As I started this advent calendar I decided I would bring it to a close by choosing the winner of the Intellidogs Christmas Hamper!

I hope you are excited… I did my best job when choosing

Didn’t I do well? anyway, here is the winning letter…

Congratulations Stanley, I’ll get Karen to send your hooman an email.

Love from

Pickles

Thank you all for sharing the Advent calendar with us – we loved every minute.

Hope you have a calm, happy, cosy and snug family Christmas

Karen xxx

P.S. We will see you in the New Year when we will be giving you the chance to visit our virtual Intellidogs ‘Doggy Spa’!

Twinkle, twinkle little star- we are so excited at today’s calendar prize… all ready for Christmas.

Win an amazing Dogs Today magazine photo shoot for your dog!

They may even make it onto the cover of this, the UK’s top dog magazine. So strike a pose!

Here’s Beverley Cuddy, Editor of Dogs Today, to tell you more…

This Christmas Eve I’d like to give a special dog the chance to be a star. Several times a year Dogs Today magazine takes over a professional photographic studio in Slough and we always have a lot of fun!

Since 1992 the amazing Tim Rose has been take amazing shots for us of people’s beloved dogs using state of the art lighting and eye-wateringly expensive Hassleblads that make even the blackest of dogs shine in pin-sharp definition.

The best shots we take make it on to the front cover and every one attending gets a CD of their images to keep and a doggie bag of goodies. We use chicken and bacon to incentivise our super models and a array of silly noises to get everyone’s ears up! The shoots are always on a weekday and each session takes a maximum of 30 minutes to keep it fun for the dogs. Dogs that are flash phobic or very nervous generally will not enjoy this experience.

While we love highly trained dogs, we have ingenious ways of getting the shot no matter what! If you’re too far away to attend the shoot (we’ve had people travel from Scotland before now!) we’d still like to treat you! If you mention Karen Wild’s advent calendar when you phone up we’ll give you £5 off the price of a 12-issue subscription to Dogs Today magazine 01276 858880. (This offer valid for 30 days and is not to be used in conjunction with any other offers!)

The office will be closed Dec 24-Jan 4th for Xmas, so see you in the New Year!

Email me with a pic of your dog and why they deserve to be one of our canine supermodels – beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk

So get snapping (with your camera, not the dog hee hee)

Merry Christmas Everyone – please leave your Christmas wishes to share below and don’t forget the hamper – it’s being drawn tonight!

Lots of love

Karen xxx

Christmas is about many things, and I am sure you will agree, gifts form a big part of our celebrations. Today the brilliant Kelly Dunbar invites us to consider that there are not many gifts that can rival the companionship, love, support and warmth that come from owning a dog. Those memories stay with us forever. Read, enjoy, and maybe even shed a tear of love and a smile of thanks to our canine companions…

Dogs enrich our lives in so many ways. The holidays are a season of reflection and every year I take a little time to review the gifts the various dogs in my life have given me. Sure there’s the requisite cuddles and kisses, but oodles of laughter and life lessons as well. So I’d like to personally thank my dogs of Christmases past and present for sharing their lives, light, and love with me over the years.

To My Sweet Charlie Brown (aka Boo)

From the very first time I saw you as a pup at the dog show I knew we were meant to be together. I may only have been 5 years old, and you a young pup of 9 weeks, but our hearts and souls connected and we both knew right away that this was indeed a special bond. You were my best friend all through my school years and taught me the joys of sharing life with a dog. You were always by my side, through thick, thin, my first loose tooth and all the way to getting my drivers license. I cried into your fur at my first heartbreak and told you all of my childish secrets. You taught me the loyalty of a dog
In the end you even taught me how to selflessly and gracefully say goodbye to an old friend.

To Dear Ivan (aka Bubs)

You were my first dog as an adult and together we learned about dog training. Initially I was told to do nasty things to you in the name of obedience and leadership, and, against my better wishes I complied. I’m terribly sorry about that, and it did affect our relationship, but also, my love for you drove me to continue to search for kinder, gentler methods for communicating with my best friend. In our years together I tried lots of training methods with you and through it all, you maintained your sense of humor and dignity, while allowing me to find mine. In the end you taught me the invaluable lessons of forgiveness and how to train with respect and kindness over compulsion and cruelty.

