Dog Magazine dot net - free online dog magazineby K9 Magazine, the lifestyle magazine for dog lovers

A home has been evacuated after a family dog was fatally bitten by a huge Camel Spider in Colchester, Essex.

Eight-year old Bella was bitten by the venomous creature after it ran across the bedroom.

The spider is believed to have been accidentally brought to the UK by the dog’s owner, Rodney Griffiths who had just returned from military service in Afghanisatn

The spider has not yet been recovered and the family have evacuated the home in the meantime.

Mr Griffiths’ wife, Lorraine: “It was the size of a palm. I think it hitched a lift with my husband. He’s back out there now, but I’m petrified of spiders and I cannot live in that house until it’s gone.”

She said her son Ricky discovered the creature: “Ricky was in my bedroom, went into the drawer under my bed and something crawled across his hand. He saw a huge spider and screamed to Cassie.

“They tried to corner it, but it was too big. They poked it with a coat hanger and the spider bit it. The dog came in and barked. The spider hissed and Bella went running out whimpering.”

Bella became ill following the bite and had to be euthanised.

Camel Spider, captured by troops

Popularity: 8% [?]

Imagine my surprise at seeing an enormous mixed herd of sheep and Egyptian goats grazing on the edge of the British Sovereign Base Area at Dhekelia near Larnaca in Cyprus. I was making my way back from the beach at the time. One shepherd who may have been either Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot with his faithful dogs making his way home for the night.

What dogs were they, Border Collies perhaps, no they were German Shepherd Dogs, six of them with their master.

I was amazed at the sight of these dogs working this large flock of sheep and goats and had to stop and go back to have another look.

The dogs were indeed black and tan German Shepherd Dogs, but hang on a minute the clue is in the name, German SHEPHERD Dog, how silly of me to be amazed at dogs doing what they were intended to do!

Why did I not merely think ‘GSD’s working’, possibly because in the UK we associate Border Collie dogs with herding work, we also associate GSD’s with police dog and security dog functions.

I wonder what other breeds actually still do the jobs they were intended to do in the past?

If you know of any why not let K9 Magazine know?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Something a little different today.

Since K9 Media was set up in 1999 we have launched a lot of pet related websites. More than 40 for ourselves and we’ve been involved in the creation and marketing of many others for various clients. Over the course of nearly a decade in online and offline marketing you learn a thing or two. It’s your job to. And we are frequently approached by pet companies on how to effectively promote their own pet related ventures. My usual response is less than helpful. It’s a bit like saying, “I have a dog, how do I train it?”.

There are so many variables and so much change and evolution within the search marketing sector alone that any advice given today could be out of date by tomorrow. But let’s give it a go anyway. Here are some basics. And please bear in mind, in my position I get to see both sides of the marketing coin. In my position as editor and publisher of highly viewed pet websites I get to see a lot (a LOT) of press releases, appeals for publicity and requests for free promotion from many, many different pet businesses. I can hand on heart state that 95% of them are non unique, boring, clichéd and never likely to get any attention from me or our audience, so we don’t run them. On the other hand, the 5% that do capture our attention are also pretty sure to get the attention of some sections of our audience too. With my marketing hat on, I’m the one trying to gain exposure for our own publications. So this gives me something of an insight into what does and does not work. I am (un)fortunate in having to deal with such a barrage of mediocre promotional attempts, I have a keen eye for knowing what to avoid.

Before we get started, let me pre-qualify why I think we are in a position to dish out promotional advice. I’ll try and make it short and snappy.

This year alone, K9 Media publications have been featured on Sky, GMTV, BBC, The Sun, The Mirror, The Times, Reuters, ITV, BBC Radio (national and local), Channel 4, Channel 5, NBC, Fox News and many more. Let us, for the benefit of a quick case study, look at our dog rehoming website www.dogsblog.com - here is a quick list of just *some* of the coverage generated over the past few months which mention DogsBlog.com:

How much is that bloggy in the window?

Doting owners get ‘peternity leave’ if the dog is feeling ruff

Elevator Pitch: Dogsblog does internet cute - with a purpose

Rescue site really is top dog

Meet the dog bloggers

http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/Could-you-love-the-Blackberry.4394668.jp

http://www.bexhillobserver.net/rye/Northiam-animal-centre-takes-plart.4404075.jp

http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/479/Northiam-animal-centre-takes-plart.4404075.jp

http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/3605422.Help_Kinba_start_a_new_life/

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=132384&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232710&home=yes&more_nodeId1=132393&contentPK=21337959

http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/news/3605412.print/

Here is a link for some coverage our promotion of National Dog Adoption Month:

http://www.dogadoptionmonth.co.uk/category/media-centre/media-coverage/

Here are some links to broadcast coverage achieved for various K9 Media publications:

GMTV, BBC, SKY, 5 News, Newsnight etc

More broadcast coverage

I could go on, but I am trying not to bore you. There’s the first tip. Boring is not press worthy.

