Keeping PETS out of vets since 2011

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pre-rendered meat meal

Rendering plant staff describe meat meal production

Want to know what goes on inside an Australian rendering plant? Listen to what previous staff had to say… Great interview on ABC news Australia this week. It’s fair to say this news company is ALL OVER the latest scandal from Mars Pet Food, this time with their magic Dermal

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Lab-grown meat in a petri dish

Lab-Grown meat hitting shelves by 2019!

WITH LAB-GROWN MEAT POISED TO HIT US SUPERMARKET SHELVES BY THE END OF THE YEAR, HERE’S THE LOW DOWN…AND IT’S ALL GOOD! You heard that correctly. Lab-grown meat, a.k.a. “clean meat”, is coming to a supermarket near you soon. What does this mean for meat eaters, raw-feeding dog owners and

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which pet insurance

A Note on Pet Insurance in Ireland & UK

A Note on Pet Insurance for Cost (and Drug) Conscious Pet Owners in Ireland & UK… For dog owners concerned about over-vaccination and getting ripped off in general, pet insurance is a bit of a daunting minefield. I did a little digging, made a few calls and largely have drawn

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Dudley

Duds Update, 8 Months On

DUDLEY 8 MONTHS ON…A NEW DIRECTION… So, this is how Duds walks now, 8 months post op. He’s looking lean and his gait is pretty good, but there is work to be done on his hind muscle mass. On that note, I have an idea…   Just to remind you

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lungworm life cycle diagram

Lungworm in Dogs

INCREASE OF LUNGWORM IN DOGS IN NORTH DUBLIN… Dr. Emily McAteer, Dublin Holistic Vet, emailed me an alert over the weekend regarding lungworm in dogs. I trust her opinion 100% when it comes to the prevalence of critters (she’s no scaremongerer) so thought I’d repost what she sent below, in

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fleas on dogs

Is Bravecto Safe? Here we lay out the facts…

Is Bravecto safe for dogs? Well, in 21 months it sold 40mil doses. In that time, the EMA cites it killed every 52,000 doses. How badly do you want to kill the fleas your dog doesn’t have?! Bravecto is a flea and tick killer made by pharmaceutical giant Merck. It’s

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pure-street-sweepers

Ever Heard of a Pure Gatherer?!

What I Learned From the Chronicles of Frankenstein… New babies mean you get to watch more TV. This means you can stray into parts of teleworld you might not normally venture into. Case in point, the Frankenstein Chronicles starring Sean Bean. I like a bit of horror / zombie action

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clean dog teeth with dollar sign

Pearly White Profits

How Vets are Being Encouraged to Extract More Money From Pet Owners… I was contacted by a lady yesterday who was entirely exasperated with her vet who had been pushing a dry diet on her mother’s dog as fresh food “is not good for the teeth”. Of all topics to tackle,

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a pouch of freeze dried raw dog food

I Just Tried Some Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food!

Meet Jenny Golsby of The Complete Pet Company, Maker of one of the First Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Foods… I have just been sent a few samples of what is possibly the world’s first, truly-raw-but-freeze-dried raw dog food product. It is made by the wonderful Jenny Golsby in Australia. Jen is

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tins of horsemeat in maxizoo

Would you feed horse meat to your dog?

Did you know that horsemeat was the primary, indeed the only, meat ingredient used in canned dog food until the 1940’s?! Horse was so popular in fact that dog food companies owned their own horse meat supplies. Then WWII, with the ensuing shortage of horses and metal, coupled with the

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medivet logo

Who are Medivet and Why are Mars Interested?!

