Fun

The “Greeting Stretch”: Your Dog’s Way of Saying Hello There’s nothing quite like coming through the door after a long day. You kick off your muddy boots, hang your coat, and there they are: your four-legged mate, giving you the most enormous, satisfying stretch. Front legs out, back arched, sometimes with a little groan for […]

What Makes a Dog Breed ‘Friendly’? The other day, I was out walking near Mam Tor, flask of tea in hand, when this great big ball of fluff came bounding over. It was a Newfoundland, and its tail was wagging so hard its whole body was wiggling. After a good chinwag with its owner, it […]

How Much Do Dog Groomers Really Make in the UK? A Practical Guide The other day, Fern, my whirlwind of a Spaniel, decided the most interesting part of our Peak District walk was a bog. Not next to it, not around it, but right through the middle of it. She emerged looking less like a […]

Right, Let’s Settle In: Finding a Dog That Won’t Climb the Curtains The back door swings open and in barrels Fern, my whirlwind of a Spaniel, looking less like a dog and more like a mobile peat bog. She does a victory lap of the kitchen, spraying mud in a perfect 360-degree arc while Buster, […]

The Great Dog Park Debate: A Ponder Over a Pint The other afternoon, with the rain lashing against the window pane in proper Peak District fashion, I was watching the ‘board of directors’. Buster, my food-obsessed Lab, was dreaming of dropped biscuits, twitching by the fire. Fern, the high-energy Spaniel, was bouncing off the furniture, […]

What Actually Makes a Dog a ‘Good Family Dog’? The telly and the internet are full of idyllic scenes: a perfectly groomed Golden Retriever playing fetch with smiling children in a sun-drenched garden. It’s a lovely thought, but here in the Peak District, the reality is often a bit… muddier. Just this morning, my board […]