Now I know I have said it before (several times!), but I really am going to blog more often… Once every 18 months isn’t really good enough I know – and I have the nerve to call myself a writer! And so here is the first blog of 2013 – and I have every intention that it won’t be the last.

Lots has happened since the last blog – far too much to share here – but as a bit of a quick round-up, the beginning of the year saw me writing a dog breed book for Ivy Press (not my choice of subject but it was great to be asked and I am looking forward to seeing it in print later this year), then of course there was Crufts, which was crazy and a lot of fun for me…. seminars in the KCAI Career Zone on companion dog training, puppy playgroups and aggression, anchoring a live radio show for Talk Radio Europe and David the Dogman, and a lot of other media stuff – including filming with the gorgeous Dolly…. a stunning Polish Lowland Sheepdog puppy who everyone had fallen in love with in the Adaptil adverts that were running during the Crufts programmes on More4 and C4. I was in the ads as well, but quite rightly no one noticed me with all that extreme puppy cuteness going on!

The ads were filmed by Contented Brands - the same company that made all the Dogs Trust videos that I have done over the past few years and it was great to work with Alex and Steve again. Despite it all being very last minute, they looked really fabulous. You can see them at the Contented Brands website.

The Crufts adverts marked the start of me working with Ceva on the Adaptil brand, specifically focusing on puppy socialisation and training. This is very exciting indeed and it kind of naturally follows on from my work over the past couple of years on the Dogs Trust iPhone app (You and Your Puppy from Dogs Trust http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/az/a/apps/#.UVhdSL9xvIo ) and the Puppy Plan - a joint scheme with the Kennel Club and Dogs Trust, which is just about to re-launch, and hopefully is set to transform the lives of many dogs, preventing some of the many problems that often arise as a result of inadequate socialisation and puppy learning. Watch this space for more details as the work with Ceva is going to be pretty wide-ranging as the year goes on and it will see me out and about – including at the Ceva Animal Welfare Awards next week (although a black tie champagne reception and dinner isn’t exactly going to be hard work - although walking (let alone dancing) in very high heels is always a bit of a challenge!).

I am also traveling out and about doing a series of seminars for dog owners with Trevor Cooper of Cooper and Co solicitors. While Trevor is speaking on the law for dog owners, I am doing a seminar on understanding your dog, which includes development of the dog and different breeds, learning theory, and working with behaviour and training problems. So far I have been as far afield as Otley, Middlesbrough and Plymouth. For anyone interested in attending one or both of the seminars (or even hosting one) have a look at http://www.doglaw.co.uk/seminars-owners-clubs.php

Then as usual, I am working with all kinds of dogs and puppies, writing for Your Dog magazine, doing a bit of filming, and working on a variety of other stuff which may make its way into this (much more regular - I hope) blog… And in the meantime, happy Easter!

Another overdue blog update…. Sorry – one day I will get on top of all my technology and actually understand it all!

Talking about technology however, I have finally joined the Twitter brigade. To quote from the fantastic West Wing, “Let’s forget about the fact that you’re coming a little late to the party, and embrace the idea that you showed up at all.” And so I am trying to embrace it – but I am not entirely sure what I am doing! Despite that, I have had some fantastic comments of welcome from a lot of lovely doggie people. I hope I am worthy of following….. I fear I may really be far too dull most of the time but I welcome all followers.

Sometimes however I get to do some great stuff which I just have to share! This week I got to work with Daily Star journalist Joe Mott and Brando, his fabulous Bull Terrier. Joe had been watching Dogs Trust’s new series of dog training films ‘Dog Training Made Easy’, which we filmed at the beginning of the year to try and help people see how easy and how much fun basic dog training could be – but he decided he would like a bit of extra help, and as he is such a huge Dogs Trust supporter, I went to visit them.

Brando quickly reminded me that while Bull Terriers have a reputation for not being that bright, they are at heart a working dog and thrive on having something to do with their brain. I wonder just how many of them get into trouble because they are not given any ‘brain training’?

As soon as Brando worked out what we wanted him to do, he threw himself into it wholeheartedly and worked like a superstar. Joe was a joy to work with, as he just adores Brando and, like his dog, ‘got it’ really quickly. I can’t wait to hear how they get on - already I have heard from Joe that Brando was shattered after his first real training session!

Keep an eye on the Dogs Trust Facebook page for some videos of the session - and just to see the lovely Joe and Brando.

I got a preview of the second set of Dogs Training Made Easy films last week – and they are fantastic! Far better than the first ones (and not just because I have more hair!) – and I can’t wait for them to go live next month.

