Sunday 23 November 2014

Allotment

Quick recap.

Loads of plans / jobs / projects to do.

But they never happened as planned. Last week the allotment fence started with help of a friend but we didn't finish it due to my shockingly out of shape body.

Today I plan to try and clear the ground of rubbish a bit more. If it looks in use, then my neighbouring allotment holders may stop chucking their rubbish in mine.

I think I can actually fix rear fence just be reusing some of the rubbish there. Here's hoping.

Pics from last week.

Thursday 30 October 2014

Weird unintentional cruelty.

Yesterday I saw another dog walker who was walking 5 dogs on a grassy field.
2 dogs were off lead, and the other 3 on lead. The dogs off lead were under perfect control, so this isn't my usual on lead rant that I'm getting far too comfortable always banging on about.

I watched the walker throwing balls for the 2 off lead dogs who obviously were having a great time. However, I noticed the other 3 were wanting to play aswell. But they couldn't. The 3 dogs were very excited but restricted to short fixed length leads.

I believe indirectly the dogs on the lead would feel punished by the removal of the opportunity to play chasing the ball. The dogs would be very confused at this too, as they would have no idea why they couldn't play therefore indirectly why they feel punished.

Again, I am a walker who is 100% against off lead walks unless dogs are under complete control. However, I think mixed walks (both off and off lead) might have hidden consequences for the actual pet owner. Maybe undoing some hard work  between owner and dog, or maybe a small problem unnoticed evolving into larger very noticeable problem.

Either way the dogs on lead were obviously not having as good a time as the ones off.

Since we walk 2 dogs max on lead at any one time , at least each dog is treated equally. They have upto 5m freedom each on extendable leads to walk, sniff and explore.

Friday 17 October 2014

What an unprofessional day and a half today has been.

When I setup my Facebook and Twitter pages, I did so with the idea of not being too serious and to document my days as a dog walker. Regardless of topic. Hopefully engaging with people to discuss topics of interest.

After today and some comments towards me and my professionalism due to my postings, I have had time to reflect.

I'm changing nothing. I don't upset anyone. I stick up for my beliefs. MY BELIEFS. All this stemmed from the way I run my business. I have never told anyone how to run their business why should they try with me.

My business position is to keep dogs on lead. My business, my rules. When I read or hear about offlead walks resulting in injury or death, it upsets me and I comment. Then I publicise the fact I walk only onlead.

Where's the harm in that? It's my unique selling point (USP in business jargon)

I am passionate about safety (in fact in the last laboratory I worked in I was OCD about it). Where's the harm in being over protective about dogs in my paid for care? Surely thats what I'm paid for.

I walk, I look after, I return dogs home safe and sound.

I have never abandoned a dog on a walk because it fails to come back on command. Thats unprofessional. Thats horrible. Thats disgraceful.

Because I opened my mouth today after hearing about a pet death and the connection with being off lead, I seem to encounter a bizarre amount of nastiness from other dog walkers.

Each to their own. I have nothing against off lead walks in theory and have recommended two local businesses who specialise in them. But the theory of off lead and all bad incidents I read about and witness daily suggest it has more problems than its worth.

This brings me back to my page. I have friends and customers who read it. Never have I upset anyone on it. Not once has a customer complained about me openly being over protective of their family pet. I treat all customers as if my own. Hopefully that comes across in the way I talk to them. And the way I still walk them from being puppies. Or the way I walk one on one with their infirm or elderly animal family members.

If other dog walkers from far afield or local have a problem with me or my ways, please unfriend me, block me, or whatever. I don't have issues with you or your way.

I'd rather hypocrites just disappeared from my life.

That said, I will still continue the way I am. Dogs on lead at all times, and be very angry everytime I see or hear of dog injuries. It's the way I am.

Adios and wooof wooof

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Faith in dog owners restored.

I have a new puppy starting in January. The owner contacted me to see if I can fit her in BEFORE she agreed to get it.

Now thats a fantastic dog owner. Plenty of preplanning before deciding.

She already has an older dog which I walk but wow. I love owners like that.

Some cute pics

Nothing really to say except how cute are these fellas?

Saturday 4 October 2014

Email tester.

Just checking this still works... As I havent used it in many a full moon


Monday 29 September 2014

Summertime extra

Here's me thinking it was Autumn. Bought new pants on Saturday. Ones without the air conditioning holes I carefully crafted over the last year.
Blooming sun was splitting the trees and therefore overheating occurred.

Perfect weather for a mini selfie with my newest client.

Saturday 27 September 2014

Aarrrh. Sick as a chip

So much to do. Stupid bad back. Stopping me doing anything. Shit scared in case I make it worse.

