Lifestyle and Dog Friendly Living
Lifestyle and Dog Friendly Living
Trying new places to eat in Cambridge is our favourite pastime and we recently had the pleasure of Amélie in the (newly revamped) Grafton Centre Cambridge. Look out for the bright yellow vintage Citroën van opposite the VUE cinema. This independent, family run venture serves […]
The opening of Eric’s is excellent news for lovers of fish and chips in St Ives. It has become a tradition of ours to follow up a long beach walk in Norfolk with a trip to Eric’s at Thornham for their delicious fish and chips, […]
This is the question facing many dog owners. The need to crate came about for us when our dog became reactive in the car on short journeys. Long journeys and holidays were never a problem.
Did you know that stress hormones stay in a dog’s body for many hours? We realised that this meant that, as we went out in the car daily, our dog was in a constant state of stress. Constantly pumped full of cortisol and adrenaline- how awful for him! Stress is harmful for dogs just as it is for humans -for more information about the effects of stress on a dog click here.
Crating in the car has many benefits:
Following a recommendation by our wonderful dog carers at JK Petcare (who uses soft crates for their customers who need a little space) we decided to try a Croft Soft Crate.
If your dog is a chewer or aggressive, this crate is made from fabric so may not be suitable for you. For dogs that are happy in a crate this is luxury! Made from metal tube structure, with fabric and mesh sides and a fleece floor, it comes in a choice of colours so looks great as well as being practical.
Dimensions can be found on the website so you can order a crate of a comfortable size for your dog(s) and car. The crate has 3 openings (doors) and conveniently folds flat (into its carry bag) for when it is not needed. It is sturdy and well-made. I can tell that we will be using it for many purposes for a many years.
It is soft and comfortable, and vision can be restricted as you wish using the mesh windows and Velcro window panels.
I can tell that the dogs feel calm and safe in here. They curl up together for a snooze when travelling rather than standing on guard at the window. They are noticeably calmer in everyday life too. We put this partly down to the car crating and their reduced stress hormones.
For the summer months we have adapted the crate with a cool mat and plenty of gusts of air conditioning. They should stay calm, cool and comfortable on those short journeys.
Top-tip: Measure carefully! We initially ordered a crate too wide to fit the car and had to pay returns and delivery again- oops!
For our other dog recommendations click here.
As the temperatures rise, it is time to consider those summer running essentials. The right kit can make a run more pleasurable and most importantly keep you safe and healthy. Feet: Trainers- As with running in all conditions, getting a good pair of training shoes […]
Wondering whether to take the plunge of getting a second dog? I cannot promise you a definitive answer within this post as it is a decision packed full of personal variables. You will however, read the valuable and thought provoking opinions of many dog owners […]
This simple and delicious vegetarian lasagne recipe is a filling, crowd pleasing dish for a vegetarian option or those increasing their meatless days. Make in advance for a quick, pop in the oven dinner.
Serves 3 (greedy people) or 4 (smaller eaters)
For the white sauce:
11.Complete the lasagne with the remaining sauce, mozzarella and cheddar spread across the top. Season with plenty of pepper.
12.Pop the lasagne in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is golden.
Serve with a fresh, crispy salad of your choice.
We hope that you enjoy this recipe. For more great recipes for meatless days click here.
With its ever expanding food scene, it is easier than ever to find a restaurant for a special occasion in Cambridge. Here are some of our favourites. Restaurant 22: Sam Carter took over Restaurant 22 a short time ago and is receiving (well deserved) rave […]
If you are wondering where to eat in Cambridge, look no further than Vanderlyle– a new inventive restaurant offering quality food. As a huge fan of ‘The Hole in the Wall’, I was extremely excited to hear about Alex Rushmer and Lawrence Butler’s latest venture […]
I like to know exactly what I am feeding my dogs so look for training treats with no additives, preservatives, or salt. These small businesses make handmade dog treats to buy online, using quality human grade ingredients which are tasty enough to distract and motivate our flighty whippets. Here are their favourites:
Lovingly handcrafted dog treats by family run Pet Bakery, these guys offer funky flavours that include liver brownies, Sunday roast bones, and cheesy paws. Using human grade ingredients with no added nasties, these are reassuring good quality.
We tried them on our discerning friends at JK Petcare and they went down a storm! Easy to split in to smaller pieces for training and the dogs loved the taste of them. Practically, they were also nice and ‘non’ messy’ to carry in pockets. Handy, resealable pouches and very reasonably priced.
Chesterfield based Marge and Mabel (named after their beautiful Labradors) is a family business making homemade healthy treats using human grade ingredients with no added nasties. A wide range of great flavours, these bite size (for medium to large dogs) treats arrive in pretty packaging so are a lovely gift idea. Nice and tasty, without being sticky for owners pockets.
They also offer therapeutic treats, for example gingerbread men for motion sickness and calming cookies. Birthday cakes and muffins available too. Well priced and a big hit with our whippets, who were particularity excited by the cheesy treats.
Scotland based WowDog are a family run business (overseen by chief tester Buddy the Westie) lovingly making handmade quality dog treats from their home. Using high grade, natural ingredients (no nasties of course), these are great for sensitive tummies as they are free from wheat, lactose, soy, meat, salt and additives.
Flavours include peanut butter stars, honey oat bones and our favourites the beer bones which use spent grain from BrewDog’s Ellon brewery. Great to break up to suit the size of your dog, and resealable. Needless to say the whippets loved them! The practical human ‘pros’ are that they can be easily split into small training sized pieces, and are non messy for pockets.
Harley Bear’s (named after a well loved staffie) offer a whole host of wonderful treats and pops in a wide range of flavours, forms and sizes. These are so sweet and pretty so a fabulous gift,- in fact you can even buy a personalised name treat for your dog here. More importantly than their good looks though, are the health benefits of coconut oil and the other organic, natural ingredients.
On this occasion we tried the pup pops which come in a variety of flavours, all of which the whippets loved! More of a ‘treat treat’ than a training treat, this oil based, flavoured pop comes on a pig skin lolly stick, so is entirely edible- what a great idea! I definitely see an improvement in the shininess of the hounds coat after using coconut oil, but this was much less messy (and much more fun) than grappling with jars of oil.
Well, the whippets have had a ball tasting all these wonderful, quality treats. They were most definitely focused on us when we took them training with them and it was reassuring to know that what they were eating was of good quality.
Warning– watch your pockets! I had my pockets picked more than once during this testing. This is of course the flip-side of carrying delicious treats! We will definitely be buying more of these products online.
For more of our dog-friendly recommendations click here.
The above mentioned businesses invited us to review their homemade dog treats, but as ever, all opinions expressed are my own, and most importantly those of my discerning whippets.
Norfolk is crammed full of wonderful dog friendly places to eat, drink, visit and relax. Here are a collection of high quality, really dog friendly hotels in Norfolk to enjoy with your furry family. Titchwell Manor: Beautiful Victorian farmhouse, Titchwell Manor has chic rooms and […]