Who are Medivet?! Ownership of the health profession is every multinational’s dream. To highlight this, let me give you two stories: Highlighted back in 1997 by Parker-Pope of the Wall Street Journal, in a piece called “Colgate Gives Doctors Treats For Plugging Its Food Brands”, Colgate-Palmolive (CP) were the first

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picture of a dog eating raw chicken

It is Highly Unlikely Raw Chicken Causes Paralysis in Dogs

RAW CHICKEN IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO CAUSE PARALYSIS IN DOGS… Recently, Melbourne University produced a study investigating Acute PolyradiculoNeuritis (APN) in dogs. This is an immune-mediated peripheral nerve disorder where a suspected trigger is the bacterial pathogen Campylobacter spp. In a piece entitled “Raw Chicken Linked to Paralysis in Dogs”, the university

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Up and down thumbs

About Dog Food Comparison Websites…

All Dog Food Comparison Websites are Affiliate Sites, But What Does That Mean to You the Consumer? There are lots of dog food comparison sites, some more popular and useful than others, so I thought I’d do a quick blog to explain a little about affiliate marketing and what it

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RCVS Publishes Complementary Medicines Statement

Soo, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons UK has released its statement on complementary medicines. Needless to say, it doesn’t bode well for homeopathy… Let’s get straight into it. Please note, I have added italics for emphasis in their comments where necessary. It begins with: We have recently been asked questions about

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Images from Cullivans Puppy Farm

Puppy Farming in Ireland EXPANDING with OK From Govt.

More Shame on Ireland: Our Worst Puppy Farmers are EXPANDING Their Highly Profitable Businesses… Yes, you read that correctly. They’re expanding with blessing from the government. This isn’t breaking news either. In March 2017 permission was granted to Raymond Cullivan, the guy at the centre of the BBC’s disgraceful puppy farming

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dog scared of fireworks

The Trick is Treats for Halloween

It’s That Time of Year Again, Here’s How to Get Dogs Through Halloween Safely… I can already here the bangers going off. Not your pet’s favourite time of year, that’s for sure. For those of you with new pets or simple those that you know might worry about the sounds of

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The Assissi Loop for dogs

The Assisi Loop – Dogs First

Anyone Ever Heard or Ideally Used an Assissi Loop, or Anything Similar?! A friend of mine has an old dog with bad joint issues, hip dysplasia and canine arthritis. She’s trying everything including a great diet, getting him nice and lean (with good muscle tone), some great natural additions such

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The Best Kennels in the World

The Top 5 Kennels in the World – Dogs First

The Top 5 Kennels in the World I was over with the very appropriately named Aileen Woulfe in Switzerland last week doing a nutrition talk. Aileen runs Happy Dogs Aigle. Now, you might think you’ve seen some fancy kennels in your time, you’ve undoubtedly seen some pricey ones after all it’s

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Look how many studies support the use of CBD oil…

I was so saddened to read a headline in the Journal.ie yesterday. It read “Epilepsy drug which has left 400 Irish children with disabilities to come under EU review today”… The FACS (foetal anticonvulsant syndrome) Forum Ireland, an umbrella group of patients and disability organisations, estimates that sodium valproate has

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A dog in a walking supportive harness

Dogs in a Box – Week 2 Summary

This week Dudley begins his various therapies, most importantly physio and hydrotherapy. The progress we have seen in this week along is frankly, incredible. On just his second hydro session, just four days after his first, the therapist said this could easily be a different dog. Wait until you see

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a dog pen, used for a dog recovering from a spinal operation

Dog in a Box Part 2 – What You Will Need

Dog in a Box Part 2 – What You Will Need Dudley, a.k.a. the “Dog in a Box”, is recovering from a spinal operation. A ruptured disc, to be exact. This series of videos charters his long road to hopeful recovery and back to rude, waggy health. In this second part

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Dr. Arleigh Jones…Great Video!

Feeding Dogs for the Toughest Endurance Race Imaginable…. I did a seminar for a small group in Dublin recently. There was a great mix of people there, a few Stafford breeders, some Rottie owners and some working dog owners. The latter group were speaking very highly of Dr. Arleigh Jones.

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a sign that says don't knock on our door or our dogs will go mad and so will we!

How to Stop Dogs Going Mad at the Door…

How to Stop Dogs Going Mad at the Door… Dudley doesn’t bark all too often but I know it would drive me nuts if my dogs kicked off every time a visitor called to the door. Anyone else have that problem? A simple cure, should you want to calm it

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Yin and yang symbol

On Behalf of the West, I Apologise!