But before we move on to press, let us just establish - PR is not the be all and end all. In fact, it’s the icing on top of the cake at best. Too much emphasis on PR and not enough thought about the substance is the first fatal error many pet businesses make.

We will, for the purpose of this article, assume that you have a good business. There’s little point even reading this if you don’t.

So you have a good business, a good product/service, a nice website and you want people to know about it.

Here’s what you do not, under any circumstances, do (certainly not if you want to get some promotion out of me, any way).

1) Do not cc me in to a bland, boring press release where I can see the names of all the other people you’ve sent it to. You could be giving away free gold but I know that every other editor, writer or website owner has been given the exact same carbon copy story. I’m not only not going to publish it, I’m not even going to read it.

2) Personalise your message using mailmerge 101. We’re savvy enough to spot this and it is tantamount to calling the recipient of your message a pud. If you say, ‘Dear Editor, we really love (insert publication name) and we read it all the time. We thought your readers would love to hear about….” - I can tell when you are fibbing. It’s not hard. Now, if you changed only a tiny fraction of that message, you WILL at least have my attention for a little while, ‘Dear Ryan, I haven’t read K9 Magazine yet but I did read an article from your website about X/Y/Z and I was particularly drawn to…’. Now, I know you are at least honest. I’m still not totally ready to give you some exposure but you’ve started off on the right foot.

3) Clichéd cuteness. The first time we received a press release that used ‘Pawfect for Pampered Pooches’ it wasn’t particularly funny then. After 1,001st time we received the exact same line or variant of, it is downright maddening. Pet owners are not, contrary to the popular PR 101 course that seems to suggest otherwise, silly folk who whoop and clap their fins together at the idea of someone using pet related play on words such as ‘Poochified, pawisitvely, wooftastic, wagarrific’ - actually, wagarrific is my own. I hadn’t heard that one before and as it goes, I quite like it. Don’t send me a wagarrific press release though, because now I’ve heard it once, I’m already bored of it.

4) We are not obligated, inclined or even slightly motivated to help you on your way to business success so please don’t assume to the contrary. In point two I asked you to be honest, so here is me being honest. If you are a business, we expect you are keen to make money, earn profit and do well in your commercial efforts. Guess what? That’s what we’re in business for as well! So if you plea for us to help you on your way you really do need to be able to grasp the first rule of business: Free lunches, they don’t exist. And if they did, they’d probably taste bitter and give you food poisoning. No, just because you’re a ’small up start’ it does not mean we will go out of our way to give you a leg up any more than we would if you were a multi national turning over billions. You need to give us something to work with. If your company, product, service IS great - we still don’t really care that much. You need to be able to give us something useful and interesting and appealing that will make our readers feel like their time spent with us was of value. So don’t just tell us about your business, put yourself in the shoes of an editor, have a look at the type of stories they usually cover because that’s a great indication of what that editor believes his or her audience is interested in, and then pitch your idea to meet that demand. If you happen to get some coverage out of it for your business, bonus! Even if you don’t, you’ve just made a positive impression on an editor who may well be more inclined to help you out.

5) If you are a charity or good cause. Ignore point 4. We want to hear from you. Let us know how we can help, we don’t assume you’re trying to get rich so the rules of the game are different for you.

6) Don’t ask for a link or to swap links. Just don’t. Thanks. If we think we should be linking to you, we will. If you think you have a really great website then by all means let us know why it would be of interest for us to send our readers away from our site to yours. Believe it or not, there are some sites where we are *happy* to do this.

7) If you are a client, a paying client, someone who likes us and respects us enough to actually do REAL, proper, commercial business with us the rules of the game are different for you. We treat our clients exceptionally well. We will gladly change the rules and look for opportunities where we can help promote your business over and above what we are obligated to. Some people (cough - PR companies - cough) find this notion a little distateful: “What, so you’re saying you will only cover my client’s story if they are a K9 Media client? But what about editorial morals?” Well here it is, in black and white, yes, we have editorial morals, absolutely we do. But you’re a PR company with a product or service to sell so you’re out of the morals game straight away. So if you are a client of K9 Media we will always prioritise you above anyone else. This seems like common sense business practice to me. We are, after all, a business.

8: Please don’t assume that because you haven’t seen your story, press release, message etc appear in any of our publications that it is because we didn’t receive it and then proceed to ring us up and ask when you can expect to see it covered. It’s far more likely we did receive it and we binned it in accordance with the previous ‘rules’ as mentioned.

