The Pupcast

We know that pet-parents want the best for their furry friends, with 70% of dog owners admitting that they look after their dog better than themselves! However, choosing the right food for your pet can often be overwhelming – with so many brands on offer and confusing labelling making it unclear what exactly your dog’s food is made from. In this special episode of the Pupcast, Mel is joined by loving pet owner, celebrated chef, and presenter of Saturday Kitchen and Food Unwrapped – Matt Tebbutt. Learn about how a nutritious diet using high-quality ingredients can lead to living a happy and healthy life and why it’s so important to look at the labelling of your pets’ food to check for hidden nasties.

Whether you’re considering adding a furry friend to your family for the first time, or looking to expand your pack, picking a new puppy or new dog can be difficult. It’s important to ensure that the dog breed you choose is right for you, right for its environment and right for your lifestyle, allowing you to be one big happy family. In the final episode of series 2, Mel is joined by Sarah Smith, one of Puppy School’s very talented trainers. Learn about the different types of dog breeds you can choose from, which ones might suit different lifestyles more naturally and what to be of aware of when choosing your breeder.

As we move out of lockdown, a host of new situations await our puppies. From visits to the pub, to a pampering session at the groomers, some new owners might be feeling slightly anxious about how the change to a more social routine will impact their pup. In this episode, Mel is joined by the brilliant Nick Jones, dog behaviourist with almost 20 years’ experience, as they discuss more about socialisation. Learn about his simple traffic light method and understand how you can best prepare your pets for adjusting to live after lockdown.

Introducing our new pup to our friends and family can be a super exciting time, but it can also come with its challenges. This is particularly the case if you're introducing your puppy to an older dog or children that think they rule the roost – a new addition isn’t always so welcome! To help with the process, in this episode Mel is joined by the talented Sarah Parker, who has one fully trained assistance dog Miska, and two more that are currently in training, and she’s no stranger to introducing them to new situations and people. Sarah provides some top tips on the best ways to approach the introduction process (humans and animals alike). She will also help us understand more about what may cause aggressive behaviour and which breeds may be best suited to a busy household. 

Ever wished you’d been able to speak to your pet and wondered how to communicate with your dog? Although dogs don’t speak our language, it doesn’t mean we can’t try to understand theirs a little better. From their barks to their whines, what are they trying to say, and how can we best communicate back to them? You’re in good hands as in this episode, Mel is joined by Dawn Cox, who’ll be offering advice on the key things to look out for in dog body language, and helping you understand more about what it all means. Dawn is a Kennel Club Good Citizen advisor and behaviour specialist, and as the UK’s largest organisation in dog health, welfare and training, she certainly knows a thing or two when it comes to understanding our puppy pals. 

A staggering 3.2 million of us have bought a puppy since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic but just as our new four-legged friends are getting used to life in lockdown, restrictions are easing, and things are starting to reopen, which can easily lead to separation anxiety. Are you one of the 83% of us that are worried about returning to work and leaving your new family member alone at home? There’s no need to fear as in this episode, Mel is joined by Kerry Ward, AKA the FairyDogMother, who’ll be offering key advice on how your puppy can best cope with the upcoming transition. Kerry is a dog behavioural expert, puppy trainer and the creator of ‘The Happy Dog Project’, which specialises in helping anxious dogs to become calm and confident and is the perfect guest for helping you tackle this tricky time.  

When should you move your pup to adult food? The advice out there on weaning puppies might seem a little overwhelming, from what type of food to when you should transition, so where do you start? In our final episode of the series, we speak to Daily Star pet columnist and Wild Paws blogger, Catherine Wooding, on how she navigated feeding her Jack Russells, Wilber and Paisley, whilst pooling together advice in an easy-to-digest takeaway. If you want to understand doggy diets and leave with the knowledge to treat your dog’s sensitive stomach in the best possible way, this one is for you.

Author, founder and director of Puppy School - the UK’s network of puppy training classes – Gwen Bailey, joins The Pupcast to help guide owners through the challenges of transitioning from pup-hood to those trickier stages of adolescence. Sadly, this is an age where pup-parents can begin to struggle due to changes in behaviour, and a number of dogs are taken into rescue homes. Mel and Gwen join forces to discuss preventative measures from how to socialise, through to reward-based training and engaging games to help harness your pups’ attention. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or want to learn more, this episode will offer you the support you need to ensure you’re equipped with the tools to handle it all. Puppy school serves to train both puppies and their owners over a six-month period, but this bite-sized session will more than lay down some good foundations with Gwen’s top five tips.

New owners need to be aware of how to equip their puppies with all the skills they will need to grow in the world. Puppy socialisation in lockdown has brought stark differences to a first walks, from seeing less people to socially distanced meet ups, meaning early interaction has been significantly reduced. Today’s guest is Jennifer Dow, Editor of Edition Dog – a magazine focusing on dog health, wellbeing, and nutrition, written by professionals and experts. Jennifer is dog mum to Irish Setters, Otto, Lily and six-month-old Alice, so she has experienced lockdown socialising first-hand. If you’re trying to manage poor pup behaviours or want to understand how to introduce your pups during these exceptional circumstances, this episode is for you.