According to some estimates the web contains almost two billion websites.
Google, Bing, Ask and the many other search engines do their best to give you answers to search queries but often it is by peer review that people visit.
Over the last month or so I have been searching the web for dog friendly or dog aware sites which you may find of interest.
Maybe you have a suggestion for inclusion in my next Webwatch feature ? Let me know via the contact us form and we will consider it.
Business or service
- http://www.parcels4paws.co.uk is an interesting business idea and one that may just work, especially as our humans appear to get less and less time to shop for us. Parcels4Paws is a subscription service offering monthly boxes of goodies. Each month they send a surprise selection of 5-6 goodies including toys, treats, health and hygiene products and accessories. The company guarantee that the value of each parcel will always be more than our humans have paid for it. This could be upto £20 per month depending on the plan they choose. Almost £250 per year on toys and goodies seems like a lot and to be honest I can see our toy boxes filling up with stuff we would not use or want to play with. It may work for a few months as a gift but I am unsure if there are enough unique dog themed items out there to support a long term subscription. Unless you know differently?
- Pet webinars uses the internet as a training tool for pet owners. This is one of the first sites I have seen to offer pet training in this way. Run by vet Anthony Chadwick MRCVS CertVD, the site was launched in 2010 in response to frustrations with the low quality of pet advice offered on the web. Many of the videos are available only to registered users of the site. Registration is currently free.
- The Backseat bridge – is a very interesting idea from Kurgo. It does what its names says, and bridges the gap between the front and rear seats in the car, so falling to the floor will never a problem again. This device would be ideal for dogs who can not get comfy in a small car due to the size of the seat or the way it slopes.
Charity /organisations
Nothing stirs emotions in our humans than an animal story, so we were interested to know more about a charity offering to twin us dogs with animals abroad.
- The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species have come up with quite a clever idea to help our wild colleagues in Africa or Ethiopia.
In return for a donation we get an engraved ID tag and a personalised photograph. - The Finding Furever Homes Charitable Trust is a new organisation and like me you may not have heard of it.
They are trying to raise funds and become a charity with the aim of helping small rescue centres find homes for abandoned and homeless dogs.
Through the use of social media they have helped rehome close to 100 dogs and raise over £6,000 in just a few months. - To me this was a timely find on the web as a close dog friend has been diagnosed as being deaf.
The Deaf Dog Network (DDN) has been set up by the two leggers to offer help to our deaf or hard of hearing colleagues.
As an organisation, DDN offers advice and support to the humans who own or work with deaf dogs.
They also help raise awareness amongst our human carers that deaf dogs can and do lead very normal lives making great pets and sports dogs.
Part of their work includes highlighting & supporting deaf dogs waiting in rescue for a new home. - Hearing Dogs for Deaf People – looks at the problem of deafness but from the humans perspective.
The national charity raises funds to create partnerships between deaf people and specially trained hearing dogs.
They have trained over 1,600 hearing dogs since the Charity began in 1982. This includes many cocker spaniels.
The sounds a hearing dog can be trained to alert to include: A doorbell, telephone, alarm clock, baby cry monitor and a smoke alarm. - Tails of Joy is a not-for-profit organisation founded by comedian, writer, and animal activist Elayne Boosler.
They raise funds for the smallest, neediest rescue organizations all across the United States, and beyond.
Fun
- Emergency dog siren – With more than 1.5m views a dog howling like a nearby emergency vehicle take a lot to beat. You can see the video to the right of this page.
- Teagan Times – Yipee a blog about a fellow Cocker Spaniel. Teagan Times follows the adventures of a young working dog in Dorset, UK. He loves anything eatable, especially stuff that smells horrid, teddy bears and collars & leads. And like me he also has a Facebook page.
- My GBGV Life – Going through life as a french scent hound has to be one of my favourite websites of the day. Who can resist the picture of two dogs and their toy asleep on the stairs – just perfect.
Emma, a Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen (GBGV), is the author of the blog and she tells of her life in and around Minnesota, USA.
Originally from England Emma arrived in America during 2007. She shares her life with two other dogs and two cats. - Dog Tv – Did you know we have our own tv channel ? Airing online and on certain connected services the service is designed, according to the website, to be the ‘perfect babysitter for dogs.’
The website goes on to explain that: “DOGTV’s subscription-based channel organises programming into 3 to 6 minutes of relaxing, stimulating and behavior-improving segments that work collaboratively to provide just the right balance for the daily routines of our beloved “stay-at-home” dogs.”
Have you used the service, let us know via the comments area below? - New balls please – Almost every time I go to the park I come across a lost tennis ball, all grubby and forgotten. This made me wonder how to get replacements and what happens to new balls once the humans have finished with them.
It turns out that we can replace our lost toys quite cheaply and by the box full. Used Tennis Ballz offers 50 of the favourite green squishy balls for less than £40. Just think of the fun you could have with all of those around the house.
They can even supply the plastic throwing launchers for tennis balls for only £3….. So 50 balls and a launcher for less than £45. Yipeeeeee.
If you are a frequent ball scarer then 150 balls cost around 46 pence each, or if you want to convince your human to get some, suggest you could have a new ball every other walk. - Dogs in Pubs – Whilst I would not want to encourage the drinking of alcohol this website is a fantastic collection of pictures of, you guessed it, dogs in pubs.
Dogs in pubs is a tribute to the fine tradition of taking your human to the watering hole and, whilst they have a cool beer, you can snuggle in front of the open fire and easy those aching bones.
Who says they have evolved!
Free Offers / competitions
- Kronch dog food
Made using fresh salmon and products known not to irritate our digestive system Kronch foods are currently offering a free sample via their website.
The food is ideally suited, according to their website to working and agility dogs.
I have just had dad fill out the form and hopefully I should be able to give it a review in the next few weeks.
Dog News
Oh yes, we do make the news headlines. The humans just love a rescue or an ‘…and finally’ so it is not surprising that we have websites dedicated just to dog news.
For all those tv news editors or journalists stuck for a story, here are a few sites of possible interest.
- UK Dog News – Twitter web collation site.
We are unsure if this is an editor compiled list of news stories or an automated feed service.
Despite it’s title, and what makes us think it is possibly automated, it also includes global news stories with a dog keyword. - Dog Reporter Laura Patricia is the force behind Dogs in the News.
This website has quite a boring home page but click on a link and you are given the full story which unlike some websites seems to go beyond the press release. - Mark Walden is a dog trainer, blogger and writer. In his blog he champions animal welfare issues and also helps with advice for our humans.
The clean looking website features a number of guest interviews and opportunities for interaction.
Competitions and awards
Friends for Life
- Five shortlisted dogs, selected for their outstanding bravery or devotion to their owners, are to attend the final of the Kennel Club Friends for Life competition.
The judging will take place at the Main Arena in the NEC in Birmingham on the final night of Crufts (Sunday 9th March 2014), which will be televised by Channel 4. The winner is selected by the public.
More of your suggestions
Let me have your suggestions for my next web watch in a few weeks time. Just let me have the details via the contact us form.
Until next time
Big licks and wags
Charlie
Note: We are not responsible for the content of external websites. Inclusion in this article is not to be seen as endorsement.