A few days ago ‘Pop it in Pete’ the postman delivered a sample of a new dog food for us to review, called Symply.

Symply dog food comes in a number of bag sizes

Badged as ‘a complete balanced food for adult dogs’ the food is free from nasty artificial colours or flavourings.

We had been sent a bag of Light/ Senior.

This contained  Glucosamine Sulphate to assist the creation of new cartilage ( the stuff between our joints) and Chondroitin Sulphate to reduce enzymes which damages the cartilage.

It also contains MSM to help reduce joint inflammation and is known for its pain reducing properties.

Salmon oil is also included which contains omega-3 to help reduce tenderness in joints.

Although I am the senior dog, I am only allowed an occasional taster because my dodgy kidneys cannot process Glucosamine.  However, as Charlie is a little tubby, I guess this brings the LIGHT part into play.

This is such a shame because I have achy joints and a gentle tummy – so this food should have been ideal for me.

As with all dried food mum made sure that we had a big bowl of water  available before we started on the kibble.

Sniffs

The first thing we noticed as mum cut open the thick paper bag was the lack of a smell.

Yes it did have a little odour but unlike many foods this has to be the most un-sniffy of all we tried so far.

This has advantages and disadvantages depending on your point of view.

Charlie inspects the packaging

Mum said the house stays fresher and less dog like, so she is happy. However, our feelings are a little more confused.

We love smells, so a food with minimal sniff does not really entice, but it does allow us to put our nose into the bowl without being overpowered.

Made in Britain

According to their website Symply are proud to use meat and fish from British sources.

The meadow-raised lamb comes from the UK while the salmon is sourced from the Highlands of Scotland.

“None of the turkeys in our foods are caged or battery farmed,” they add.

Taste

We have to admit that it has taken a few days to get used to the flavour.

Used as a mixer or as a treat we have no problem with the Symply dog food, but on its own at the moment it is not our first choice.  However, as with all new foods, we have to be introduced to it slowly, so we will wait and see because it is packed with things that are good for us.

Here are a few of them:

• Free of artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives.
• Formulated with wholesome ingredients
• Natural antioxidants rich in vitamins to enhance the immune system.
• High meat content.
• Highly digestible ingredients increases our ability to absorb goodness from the food.
• High in omega 6 & 3 helps maintain a healthy skin and a shiny coat.
• Contains zinc which helps with the repair of skin.
• Symply products are preserved with mixed tocopherols, a blend of vitamin E which gives the food its long shelf life.

Maybe there are just too many other things around after Christmas, I am not sure.  Even Charlie, who will eat almost anything seems a little unsure.

Small round flat discs of Symply dog food

Mum tried soaking some in water and adding a bit of gravy from the Sunday roast, and this seemed to do the trick as I then loved them.

Texture

Shaped like a large tap washer the Symply food has a strange hole in the middle – just like one of those mints mum buys from the shops.

Possibly because of this hole it was easier to break down the disc once it was in our mouths as it seemed to crumble quite easily.

Occasionally, one of them got hooked around my tooth, as i am a bit of a gummy dog, and this led to Charlie helping me out with his licker and paw to free it.

Result

In conclusion we will give this Symply food a 6/10. However, wish to reserve a final mark for later in the year, when it could be the ideal summer food as it is a bit lighter and easily digested.

 Thank you

Our review product came from the family run company called Pets Corner.

They have been in operation since 1968 and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, if your human keeps the receipt that is.

A big thank you to them.

Buster and Charlie

Ticks are nasty little critters and latest research says they can make us dogs and our humans very sick.  So please take care when out walking.

Latest research from the University of Bristol shows that ticks infected with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease may be considerably more prevalent in

Ticks at various stages

the UK than expected.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Transmitted by ticks, this is a debilitating chronic infection which affects a number of animals including humans and dogs.

Ticks are parasites which live on animals such as deer and sheep, they feed by sucking blood from their host and are often transferred from host to host in long grass and bracken rich areas.

Initially ticks are no bigger than a poppy seed and can be quite difficult to see, once they have sucked blood from their host, they can enlarge to become about the size of a pea. Ticks will gladly attach themselves to dogs and humans and whilst feeding, can transfer the Lyme Disease bacterium to the blood stream.

Clinical signs in humans include a characteristic circular red rash that spreads from the site of the tick bite, followed by a flu-like condition.  In dogs, the symptoms can be much more vague and difficult to diagnose.  If untreated, the disease progresses to neurological problems and arthritis; chronic forms of the disease can last for many years.

