Cute Pets of Mallorca

It looks like he might be having a snooze after playing with the mouse!!

Kate Miller sent this picture of Margaery. “ we think she is 11 years old,we rescued her a year ago. She was taken to the pound to be euthanised because she was old and blind they refused so the ‘owners’ just left her there.She is loving life,snuggly and sassy!” she says.

Terri Macdonald sent this picture in of her sisters dog Pepper complete with purple bow tie for remembrance this month.
What a handsome chap he is!

In Memory of Louie

Remembering our big boy Louie by Vanessa Joy.
"He was 90 kilos and 1 metre 20. He was the most gentle of souls and never misbehaved a day in his life. He loved his walks around Alcudia and bonaire and never got through a walk without a stunned member of the public wanting a photo with him.
"We will never forget Louie the Great. We were super privileged when photographer Karl Grant captured his protective nature over our daughter Lara.He was bigger than some of the ponies in playa de muro so I’m sure many people will recognize the humble soul.
He often stopped for an ice cream on the blue path after his walk.
I was very proud of him."

Cooper Reviews Alcudia Bay

The town halls of both Alcudia and Muro confirm that from November 1st my mates and I are allowed on all of their beaches for the winter.

With the exception of Santa Margalida (Can Picafort/Son Baulo/Son Serra), this means we have access to the whole bay of Alcudia, (as mentioned last week Arta allows us to play from October 1st).

The beaches of Alcudia and Muro are long stretches of golden sand with easy, gentle sloping access into the clear turquoise sea.

The beach of Alcudia is about 7 km from the port to the mouth of the Albufera and Muro is 6 km from there to Can Picafort.

There are bins at nearly all the hooman access points to the beaches so you don’t have to carry anything too far.

Although I love jumping in off rocks sometimes it is nice to have a leisurely stroll and a play with my ball and both these beaches are perfect.

There’s plenty of parking on the streets in both areas but we still like to get there early when we often have the beaches to oursleves. Sunrise is particularly beautiful here. Alcudia is a good option during caterpillar season as there is plenty of access to the beach away from pine trees.

The hoomans have an expression ‘better in winter’ and for me it certainly is on these beaches.
Rating 4 out of 5

Training Tips with Joachim Sommer

Playing with Your Dog

Many love ball chasing (or similar) games with their dog, the general consent in the dog owner’s community seems to be that this is a good, reliable way of tiring out your dog and keeps them from destroying the house.
Or is it?

There are two things we have to consider

1. Impact on the body.
The dog can suffer physical injuries from erratic play like trauma to muscles, joints or tendons. In “high drive” dogs this is even more dangerous because they will ignore pain from injury during highly rewarding tasks like ball chasing.

Before engaging your dog in highly physical activity it is a good idea to consult the vet to ensure we don’t hurt them.

2. Impact on the brain.
Repetitve ball or stick chasing can lead to high adrenalin release. Adrenalin is built up very quickly but requires a lot of time to be absorbed again. Hence many dogs need a long time to calm down and the result may very well be the opposite of the desired, as a small stimulus can “fire them up” again and the dog remains hyper and more likely to destroy things at home for quite a while.

Furthermore this can lead to frustration, obsession and other frantic behaviour in the dog.

So what are the alternatives?

It is always a good idea to work the dog’s brain! Mental exercise will tire the dog out more reliably and consistently than any physical exercise can!

Scent games (like hiding something containing food or the ball and let them search for it), playing hide and seek with them, “obedience” training etc.

There probably is no need to abandon ball games completely just make it a calm and controlled exercise like rolling the ball with the dog remaining in a static position and letting them retrieve it on cue and maybe even put it a certain place.

Interacting with YOU should be more important to the dog than whichever toy you are using.