My background: South Coast Fairy Dog Mother
Hi I’m Lana. I love what I do and I love to help you.
Our first family golden retriever had ‘a bad tummy’ and my dad used to have to give her a special diet. Dog’s with tummy issues isn’t new - but it has got worse as we’ve messed around with the food system, their genetics, and ever increasing amounts of toxic load. From flea, tick and worm meds, and not need vaccinations (get a titre test please) to fragrances around the home, and how close we live to roads.
My goldie was an amazing dog, she was irreplaceable. My family couldn’t get another dog after the heartbreak of losing her to cancer.
Growing up with horses and competing at everything from showing to polo, I learnt first hand what it took to be responsible and properly look after an animal. How to treat large independent animals (kindly) and the importance of the right feed. In my late teens, early twenties, sometimes I’d look after the family border terrier Milo.
We had our own little games we’d play, and he was so fun, sweet and amazing. I found out that he had ‘food issues’ and while he would ‘run off’ he’d always come back. He was even hit by cars twice and had a hip replacement with the one and only Noel Fitz-Patrick - famously a border terrier lover. Despite his behaviour and health conditions he lived to the ripe old age of 18! Luckily during his operation in the 00s, Noel Fitz-Patrick knew what to feed this breed to keep them healthy. The genetic issue was around back then, but not nearly as prevalent as it is now.
Moving to London, to pursue a career in digital marketing, a colleague told me about a cool little start up called Borrow My Doggie. He borrowed a dog called Frank and would tell us all the fun stories they'd been up to with him, so, I thought I’d check it out… Enter Mr. Wiggins…
Wiggins was bombproof. A border terrier like Milo, but sturdier. He was blue and tan instead of grizzle and lived around the corner. So I saw him all the time. We became quite obsessed with each other. We’d spend weeks together. I even commuted with him across London to my job in digital marketing in Exmouth Market. He’d pester the developers to play. They’d cave in and throw the ball to get him to go away and boom. Play time! Little did I know then, that’s exactly not what to do.
I learnt a lot with Wiggins and I loved him so much. I’d even get the steak in when he was coming to stay. After being the the centre of my universe, I moved, and saw him less but would still look after him until his final day.
Heartbroken I searched for another. I loved the breed I wanted another boy. I had experience I knew what I wanted. And I did the research. I checked the Kennel Club - I even called them to double check. I Googled the breeders, they’d written a book on the breed. They were animal lovers and horsey people - like me - and I figured that they’d know what they were doing. The parents had all the health tests done - clear clear clear. They had pictures of other pups they’d bred and the parents were there when I went to visit. They’d had litters and were well known breeders in the area. What could possibly go wrong?
Spoiler alert - everything.
And here I am now helping you learn from everything I’ve had to discover as a first time pet parent in the 2020s. With all the new science, the state of the dog food industry, social media ‘influencers’ and how people have been breeding over the last 40 years.
Because if I’d have known then what I know now, my life would be different, Augustus would be much healthier and I wouldn’t have had to spend thousands on tests specialists vet visits and all the diet resources I’ve had to learn from.
As a pet parent, they can’t talk. They can’t tell us what is happening. We don’t even know who they are and what they need while they’re so young. So I’m here to help guide you to translate Dog and English between you both, to help make both of your lives easier.
What we knew about dogs before is nothing compared to what we know now The science is fascinating - to me anyway. Its based on what we now about human psychology it’s reflected bac to us in a lifetime of experience. And there is another better kinder way of living with these magnificent and super smart beasts.