While only occasionally affecting humans, reported cases in the UK are thought to have increased more than fourfold since the beginning of the century – from 0.38 per 100,000 in 2000 to 1.79 per 100,000 in 2009.  In 2010 there were 953 reported cases in England and Wales but the level of under-reporting is likely to be considerable.

To obtain a clearer picture of the prevalence of infected ticks, Faith Smith of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences and colleagues recruited vets across England, Scotland and Wales to examine dogs selected at random as they visited veterinary practices.  Since pet dogs largely share the same environment and visit the same outdoor areas as their owners, exposure to infected ticks in dogs is likely to provide an index for corresponding risks to humans.

Of 3,534 dogs inspected between March and October 2009, 14.9 per cent had ticks.  Of the samples that could be tested, 17 were positive for the Borrelia bacteria.  Hence, 2.3 per cent of ticks were infected.  Therefore, the prevalence of infected ticks on dogs is 0.5 per cent, or 481 infected ticks per 100,000 dogs.  This suggests that the prevalence of Borrelia in the UK tick population is considerably higher than previously thought.

Avoiding ticks
Ticks will generally be found in long grass and bracken rich areas.  Keep to footpaths and ensure legs are covered when walking through long grass.

Further information
Bristol University Full article
More about Ticks – British Association of Shooting and Conservation

Spring was certainly in our paws as we headed to the park yesterday for a really big walk alongside the River Eden in Carlisle.

We had heard of some new musical instruments that had appeared in Bitts Park and were eager to try them out,  but first we had to  get there.

The daffodil bulbs are growing quickly

Recent rain, and there has been a lot of it, has made many cross country paths soggy and not really good to walk on. So we had to keep to the dryish paths avoiding any puddles alongside the river.

This was not an easy challenge at times, especially around the back of the Sheepmount athletics and football pitches.

Arriving in Bitts Park we noticed that the green shoots of the daffodils were a good leg length high.

Charlie had good fun running over the leaves as they tickled his tummy. Mum wondered if they were not a few weeks early and may get nipped by any overnight frosts.

Quick, whilst mum is not looking

The weather is such a contrast to that we reported on in January 2011 when we visited Linstock near Carlisle and the ice was just melting after many weeks of cold weather.

A red bracelet

The musical instruments we were in search of have been installed near to the children’s play area behind Carlisle Castle.

To get to them we had to quickly pass the monster infested swamp and cross the troll bridge. Well that was the story mum told us as we approached the Chinese garden and the nature pond.

Charlie sees if he can make music with his nose

Floating on the pond was a large round red ring. Mum said it was a wrist bracelet left behind by one of the trolls that lived under the nearby bridge.

Sadly it was just out of reach for us to check her story, so we quickly moved away from the area just in case one of the wart infested, wrinkly blue trolls appeared.

Musical instruments

Running over the bridge and into the gardens we soon found our first musical instruments.

Built with metal frames and bolted to some very big rocks we had a lot of fun woofing at the sounds they made.

Charlie soon worked out that if mum tapped a tube or wooden block with the provided hammer, he heard a noise. He even tried to tap one of the metal tubes with his paw to see if he could make a sound.

Sadly we were running out of time and the clouds were once more gathering around us as we made our way, this time on the pavement back home.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

Ahead of the 2012 Superbowl Volkswagen have released a taster called ‘The Bark Side’ on YouTube.

The ad features a around a dozen dogs barking the “Imperial March’ from the George Lucas film Star Wars.

The video has already had over 7m views since it was posted on 18 January.

This ad follows a theme set in 2011 when the car company used a frustrated boy walking around the house seeing if he had the force.  This has had over 49m plays

The Superbowl airs on Feb. 5.

With the ground frozen after cold overnight temperatures, it was decided that we could return to Rickerby Park in Carlisle and not get too muddy.  This was good news as we were keen to investigate the new stone circle.

The willow is growing up really tall on the riverbank

The park makes up part of the Carlisle flood plain and as such can be very soft under our paws.  For this reason we avoid the area during much of the winter.

It would appear that many other people thought just like us yesterday, as the park was very busy.

The late morning sunshine combined with the near cloudless sky, to produce some very long shadows. As we walked along we often saw our shadows creep out in front of us making us jump.

Just beyond the metal bridge to the golf club, the Willow trees planted into the crumbling River Eden riverbank are growing fast.  Some must stand 4m or so tall.

We saw these as little saplings back in June 2009 and reported on them in this post

The thin wooden wands spear into the sky, almost invisible against the glare from the bright sunshine.

Sand Martins

Concerns are being raised about the local sand martin colonies who reportedly nest within the riverbanks in this area.