To Mr. Oliver Twist (aka Little)

You came into my life as a shelter dog and companion for Ivan. The first lesson you taught me was that shelter dogs rock! My only regret was that I did not have the pleasure of knowing you as a pup; you must have been the cutest little guy ever! But you also taught me how to live life to the fullest. You did nothing at half-measure, you were a true pleasure-seeker that charmed all who met you. Your joie de vivre was contagious. In the end you taught me to live life to the fullest, to always express myself clearly, and that we should soak up the sunshine while we can.

To Claude (aka Claudey)

You came into our family as an adult dog with lots of issues. Nobody understood why we adopted you even though all agreed that you were indeed a handsome beast! But nobody could get close enough to touch you because of your handling and biting issues. Living with and training you taught me the power of gentle training methods such as classical and operant conditioning. Training you taught me about the courage it takes to rebound from adversity, but also that one truly can teach an old dog new tricks and give him a new outlook on life — one of love and comfort where even a formerly neglected dog can feel safe.

To Dearest Dune (aka Monk)

My first puppy in years! Wow, we’ve learned a lot together and the ride is not over yet. When I got you I had it in my mind that all of my years of experience would finally allow me to start fresh and create the “perfect” dog. We’d cross-train for many sports and you’d be the best-trained, most social creature on the planet! No pressure, right? Wrongo. Training you has taught me to focus on my dog’s individual strengths and set him up for success. It’s also taught me to enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination; to forget my ego and expectation of perfection and just have a blast with my dog.

Bonjour Monsieur Hugo-Louis (aka Lou)

My youngest. My bright star. Never have I met a dog (or human, for that matter) with a personality quite like yours. You are ever the optimist with a can-do attitude. You don’t let anything get you down. You are small and not built for agility or speed, but that has never stopped you from trying any task. You are up for anything. Your work ethic and ability to let adversity roll off of you like water off a duck’s back is truly inspiring. I can only hope that by hugging and kissing you every day that some of your Hugo-Dust will rub off on me because I want to be just like you when I grow up!

About Kelly

Kelly can be found on www.dogstardaily.com Kelly is a co-founder and the executive editor of the Dog Star Daily, a dynamic, web-based, multi-media dog-training learning centre.

She is the President of Open Paw, a non-profit organization devoted to addressing the unwanted animal problem from a different angle, arming communities worldwide with valuable user and animal friendly training and behavior information with the goal of keeping cats and dogs out of shelters by keeping them in their original homes. Kelly lectures internationally on the principles of Open Paw and consults for animal shelters regarding program implementation, layout, and staff-and-animal training protocols and procedures.

She is a director of the Center for Applied Animal Behavior, a multi-faceted business that focuses on teaching people how to train their dogs to be the best canine citizens possible.

Kelly is also a director for the K9 Games Corporation, a venture dedicated to bringing fun and games to the process of dog training in order to make it easy, entertaining, and accessible for all people, including children.

Kelly lives in Berkeley, California with three dogs, Claude, Dune, Hugo-Louis, and two hand-raised, species-confused cats, May & Uggs.

Competition

We would love to hear and share how your dogs have touched your lives here in the comments section. Kelly has offered a wonderful prize of a downloadable DVD from their website to a winner chosen at random. Kelly has also added a prize to the doggy hamper, so get writing your letters to Santa Paws here

This means we can open today’s competition to you all worldwide (delighted about this!) so let’s hear from you below – how has your dog touched your life?

Ooh that time is coming where we will just HAVE to have another mince pie mmm! Well it is Christmas! So as not to spoil our fun, we are looking at this from the dogs point of view today. Dogs can get a bit portly sometimes, no matter what time of year, although not from mince pies I hope! Today the wonderful Oldies Club give us some help and ideas on making sure that our dogs don’t get too tubby…