No progress on ANY of my projects for weeks. Fooking snow will be here soon and shit all will be done.

No shed.
No chicken coop.
No allotment fence
No digging of said allotment.

AAAAARGGGHHHHHHH

Friday 29 August 2014

Holy poo. What a month or so.

Since last post. Nothing has gone to plan.

Old shed is down. Concrete slabs moved into place for new one.

Old shed frame is to be used for chicken coop. I dismantled loads of pallets to use to use reclaimed wood for their house. However, I just got an allotment which needs fences. So I think most of that wood is going there.

I've been on waiting list for so long for an allotment, I'd almost given up on the idea.

Decided against keeping chickens on allotment itself as I have read too many horrible stories over the years about idiots setting fire to pigeon / chicken houses. Personally to me, my chickens will be pets who lay eggs, but pets nonetheless. It would destroy me to tempt fate and that happen.

So once, shed and coop built in the garden, the work continues on fence. And thats BEFORE I can start digging over the ground ready to plant.

I've loads of seeds bought. I was kindly donated a water butt from a friend. She had too many.

Sooooo. Plenty hard work ahead for me. Hopefully my personal family life will stop creating dramas and let me get on with it.

I think coop will be big enough for 5 or 6 chickens. Undecided on which type/breed. Doubtful they will all be same.

Kids did decide on some names but I have forgotten them. Ooops. Hope they remember.
Already got some strawberry plants too, (white, alpine) again kindly donated by my friend. One Sharon Griffiths. I forsee growing competitions between us each year.

Attached picture of friends chickens while I looked after them. Delicious eggggggggs.

Monday 4 August 2014

My office.

Some days like everyone else, I get myself into why do I bother with work. Work is shite. I get stressed out. Being self employed you don't always have the same income from week to week. Blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.

Then I clear my head thinking this is my office. Even in cold, freezing icy covered hills. It's far better than staring at laboratory walls and machinery. Breathing in fresh air, is far healthier than chemical fumes from experiments. Being alone with dogs is far greater than listening to whinging wanker bosses. Oh yes.. Dogs, walks, my world.

Saturday 26 July 2014

Edinburgh Zoo

Took kids to Edinburgh zoo yesterday .

Great day out. Hilly site. But worth the hike around. My favourites were the penguins, meerkats, and the rhino. I wasn't fussed on the big cats, birds, monkeys or Giant Panda. Weird as I went mainly to see the Pandas.

Couple pics attached.

RAW food does have an obvious drawback.

I'm a good few months into raw feeding. While my cat has embraced it easier than my dog. I'm still plodding along.

However, as my dog sometimes walks off without touching it, I left it down thinking he would go back. In this heat, this is a bad mistake.

For example, I gave him a meaty beef rib bone (I think it was rib) to chew on. I didn't expect him to eat it, more for recreational use.

As he got up to go indoors, greenbottles from nowhere came and started to have their fill. (see picture)

I also had flies hang around the bowls indoors after mealtimes.

This made me look into ways on feeding. No longer food can stay down for ages. Now picked up after 30mins and put back in fridge, and regiven at next meal time (breakfast or supper).

Can't slack on food hygiene with raw food. But the benefits for my cat and dog outweigh the extra bowl cleaning time.

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Lovely Testimonial just arrived.

Our cats are a very special part of the family and their welfare is at the top of the agenda if we have to work late, be away for a weekend or even a fortnight’s holiday. Our cats are quite elderly now and like to be in familiar surroundings with all their home comforts. Finding Susan at Uncle Eric's to care for them at home was a huge relief.

Susan is totally professional and reliable. She carries out all that she needs to do and a great deal more with care and concern, not only for the cats but for us and for our home. Above all, she loves animals as much as we do and we can leave our cats secure in the knowledge that they are in the best possible hands.

I recommend Uncle Eric's without hesitation or reservation – having Susan on our side to help juggle busy working lives and the needs of our cats has been one of the best decisions we have ever made.

Mrs E Fiddaman

Tuesday 22 July 2014

Beautiful Countryside

We are lucky up here in Consett. No matter which dogs we walk, we are normally only a few minutes from beautiful countryside.

Farmland, cycle paths (from old railway lines) surrounding the area in all directions. Armed with my trusty phone, playing podcasts into my ears, I love to take photos of flowers, plants, bugs, mushrooms, mould, dead trees and animals.

I hold no shame in altering these pics for comic effect. I litter my Facebook and Twitter via Instagram with them at every opportunity I can.

I try to get a cringe factor from my pics. And with that said, here is one now.

Monday 21 July 2014

All dogs catered for. Big, small, old, young and poorly too.



