Nutrition

Why Bother Boiling Chicken for Your Dog? It’s one of those things, isn’t it? One minute they’re charging through the bracken like a furry cannonball, the next they’re giving you *that look*. The one that says their tummy’s doing the cha-cha and dinner is absolutely off the cards. For times like these, or just as […]

The Sunday Morning Stare-Down Picture the scene. It’s a Sunday morning in the Peaks, chucking it down outside as usual. You’ve got the kettle on and the frying pan is sizzling away with a few rashers for a proper bacon butty. The smell is wafting through the house, and suddenly, you have a shadow. A […]

It was one of those bleak, drizzly Tuesdays we get up here in the Peaks when the other half returned from the market with a bag of what looked like anaemic tomatoes. "Sharon fruit," she corrected me, placing them in the fruit bowl. "Or Persimmons, if you want to be fancy." Naturally, the moment something […]

Figuring Out Your Dog’s Dinner The rain was lashing against the kitchen window, a proper Peak District welcome. Inside, my collie, Bess, was staring at me with those ‘is it dinner time yet?’ eyes. I was staring at a new tin of dog food, utterly baffled by the chart on the back. A dog of […]

Is Your Dog Looking a Bit Ribby? Here’s How to Help. The other week, after a long yomp up Mam Tor, I looked at my lad Alfie and thought he seemed a bit… tucked up. He’d been off his food for a day or two after a minor tummy bug, and you could just about […]

How Long Does It Take a Dog to Digest Food? A Plain English Guide The other day, I was out on the moors with the dogs. Fern, my hyperactive Spaniel, was doing her usual zig-zagging, while Buster, my Labrador who operates on the principle that all food is *his* food eventually, was sniffing out a […]

The Bramble Bush Interruption There’s a certain point on our usual Peak District stomp when Fern, my ever-enthusiastic Spaniel, applies the brakes. It’s not for a rogue pheasant or the scent of a forgotten sandwich. It’s the bramble patch. Her nose twitches, her tail gives a tentative wag, and she looks back at me with […]

Can a Dog Have Weetabix? The Short Answer It’s a misty Tuesday morning here in the Peaks. I’m trying to get my own breakfast sorted, and Buster, my food-obsessed Labrador and Chairman of the Board, is staring at my bowl with an intensity usually reserved for chasing squirrels. His eyes are practically screaming, “Is that […]

Can Pistachios Kill a Dog? The Truth About This Nutty Treat The other evening, I was sat on the sofa, wrestling with a particularly stubborn pistachio shell. It finally gave way, sending the little green nut flying. Before it even bounced, Buster, my food-obsessed Lab, had teleported from his bed and was hoovering the spot […]

Is Your Dog a Bit *Too* Ribby? Here’s How to Tell The other week, I was giving Fern, my live-wire Spaniel, a good fuss behind the ears and noticed she felt a bit…bony. She’d just had a massive growth spurt and her energy output is, to put it mildly, astronomical. It got me thinking about […]