9) Fail to be original, interesting, unique or helpful with your message and it just won’t get any coverage. You have to place yourself in a different mindset if you truly want to get ANY of your message out to our readers. We care about our readers because without them, we die. And you need to care about them the exact same way. So resist the urge to turn your ’story’ into a great big free (you hope) advert for your business and instead focus on why the reader should be interested enough to care in the first place and then entertained/informed enough to stick with it. If you can do this, you will have a chance.

10) Please, please, please - this is the biggest bugbear of mine - do not conjure up an image in your mind of a generic ‘pet owner’, they simply do not exist. Pet owners are normal, real, genuine people who happen to share ONE common trait, they are, in some way, interested in SOME aspect of pet ownership. That does not mean they are pet obsessed, it does not mean they are likely to jump for joy upon hearing news of a new chewy dog toy reaching the market, it does not mean their eyes will gloss over in admiration for your ‘Pawwfect Press Release’ and it does not mean ANYTHING other than the fact that they are people who have a multitude of interests of which pet ownership is merely one. Think of it like this, if you happen to own a car it makes you a motorist. Nobody in their right mind would try to define a person’s entire character on the basis that they are a motorist. They own a car, they have SOME interest in SOME things related to that aspect of their lives. They might be interested in saving money on motoring, becoming a better driver, avoiding accidents or some new, genuinely interesting motoring products or services. Pet owners are normal, intelligent members of society. Their pet ownership does not define their whole lives. They eat normal food, use mobile phones, go to normal places and live in normal homes. Please, try and remember that and don’t pander to them on the cutsey level.

So there. If you can avoid any of the 10 fatal mistakes you might just be able to promote your pet business with some degree of success. That’s how we’ve done it and it’s worked very nicely thank you. More than 8m visits to our network of 40 pet websites and two national pet magazines and we’re very grateful for it.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Leading veterinary charity, PDSA, has announced the appointment of Richard Hooker, BVMS (Hons), MRCVS, as new Director of Veterinary Services.

Richard is promoted from Chief Veterinary Surgeon at PDSA, a role he has held since 2003.

Jan McLoughlin, PDSA Director General, says: ”Richard has made a significant contribution to the strategic development of our veterinary services. In particular, he has led the introduction of preventive services in our PetAid hospitals including microchipping, vaccinations and neutering. His enthusiasm, credibility and knowledge is invaluable.”

A graduate of Glasgow University Veterinary School, Richard spent two years in a large mixed practice in Staffordshire before joining PDSA in 1996 as Veterinary Surgeon at Aston PetAid hospital in Birmingham. He later moved to Stoke-on-Trent PetAid hospital as Senior Veterinary Surgeon.

Richard says: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to take on this important role, responsible for maintaining and developing the delivery of PDSA’s veterinary services. I shall be building upon the great work already in place and look forward to working closely with all teams across PDSA as we continue to treat many thousands of sick and injured pets every day.”

“Over the last five years, as Chief Veterinary Surgeon, I‘ve had the opportunity to expand PDSA’s scope of activity, including the launch of our biggest ever pet health campaign, Long Live Pets, earlier this year. In addition I have enjoyed establishing strong links between PDSA and a number of Veterinary Schools, professional bodies and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, relationships that I look forward to developing further.”

Richard takes up his post with immediate effect.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Dogs of all shapes and sizes have already begun perfecting their paw shakes as they get ready to be on their best behaviour for this year’s Take Your Dog To Work Day, in aid of Britain’s pet charity The Blue Cross. For this year’s event, which takes place on Wednesday 17 September, The Blue Cross is providing dog owners with training tips to help prepare their four-legged friends for the big day.

The Blue Cross ‘Petiquette’ comprises of a series of video clips demonstrating basic training exercises that owners can practise with their pets. The video clips and an advice leaflet are available to download free from www.takeyourdogtoworkday.co.uk and include guidance on getting your dog to sit, stay and leave on command, settling in at work and coming when called. The Blue Cross hopes that this will encourage dog owners ensure that their pooch displays the required ‘petiquette’ for a day at work.

Every year, dog owners across the country unite to participate in The Blue Cross’s annual Take Your Dog To Work Day, now celebrating its thirteenth year. The event aims to encourage dog owners to spend more time with their pets and see first-hand the physical and mental benefits that dogs can have on the people around them. Last year’s event saw more than a thousand dogs bounding along to a range of work places, including offices, TV studios, care homes, building sites, schools and even science labs.

Those taking part in the event are invited to seek sponsorship from friends, family and colleagues to help raise funds for the sick and homeless animals cared for by The Blue Cross at its animal hospitals, vet clinics and adoption centres nationwide.

To register to take part, please visit www.takeyourdogtoworkday.co.uk. Visitors to the website will also find health and safety advice for taking dogs into the workplace, fundraising advice and tips on how to make the day enjoyable for dogs and colleagues alike.

Popularity: 4% [?]