Stevie Goes on Trial with Joint Care+ Treats

Stevie turned 10 at the beginning of July and in the last year or so has definitely started showing signs of his age.  In particular his back legs seem to have stiffened up and sometimes he struggles with stairs.  I find this quite distressing and always worry.  The chances are that it’s just wear and tear and the result of his racing days.

I’ve looked into dietary supplements such as chrondroitin and glucosamine – all of which aim to help with joints – so, I was pleased to be invited to participate in the Pedigree Joint Care+ 6 week trial*.  The trial is exactly what the name suggests - a 6 week trial of the Pedigree Joint Care+ treats. They contain chrondroitin and glucosamine which include green lipped mussel and shrimp shells.

Stevie inspects his Joint Care+ trial pack

Our Joint Care+ trial pack arrived yesterday – a rather nifty yellow rucksack which is embroidered with Stevie’s name and which contained a ball launcher, four balls and 6 weeks’ supply of Joint Care+ treats. 

The timing of the trial couldn’t be better.  We’ve been on a mini break for the last few days and all the hounds joined us.  Whilst Mina and Jasper could manage the internal stairs to the room, Stevie struggled and we had to use the external approach to the room (which involved a slope and about 3 steps).  I noticed that he’s slowed down on walks quite a bit too; he still gets excited at the sight of his lead (think a big blue Zebedee like greyhound) but doesn’t always seem to be up to the walk.

I’ll be recording Stevie’s progress over the 6 weeks and reporting back when I can.  And, just in case you wondered if Mina and Jasper were missing out, they’re not as..they each have a 3 week supply of the Joint Care+ treats!

*Disclosure: I have been provided with 6 weeks' supply of Joint Care+ treats by Pedigree  as part of the Joint Care+ Challenge.  I have not been paid for my views and all views expressed are my own.

Sunshine, Showers and Scruffts

Yesterday was a good day for Mina and me.  After all the recent rain, we awoke to blue skies and radiant sunshine, all of which boded well for our visit to the 128th Lincolnshire Show.

The Lincolnshire Show is a major event on the county's calendar.  It started life as an agricultural show and has grown over the years to become a major tourist event and family day out.  However, until last year there was one member of the family that wasn't allowed to attend - those of the four-legged canine variety.  2011 saw a change in the rules and pet dogs were finally allowed to come to the show and not only that, the show introduced the dog ring and regional heats of Scruffts - the Kennel Club's dog show for cross breeds.

So, this year I decided to enter Mina into the Golden Oldies class.  This class is open to dogs over the age of 8 and as Mina is 10 she more than qualifies as a  golden (and gorgeous) oldie.


But, I hear you cry, surely Mina doesn't qualify as a cross breed? Isn't she a Greyhound? Well, even though I call her a Greyhound, technically speaking she's a Lurcher. Mina isn't tattooed in either of her ears and she's never raced. If you look really closely you can see that she doesn't look 100 percent Greyhound. Well, as it happens, I'll soon know what breed(s) Mina is crossed with as I'm waiting for the results of her Wisdom Panel DNA results...but that's for another blog post!

Mina 'reflects' on her win & huge rosette

So, back to Scruffts...the weather remained warm and dry (Mina got through about a litre of water during the show) and we entered the show ring where Mina won the Golden Oldies class! This means that we will be off to Discover Dogs in November to take part in the Scruffts grand final. Wouldn't it be fab if a sighthound won? We'll definitely be keeping our fingers and paws crossed.

As well as winning Scruffts, I had another reason to be proud of Mina - the show was super busy with lots of people and dogs and years ago she would have struggled and reacted to all the dogs. Fast forward a few years, lots of university learning and way more training and understanding of how dogs learn and Mina behaved impeccably. We even took some time just to chill out with Mina enjoying some belly rubs.

Today, was a bit of a washout at the show and I'm very thankful that I chose yesterday to visit and participate in Scruffts. I spent most of today in a marquee serving drinks and for my lunch break, I had to don waterproof trousers & wellies before venturing out. I managed to make it across to the dog ring to watch today's Scruffts heats where I bumped into one of my friends and her dog, Flo. They had entered the Prettiest Bitch category and although they didn't win, in my opinion - "they were robbed!"

Beautiful Flo