Tips to keep slender this Christmas

1. As a dog gets older and less active, he often needs to eat less – don’t just keep feeding the same amount and food he had as a young dog.
2. Getting fat is not a natural part of getting old – and nor is getting thin! If you aren’t sure if your dog is a little overweight or if your dog seems to be getting skinny, your vet can help.
3. An overweight dog won’t be able to enjoy life so much and will be at risk from many health problems.
4. Try to buy treats aimed at senior dogs which have less fat content, or bake your own – and split larger treats in half.
5. If your dog needs to lose weight, substitute some meals with fresh cooked white fish or chicken and vegetables
6. If your dog can no longer manage long walks due to arthritis, regular short outings can still help both of you feel more active, fitter and more healthy.
7. Dental sticks can have a high fat content – brush your dogs teeth instead, use a cleaning powder in their food, or choose low fat chews such as tripe sticks.
8. Although many dogs tend to put on weight as they get older, others can lose weight and become picky. First stop is your vet: even elderly dogs can feel 100% better and will hold their weight better if their bad teeth are treated promptly, and many conditions that cause weight loss can be treated nowadays, so your dog can really enjoy life. Oldies Club sees many dogs where owners have assumed a dog is just getting old, when actually he is suffering from a treatable condition.
9. If your dog needs building up rather than slimming down, still be cautious about feeding too much fat – fatty diets can have serious effects on a dog’s pancreas. A high quality dog food from a pet shop rather than a supermarket may help him stay sleek and happy.
10. Turkey or goose for Christmas dinner is fine for most dogs (though NOT cooked bones!), but go easy on the bacon and roast potatoes – the effect of these fatty and salty foods is much greater on dogs with their smaller bodies than it is for us, and even a one-off treat can sometimes make a dog quite unwell.

The Oldies Club  cares for all the homeless old dogs that come into our care in foster homes. Some of our fosterers have had to deal with some very overweight dogs! Often the original owners simply didn’t realise that the dog should not be so fat. If you would like to support our work, you could donate, sponsor one of our oldies, or volunteer to help with transport, home visiting, fundraising or even by fostering an old dog yourself.

Competition

Yesterday’s winner of the fantastic Tuffy’s Rumble Ring picked at random from yesterday’s comments was Lynda and the Minkies, Congratulations!

There’s a prize for everyone today! Comment on this post and you will receive a special voucher code to get 10% off an order from the fantastic Gower Cottage Brownies! The most delicious Brownies you will ever eat, supplied in gluten free version – completely scrummy. Visit their site on www.gowercottagebrownies.co.uk Go on – treat yourself!

Oldies Club would like to thank Kate at Gower Cottage for donating prizes on their behalf. Thanks Kate!

If you would like to win a box of Gower Cottage Brownies and lots of other goodies! Write YOUR letter to Santa Paws and you could win our fantastic DOGGY HAMPER

More hamper prizes will be added later on today – Make your letter funny, sad, but remember, if your doggy doesn’t write it, you won’t be in with a chance to win! Good luck and get writing those Dear Santa Paws letters!

A wonderfully funny Christmas story all the way from Sweden by author Jon Buscall and his wonderful Bassett Hounds.

Last Christmas Aggie, the resident pack leader at Kennel Björkwood in Sweden, found herself miraculously alone in the kitchen.

I’d plucked up courage and donned my thickest jumper to venture out into -10°C for a a walk in the woods with the other woofs. Aggie, suffering from some feigned minor ailment or other, had persuaded me to leave her behind in the comfort of her bed. Despite  often eliciting a glowing “She walks extremely well,” from judges in the show ring, Agsie is in fact the laziest basset hound in Sweden and will do anything to avoid a walk – much to my frequent frustration.

So off I went with the other woofs and headed for the forest. Meanwhile, Agsie was left alone in the house with Mr Teen, who tends to be more interested in computer games than minding woofs.

Amazingly she managed to silently prise open the woof-gate that during the rest of the year always keeps the woofs out of the kitchen.

No doubt as she padded around the kitchen hoovering up the floor she found a crumb or two of something tasty. But I can only imagine her pleasure when she spotted what was on the counter: a kilo of frozen beef wrapped in a plastic bag that my wife was planning to use for spaghetti bolognese.

What happened next is anyone’s guess. If you’ve never owned a basset you might think of them as rather vertically challenged. Yes, they are rather short legged. But it never ceases to amaze me how a basset can suddenly turn into a counter-surfer the moment they’re alone with a tasty morsel or two in sight.

When I returned from walking the woofs I dried the snow off them and got them settled then went to check on Agsie. At this point in the story I wasn’t aware that there had actually been any meat thawing in the kitchen.

“Has she been okay?” I asked Mr Teen.

“Mmm,” came a grunt from his den.

I didn’t notice it immediately. Aggie was fast asleep, her blanket wrapped around her, snoring sweetly away. To look at her there was no indication of what she had been up to.

Then I saw the plastic bag. Interwoven with her blanket.

“What’s this?” I bellowed, picking it up to have a look. Neither Aggie nor Mr Teen responded.

“Has Aggie been in the kitchen?”

“NO!” yelled Mr Teen, irritated that I’d deigned to interrupt Counter-Destroy-And-Strike-Everyone-or-Whatever-it-is he spends his life doing.