The Friends of Rickerby Park, who oversee the park, are to see if the sand martins are being affected by the new trees and what can be done to limit the impact of the willow tree growth.

The new stone circle in Carlisle

According to the RSPB these small birds have Amber Status, indicating that their numbers are in decline or that the species is of concern to conservation organisations.

Eden river rock

With Charlie constantly pulling to our right, as he wanted a paddle in the River Eden, it was a relief when we finally we arrived at the Linstock end of the park and the new stone circle.

Set about 40m from the river bank and not far from the much improved car park at this end of the site the six upright stones make a bold, hard statement in contrast to the soft living trees nearby.

Looking at the muddy ring around the flattened stone at the centre of the circle, it would appear that the site is well visited.

Each rock can be found in the catchment area of the River Eden.

Kirkstone Slate, Penrith Red Sandstone, Millstone Grit, two different types of Shap Granite and two pieces of Shap Fell Limestone make up the artwork.

Each of the pieces of stone has a history of its geology engraved into it.

The diameter of the circle is about 7m.

The idea behind the stone information henge came from a study done in 2004 by the Eden Rivers Trust. They found that more needed to be done to explain the local heritage and environment.

Photographs taken and sniffs investigated we continued on our walk around the park and back towards the car.  You can see some of out images in the gallery below.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie.

Carlisle Stone circle Gallery – click a picture for a larger image

We start 2012 with our 201st blog post and a sighting of our first snowdrops of the season.

Mum and dad stayed out late last night, to celebrate the new year,  so today we made them pay with our demands for a long walk and no breakfast for them until they came back.

Snowdrops - first of the year

With dark clouds all around and reasonable warm temperatures of 10 deg C, a walk in the big world was the least they could do, after leaving us to fend off the firework monsters last night.

We headed for Dalston, to the west of Carlisle, where we know we can have a good walk without getting too muddy and dirty.

Many of the soil and grass paths in the county are just soaked through and have plenty of standing puddles of water. This sort of rules them out, unless we are allowed to get really mucky.

Snowdrops flower 

A sure sign of the warm winter this year is the arrival of the snowdrops.  These are the first we have seen for this season and brought a smile to the two leggers faces.

Huddled behind a wall at the side of Dalston Church quite a few clumps of the small white flowers were to be found.

Path repaired with new wall and fence

Our walk took us through the churchyard, were we were on our best behaviours, and onto the path which leads behind Caldew School and the Nestle milk factory.

This path is well used and was especially busy today with a lot of cyclists, walkers, children and friendly pooches.

Paths repaired

Way back in November 2010 we mentioned that some of the paths on this walk had started to crumble and were at risk of collapse.

Following our walk today we are please to report that it would appear that a lot of money has been spent to underpin and repair one stretch.

A slight detour, maybe?

Looking over towards the river, work seems to have been done to install cages full of rocks into the river bank to prevent further damage. A new fence and tarmac path have then been installed on top.

Well done to all of those involved as the finished path looks really good and in character with the area.

Machines take a detour

Further on towards Carlisle we spot a new, very muddy path curving off to our right. This gives a bit of an insight possibly into the work needed to repair the path earlier.

The small, narrow path appears to be too narrow for any machinery to cross so they have been forced to take a detour across a small stream and across the very soggy grassland.

We so wanted to investigate, but mum stopped us before we could get really dirty.

Until next time. Have a safe, happy 2012.

Buster and Charlie

Help is at hand to ensure we get our walks – even when the weather is bad – thanks to an iPhone and Android App by Boondoggle.

Last year we all had a particularly severe winter with sleet, snow and ice causeing a lot chaos. As a result many of us missed our morning walks.

This mobile application works like a normal alarm clock, but wakes your human earlier than usual, if it has unexpectedly snowed or frozen overnight.

So your human will have enough time in the morning to take you for a walk before digging the snow from the drive, de-icing the car and leaving for work  - on time.

During the night, the Winter Wake Up app collects weather information for where you are.

Based on this, the app decides whether it’s necessary to wake your human up earlier. How much earlier is something they decide before going to bed for the night.

Too much snow or ice!

If the situation seems really hopeless, there’s another solution.

Your human can tell the alarm clock not to wake anyone up. This way you all get to sleep in and your two legger gets to work on another day to make up the lost work hours.

You can download the Winter Alarm app for iOS from the App Store and for Android via Android Market.

Let us first start with wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and hope they can get their lickers on some fantastic Christmas food.

Happy Christmas - now what should I write?

What a change in a year with the weather.  Last year you may remember we were in the grip of that nasty cold spell.  Today it is 10deg C outside, damp and windy.