The team that makes them is fantastic and a joy to work with. Their creativity, passion, patience (often with me!) and humour makes for a fantastic working environment – and I think it shows in the new films that are not only far better looking than the first ones but are much more fun. Thanks to Alex, Steve, Stu, Adam and Lisa. And thanks to the dogs – the real starts of the films. I really hope all the films (and the ones still to come) will help other dogs and owners with their training, prevent problems, and give them a better relationship. Please tell people about them!

And now I am writing the third series which will be filmed in October. All hugely exciting!

First of all, I have been working really hard on a new book… It is still a little top secret - but I finished it and sent it to the publisher yesterday. It is a book I was asked to write, and it follows the stories of five dogs and their people for a year up to Crufts 2010. If anyone has seen the fabulous film Best in Show (directed by Christopher Guest who directed Spinal Tap - and if you haven’t seen it, go and watch it), then it is sort of a UK, real life version of that.

The five people I followed were very different, with very different dogs. It was a lot of fun - and sometimes I ended up in some rather unexpected places!!

Hopefully the book will be out in October.

Even more excitingly, I have been working  on some dog training films for Dogs Trust, as they wanted to give people who look to the internet for dog training advice a positive, reward-based choice. I wrote, developed and presented 14 short films which are now on YouTube, covering the very basics of dog training in a fun and simple way. You can see them all here . Already there has been a great response to them - and the dog guru Jean Donaldson had even recommended them on her Facebook page. The films were great fun to do thanks to director Steve Clarke and producer Alex Gulland, and the rest of the crew who made it a joy. Plus the dogs of course, who were the real stars. 

My other excuse for neglecting the blog is (as many people know) I was diagnosed with breast cancer last May, had a mastectomy in July, and then had chemotherapy which finished at the beginning of December. I would have blogged about it sooner, but I didn’t want the publisher of the book to know until after I had finished it in case they got worried that it wasn’t going to get done!

So…. I am back blogging - minus one boob and with not much hair! Hopefully after the end of May, I will have a matching pair again - just shame I have to have another mastectomy first. As my lovely husband said however “If I was replacing the shock absorbers on the car, I wouldn’t do just one.” Bless!

I will also (boob work permitting) be judging the companion dog show at Dogs Trust Open Day at Harefield on 6th June. Come and say hello!

I am not long back from Istanbul, where I was running a dog training clinic, and trying to convince people of the benefits of reward-based training. While the situation for dogs in Istanbul is often pretty dire, the people I was working with were fantastic and really wanted to do the best for their dogs - even if they weren’t at all sure how to do it. We achieved a lot in  short time - but I think I will be visiting again quite soon.

While I was in Istanbul I did some filming for Turkish TV so I am hoping even more people will begin to realise how easy - and how much fun - it is to train their dog.

My newest project however is the launch of my new dog training programme - the 4 Paw Plan. I am really excited about it - and it is designed for the 85% of people in the UK who don’t train their dogs at all. It is partly inspired by my time in Istanbul, and partly from watching the standard of dog training that just isn’t happening if the behaviour of dogs and people that I see on our regular walk is anything to go by!!

It makes dog training simple and fun by breaking everything down into four easy-to-understand and easy-to-remember steps, and even incorporates an element of human fitness too - so in these credit-crunch times, people can ditch the gym membership!

It isn’t designed to train obedience champions - just give people the skills to train their dog to do the basics - but most importantly get their dogs to be far more focussed on them. And who know…. maybe they will get the training bug…

The first 4 Paw Plan booklet is 18 full colour pages and explains how the 4 Paw Plan works, what the 4 Paw Steps are, and how to use the Plan to teach the sit, the down, and walking nicely on the lead. It is sponsored by Fish4Dogs and will be launched at the Ultimate Pet Show at the NEC on 2nd May - and will be available to buy either from Fish4Dogs or from Your Dog magazine who are featuring it in their issue out at the beginning of June.

Any trainers, vet practices or pet shops who want to stock the 4 Paw Plan booklet (which retails at £2.99 +75p p&p if ordering through Your Dog) please email me for details - as this is a cheap and appealing way to encourage your clients to train their dogs without breaking the bank.

Certainly things in the dog world have got ‘interesting’ over the past few months. Pure bred dogs and their breeders have come under huge scrutiny, the BBC won’t be at Crufts (despite casting a show dog in EastEnders!) and the dog world is under the microscope like never before - from both the inside and the outside.

