The Trebah 'Dog' Trail

From the 2nd January to 7th February at Trebah Gardens there is a specially created trail for four-legged friends and their owners. The trail will take the dogs around a specific route in the garden that will be of special interest to both owner and pet. It will not only include plants that have certain scents that dogs will love, but plants that have colour and form, providing a winter visual treat for their owners. Owners will be asked to follow the trail, they will need to identify certain breeds of dog and at the end of the trail, the dog will receive a special 'doggie treat' as a reward for all its hard work!!

Throwing a stick could kill your dog!

Yeah right, you've no doubt seen this story in the press, I'm sure it happens but there is some nonsense out there is health and safety world and this just adds to the catalogue of "good advice" we get from "experts", its a wonder we go out at all! Our old dog Dexter was a great collector of sticks , here's a picture of one he was was particularly proud of.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

Or AONB for short, there's a lot of them, no less than 12 in Cornwall and 3 on the doorstep of Helsbury Park. Bodmin Moor is one of the biggest, the Camel Estuary one of the most spectacular and the North Coast is an absolute treaure. For more information check out the Cornwall AONB web site which is packed with further information and news.

Helsbury Park Dog Photo Competition 2008/09 Entry 17

Jayne Lees sent these superb shots of their dogs, Alfie and Linus, enjoying themselves at Helsbury. Jayne said:"We had a fantastic time, the weather was good, the cottage was amazing and Cornwall is a great place to come on holiday. We had our first holiday with our two rescue greyhounds Alfie and Linus and they had a ball as you can see from the photo's. (Alfie is the handsome black boy and Linus is our blue brindle boy.)"

Helsbury Park Dog Photo Competition 2008/09 Entry 16

Niki Boho sent us this lovely message and this great shot of Zorro the dog. "Helsbury Park has everything you could wish for, so why leave?" Jake, Niki's son, said "I never want to go anywhere else ever again!" Niki added: "We're looking forward to seeing the pool as if the standards are equal to the barn it will be impressive!"

Helsbury Park Dog Photo Competition 2008/09 Entry 15

Pauline Droy sent thse cracking shots of Finn and George, taking a rest after a hard day enjoying themselves.

Helsbury Park Dog Photo Competition 2008/09 Entry 14

Kirsty Hillen-Clarke sent us these lovely shots of Star, her doberman, who had a very busy time on holiday here leaving him utterley 'Helsbury'd'.

Helsbury Park Dog Photo Competition 2008/09 Entry 13

This lovely pack of dogs had a wonderful time earlier in the year, Anne Chambers bought Finn, George and Mia down to show them a bit of North Cornwall and they loved it.

New collar tag helps dog owners meet new friends

It's a well-known fact that dogs can be conversation starters that help break the ice with people their owners meet. Taking the notion a step further, a new collar tag from Boston-based SNIF Labs lets pet owners forge new connections with fellow dog-walkers, both online and off.

Available in a range of colours and patterns, the SNIF Tag is a small RFID device that attaches to a dog's collar and records his or her daily movements and social encounters. On the social side, each SNIF Tag emits a unique signal that is sensed by the SNIF Tags worn by other dogs. When Fido meets such tag-bearing playmates during a jaunt to the park, his collar stores that information and later uploads it automatically into the accompanying base station, which stays plugged into the owner's PC at home.

The dog's owner can then log in to view the profiles of the owners of those other dogs and decide if they want to connect online as well. In addition to monitoring social interactions, the SNIF Tag also uses an accelerometer and motion-analysis software to record a pet's activity. Owners can monitor the dog's movements in real time while he's home but they're at work, for example; alternatively, when Fido is out with the walker, information on his activities will be automatically uploaded when he returns. Activity levels can be reviewed by the hour, day or month, and owners can compare them with those of the other SNIF Tag-wearing dogs in the neighbourhood.

As ever the Americans are one step ahead and we'll probably pick up on this next year but it could be big and you saw it here first!