Broadcaster, nutrition & behaviour guru, Anna Webb, is excited to deliver A Dog’s Life – her new Podcast available on iTunes and Spotify.
The PAAW team are all about positivity, as someone who is constantly on the go, the up side of lockdown is having the opportunity to take some me time, long phone conversations, starting and finishing unread books and my new favourite hobby, Podcasts.
One of my favourite dog related podcast’s is “A Dogs Life” recently launched by Anna Webb. I’m particularly enjoying the variety of interesting topics that occasionally questions the norm and facilitates thinking outside the box, everything from telepathy to homeopathy. Five stars from us!
We asked Anna how she’s adapting to lockdown and her top tips for keeping our pets entertained. This is what she had to tell us:
Being a seasoned ‘Freelancer” adapting to social distancing has been relatively easy to do, not least with the help of Zoom.com for catch-ups, meetings, yoga classes and even recording Podcasts!
Having just launched my Podcast – A Dog’s Life, I’m lucky to have pre-recorded several episodes prior to the COVID-19 outbreak with my Producer Mike Hanson at PodPeople Productions. Now it’s time to adapt and record them over Zoom!
Dogs are so adaptable and in these uncertain times dogs can help us through. Punctuating your day is easier for dog owners – we are the lucky ones. Dogs need routine – daily exercise, daily proactive playtime, daily toilet breaks, daily downtime and daily mealtimes.
This is exactly what we need too! So mould your routine with your dog’s day to achieve regular breaks that promote productivity and ‘pawsitivity!
I am lucky to have a garden and being based ‘a stone’s throw’ from the Hackney Marshes, it’s been easy to fulfil social distancing and exercising.
Set yourself little training projects, like the sit stay or the recall beginning from one end of the room to you and gradually progressing from room to room.
I always make a meal our of mealtimes to ensure both Prudence and Mr Binks respect their grub, and adhere to the ritual, which is hold a sit stay with their bowl or interactive feeder on the floor. Both must, on asking: ‘head up’, look at me, before I ask them to eat their meal!
Plus I love interactive feeders to make eating slower and better for their digestion whilst making mealtimes a brainteaser figuring out how to release their food.
Prudence and Mr Binks and my cat Gremlin are making me feel social. Whilst they’re loving having me at home 24/7, I’m mindful to keep our routine as ‘normal’ as possible. So, I add proactive downtime into the day to pre-empt any separation issues once this crisis is over.
It’s natural for dogs to attention seek, but it’s important to make this on your terms. Giving into barking or jumping up by engaging with your dog even in a negative way will only reinforce and make the behaviour stronger.
A healthy dose of proactive ignoring works to counter needy, attention seeking behaviours and encourages your dog’s choices to be independent, minimising any future separation anxieties.
Dog training is easy when you think of the psychology behind it. Often it is about reverse psychology too. Training a barker to bark on command for example can really help by putting the barking on your terms.
All of this will be discussed on my Podcast in due course. A DOG’S LIFE is the culmination of my lifelong passion for dogs, my knowledge and experience, not least the journey with my first Miniature Bull Terrier, Molly.
It’s about exploring all levels of modern dog ownership and bringing to life why every dog is extraordinary.
I’m speaking to scientists and experts – people who have and are changing our understanding of dogs – on everything from emotional intelligence to nutrition and behaviour.
I’ll delve deep into subjects like homeopathy, telepathic communication and the pet food scandal. They’ll be a sprinkling of celebrity, and cultural dog-centricity. Above all it will be thought provoking, alternative, and not a little subversive!
Apart from contributing to BBC Radio London’s Barking Hour for over a decade (the only dedicated dog show in Europe), I regularly contribute on air nationally and locally about dogs.
Appearing on ITV1’s This Morning and The Titchmarsh Show as a Pet Expert, as well as taking part in SKY1’s documentary A Different Breed, I write for magazines like My Weekly and Your Dog. And I co-authored the book – Barking Blondes with friend and broadcaster Jo Good.
My journey with Molly my first Miniature Bull terrier inspired my study with the College of Integrated Veterinary Therapies, and combines my Psychology degree to offer a holistic view to dog ownership.
I freely admit being owned by my Miniature Bull Terrier, Prudence, my rehomed English Toy Terrier, Mr Binks, and my rescue street cat, Gremlin, who thinks he is a dog!
Why not subscribe to A Dog’s Life for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your favourite shows.
