Those lovely folk at Pooch & Mutt have created an range of natural meals treats and supplements that both does good and tastes good giving dogs the ingredients they need to boost their mood and behaviour and their physical health.
They create an enhanced range of natural meals treats and supplements that does good and tastes good, to give the UK's dogs the optimal ingredients needed to boost their mood and behaviour paw in paw with their physical health.
They’ve got lots of treats for dogs and cats, and also – very handy – they’ve got dental treat. They’ve got functional ranges – calming, digestion, weight-loss, skin and coat, dental and joint care, and they have products which are suitable for different dietary needs such as hypoallergenic, low fat, grain-free, fish based, probiotics and gluten-free. Not only that, they’ve dry food, wet food, supplements, dental sticks, long-lasting chews, and lots of other goodies!
By the way, did you know that Pooch & Mutt support Woodgreen? They donate bags of their dry food every month to feed the dogs in their care - along with lots of meaty treats to help with training and rewards! And when people adopt a pet from Woodgreen, they receive a rehoming pack with helpful info; Pooch & Mutt will also be supplying a taster bag of dry food with every dog rehoming pack - and also discounts for life on their nutritious range! They've donated a tail wagging £22,946.89 to Woodgreen, through adding a donation to their order, or via their Pooch Rewards!
There are a couple of events taking place this year, which I wanted to tell you about.
Saturday 21st March 2026- there's the 2026 National Spring Show at Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 0SR. It will include in-hand classes for pedigree Shire horses.
Thursday 27th August 2026 - the National Summer Show will be held at the Society's headquarters at Rockingham Castle on the Northamptonshire/Rutland border (LE16 8TH). There are classes for turnouts, harness, agricultural implements, in-hand and ridden exhibitors.
The Shire Horse Society is dedicated "to the protection, promotion and improvement of the Shire Horse". And the National show gives us a great chance to get an insight into the most wonderful of horses, the Shire.
This will be a wonderful chance to see some incredible horses!
Also, if you love huge horses and you're further south, a great place to visit is the Horse Trust in Buckinghamshire (opens early February to the end of November, you need to book). It's home to retired military and police horses (huge) and Riding for the Disabled ponies (tiny, mostly), as well as rescues. They do a really good cream tea, too.
The South of England Showground, Ardingly, also has a number of events during the year, including the London Harness Horse Parade , held on Easter Monday (6th April 2026) with all sorts of horses and ponies from Shires to Shetlands.
We see lots of programmes about dogs, as we all know - The Dog House, the fabulous Pete Wicks: For Dogs' Sake (love it), Dogs Behaving Very Badly, For the Love of Dogs, Hudson and Rex (that's a Canadian detective series featuring an absolutely stunning German Shepherd, brilliant) - and there is at last a programme for cat lovers and cats!!
Well done David Baddiel, who is celebrating cats in a three-part series starting on Friday 16th January at 8pm on Channel 4.
During David Baddiel: Cat Man, he introduces us to some of the nation's best-loved cats, including the famous Number 10 cat, Larry, who just turned 19, Happy Birthday to Larry! Larry came from Battersea when David Cameron was Prime Minister and since then, this gorgeous feline has seen quite a few Prime Ministers come and go, including Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron of course, Liz Truss, and now Keir Starmer. Larry has seen them come and go, that's for sure.
He meets Ricky Gervais, Jonathan Ross and Lou Sanders, all of whom are cat lovers. And he shows how truly remarkable cats really are. There are adventurous cats, a cat who paddleboards, people who walk their cats, a cat who helps patients in NHS hospitals. (You may have heard of an incredible cat who could tell when people in a care home were a couple of hours away from death. This cat was so accurate in going to lie with those about to pass away, that the home was able to call relatives and call them in to tell them the end was near.)
There's a look at how cats became domesticated, and a look at the world of pedigree cats. It's exciting, and I can't wait to see what else the programme includes.
It's high time cats had their own series, so thank you to David Baddiel for suggesting it and to Channel 4 for rising to the occasion and everyone for doing it.
Find out about the amazing Holly's Merry Moggies who featured on the programme here. They say, Disabled, difficult, different – from the wobbly to the wonky, we’re rooting for the undermogs! Visit their website here.
