Podenco Post

Category: Advice

  • Molly The Pet Detective

    The Pet Detectives 400
    I want to share with you an amazing book I am currently reading. ‘Molly The Pet Detective’ by Colin Butcher is the story of a working cocker spaniel rescue dog which has been trained to find missing cats!

    Colin Butcher is a retired UK policeman who chose a project to see if a dog could be trained to find missing cats. It’s the story of how he researched the idea, the help he got from Medical Detection Dogs both in finding the right dog and training both her and himself.

    The book also tells the stories of missing cats Molly found, as well as missing dogs, the latter sadly a growing problem in the UK.

    If you have lost a pet or know anyone who has, you will know the pain and distress experienced. This weblink takes you to the website for The Pet Detectives. Please support them.

  • Aggression in dogs – what are the causes?

    Bracken's Diary 400
    Our galgo Bracken has been with us for 11 years; he has always been a sensitive dog, happy in the pack of hounds and walking the meadows every day…on leash, as he has a hunter’s nose! However, since we sold the farm in January 2021 and downsized back to the UK, he has caused us concern by showing aggression to other dogs.

    This link takes you to an extensive article on the causes of aggression in dogs.

    In Bracken’s case, we guess there are a few causes.

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  • Dementia in dogs

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    We’re lucky that over the decades most of our dogs have lived to their teens. One or two have left us due to health deterioration like cancer, but others have suffered with dementia. Mostly ours have got to the stage of losing their bearings, or staring at something vacantly, plus loss of bowel function too. My galga Carmela suffered a stroke from which she recovered 90% but my little podenca Bebe is now 18 years old and showing familiar symptoms. So far it’s not too advanced that she needs more than medication for thyroid problems, but I expect over the year her brain will let her down more.

    I feel very sad seeing old dogs which have been dumped by hunters or owners who aren’t prepared to repay their dog’s loyalty with care in their twilight years.

    Here’s an article on dementia in dogs.

  • Walking dogs off lead

    Do not allow dogs off leads 400

    OH and Bracken were lucky this morning. They had just got back to the car after a lovely walk along the river bank when a BMW 4×4 pulled up with 3 boisterous dogs inside. Luckily the owner didn’t let them out until OH had put Bracken in the car, whereupon she opened the tailgate and the 3 dogs flew out leaping around. Bracken isn’t very friendly towards other dogs now, so it could have been an unpleasant situation! Having said that, their owner should train them to wait in the car till she gives permission to leave, it’s what we do with our dogs.

  • Why punishing your dog doesn’t work

    Read the full article here.

    Whole Dog Journal – why punishment training doesn’t work

  • Leishmania – its causes and treatment

    Click on this weblink for an article by a vet on the subject of Leishmania, its causes and treatment. Whilst the article is in the GIN newsletter and refers to galgos, it also applies to podencos. It’s a very controllable disease and a podenco can live a normal life for its lifetime on regular testing and treatment. Don’t let a dog with leishmania put you off adopting it! It’s not their fault the hunters don’t take steps to protect them with a simple Scalibor collar!

  • The Tellington Touch for canines

    Many years ago I completed a training course to use the Tellington Touch technique on my horses. Now Linda has developed this to canines. Here’s an interesting article on the subject.

    All about The Tellington Ttouch for canines from Linda Tellington-Jones with online courses available.

  • DeAnimals – fighting to protect the Spanish hunting dogs

    DeAnimals logo 250
    Regular readers will recall that back in October 2016 I was invited to the first PAES conference to talk about the plight of the galgos and podencos and other hunting dogs in Spain. There I met Raquel, a Spanish lawyer very active in taking animal abusers to court. She had started running courses for anyone involved in animal welfare – judges, police, vets, other lawyers – on how to prepare cases to prosecute animal abusers.

    This has now been further developed so that anyone can sign up for the courses. Click on this weblink to read more. Let’s hope that many law enforcers, including and especially in the Canary Islands, will sign up and take action to help protect the hunting hounds of Spain

  • Arthritis in Dogs

    Bebe grey chair 400
    My little Podenca Malaguena Bebe is now 17 years old and very grey. She was rescued in 2011 injured on a Seville road and my lovely French vet operated on her to repair her injured hind quarters. She’s always been a ‘pocket rocket’ but is slowing down now. I’ve had her on Turmeric for some years to help with the arthritis developing in the operation site and she’s even happier now we have moved from an old stone farmhouse with lots of steps and tiled floors to a small bungalow…no steps and carpet!

    This link takes you to a book on arthritis in dogs published by Whole Dog Journal if you are interested in learning more.

  • Head tremors in dogs

    Sadlymmy beautiful young galgo Polar – dumped at the gates of Pepi’s Refuge, Pedrera at 2 months old with a bad knee injury – has been diagnosed with lymphoma. The disease is too far gone to respond to chemotherapy so he is on palliative care and getting lots of love cuddles. The cancer only manifested itself by two lumps suddenly appearing either side of his throat and within the week of the vet visit he has others on his body. He has also occasionally got head tremors, and this is a link to an article on the subject, if your dog occasionally suffers the same.