs now you know I’m here. You might be able to subscribe to it and get an email if it is updated and please send me lots of tit-bits of news about you and your companions and what you get up to.

That’ll do now I’m off to my basket to dream about snuffling in autumn leaves and swimming at High Dam. If you want to see a trailer for my family DVD have a look at the website at www.wellbalancedpup.co.uk

Scout

PS These are my ramblings and they are not approved of by my companion, Atticus, who as usual is on the computer again.