They create yummy, wholesome food for both cats and dogs - they believe our cherished family members deserve to eat proper food full of nourishing ingredients. They're on a mission to give pets a diet full of goodness, whilst treading lightly on the planet at the same time!
For dogs , they've got dry dog food, wet dog food, dental chews, treats, selection boxes and more. They've got diets for dogs with sensitive tummies, and sensitive skin, and special diets that are grain free, hypoallergenic, organic and vegetarian. You can order for puppies, adults and seniors. They've got recepies in beef, chicken, salmon, goose, herring, lamb, pheasant and pork so you've got lots of choice!
Now, Lily's Kitchen have got an offer on for dogs, and an offer on for cats - the last date of this offer is to be confirmed, but here it is:
Spend £75 on wet dog food and get 20% off wet dog food using the code DOGWET20 Woof woof!
Spend £60 on wet cat food and get 20% off wet cat food using the code CATWET20 Miaow!!
As well as dog and cat food, there's all sorts of other goodies for your dogs and cats, such as this one for dogs:
You can buy these Bedtime Biscuits on their own, or a box of 8 of them They have a bit of chamomile in them, known for its soothing properties!
Oy! What about us?!!
And for our feline members of the family, there's wet food, dry food, treats (of course!), selection boxes and you can choose from special diets such as grain free and organic and hypoallergenic. You can also choose for kittens (under 1), adults (1 to 6) and seniors (7 plus). Recipies include beef, chicken, salmon, cod, trout, prawn, turkey, pork, lamb and duck. Miaow!!
2 x Tuna with Salmon Shredded Fillets in Broth (70g) 2 x Chicken Tasty Cuts in Gravy (85g) 2 x Lamb Paté (85g) 2 x Chicken Shredded Fillets in Jelly (70g) Pounce on more info here.
Lily's Kitchen have also got helpful tips on caring for your dog and caring for your cat.
March is on the way fast, and with it, a HUGE event in the calendar for dogs! Over 24,000 dogs are expected over the four days!
The world's biggest dog show, Crufts, kicks off at the NEC, Birmingham, on the 5h March starting the four day festival of all things WOOF! It’s an absolutely amazing event, and if you can’t get there, make sure you tune in to both Channel 4 and More4 - there's lots to see. Here's how to watch Crufts.
The Crufts website says that the group schedule is planned as:
· Thursday 5 March: Working & Pastoral Groups
· Friday 6 March: Terrier & Hound Groups
· Saturday 7 March: Utility & Toy Groups
· Sunday 8 March: Gundog Group and Best in Show Final
Hero Dog of the Year is back- this one always brings lumps to my throat, as the dogs are just so amazing. Heck, ALL the dogs are amazing! Who will win and be Hero Dog of the Year and who will win Best in Show?? Dogs and their owners will be coming from all corners of the country and of the world to compete in the latter!
All dogs great and small will be at the show and it’s a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of dog lovers and dogs and see plenty of action. Discover Dogs is a great way to discover more about over 200 different dog breeds, and if you're thinking of getting a particular breed, this is a great chance to find out more about them. There's also agility, flyball, showing, musical dances, displays, junior handling, and more! Over 5,000 people are volunteering at Crufts this year!
And there are plenty of ways to get involved - for instance, the Royal Kennel Club is inviting every dog owner in Britain to take part in the biggest ever Dog Census (that's in the UK). It will collect data on health, behaviour, lifestyle and wellbeing (that's the dog's, not yours) and it should help guide scientific research, support new initiatives and inform the devleopment of services through the RKC. Find out all about it and take part here.
Hall 8 is being added this year as the brand-new home of the Young Kennel Club (YKC) and also Dog Grooming Championships, too, sponsored by Artero. There's also the introducion of a two-day weekday ticket (for Thursday and Friday) so you can have even more time to enjoy the show!
Visit The Kennel Club's website here. It's got lots of information about dogs and dog ownership, including everything you need to know about getting your first dog.
Please don't forget to keep a good eye out for all the dog charities that are at Crufts. Visit their stands, say hello, and see what you can do to help them and spread the word about the work they are doing. Things are really, really tough for animal charities at the moment and every bit of help we can all give them will make a difference.
Please Note: No dogs, other than those that have been invited by The Kennel Club and Assistance Dogs, are permitted into the show.
