The Italian Aristocrats

These two tiny gentlemen are Chester (left) and Piccolo (right), a pair of Italian greyhounds. I met them several weeks ago in Islington, and as none of the photos I took of them were good enough I decided not to publish this entry. Today, I browsed through the photos again and when I saw Piccolo and Chester's little faces staring at me from the screen, I realised that it wasn't the quality of the photos that mattered, but telling their story.

Chester and Piccolo were rescued from a breeder who abused and mistreated Chester so badly that he has only four teeth left. The woman was stripped of her breeder licence and banned from breeding or keeping dogs for 12 years. It is hard to comprehend why anyone would hurt a dog, especially a dog so delicate, defenceless and gentle like an Italian Greyhound.

Despite these traumatic experiences, Chester and Piccolo are both trusting and loving, and are great with children. Chester is a little bit timid, while Piccolo is more daring, especially where food is involved. He jumped up to me the moment he saw the box of treats in my hand. In fact, he seemed to want both his and Chester's share, trying to pinch as many as possible right from underneath Chester's nose. Piccolo's penchant for food may explain his, shall we say, curvier figure.

Italian Greyhound is the smallest of the sighthounds (the group includes greyhounds, whippets, etc), and belongs to the Toy category. The graceful greyhound phisique, paired with a dimunitive size, gives Italian Greyhounds the unusual and exquisite look of a porcelain figurine. They are affectionate, loving and playful, so make wonderful companions.

More about Italian Greyhound: The Italian Greyhound Club

See another greyhound from Islington, called Alfie

Putting your best paw forward!

Crufts' little brother, Scruffs, also known as the Islington Dog Show, took place this Sunday in Islington's Barnard Park.

I went to nose around and see what the Islington mutts were up to on this sunny Sunday afternoon.

Here is Molly, a Jack Russell Terrier and Border Collie cross who loves her ball so much that her owner used it as a reward in the agility course. In fact, she loves her ball more than her food, which is highly unusual for a dog. Molly is a beautiful girl, who came to London all the way from Ireland. She is alert and full of beans like a terrier, yet some of the Collie coyness and delicate charm shines through.



This is Chloe, an English Toy Terrier and an old friend from Thornhill Square. She's grown a little since I met her few months ago, but lost nothing of her charming enthusiasm. Here, she thoroughly ignores my camera, in favour of a stick. Still, makes a great photo!




Chloe's friend Charlie was saying 'hello' to Bentley the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Bentley is the one with the pretty amber- and white-coloured coat, and the unusual green-brown eyes. I must admit that, seconds after this amicable looking photo was taken, the lads indulged in a bit of barking at each other and had to be spoken to by their owners. Naughty!



This is Rebel, a Shar-Pei puppy. Rebel was a star of the show, winning the Tail Wagging competition. His unusual wrinkly looks are typical of a Shar-Pei, an ancient Chinese breed. Rebel is just recovering from a skin disease, to which Shar-Peis are prone. Judging by his happy face and constantly wagging tail, he is doing very well and let's hope he recovers fully soon.




This lovely little lady is Tigger, a young Lurcher bitch. Her unusual looks come from her parents - a Whippet and a Bedlington Terrier. Tigger, true to her whippet pedigree, caused some confusion when she decided to leave the competition ring in the middle of the agility challenge and have a run around the outside of the ring instead! She is a delightful little dog - happy, playful and charming. I was thrilled to meet Tigger, as I previously met her when she was still a puppy and it was a pleasure to see how she's grown up to be a little beauty. Tigger is friends with another lurcher from Islington called Conan.




Maddy, a 7-year-old King Charles Spaniel was very placid, watching the show from a distance, with a dignified calm true to the royal origins of the breed. Her beautifully groomed coat shone in the sun as she observed her less refined canine cousins running around and barking a lot!



It was a great day out for both the mutts and the owners!

Pug and Prejudice

These two gentlement are Oscar and Darcy, who are both Pugs.

Oscar is the fawn coloured one, while Darcy is the moody looking black one in the distance.

I bumped into Oscar and Darcy in Islington last night, on my way home. Apparently Oscar is a bit of ladies' man and loves female company. He was very charming, with his cute wrinkled face nudging my hands asking to stroke him. This, however, did not extend to sitting down for his treats. Whilst he displayed a great fondness for them, he refused to sit and when I repeated the command he looked at me quizzically as if to say 'Sitting, my dear? I don't do sitting.' Neither did Darcy. He was suitably dark and brooding, like his namesake, Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, and he kept his distance. He sniffed a treat I was trying to coax him with, and turned his back on me, showing his perfectly curled tail.

Their owner tells me that Darcy and Oscar are very loving and happy dogs, great with children but very much their own dogs.