I prodded Agsie. “You all right, girl?”

She woke up, rolled on her back and gave me the cue to rub her belly. So I did. She seemed her usual self so I didn’t think more about it. Until my wife got back.

“Where’s the minced beef?” Margrét wanted to know. “I’ve got to get the dinner on. Eirikur and Eygló will be here in an hour.”

“Isn’t it in the fridge?” I ventured.

“No, I put it on the counter to thaw,” she said. “It’s was in a plastic bag.”

And that was when the penny dropped. Aggie had scoffed the lot…

Much to my wife’s dismay Aggie showed no averse signs to wolfing down a kilo of frozen minced beef and part of a freezer bag. In fact the next morning she was decidedly chipper and accompanied me on a 5 kilometre walk through the forest with the rest of the Björkwood pack. Nevertheless, she was not let anywhere near our Swedish Christmas dinner on December 24. She was banished to the dog room by my wife – just as she will be this year!

About the author: Jon Buscall is a Communications Strategist based in Sweden. He is owned by four  bassets.

If you enjoyed this post please help an ageing abandoned basset and donate to House of Puddles.

Yesterday’s winner of the awesome Zogoflex Huck picked at random from yesterday’s comments was janet Considine, Congratulations!

Competition

Do you have a funny Christmas story about your dog that you would like to share? Today we have a fantastic toy donated by Collarways – an amazing Tuffy’s Rumble Ring: Soft, tough, floats and it’s machine washable too

My thanks to Emma, Jan and Natz for these cute and funny little posts for today’s advent calendar

Mollie’s owner can be found on Twitter as @CyberEmma, Alf’s owner is @JanConsidine, and Mika’s owner is @BubblyNatz

Competition

Yesterdays winners of the fantastic Royal Canin Frisbee and calculator were Anne, Linda, and Sarie May. Congratulations!

Today’s spot prize is sponsored by Gabriela at Collarways who has donated a fantastic Zogoflex Huck: Tough, bouncy, floats, dishwasher safe as well! Please visit http://www.collarways.co.uk for lots more gorgeous goodies to treat your dog from Santa Paws (ssh!)

Leave a comment for a chance to win this great toy today!

Write YOUR letter to Santa Paws and you could win our fantastic DOGGY HAMPER

More hamper prizes will be added later on today – Make your letter funny, sad, but remember, if your doggy doesn’t write it, you won’t be in with a chance to win! Good luck and get writing those Dear Santa Paws letters!

Sorry peeps, unless otherwise stated, we can only accept competition submissions from people based in the UK. Unfortunately Pickles hates the taste of stamps and it would make him giddy to lick the amount needed to send prizes overseas. but PLEASE leave your comments, we still love to hear from you.

A Letter to Santa from Poppy and Jess – Dictated to Anne Greensmith @snowleopardess

And this letter form the adorable youngster Sally, who has a lot going for her as you can see… as dictated to Terry Cunningham @wvterry

and finally…

Below we have a very special Video letter to Santa Paws

Video letter to Santa Paws

Please visit our Keanu’s advent calendar appeal page if you can help. Spread the word. Thank you.

Competition

Yesterday’s winner of the choice of one of Pete Wedderburn’s books picked at random from yesterday’s comments was Kathy, Congratulations!

We have great spot prizes to give away today – leave us your comments and you could win a Frisbee and a fantastic solar calculator for three lucky winners picked at random! Something for both you and your dog from Santa Paws!

Write YOUR letter to Santa Paws and you could win our fantastic DOGGY HAMPER

More hamper prizes will be added later on today – Make your letter funny, sad, but remember, if your doggy doesn’t write it, you won’t be in with a chance to win! Good luck and get writing those Dear Santa Paws letters!

With refreshing insight, TV Vet Pete Wedderburn gives us a brand new look into helping your pet to cope – and enjoy – Christmas with you! Pete always shows us a unique viewpoint and some positive things you can do to keep your pet happy and calm this Christmas

“The festive season can be a stressful time for pets. Animals enjoy a regular routine – they like feeding, walking and sleeping to happen at predictable times. Over the Christmas period the routine is dramatically altered, and pets don’t always enjoy the change. Owners should be aware of their pets’ sensitivities, and should do as much as possible to make things easier for them over the two weeks of holiday time. A long walk every morning is a good idea, before the household is distracted with other activities.