If you're looking for an animal experience as a gift for an animal lover, or you want to treat yourself, take a look at gift experience company Into the Blue
They've got a number of animal experiences, with animals such as ferrets, tamarin monkeys, alpacas, meerkats, pigs, sheep, snakes and crocodiles, bees, horses and donkeys.
They have a number of experiences for horse lovers, including a couple near York (Skipwith) - you can have a Traditional Farm & Horse Experience or a Two Wheeler Horse Cart Driving Experience, for instance. They've also got Romantic Horse and Carriage Rides for Two there, or maybe you'd prefer a Horse Drawn Carriage Rides with Afternoon Tea?
There's great news from Into the Blue! They have a 15% off code* for you with the code ITB15FORME on experiences up to £250.00. (The code is site wide, although some are excluded from this offer.) They have some wonderful animal experiences!
How about a Carnivore Encounter in Shropshire? £75.00 Get up and close with 3 formidable carnivores Meet a Red Fox family and feed them, stroke and handle the Snakes, and meet the servals and stroke them too!
There's Sheep Trekking in Somerset from £25.00 Meet and greet the friendly sheep and give them snacks Lead a sheep on a stroll across fields and through woodland
Not bought a calendar for 2026 yet? If you're looking, you could head off to the Calendar Club who have a HUGE range of calendars (covering all sorts of interests and loves). They also do them in different sizes and types, e.g. wall calendars, desk calendars, slim calendars and so on.
They have all sorts of animals, and if you want a dog calendar for 2026, they've got TONS of calendars of different breeds, and also calendars which focus on puppies or kittens or baby animals.
If you prefer wildlife, horses, birds, gardens, well, there are lots of those as well, such as this beautiful Puffins Calendar
Dig your way to take a look at the many Calendar Club's calendars for 2026! They've also got planners and diaries, too!
Of course, as well as buying one "already made" sort of thing, you could produce your own and feature pictures of your dog(s) on it! Printerpix may be just the thing, with options such as their Customised Photo Wall Calendar - here's an example featuring the gorgeous Bruno below...
If you're looking for bird food and everythning for your garden birds and wildlife on a budget, take a look at Garden Wildlife Direct
With everything from fat balls, seed mixes, sunflower hearts, peanuts, bird baths, bird houses, wildlife houses, wildlife feed, half coconuts, feeding stations, next boxes, chicken food, hedgehog houses, you should find lots to choose from to help our feathered friends through the winter or even the next few weeks.
Garden Wildlife Direct have great offers very often, so it's worth keeping an eye on their site to see what they've got. Make your money go further and help wildlife at the same time. Find out all about today's offers here.
Amongst other things, they've got these great High Energy Autumn and Winter Seed Mix, pictured below, just the thing to help your garden birds through the colder brrrrrr months of autumn and winter, as they have protein-rich and oil-rich ingredients. You can buy them in different sizes of bag, too.
These Wild Bird Fat Balls (No Net) have a new, improved recipe - better for your garden birds! It gives them more nutrition and energy, and they are palm oil free!
National Marine Week runs from 26th July to 10th August 2025. (It’s longer than a week, because of the different tidal conditions around the UK.) There’s a LOT happening and you can find out all about what’s on by checking the Wildlife Trust’s website.
The theme for 2025…
In 2025, the Wildlife Trusts will be showcasing the 'Secrets of our Seabeds'. There are so many beautiful worlds under the water and this is a good chance to see something of them – and discover who or what lives in and under the sea! Seabeds store a huge amount of carbon – and this is a chance to spread the word about them!
What’s on?
Events are appearing already on the Wildlife Trusts’ website There are beach cleans, night time safaris, dolphin watches, marine wildlife surveys, dolphin watches, nurdle hunts, rockpool rambles and more! Don’t worry if you can’t get to the sea – there’s lots of coverage on social media too!
Find your local Wildlife Trust
There are 46 Trusts around the UK from Alderney in the Channel Islands to Scotland, Cornwall to Norfolk, and North West Wales to Kent. You don’t have to live in an area to be a member of a particular Wildlife Trust, by the way, nor do you need to live by the sea to support National Marine Week. Find your local Wildlife Trust here and see what they are up to. The main Wildlife Trust website also has ways you can help.