Pug is an ancient Chinese toy breed, first mentioned as early as 960 AD. Legend has it that pugs were imperial dogs and could be owned only by the Emperor and his closest circle. Pugs were first introduced to Europe in the 16th century by the Dutch, who were trading with China at the time.

Their royal origins may be the reason why Pugs carry themselves with a great dignity, despite their dimunitive size and cute looks. Pugs are gentle, loving, constant and playful, so make fabulous pets and companions.

More about Pugs: The Pug Dog Club

A Spicy Sausage

I was absolutely thrilled to meet Otto last Friday in London's Borough market. The reason why? Otto is a Dachshund, just like my dog Kevin. The only difference is that whilst Kevin is a smooth coat one, Otto is a wirehaired miniature Dachshund. Dachshunds are also affectionally known as sausage dogs, for obvious reasons.

Like every Dachshund, Otto is very charming and very friendly, with a smiling face and a inquisitive, yet slightly mischievous, attitude. His owner told me that Otto loves coming to the market, as he adores the plethora of smells and sounds.

As I chatted to Otto's owner, it became clear that, although Dachshunds have a unique personality among other dog breeds, they share many traits and characteristics that make them so loveable.

Otto loves cheese, roast chicken and lying in bed, preferably under the duvet, where he likes to get as hot as possible. Also, every time he does something naughty, he blags out of it with 'butter wouldn't melt' innocent looks! Amazingly, so does Kevin, my Dachshund.

Dachshunds are German hunting dogs, originally bred to track, flush and hunt badgers. They come in three main varieties: wirehaired, smooth coat and long-haired. In addition, there are several colour combinations, such as red, black and tan, and salt and pepper, and two sizes - standard and miniature.

Dachshunds are highly intelligent, lively and corageous, despite their size. In fact, due to the way they carry themselves and from the deep bark coming from their barrel-shaped chest, you would be forgiven for thinking that you were dealing with an Alsatian!

They are lovely dogs and have had a big celebrity following through the ages. Napoleon, Queen Victoria, the writer PG Wodehouse, and even Picasso were all Dachshund lovers. Artist David Hockney, a very avid Dachshund fan, dedicated one of his books to his dogs, Stanley and Boodgie. Dachshund are very special dogs and, once you have been bitten by the Dachshund bug, you will remain loyal to the breed for the rest of your life.

More about Dachshunds: Dachshund Club of UK

And a little plug for my dog: Kevin The Dachshund

Pining for the fjords

Meet Homer, a 5-year-old Gordon Setter.

Homer is a very handsome dog, with his silky shiny black-and-tan coat and noble looks. He wasn't too keen to pose, as he was really excited about going to the nearby park for his evening walk, but a couple of treats proved to be just the right kind of encouragement. After a couple of minutes, however, Homer bossily pulled on the lead and indicated that standing around and chatting when a serious hunting dog wanted to have a good old run around the park was not on.

Homer's owner told me that, like all setters, Homer loves long walks, preferably in the woods. As there aren't many woods around London (Hampstead Heath being the closest one gets in London), Homer's owners often go to Norway, where he has an ample opportunity to roam freely among beautiful unspoiled nature. Now, that's what I call going the extra mile for your dog!

The Gordon Setter is an old Scottish breed used to flush for gun and retrieve game. Once popular, Gordons have been recently listed by the Kennel Club as being at risk of extinction. It is a shame as they are wonderful dogs, quick to learn, hard-working and loving towards family and children.

More about Gordon Setter: The British Gordon Setter Club

The Importance of Being Prudence

As I approached the entrance of Islington's Farmer's Market this morning, I was greeted by an unusual sight. A tiny terrier, pretty as a picture, was seated in a baby pushchair, staring intently into the market entrance gate. This little lady is called Prudence and she is a 3-year-old Jack Russell terrier.

It turned out that Prudence, or Prue for short, was waiting outside the market gate for the rest of the family (owner's wife and baby daughter) to return from their weekly shop at the market, where dogs are not allowed. Prue was not to be distracted from her mission and, with a determination and single-mindedness so typical of Jack Russells and terriers in general, thoroughly ignored my camera and scorned my offer of a treat. Nothing would make her look away from the gate where her mistress and the baby would be coming from. It was heartening to see Prue to be so dedicated and loyal to her family. Her owner told me that Prue loves children and gets on fabulously with their baby daughter. You can certainly tell from this photo!

She is also very used to having her photos taken as her owners are both photographers and run an art gallery near Arsenal, where Prue spends most of her days.

In fact, Prue is so popular that she has her own My Space site, where you can see her play football!

Prue is such a lovely example of a Jack Russell, a through and through British breed, known for its fierce loyalty, bags of energy and plucky personality. Perhaps the most famous British Jack Russell of the moment is Chalky, the trusty canine sidekick of the TV Chef, Rick Stein.

To meet another Jack Russell, see Dillon.

More about Jack Russell: Jack Russell Club of Great Britain