I don’t think we will be going far for our walk today.

Christmas gifts

Our day started with a bit of a sleep in, all cozy and warm snuggled up in our beds.

Once the fire was lit in the lounge we moved from our pits and lay with heat on our backs until our prezzies arrived.

Chews, chews and a few more chews were unwrapped and our sniffers soon became tuned into the familiar sniffs.

Our favourite chew so far is a turkey flavoured one about 2cm wide.  They come in packs of two – so we can get one each.

National sprout day

Today is also national sprout day. The day when thousands of the little green vegetables come out from their hiding places in freezers, fridges and drawers to be celebrated on the dinner table.

With a bit of luck we should be able to help mark the day with a few, well chosen and properly peeled, sprouts in our bowls.

Just a quick update today as the big turkey bird has just appeared on the sniffy vision screen on channel 180. We take it in shifts to stand guard ensuring it does not move for about four hours or so.

Then we can have some of it with potato, carrots and all the trimmings including a bit of gravy.

Big licks, and Happy Christmas

Buster and Charlie

Charlie was feeling a little under the weather earlier this week, after he got the night time munchies and set to eating a whole Brussel sprout stalk.

Sprouts are arranged around a central stem

As you know we both love sprouts, to the point where we can not get enough of them.

This craving is costing our mum a small fortune, so earlier this year mum thought she would grow some in the garden.

Around 50 sprout plants and 30 broccoli plants were carefully grown from seeds, planted out and watched over to ensure the nasty slug monsters or the fluffy caterpillars did not get to them before us.

The small green firm vegetables are just the right size for us to have as a treat one at a time and we are quite partial to the tender tips of purple broccoli.

So you can imagine our joy when mum brought home the first of this years crop.

Night time munchies

Three long stalks arrived in a carrier bag straight from the allotment and as it was tea time they were put aside whilst mum got on with the cooking.

Sprout stalk leaves litter the kitchen floor

Nothing much happened then until morning when Dad, upon entering the kitchen to make a cup of tea, let out the cry, “Oh Charlie”.

Standing at the top of the stairs Charlie looked around the corner towards Dad who was by now standing at the bottom.

All he could do was to wag his tail and lick his lips. He knew that dad would not scold him if he smiled.

Upset tummy

Small green leaves and stalks littered the kitchen floor and all the evidence pointed to Charlie.

A full half metre length of sprout stalk, sprouts and some of the broccoli had been munched in a midnight feast and Charlie was beginning to get the famous ‘morning after the night before’ tummy.

Suffice it to say he did not really move much all day and had one of those ‘feel sorry for me’ kind of faces.

I think he has discovered why he should not help himself to goodies without mum saying so.

Lesson learnt, –  until the next time

Big licks, and not many sleeps now ’til Christmas

Buster and Charlie

When we started this blog, almost 200 posts ago, it was always our intention to try to get more video onto the site and it would seem that technology has now caught up with our ambitions.

The GoPro Hero 2 is a very small camera about the size of a couple of matchboxes, but it does pack quite a punch.

Although the GoPro series of cameras have been around for quite a while the latest version, the Hero2, is the best of the range and features fantastic HD quality video and time-lapse capability.

The GoPro Hero2 camera is about the thickness of a 2p coin is wide

Dad has been after one of these small cameras for quite a while but was awaiting the new model, and the cash, to get hold of one. He has finally succeeded this week and, with the early morning sunshine still low in the sky we took it out for a test.

GoPro camera

The video at the bottom of this page is our first trial and we are very impressed with the results.

As you can see from the image to the left the basic camera is very small – being only a single UK 2p coin wide and just over 2 coins long.

Weighing 100g it is also very light – so very easy for us to carry.

A waterproof case is added to the raw camera bringing the total weight to almost 200g.

The clear plastic enclosure totally surrounds the basic camera module and provides a bracket to attach an assortment of clamps and mounting accessories.

Buster finds an interesting sniff in the damp grass

Clear simple operation

Two buttons on the camera allow the humans to set up the camera and swap between using the camera as a stills camera, a time-lapse unit or a video system.

Using the settings the camera can be set to record in assorted resolutions. On full HD a single file is about 3.5GB for every half hour recorded.

Sockets on the side of the unit give access to an HDMI output, USB, external mic input and slot for an SDHC card.

Over the next few weeks we will try out different mounting options and how best to use the Hero2 camera.

Animal camera

Being compact and very light the camera is ideal for us to use and capture our walks.

Maybe you use a GoPro to record your walks, let us know via the comments area below…

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

GoPro HERO2 test video