Eastern and Western Nutritional Philosophies Eastern and Western cultures have, on the face of it, quite unique ways of looking at food and nutrition as a whole. However, we both agree on many things: We both agree that proper nutrition is essential for achieving optimal health We both agree individual

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how pet food is scientifically proven

What does “Scientifically Proven”mean?

What Does Scientifically Proven Mean? So, we had quite a heated debate last week on our Facebook page. Debate might be the wrong word mind. It was more of an argument. A scientific debate is where two scientists debate a topic, such as the importance of fresh ingredients or the

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funny dry food label

Why is This dry Food Label so Hilarious?!

Why is This Dry Dog Food Label so Hilarious?! A great pic was doing the rounds the other day. It was held up as an example of how manufacturers will try and jam as many cool buzz words on to their dry food product as possible, bamboozling the owner into

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Insulin in dry fed dogs

Why a 50% Carbohydrate Diet Gives Dogs Cancer

Why a 50% Carbohydrate Diet Gives Dogs Cancer Did you know domestic dogs are ten times more likely to get cancer than humans? They are the most cancer stricken animals on the planet. This is a total disgrace when Western dogs are so adored, so pampered. One more little fact,

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cbd oil for dogs

Results of the Canna-Pet Trial

Results from the Canna-Pet CBD Trial… You may remember I got on to the company making Canna-Pet CBD oil for pets some time ago. I proposed to them that I would put 6 dogs with various health conditions which might benefit from CBD (Cannabidiol) oil supplementation (largely skin and joint

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herb garden for dogs

What to do With all Your Polystyrene Boxes

What to do With all Your PolyStyrene Boxes There is no alternative to a fresh meat diet for dogs and cats. However, the whole process comes with many costs. And no, the financial cost is not one of them as you can feed them fresh food for the same price

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Halal meat in raw dog food

Is There Non-Stunned Meat in Your UK Raw Dog Food?!

The UK Halal Sector and its Implications for Your raw dog Food of Choice… As my recent articles on Halal / kosher meat production in Ireland have indicated, non-stunned meat is not required to be labelled as such for the normal, non-halal market, thus we don’t know if we have

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trust me I'm a vet

Some Bad News, Some Worse Journalism and Good News…

Multinationals Have Turned Veterinary Science Into the Veterinary Industry… I’m not supposed to be blogging on my holiday but I can’t help it. This is just too big and too serious an event. Mars have taken a huge step towards controlling a hefty chunk of the vet hospitals in the US.

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cartoon image of a dog holding his groin

New Poll: Is Your dog Neutered?

New Poll: Is Your dog Neutered? Results of last week’s poll, where we asked if you have pet health insurance or not, are in. It was practically a dead heat the entire time, finishing with 78/154 (51%) of you saying “yes” you have health insurance for them! Very interesting. Our

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image of dog with collar and bandaged food

Do you Have pet Insurance? Take our Poll!

[poll id=”4″] Pet Insurance is a hot Topic… Some reading the above headline might be surprised. Others less so. The truth is health insurance is a good thing. Ask anyone waiting on trolleys in the public sector. When it comes to our pet’s health though, it gets a little more grey.

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almond oil is natural sunscreen for dogs

Natural Sunscreen For Dogs…

Natural Sunscreen for Dogs… A VERY optimistic poster just asked me did I know of any natural sunscreen ideas for a very white little Staffie pup. This was interesting as I remember hearing that seed oils are naturally SPF. Two things you might not know about sunscreen. The first is,

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a picture of a dog with a suitcase

Travelling Abroad With Your Dog…

Travelling Abroad With Your dog, a Note on Blood Titres and Passports… As the evidence builds against the gross over-vaccination of our pets, more and more people are asking me for travel advice, specifically on vaccinations when crossing borders. Currently, pets are required to be dosed up to the eyeballs