12 ways to get involved in National Marine Week
In 2025, the Wildlife Trusts will be showcasing the 'Secrets of our Seabeds'. There are so many beautiful worlds under the water so this is a wonderful opportunity to find out all about them.
Even if you don’t live on the coast, you can connect to the sea by finding out more about the effect pollution is having on them and the wildlife there. Reduce your plastic use and pick up litter too, so that less plastic and litter heads downstream to the sea - left on the ground, it could get picked up by a passing bird and dropped later into a river and then out to sea.
NEWS: The Devon Wildlife Trust has a Save Devon's Seas Appeal, aiming to raise £18,000. Donations will power essential work, such as retoring damaged habitats, protecting threatened species, and building strong evidence to push for real policy change. It will also help the Trust to educate and inspire people of all ages to act for our seas. Find out more and please donate here.
1. Understand what the problems are
Today, the Wildlife Trusts say that some of the problems our marine life face include a lack of planning, because fishing, oil rigs and wind farms harm seabed habitats and consequently the wildlife there. As on land, it’s vital to make space for wildlife. Clear rules for industries are important so that everyone knows where they stand.
Of course, there’s terrible pollution from things such as sewage, farming chemicals, plastic litter. Fishing nets have been abandoned – we’ve all seen pictures of sea life and other animals caught in netting, or with plastic caught around their necks, or their heads in bottles, as they frantically try to escape.
It’s important to protect areas which have a big potential to capture carbon and store carbon, and also to make sure there are no destructive and damaging activities in areas which are already protected.
One of the big problems is the disconnect people have with nature now. It’s important for humans to understand the impact their actions have on the planet and why change is a must.
2. Be a political animal…
Please get political and tell people and politicians that nature matters!
We all need to shout loudly for nature! Nature has no voice, so it’s up to all of us to speak up. Polar Bears International (who have been researching sea ice and polar bears for decades) have help here on how to talk to family, friends and others about climate change, and how you can get political.
Bottom trawling is still taking place in many Marine Protected Areas and the Wildlife Trusts want it to stop, as it wrecks havoc on seabeds. So they are calling for it to be banned in seabed Marine Protected Areas. And that's where you and I come in. Please take action and give this ban your support - there's a petition you can sign just here. I’ve signed – please join me and sign too! Let’s give this campaign some support!
3.Be a citizen scientist!
Record your shoreline sightings and help marine and wildlife charities build up a picture of our shorelines and seas.
Find out about the Wildlife Trust’s Shoresearch, a national survey of the intertidal shore where sea meets land. This is a great way to explore the coast and discover all about the wildlife there – and contribute to the understanding of this key habitat.
The Shark Trust has a number of projects, such as the Basking Shark project, the Great Eggcase Hunt project, the Great Shark Snapshot (19th to 27th July 2025, anywhere in the world!) and the Angling Project.
The Marine Conservation Society has a number of projects, too such as Seasearch for divers, the Big Seaweed Search, and the Big Microplastic Survey.
The Sea Watch Foundation has a whale and dolphin watch for citizen scientists from 26th July to 3rd August 2025.
Discover all about sharks around the UK coastline!
4. Do a beach clean
The Marine Conservation Society has the Great British Beach Clean from 19th to 28th September 2025. Why not get your employer involved in a Team Beach Clean as an away day? There are lots of beach cleans year round - it's a great way to meet up with other people who want to make a positive difference and who are doing something to make an impact.
5. In October: Get nurdle hunting!
Take part in the Great Global Nurdle Hunt in October. Nurdles are small plastic pellets which are melted down to make nearly all plastic products and the problem is that thousands of tonnes of them spill straight into the environment worldwide. Visit the website to find out and how you can go hunting for nurdles!
6 Support seagrass projects
In May 2025, seagrass made its appearance at the Chelsea Flower Show, thanks to Seawilding (who are based in Scotland). Seagrass play a vital role in keeping oceans healthy and giving thousands of marine species a home, such as the seahorse, the manatee and the sea turtle. Project Seagrass, based in Wales, have a mission: A world in which seagrass meadows are thriving, abundant and well managed for people and planet. And there are a number of projects around the UK to help seagrass. The Marine Conservation Society has more information about seagrass itself and why it matters.