All this is definitely good….. Or at least it is good if it makes a change for the better for dogs. Good if it forces irresponsible breeders, or those who have become ‘breed-blind’, to really look at the health and happiness of the lives of the animals they are bringing into the world. It is good if it reminds everyone in the dog world that health (along with temperament) is the most important criteria to breed for. It is good if it educates future dog owners to insist that all possible health checks have been done on their prospective new best friend, and it is good if it encourages the general public to demand more from breeders as the norm - not as some ‘added extras’.

If however it demonises all breeders, and drives people into the hands of the puppy farms, the back yard breeders and the dog supermarkets, it is very bad indeed.

It is up to the professionals in the dog world, and to all those who can make a difference, to make sure that this revolution really does target the people it needs to, makes the long overdue changes to ensure the health and welfare of dogs, and comes out the other end with the world a better place for all dogs and for potential owners.

We have spent many  years trying to promote the advantages of getting your dog from a breeder who rears their puppies in the home (the busier the better), who knows the importance of adequate socialisation from a very early age, and who makes sure these wonderful puppies go to their forever homes ready to become the safe, well-adjusted, happy members of canine society that we all want them to be.

I hope this doesn’t change, and that the dog world doesn’t throw the puppy out with the bath water!

There is much to be done - and I truly believe that the very best way to change things is if you are in a position to help drive it from the inside - and not just shout about it from the outside! As such, and having thought long and hard about it, I have become a Member of the Kennel Club…….. (thank you to Clarissa Baldwin OBE for proposing me, and to Annette Conn for seconding), and so I am looking forward to getting out of my comfort zone and living in ‘interesting times’!

I decided to feature a photographer, a water colour and ink artist, a ceramic sculptor and a cartoonist.

I suspect that Penel, the photographer, had the hardest job, as over the years I have seen quite literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of professional photos of Digby - and so what I wanted from her was something different and something ‘arty’. Impossible?

Maddy, the sculptor, had never met Digby and so she was working purely from photos to turn my dog into a 3D work of art. 

Elle, the watercolour and ink artist, actually did a live sitting with Digby as I wanted to know if you got a better result from life than you could from a photo.

And lastly Patrick, the cartoonist, had the job of turning Digby into a cartoon strip while still keeping him recognisable - and creating something both funny and personal.

How did they do? And how did they cope with Digby? You will just have to wait and see!

If you want to find out more about them in advance however, you can visit their websites:

 www.malbyphotography.co.uk

www.valestudio.co.uk 

www.almostanangel66.co.uk 

www.3rdmancartoons.co.uk

Thank you, all four of you for getting involved and creating such different works of art of my boy. I have to admit to having a favourite - but I am not saying which…… I will be interested to see what the readers think.

I have just been offered another book deal, and so will start work on my 4th book early in 2009. I can’t really say what it is yet (apart from, rather obviously, it is about dogs!) but it will be a totally new venture for me, and one that is slightly outside of my comfort zone (which makes it even more exciting)! I can’t wait to get started and I know it is going to be great fun to write - and I hope even more fun to read!! Watch this space…….

As part of a Your Dog series, Digby and I tried our hand at flyball for the first time yesterday at the Dogs Trust centre at Harefield. I was so proud of my boy, as he picked it up easily, and had such a lot of fun learning how to do something totally new in true Digby-style. At 11 years old, he makes a mockery of ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’! Look out for the photos coming soon.

First of all, I am so excited about my new website - it is a real grown-up, gorgeous looking site, and one I am really proud of. Assuming I don’t break it (are you really sure about that, Jen?), I aim to keep you up to date with what I am doing - and also my new discoveries in the world of dogs.

In the first blog I just wanted to let you know about a new project I have been working on that has only just been launched. It is a joint project between Dogs Trust and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and it is a publication designed to help anyone who wants to try and help the street dog populations in whatever country they live in. The template is totally free, and is in a downloadable pdf format that guides people on every step from deciding if they can do anything to help, right through to celebrating the successes of their own projects. It is set to change the lives of dogs around the world, and Dogs Trust have been promoting it fantastically around the world (it even has its own Facebook page) and already people are using it. I was delighted to have been involved writing and editing the template - and hope that anyone reading this passes on the details to anyone they think it can help. The website is www.TNRdogs.com

Apart from that, Digby and I have been working hard doing photo shoots for the next Your Dog articles - which will show him (and me) trying to learn some new skills from some well-known doggie experts. Look out for them in the magazine soon to see how we did!