Ask Digby: Lola the Chihuahua

Dear Digby

I've been following your pictures for some time now through my owners (I actually heard one of them say you're cuter than me once and I agree. You're a handsome devil) and I am always amazed at the way you carry yourself.

Now I see that you are quite calm and reserved when faced with the schoolyard tactics of humans, and that's why I'm writing to you. At the dog park I'm frequently told that I don't belong there and that I'm not pretty enough to play with the other dogs. I know that I only have three teeth and my tongue hangs out to one side. I'm also not as young as I use to be, however I think I'm fabulous. Those comments are very hurtful though and they get to me. I react badly to the other dogs even though I know I shouldn't. I bark insults back at them, which just makes them meaner and angrier. It's not my fault they can't recognise beauty when they see it!

How can I make them stop so that I can enjoy the dog park like I used to? Please help me, my walks used to be fun but now I hide whenever my leash comes out because I know what that means...

Lola the Chihuahua

Ask Digby: Max the Boston Terrier

Picture courtesy of http://www.hulagirldesign.com

Dear Digby,

My name is Max and I'm a Boston Terrier. I'm sure that you can relate to me when I say that I LOVE food. I love all kinds of food. Bread, hamburgers, fruit (raspberries - YUM), potato chips... You get the picture. I like to think of myself as somewhat of a canine foodie.

The problem is that my humans have told me "no more". Aside from my kibbles all I get are any morsels I find on the floor so I've taken to eating non-food items. This morning I had half an article about a local craft group out of the newspaper, a piece of grass, three leaves and a snail (I loved the crunching sound - yum!).

I need to know how I can get my paws on some more of the good stuff - you know. The human food! Any tips?

Woof,

Max

Dear Max

Thanks for an interesting question on a subject that I am very passionate about. I love food, too. I even love non-food items. I actually just finished eating a cob web because I am wasting away and they never feed me (at least that's what I'll have people believe).

There are lots of ways to get more food. Act like you're really hungry all the time. Stare at them while they eat. Tilt your head to the side. Whimper a little. If that fails, go through every trick you know. If that's STILL not enough just act sick for a few days. Stay in bed. Don't get up for anything other than food - but remember when they do feed you eat as fast as you can and dig around in your bowl when it's all gone. They'll get the message eventually.

Stay strong!

xo

Digby

*Announcing our first guest advice columnist, Ginny the Jack Russel Terrier! If you have a question for Ginny email digby@digbyvanwinkle.com with "Dear Ginny" in the subject line!

Ask Digby: Laura the Human

Dear Digby,

How can you get a scared doggy to sleep through the night? We've had epic problems with Pica being scared of the smoke alarm and now thunder and lightening.

- Laura the human

 Pica and Ludo courtesy of @dogsofdesire on instagram

Griffon meetups!

For a while now we have been holding Griffon meet ups - some weeks we have nearly 20 dogs in attendance. Unfortunately the instability of the weather today forced a few of his pals to stay inside where it's warm and the rain can't get to them, but Digby had fun anyway.

Note that they're not all Griffons, but they're cute anyway!

Palace of Pooch contest winners!

Firstly sorry the draw was a day late! Digby is a busy pup but he made time on his Sunday afternoon to draw the lucky winners!

We tried to video the draw, but Digby refused to pick up paper out of a bowl because bowls are for food only so we resorted to dumping the bowl of entrants over his head and whichever one was the last he shook off was a winner! We tried to make him hold them but he ended up trying to eat most of them (so I couldn't get a picture of the last winner's name... whoops).

Anyway, onto the winners!

The winners are:

Lucy Wantabe - Rant the Ant by Tuffy, some hand baked treats and a little discount on your next purchase from Palace of Pooch

Stephanie Rae - hand baked treats & a discount on your next purchase
Patrick Furlong - hand baked treats & a discount on your next purchase
Gary Woodward - hand baked treats & a discount on your next purchase
Samantha Kablean - hand baked treats & a discount on your next purchase
Nathalie Dalmau - hand baked treats & a discount on your next purchase

Please email admin@palaceofpooch.com to claim your prizes and thanks to everyone who entered!

For anyone who's interested pictures from the draw are below.

Rant the Ant Giveaway with Palace of Pooch!

Digby and his pals at Palace of Pooch (like them on facebook)! know how much every pooch and their people like having things. Things are GREAT to have - especially when they're a super cute toy and super tasty treats!

All you have to do to be in to win is tell Digby the names of the two one-eyed-four-legged co-owners of Palace of Pooch (hint: the answer can be found somewhere on one of the links above) and your name, plus instagram username if you have one. Send your answers to contests@digbyvanwinkle.com by August 3rd. Digby himself will be drawing a winner and announcing it shortly after.

Now, onto the prizes!

For the first winner

We have Digby's pal, Rant the Ant by Tuffy, some hand baked treats and a little discount on your next purchase from Palace of Pooch.

"Rant the ant is fantastic fun for all doggies... Another of our Tuffy branded toys, you can be sure that you’re getting a great quality and super interactive dog toy all in one. With his 2 squeakers and tuggy body, you’ll be sure to have hours of fun with your pooch with this guy!

He is SUCH a tough lil ant infact, that he can actually float on water! And add to that the fact that he is machine washable and you have your self a pretty cool toy indeed.

- Constructed with 3 layers of material - 1 inner layer of industrial grade 600D luggage material, 1 inner layer of plastic coating, and 1 outer layer of soft – but durable - fleece

- Sewn with 2 layers of cross-stitch and 2 layers of linear stitching, then covered entirely with black trim with an additional 3 layers of stitches for a grand total of 7 seams

Size: 12” x 3” x 2”

Tuffy Rating: 7/10"

What does Digby eat?

Disclaimer: This post is based entirely on my opinion and my own research into dog nutrition. Please read this post with an open mind and know that I am not judging anyone who disagrees with me. We all want to do what's best for our pets.

I wasn't going to make this post considering the controversial view some people have on the subject - however, I would however like to give you some insight on what raw feeding is, how to go about doing it, and the great benefits that come with the territory.

Dogs are carnivores. They have teeth identical to wolves, who are, with no doubt, carnivores. While they may take advantage of seasonal windfalls and eat berries etc they do not rely of berries in order to live. They don't have any nutritional need for corn/grains/vegetable matter and in fact can't effectively digest non-animal matter. Raw fed dogs are leaner, have cleaner teeth and shinier coats than dogs fed a diet of predominantly kibble. Most importantly, your dog will not get sick from eating raw (even raw chicken)! Dogs have a shorter gastro intestinal tract than us humans and have a higher acidity in their stomachs so are not prone to illness from bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli.

Raw fed dogs have cleaner teeth as a result of crunching through bones, ripping through meat and flossing their teeth when chewing on sinew/connective tissue. They don't inhale their dinner in record time and depending on the size and shape of the meal need to stop and think about the best way to eat their food. Digby routinely takes half an hour to eat his dinner (which is annoying when we want to go to bed but he's always exhausted afterwards).

There are many different "flavours" of raw feeding - ranging from pre-made dehydrated raw food  to diets made up of fresh meat, bones and organs. All of these diets are very different but follow the same basic idea: to feed your pet what they were biologically designed to eat.