Doggitude is a stunning collection of dog portraits by Carole Pivarnik.
Click on photo for larger image.
In this show you can hear artist Carole Pivarnik talk about how she created her beautiful book Doggitude, which contains stunning watercolour portraits of dogs. Carole talks about how it's important for her to talk to the owner of the dog she will paint, and get to know something of his character so that she can capture "the" dog - the essence of his character - when she paints him. She takes us through the process of painting the dogs, and how she used Kickstarter to help finance the project. And of course, Carole talks about her own dogs too.
You could win yourself a copy of this gorgeous book simply by going to the DogCast Radio Facebook page, liking it and liking the Doggitude cover photo there.
Jenny Deakin helps owners understand their "grumpy" dogs and help them to live happy lives.
Photo credit: Ollie Deakin.
Click on photo for larger image.
Jenny Deakin is a dog trainer who has had amazing success in the discipline of heelwork to music - she has performed in the finals at Crufts and was in a doggy dancing television talent show, That Dog Can Dance, over Christmas 2012. In the lead up to Crufts Jenny is preparing herself and two of her dogs Tom and Bobby to appear, and is heading up the Crufts Dog Activity Heelwork To Music team. Jenny's first dog was very reactive, and lead her to discover positive training methods, and Jenny has a passion for helping what she calls "grumpy" dogs. Owners with their own "grumpy" dogs can benefit from Jenny's experience and knowledge in the special classes she runs for dogs who take that little bit more of understanding. You can keep up to date with Jenny at her blog and the trainer she mentioned, Geert De Bolster has a website and is visiting the UK in May 2013.
In the DogCast Radio News, Kate and Nick have the story that British author and television presenter Ben Fogle has some novel ideas about cleaning up unscoooped dog poo, how Tigger the tracking Beagle sniffed out a lost dog. And did you know that US landlords prefer smaller dogs, but larger dogs remain the most popular breeds? Some vulnerable British breeds are on the increase, but a fake story that small breeds would soon be extinct in a Canadian town sparked outrage and amusement. Plus the dog who discovered a lump of whale vomit on the beach - that turned out to be very valuable indeed.
On the 6th February 2013 Defra announced that from April 2016 microchipping will be a legal requirement for all dogs in the UK. Are you in favour of this move? Perhaps you and your dog have been reunited thanks to a microchip. Or if you're worried about chipping your dog, what are your concerns?