If your pet does not have its own bed, you should give it one as a pre-Christmas present. Pets like to have a place of their own, where they know they will not be disturbed. This is especially important when there are lots of visitors and noise. The bed should be kept somewhere ‘out of the way’, such as under a table for a dog, or on top of a dresser for a cat. This provides an important sanctuary for a timid animal.

The pet’s meals should be given at the usual times throughout the holiday period, and there’s no need to give your pet roast turkey, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding or brandy butter. Feed the same food as usual, with perhaps a few morsels of turkey to keep your conscience happy. A useful rule of thumb is that no more than 10% of any meal should be made up of treats. One of the most common reasons for emergency veterinary call outs over holiday period is digestive upsets caused by overindulgent owners who think that they are being kind to their pets.

Finally, if you want a good Christmas present for your dog, what about a DAP diffuser? Give it a day earlier, plugged in beside your pet’s bed, so that calming pheromones surround your furry friend on that busy Christmas morning”.

If you would like to read more from Pete’s refreshingly new perspective, you could always treat yourself to one of his brand new books

My dog thinks he’s human

My cat is ignoring me

Competition

Yesterday’s winner of the awesome book Reaching The Animal Mind by Karen Pryor picked at random from yesterday’s comments was Julia Livesey, Congratulations!

and today…

What did you do to keep your pet happy last year? What are your plans for this year? For another chance to win one of Pete the vet’s brilliant books, leave a comment – or fan mail for the man himself, of course…!

Today Dogs Trust tell us about Keanu – can you, or someone you know, see past his nervous exterior to the wonderful pet Keanu can become?

On average, dogs at Dogs Trust take around six weeks to find a dog a new home. For six and a half year old Keanu, it’s taken 52 times as long – and he’s still looking.

Keanu, a Pointer cross, came to Dogs Trust Shoreham as a malnourished stray six years ago, and has since blossomed into a beautiful boy who is extremely affectionate once he gets to know you. However, because he’s nervous of the unknown he has not caught the eye of visiting potential owners as a more confident canine might, and has been repeatedly overlooked.

Keanu’s ideal home is:

• A calm, adult-only environment with a garden where he can feel safe and secure.
• Somewhere he can be the only pet.
• A place where he’ll get all the time he needs to get over his insecurities, with owners who have patience – and a car to take him to the park.

Keanu is just waiting for someone to be his best friend so that he can lavish on them all the affection he shows to the familiar centre staff. Although he gets the very best of love and care in kennels, the Rehoming Centre staff would love to see Keanu settled into his own home at last.

Don’t forget: Dogs Trust Shoreham staff will be with you and Keanu every step of the way, as anyone who takes a Dogs Trust dog home gets support and advice for the whole of that dog’s life.

If you’re ready to open your heart and home to Keanu, please call Dogs Trust Shoreham on (01273) 452 576 or visit the centre during opening hours (12-4pm daily, including weekends; closed Tuesdays).

Dogs Trust dogs head home fully vaccinated, microchipped, neutered and with four weeks’ free pet insurance from Pet Plan.

Below we have a very special Video letter to Santa Paws

Video letter to Santa Paws

Please visit contact Dogs Trust if you can help. And PLEASE spread the word. Thank you.

Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity with 18 Rehoming Centres across the UK and Ireland. Dogs Trust cares for over 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs every year.

www.dogstrust.org.uk/rehoming

At this time of year, we’d like to remind everyone of our slogan of 31 years: “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas”. Our Rehoming Centres are open over the immediate festive period, so please visit.. but if you are interested in rehoming a dog from us, then you won’t be able to take them home until the new year.

Competition

Yesterday’s winner of the Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust mug and coaster set picked at random from yesterday’s comments was Hayley, Congratulations!

Tell Intellidogs your rehoming success story below, and you might today’s spot prize is another fantastic James Wellbeloved Treat Pouch. These are my (Karen’s) absolute favourite pouches and are not available in the shops. They are also the ones used by owners of Coco the school dog and Bessie, the visiting dog. Both dogs are registered with Canine Concern. They are the best ones I have ever come across. There is a belt clip, little pockets, they are strong, lined and well stitched and have a metal ring and popper at the top. No more fumbling for treats. In fact I can’t believe I am giving another one away…

To have a chance of winning and get our newsletter too, add your comments below! Good luck and remember to open the Advent calendar tomorrow

Greyt Gourmet Liver Gateau will keep for up to a week in the fridge and up to 3 months if frozen.