Because our unique business model is mainly ONE walker to ONE dog, (we never group walk  or let dogs off lead) we can look after individual dogs needs when they arise.

Such as after an operation (like Lani here above after an eye operation).



As her vision is currently down to one eye and the safety collar also narrows her field of view, she is now quite nervous of narrow areas.

We are easily helping her overcome this by taking things slower and encouraging her verbally combined with altering existing routes with more wider spaces. This would be very problematic under group walking, where attention is spread thinly with many dogs.

Re-welcome to our blog

Hello and a big RE-welcome to our  blog.

Hopefully we will use this to bring you up to date information on our activities, past/present and future. But everything should be pet based, even loosely.


For a recap
Based in Consett, we started back in 2007, under the name Waggs. However a pet boutique opened locally with a similar name, and to save confusion we opted for UNCLE ERIC'S PET CARE instead. We are a family run business and all of us help out when needed. My 4 kids have all helped out for 7 years.

Our Services
Dog walking (always on lead and mainly 1 to 1 walking, giving us the ability to tailor make any walks as and when required)

Pet taxi
(by pre-booked appointment only, after 3pm, unless you require a vet drop off before 9am for a surgical procedure)

Pet visiting
(we come to your house to feed and clean up after your pet in the comfort of their own home. Highly preferred for many cat owners. This includes moving mail from doorway and watering plants if needed.) PLEASE NOTE - WE DO NOT DO THIS FOR DOGS. DOGS ARE SOCIAL ANIMALS AND NEED COMPANY. DOGS WILL FRET, WORRY, BECOME BORED AND DESTROY HOMES IF LEFT ALONE TOO LONG. 

Pet minding (Small CAGED animals stay here looked after by us in our own home. We DO NOT look after dogs or cats)

Contact Us

email - eric@waggs.biz
website - www.waggs.biz
twitter - ImUncleEric
facebook - Uncle Eric's Pet Care
tel no - 01207 580919 (please leave a message AND a contact number if no one answers)
mob no - 07845635810 (please leave a message AND a contact number if no one answers)








Sunday 20 July 2014

Sunday 6 July 2014

Dog and cat food

By I have decided to do something interesting for me and my pets. Pets have gone native. Back to raw.
Its a minefield on good / bad information out there. Everyone has their own opinion on all aspects of pet food. Some are commercial only, some raw only, and some both mixed.
I've read on Facebook pages dedicated to Raw food  people's opinions but little fact.
Many slander the pet food market and their marketing. Calling them evil etc for the sake of a making a profit.
I tend to side with the overall thought process too however, where is the proof that Raw food is best.
Raw feeders "seem" to be followers of common sense. For which I applaud. I, am a lapsed Analytical Chemist, I was trained in factual analysis of everything. So how did I mistakenly feed my pets processed for many years within questioning it?
Pure laziness is all I can think of.
I always thought that every can would be the same regardless of manufacturer or brand. Meat and veg in huge vat, cooked, and tinned. I would compare labels and check like for like of content analysis and buy that way. Then I went down cheapest route. What a wrong way or way for a supposedly educated person.
When I started to wake up to the rubbish in a can or huge sack. I moved to home cooked. I thought I could replicate the tinned stuff but control the ingredients at home. No more added artificial colours, preservatives or flavours. I was aware of raw feeding but never considered it. Somehow in the back of my mind, if cooked meat is better for humans surely killing any bugs must be better for pets.
Again I ask now. Where is the scientific fact to back up anything I did? Appears I never saw any. I can assume pet food manufacturers have it all. I am sure they will have tested all their tinned / canned vs Raw. But no profitable pet food business would dare release info if Raw was clinically proven to be healthier. If they did, surely they would lose customers in theirs droves and be forced potentially out of business.
This is the start of my journey  trying to sort actual fact from heresay.
I have read on plenty of sites and books that dogs should eat 80% meat, 10%, offal and 10% bone. Good information which sounds plausible but I have yet to find out why.
My journey will attempt to bring common sense back to my research. I will also try to find scientific fact (or at least a biological hypothesis) to match people's claims of why processed foods are bad, and raw is good.
So far, I'm studying the enzymatic breakdown processes of foods in the dog / cats digestive system. Finding reasons why cooking foods affects these processes from working properly. Again, what I am reading is common sense. Cooking destroys any enzymes on the actual meat itself which a dog would absorb and use to break it down into amino acids which can be used by the body to rebuild new needed proteins / muscles in their body. If a dog eats less usable enzymes, it has to compensate somehow. It's Pancreas has to work harder supplying enzymes. This itself, an over active Pancreas, can have a problematic affect on a dog / cat.
Arrghh brain overload for now.

Delayed rant

It will come eventually.