The Cornish Way to an Idylic Dog Walk

Travelling with your dog? Picking up and being responsible? Full marks BUT... seriously why are you parading poop around like a trophy! Not enough bins I hear you cry, well sod’s law states that there is never a bin when you need it, which is why the clever owners are investing in The Dicky Bag. The Dicky Bag is an award winning stylish neoprene bag that’s lightweight, airtight, washable and leak proof which can be attached to you or your dog and stores those nasty knotted plastic bags until you find a suitable bin. British invention, Patented design & Hand Made in Cornwall, The Dicky Bag is robust (original prototypes still going after 5 years). No more embarrassing moments, nasty niffs or disgusted looks; with The Dicky Bag poop bags are out of sight and out of mind. Dicky Bag, the civilised way to carry dog poop!

Stunning walk at Golitha...

We were working out that it has been 10 years since we were last at Golitha Falls on Bodmin Moor, we were there on Saturday and it was really magical. It is a short drive from Helsbury across the A30 over at Jamaica Inn. It is a wooded valley with a lovely footpath and a series of falls on the upper reaches of the River Fowey. Dogs are allowed off the leads and there were plenty enjoying the water when we were there. Afterwards we made the short trip around to Siblyback Reservoir where there is a lovely 2 mile walk and a cafe. Other attractions in the area include St Neot, the Minions and the Cheesewring. All in all a great day out.

iWalk North Cornwall

Check out this great web site for details of walks in the North Cornwall area. You can view the walks by type (ie is there a pub en route) or by area (ie Camelford). There is an app version and qr codes to download maps and routes. Very professional and a useful resource if your are coming to stay.

http://www.iwalknorthcornwall.co.uk/

Your chance to vote for the Best Dog Walk in the West

The second annual competition to find the best dog walk along the South West Coast Path has been launched this week backed by the Kennel Club’s access advisor Stephen Jenkinson, an expert on where dog owners can go and what they can do in the countryside.

Dog owners are invited to nominate their favourite walk from all 630 miles of stunning Coast Path, stretching from Minehead in Somerset to Poole in Dorset.

It could be a two-mile stroll with your four-legged friend through a fishing village in Devon, a longer trek across open fields in Cornwall, or a short scamper across a dog-friendly expanse of sandy beach in Dorset – one thing’s for sure, you won’t be short of options.

To see some of the walks highlighted as particularly dog friendly, view the selection on this map and select the name of your favourite from the drop down menu on the sign-up form for your chance to WIN!

The deadline for the competition is February 28.

You can vote by clicking here.

Visitors Book 013

Nice feedback from Jan Yates, who stayed with last week: "Just a quick note now we are back home to say a big thank you for our wonderful week in Cornwall. Helsbury Park was even better than our high expectations combining both People & Dog friendly! Great facilities and super quality all round. We had a lovely week and both us and the dogs walked for miles. We hope to come back next year for another week."

Helsbury Dog Walk Map

We've been meaning to do this one for a while, it's a map of the key tracks which you can use for walking your dog here at Helsbury. In truth you can take your dog anywhere on site but these are the areas we tend to maintain as tracks throughout the year. It shows which areas are gated and roughly the best areas to walk. The map represents about 3 miles of tracks which are available here on site, as a guide to get down to river and back would take 20-30 minutes, if you take a full loop of the park then you'd be looking at 45-60 minutes of walking. Or you can do what I do which is to try and go a different way each day, there's at least 6 variants so ideal for a week's stay!

You can download it from here, it's a pdf, Helsbury Dog Walk Map

Some lovely shots...

Mike Hawkes also sent these stunning shots he took on site here at Helsbury a few weeks ago, it's a spectacular time of year...

Indian Summer?

We've been enjoying a lovely autumn so far, with some lovely sunshine and blue skies, this photo was taken yesterday at Polzeath which was absolutely stunning. If the season's are shifting then you really have to make the most of these wonderful days.

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Crossing fields with dogs...

A couple of unfortunate incidents have brought the issue of livestock on public footpaths to public attention once again. Farmers have a perfect right to keep stock in fields with public footpaths running through them and indeed there is little danger from cows unless they have young with them and unless you have a dog. We provide some guidance on this in our visitor guide but here's a useful article that cover's the subject.

This does not apply to Helsbury Park itself of course as we have no livestock on the land at all.

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The Rascodog...

Here's the backstory: "One day, while designer Eric Sugalski was walking his dog Oscar around Chicago and dodging those dog park landmines, he had a lightbulb moment. There was a need for a better lead that actually encouraged picking up dog waste. He went to the drawing board, and after testing several prototypes, Rascodog ReadyLeash was born. (Rasco is Oscar spelled backwards — well almost.)"

Go to www.rascodog.com for more information

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Protect your dog this summer...

As the grass gets longer the weather warms up it's not a bad idea to consider giving your dog a dose of a really good flea and tick treatment. We use Advantix on our dog which you can get from most vets, it has a range of benefits as well as being very easy to administer it...

• is a highly effective parasiticide against the most common and important external parasites
• repels ticks, sand flies, mosquitoes and stable flies before they can bite and suck blood
  
• reduces the risk of parasite-transmitted diseases and the stress for the pet
  
• has been developed specifically for dogs
  

For more information, check the Advantix web site.

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Keep Beaches Open For Dogs, Says Kennel Club

Access for dog walkers to England’s beaches is under increasing threat from the onslaught of beach bans being introduced by local authorities. Of the approximately 90 local authorities with coastline under their jurisdiction, at least 60 have already banned dogs from some part of their beaches during the summer months, or in some cases all year round.

In light of the continued threat, the Kennel Club has proposed amendments to the Marine & Coastal Access Bill due to come before the House of Commons shortly, in order to ensure that England’s beaches remain open for dogs. The Bill will create a walking route around the entire English coastline, which the Kennel Club believes should be open to everyone, including responsible dog owners.

Click here for more

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More social networking for dogs...

Australian Dogtree is a free service that aims to help dog owners find playmates and walking friends for their canine companions. To search for doggie friends, human users can simply enter their postal code; more advanced search options are also available, such as breed and size. Either way, the result is a list of other suitable canine members in their area. Once they find some that seem like a good match, dog owners can invite them through the site for a playdate or meeting. There are currently almost 600 members on Dogtree, and most elect to use their dog's photo and name as their username on the site.

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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!!

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!

Helsbury Frisbees...

Every dog who comes to Helsbury Park get's their very own frisbee, which they can play with while they're here and take home and play with as a lasting memory, alternatively they can do what our dog Solly does and chew it pieces in about 10 minutes!

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Walkies...

We're currently being featured on the brilliant Lookaround Cornwall web site, we asked them to come and take some photos of the site to really try and convey the unique offer we have here in terms of dog walking. Our little [100 acres!] doggie haven is fantastic for dog walking with everything from open fields to the woodland. A neverending supply of sticks and a river too! Check out the brilliant panoramas so you can see for yourself.

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Check out Toby's Guides...

Whether you're looking for a great walk for you and your dog or just for yourself and some friends, the walks included in Toby’s guides are beautiful, fairly straightforward walks for everyone to enjoy.

Check them out at the Scriven House web site.

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