Your Dog — November 2017

I

’m sure that I’m just one

of very many people

who have been deeply

saddened by the recent

murder of 83-year-old Peter

Wrighton — universally

described as a ‘dog walker’ in

the media — in woodland near

Banham, Norfolk.

By all accounts Peter was

a much-loved husband and

grandfather. What could

— and should — be a more

worthy, healthy, and

heart-warming picture than

a walk in the woods with his

two dogs?

So it’s only right that we

refl ect on this tragedy, and

learn from it, but not in some

fear-based way that makes us

less likely to go out.

Without doubt there are

simple things we can do to

optimise our personal safety;

there is lots of good advice on

the internet from the police.

For me the key thing, apart

from valuing every single day

of our lives, is remembering

how very, very rare this type

of incident is, and that walking

your dog less is the worst way

to react.

For a start, with dogs being

taken on around half of all

visits to the outdoors, it’s

highly likely that any incident is

going to involve someone with

a dog. More than that 150,000

people die prematurely from

strokes, cancer, and diseases

of the heart, lungs, and liver

each year in England alone;

the likelihood of those deaths

is signifi cantly reduced by an

active lifestyle. And as the

Welsh Assembly Government

recently testifi ed, walking

a dog is one of the top two

ways people achieve just that.

Walk your dog less

because of this tragedy?

Absolutely not.

What we can do is value

our walks with our dogs more

than ever. They’ll still want

their walkies just as much; we

owe it to them, and to Peter’s

memory, to heed that call.

Diary of a

countryman

A recent tragedy gives cause

for refl ection, says Stephen

Jenkinson.

Stephen Jenkinson

is an expert on

where you can go

and what you can do

with your dog. He’s

access adviser to Your

Dog Magazine, the

Kennel Club, and local

councils across the UK

and abroad. He lives in

Orkney with his Border

Collie, Jess.

ABOUT STEPHEN

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Value your walks

with your dog.

Q

No matter what

food we give our

four-year-old German

Shepherd, his poo is runny.

What can we do?

Paul Davis, email address.

A

John says: The most

likely cause is that the

food you are giving

him is unsuitable for some

reason. German Shepherds

are notable for having weak

digestive systems and it can

be diffi cult to fi nd a suitable

food. Possible reasons are that

the food is not very digestible,

or he may have an allergy or

intolerance to an ingredient in

the food.

GSDs are also prone

to exocrine pancreatic

insuffi ciency (EPI), which is

a lack of digestive enzymes

— this can be checked by your

vet. Even if he has EPI, it may

be possible to manage the

condition with the right diet.

I recommend that you try

a highly digestible,

hypo-allergenic food.

Examples are Hill’s

Prescription Diet i/d, Royal

Canin Gastrointestinal Diet,

or Burns Sensitive Pork and

Potato. In general, the

less food you offer, the more

likely the digestive system

will be able to handle it.

Avoid variety in his diet, such

as treats, as this will

reduce the possibility

of food intolerance.

Food gives my

GSD the runs

GSDs can have weak

digestive systems.

54-55 General Care CS(AM)SW.indd 55 22/09/2017 13:46