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a cartoon waiver

Waivers for Kennels and DayCares

Waivers for Kennels and Daycares… I think the majority of us on here do not believe in the practice of annually boosting already vaccinated animals, or an entirely ineffective kennel cough “vaccine”, not to mention chemical flea or worm control for animals with no parasites. The problem for us arises

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cartoon dog getting sick from a chicken or beef allergy

Chicken or beef allergies in dogs

Ever Wonder how / why Dogs can Suffer Chicken and Beef Allergies?! A New Theory… As I like to say, a dog being allergic to beef or chicken should be as strange as a cow being allergic to grass. So, how can dogs become sensitive to a food group that

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a range of botanica products

Botanica, For Skin Conditions in Dogs

Botanica, Natures Healing Energy So, who’s heard of Botanica?! As we’re now stocking them! Botanica is an Irish company making natural products that target the heal and repair of a great variety of common skin conditions in dogs (as well as horses and humans). And by all accounts they do it

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Tips for Buying Dry Dog Food…

Top Tips for Buying the Best Dry Dog Food If you absolutely have to feed dry food, for whatever reason, then it really doesn’t matter who is making or selling your “complete” dry food of choice, as there’s so little between these brands, bar marketing budget. So here’s a few top tips

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a single roll of biodegradable poo bags

Biodegradable Poo Bags, The Inside Scoop!

Biodegradable Poo Bags, The Inside Scoop! Nice title, eh?! Seriously though, we know plastic is really bad for the environment. Plastic goes into landfill and doesn’t break down. Or, it does, but extremely slowly, meaning it releases all it’s chemical nastiness slowly through all the garbage into our water table.

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Dog chewed up their license

Do you have a license for your dog?!

Do you have a license for your dog?! I was approached yesterday with the question – how many dogs are there in Ireland? However, in trying to research the answer I came across a more interesting question, how many of you actually have a dog license?! Here’s what we found…

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a photo of a labrador eating grass

Applied ZooPharmacognosy

Applied ZooPharmacognosy Two weeks ago a lady asked me did I know of any Applied ZooPharmacognosy (AZ) practioners in Northern Ireland? In Northern Ireland?!!! I don’t even know any in the South either. In fact, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. Then I got to thinking.

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fish oil for dogs alleviates inflammation

An Important Note on Fish Oil Supplementation in Dogs

Fish Oil Supplementation in Dogs I just read an interesting point on Patricia Gethin’s excellent forum re fish oil supplementation in dogs. It concerned a dog owner in Australia who had been giving 8 capsules of fish oil tablets to her 3yr old, fresh fed, 80kg Neopolitan Mastiff (example above,

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a photo of two dogs and one dog looks guilty

They Might Remember More Than you Know…

Our dogs might remember a lot more than we have given them credit for… It has long been an old adage that dogs do not reflect on events in the recent past. For this reason you should never chastise them after an event such as a chewing of your chew

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trying to clone a mammoth

Clone your dog for €100k?!

Welcome to the Clone Factory… Our fourth installation of the top 5 most interesting studies to come out on dogs in 2016, this one is about cloning and involves laboratories that are putting out 500 new animals a week, wolves born to dogs and an opportunity to resurrect the dead! In an effort

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oregano oil is great for kennel cough in dogs

Oregano Oil for Kennel Cough

Lots of Folk Recommend Oregano Oil for Fighting Bacteria AND Colds, But Does it Work and who Says?! Oregano oil is recommended for treating kennel cough in dog by many websites, including Dogs Naturally Magazine. In fact every single natural-type website has it top of the list for all the

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an image of kelp with "kelp for cancer" written on it

Kelp for Cancer…And Everything Else

Kelp for Cancer…And Everything Else So much disease in humans is the result of nasty, reactive baddies called free radicles (oxidants) which whizz around inside us. They are responsible for most inflammatory and cardiovascular disease, cancer and ageing. How do they get in? For the large part, we eat them (processed foods, unnatural

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cartoon of a doctor with his hands hand cuffed with a dollar sign

Influence of Big Pharma in Ireland: Uncovered

Influence of Big Pharma in Ireland: Uncovered Anyone see that article in the Sunday Business Post on the influence of corporate sponsorship in Irish surgeries and hospitals nationwide? It was a cracker, everything you hoped wasn’t true but feared it was. The lead caption said it all: Big drug firms pay almost one-third

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Why Do Vets Recommend “That” Dry Food?!

