A Dog's Life with Anna Webb

‘Alright Pet’! That’s the hugely successful podcast by BBC Broadcaster, Anne-Marie Wallace who joins me on A Dog’s Life to chat about her passion for all animals, especially retired Greyhounds. Anne -Marie broadcasts on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC NI and launched Alright Pet that airs on BBC Sounds and is about to start its seventh series. Co-hosted by specialist Vet, Rob Adams, together they chat to famous pet owners and celebrate the bond we have with our pets. Beginning with dogs and cats, the podcast soon diversified to cover all animals. We chat about the real life stories that have touched Anne-Marie the most, not least her concerns about dogs in rescue at record levels and why to adopt not shop is the right thing to do. Plus one of Anne-Marie’s guilty pleasures - horse riding - and we’ve made a pact to one day ride around Hyde Park together.

This week we're joined by film Director, Heidi Ewing, of Loki Films , chatting about Folktales the latest release. When modern life becomes too loud, a group of teens escape to the Arctic wilderness for an unconventional gap year. Guided by patient teachers and a pack of Alaskan huskies, they learn resilience and form meaningful connections with nature, animals, and one another. Set in northern Norway close to the Russian border, Folktales follows the journey of some teenagers on a’gap’ year at a traditional folk high school. Navigating the challenges of the remote environment, they must rely on themselves, each other, and a loyal pack of sled dogs.

This week we're joined by Bio-Archeologist, Dr Carly Ameen, who has been part of a team studying the  emergence and diversification of dog morphology. Looking at the remarkable difference in over 600 dog’s skulls from as far back as 11,000 years ago, the team discovered a huge variety of skull shapes and sizes. This proves that dogs were very different from wolves at this point in time. But the missing link as to when wolves became dogs is still unclear. But this research confirms it was more than 11,000 years ago! The variety of skull shapes in what is generically termed a 'canid’ also dispels the myth that the Victorians created the range of dog breeds we see today. The extreme modern exaggeration of features was not apparent in the skulls analysed, but they do prove that dogs had been shaped, being created for the different purposes whether guarding, hunting, or simply being ‘lap dogs’.  We chat about the Romans and how there are graves dedicated to dogs in the UK dating back to the Roman empire, again proving the huge impact dogs have had on our lives for centuries. The question of when wolves became dogs may never be  answered as for many years the wolves - a strain of Grey Wolf, long extinct, would have remained as wolves for likely hundreds of years. before they changed shape. What we do know is that these early dogs saw something in us early humans that inspired them to become man’s best friend.

This week we're joined by Solicitor, Ben Evans from Co-Op Legal Services who is talking about why lawyers are recommending that couples think about a ‘Pet-Nup’ agreement when taking on a pup. With 42% of all marriages in the UK ending in divorce, it’s not uncommon for the dog to be caught up in the break up.

Ben explains he has seen dogs used in ‘psychological warfare‘ in acrimonious circumstances.Apart from being very costly to take the custody case to the courts, this stress and negative emotion oftentimes does not have the welfare of the dog in mind.

Instead lawyers recommend to be better safe than sorry, by thinking ahead, being mature to make plans in the event of a split. Not least to think like a dog and try and work through communication positively to make the difficult situation easier.

Going through the courts is made complicated as despite the Animal Welfare Act 2022 defining animals as sentients, the fact remain that in family law, pets are still labelled as chattel, a possession like a car or a fridge freezer. Until this disparity in law is bridged resolving custody can be complex and often based on the name attributed to the pet’s microchip rather than to the person that could offer the best care for the pet.

This week we’re  joined by Esther Logue, Content and Communications Manager at Paleo Ridge, catching up on the latest developments at one of the UK’s fastest growing raw food brands.

We chat about the huge expansion of the raw feeding sector in the last decade and how the company has doubled in size in the last five years to adapt to this growing demand from an expanding customer base.  

Announcing  the firm’s  new semi-automated production facility, which is a huge investment that underpins the brand’s long-term commitment to improving product availability, maintaining stock levels, exceptional quality standards and supporting its growing network of retail and trade partners.

We chat about the introduction of new lifestyle ranges  in Puppy and Senior in the PaleoPlus range as being tailored to specific needs, and the first to contain Reishi mushroom tincture. 

More than that we talk about why feeding dogs as nature intended fuels the immune system, and provides cellular energy that promotes natural health and vitality.