Go to the sea if it's close to you, or a river or canal; observe and connect to the natural world there and use your senses to really take in the natural world. If you are unable to leave home, take in videos from You Tube to explore the natural world with, from kayaking in Alderney, to meeting the dolphins of Wales. Rockpool species, sharks, turtles, seals – just drink in the marine videos.
Here's a question for you! How do you say "I love you" in puffin? Find out here!
The Wildlife Trusts’ website enable you to put the name of a species into a search box and you can learn all about it! This is a great opportunity to find out all about habitats – marine habitats, seagrass, biogenic reefs, deep-water corals, mud, sand and graves, kept beds and forests and rocky reefs. Float away to them here.
9. Support campaigns to improve the health of our oceans
The Marine Conservation Society has a number of different campaigns, such as banning disposable vapes and wet wipes. And they have campaigns to stop ocean threads and stop pollution. But there are also campaigns against balloon releases – who knows where they will end up? Find out about their campaigns here.
Take a look at Surfers Against Sewage, too. Water quality, plastic pollution, ocean recovery and the ocean and climate emergency are all challenges they are tackling. And find out about their Million Mile Clean – they want 100,000 people to take a 10 mile stretch and clean it up on the coast, canals, bridle paths, towns and cities! And whether you're in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, they are asking us all to email our political representatives and demand action to clean up our waterways and hold polluters to account. Find out more here.
10. Use less plastic
The Wildlife Trusts have lots of help to enable you to use less plastic in all sorts of ways, from the bathroom, to the kitchen and being out and about, and they also have info about those sneaky plastics you may not have thought of! Find out more
Don't forget that July is Plastic Free Month - a chance for you to reduce the amount of plastic in your life, so it's a good way to do something towards both National Marine Week and Plastic Free Month at the same time.
11. Remember our Rivers!
Take a look at the I’s Save Britain’s Rivers campaign, challenging ALL parties to commit to sign up to a blueprint that will save our rivers. The article has a number of ways in which you can help our rivers.
The Canal and Rivers Trust also has ways in which you can help care for our canal and rivers network to make it easy to #VolunteerByWater
12. Support wildlife and marine charities
You could become a member of a marine charity such as a Wildlife Trust – it’s a great way to find out about the campaigns they are running, the threats marine and wildlife and our seas face and ways the Trusts are tackling those threats. You could also donate to a campaign or to a Trust.
You could also take a look at Seacology, whose mission is "to protect threatened island ecosystems all over the world. We do that by working directly with communities, helping them to preserve their cultures and improve their lives while saving precious island habitats." Visit their website here.
It’s easy to look at a website and then shut it off as you go off to do something else. Nature really needs our help now, and she needs you and me – all of us – to take actions to help the natural world. Please take an action and tell someone what you’ve done and ask them to do something as well. Ask them to join in!
Well, it’s that time of year again for everyone who wants to get involved in a nature project – today (18th July) sees the launch of the 2025 Big Butterfly Count! (It finishes on 10th August 2025.)
It’s the biggest survey of butterflies in the world.
For butterflies matter. They are pollinators and components of the food chain, but their numbers have really dropped since the 1970s. This decline is an early warning for other losses of wildlife because butterflies react really quickly to changes in their environment. If their numbers drop, we are in trouble.
So please help Butterfly Conservation help butterflies and nature and us, and take part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025!
Help change the fortunes of butterflies!
The results of the Big Butterfly Count 2024 led the charity Butterfly Conservation to declare a butterfly emergency. The charity need your help more than ever before, so please take part in this UK wide survey and help assess the health of our environment - just by counting butterflies.
Taking part is a really easy and helpful thing to do. And it only takes 15 minutes of your time!
How to take part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025
Download the butterfly ID chart or free app for iOS and Android to identify and record the butterflies you see!
Choose a place to watch butterflies and moths for 15 minutes between 18th July and 10th August.
And you can do more than that! You can do something for butterflies and mothsin your garden, on your balcony or patio - and Butterfly Conservation want to create 100,000 wild spaces by 2026 to help improve things for butterflies and moths. It doesn't take a lot to do: you can create your own wild space and add it to Butterfly Conservation's map! Please go to the website here and create your own wild space!