Why Do Vets Recommend “That” Dry Food?! Are Irish vets not yet wondering why the only dry food they choose to stock (Royal Canin) is rated a miserable 2.5 stars out of 5 by Dog Food Advisor? With Science Diet not performing that much better (3 stars out of 5).

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dogs in dry dog food

Dogs Being Fed Dogs

IN THE 1980’s 40% OF PETS EUTHANISED IN LARGE US CITIES WERE RENDERED FOR MEAT OR BONE MEAL AND PUT BACK IN TO THE ANIMAL FOOD CHAIN…INCLUDING DRY DOG FOOD What?!! No! Couldn’t be, surely? I was on a veterinary forum last night. They were discussing the “myths of raw

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A chart showing tips for folk buying dog treats

Natural Dog Treats Part 1 – Treats to Avoid

Make Your Own Dog Treats, Naturally… As we all slowly get wiser to the toll dry feeding can take on our little carnivores, attentions naturally shift to everything else that we’re being sold by the industry. I’ve covered chemical parasite control for dogs with no parasites amply already, as we

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Could our Vets be Playing a Role in the Superbug Epidemic

Hands up Who’s Given Their Dog Antibiotics in the Last Year? Has anyone noticed that the application of antibiotics (often used with in conjunction with steroids) is now absolutely routine by your vet? Got a cough? Antibiotic. Got a dickie tum? Antibiotic. Got a rash? Antibiotic. Got a sore ear? Antibiotic.

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a glossy, black labrador sitting on the grass

Better Coat Condition in Your Dog

How to get Better Coat Condition in Dogs… The below is not a photo-shopped dog. This is what a black Labrador can look like given the right nutrition. Beautiful eh? The key to better coat condition in dogs is absolutely all about the diet. We all want a good coat but

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Islam and Dogs

Islam and dogs, What’s the Beef?!

I was reading a post in The Journal over the weekend. Iran sent in the authorities to remove all dogs from people’s homes. Needless to say it didn’t go down well with the poor owners. Especially the way they did it, if there was a way to do it. The

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Why I Hate Chemical Parasite Control in Dogs

The idea of flea chemically bombarding your dogs is ridiculous for many good reasons, the main one being THEY DON’T HAVE FLEAS… First and foremost it is highly unlikely your dog actually has fleas. Think about it, have you deloused your child this month? No?!!!! But head lice!! They’re eeevvvverrryywhherree…As it happens

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Heads up, the pet Food Police are Asleep

Unlike Human Food Products, The Watchdogs Guarding Your Pet From Poor Quality Dog Food Products are Practically Non-Existent…. In human health and nutrition, the burden of ensuring a product’s safety, efficacy and any claims of benefit is on governmental organisations that independently test drug and food product manufacturers. In dog health

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fleas on dogs

Great Home Made Spray for an Itchy Dog

Great Home Made Spray for an Itchy Dog So you have an itchy dog. First things first, everyone wants the quick fix but more important than what you put in at this point is what you STOP putting in. After all, if your friend has a shrimp allergy and  you

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cartoon dog with a gas mask on

Reduce Bad Breath in Dogs Before You Need the Vet!

We’ve all suffer it at some stage, it’s just we don’t go round licking each others faces every chance we get. Bad breath in dogs arises for the same reasons it does in humans. However persistent bad breath (halitosis) needs attention. Why So Much Bad Breath in Dogs? The most

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a little pup with his head down beside a little puddle

5 Great Toilet Training Tips For Dogs

Among a host of other issues, Dudley didn’t toilet train as quickly as I thought he might have. This was disappointing and somewhat embarrassing when people came to visit as this was bread and butter stuff in guide dogs. So it got me thinking on the best toilet training tips for

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