All About Animals Column: Baby goats, the relationship between men and dogs and surviving the heat

It's been all about books this week for The Animal News Agency, as our first EVER client Dr Chris Blazina has just got a book deal! Chris' work as a psychologist has explored the relationship between men and their dogs, and the unique bond that they share.

It really is fascinating. We can't give away too much information about the book just yet, but it's going to be really good, and if you like dogs it will make the perfect Christmas gift!

Do get in touch if you have an animal story you think I should be writing about in this column?

My email address is [email protected].

To find out more about my business, The Animal News Agency, you can visit www.animalnewsagency.com. I’m on Twitter,

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All About The Goat Centre

This week I've been on holiday, and as well as a little trip to my Yorkshire homeland, I've also enjoyed a bit of a staycation here in Beautiful Bucks.

On one of the days we headed to The Bucks Goat Centre, a beloved haunt for us and the perfect place for any animal lover.

Due to the hot summer weather, the staff were doing all they could to keep the animals cool, and alpacas Freddie and Ringo enjoyed a paddling pool treat, while Barnaby, the resident fur trade rescue fox enjoyed strawberries on ice.

It was also great to see the baby goats, including a former feature of this column Imbuzi, who is now able to be outside the barn and is loving meeting members of the public. Following this column Imbuzi also appeared in The Sun newspaper, where the reporter named him 'Star of the Week' for being 'the nation's noisiest goat'.

A trip to The Goat Centre is always wonderful, and it was so nice to see it all open again after the pandemic closure. Special mention must also go to much-missed llama Maxine, a familiar face at the goat centre, who sadly passed away recently aged 18. Maxine had been battling cancer, and we were so sad to hear that she has died. To find out more about The Bucks Goat Centre go to www.bucksgoatcentre.website

Hot Hot Heat

We all relish the summer with longer days and warmer weather. But for your dog the summer heat can bring health risks and challenges. The great news is there is plenty you can do to make a heatwave or particularly hot day more bearable.

All dogs are different but as a general rule, the bigger the dog the more susceptible to heat they are. Other factors include age – puppies and older dogs being more at risk to rising temperatures, breathing ability (pugs and Frenchies) and the length/density/colour of the coat. These can all drive up the risk to your dog during hotter days.

On hot days, walk your dog during the cooler parts of the day, in the early morning and late evening. Your dog’s paw pads can burn on hot pavements.

For a quick and simple check, if it’s too hot for your hand it’s too hot for their paws.

Can’t get outside? Burn off some energy at home with some enrichment exercises.