The Bowhouse Dog Hotel, Southsea

05/10/2023

Labour will rescue NHS dentistry. Under the Tories, millions are being denied basic healthcare. With Labour, NHS dentistry will be there for all who need it. Our new plan announced today👇🏻

11/01/2023

Best vets in the city, bar none, folks. ❤️ Please mention me when you ring.

30/12/2022

And that’s a wrap from us, here at The Bowhouse!

We have now closed & are hoping to move to Scotland in 2023.

We want to say a really big thank you to all of our clients for entrusting us with the care of your best friends, for so many years. It’s been a privilege.

Another thank you to you for all of the wonderful messages, emails, cards & gifts. (Yes, they all made me cry!)

Thank you to my terrific assistant & right-hand lady, Emily Collett. It will be a very lucky employer who lands you & no doubt you’ll be striking out on your own before too long.

Finally, I’d have been lost without the support of everyone at The Grove Veterinary Practice. You have been so kind and so generous with your knowledge and expertise over the years. I have learned such a lot from you! I always felt my guest dogs were receiving the very best care and I always felt safe and supported, knowing you were there for them!

So thank you, everyone, from the bottom of my heart. Keep in touch / I’m going to miss your dogs.

Sara & Phil
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P.s I will leave this page up for a few months, so you can grab any photos of your dogs you might want, also there’s some good articles from Canine Arthritis Management etc.

26/12/2022

Two perfect pairs 😍

24/12/2022

Merry Christmas everyone! ###

23/12/2022

http://www.gocomics.com/the-bent-pinky

23/12/2022

It goes on & needs calling out. Long post but worth the read.

One of the most common marketing/sales approaches in the dog training world is the demo dog. What’s a demo dog? A demo dog is the trainer’s personal dog or dogs. They’re TYPICALLY carefully selected (solid genetics, clear headed, stable), working breeds (breeds like Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, Border Collies, Rottweilers, Dobermans etc.). They also live with a dog trainer 24/7.

And here’s where the sleight-of-hand comes in: The dog trainer has their highly trained, specially bred dog perform all manner of amazing looking feats. They might do this in videos on their websites, videos on social media, or in public places like parks.

The goal: To have you believe that your dog, with whatever bloodlines and baggage, and your personal skills and time available to dedicate to training—will achieve the same or similar results. Now, they may not say this outright, but that’s the message they’re hoping you’ll sell/tell yourself.

So yeah, even if you’ve got a seriously anxious, terribly fearful, highly reactive, dog or human aggressive dog, and you’re barely able to walk your dog or have guests over without full meltdowns—you too can have this magic dog they’re demoing.

Here’s the deal. If you’re a dog trainer, and you have solid dog, especially a working breed dog, having it highly trained isn’t really a lot to crow about. You should be able to achieve this, if that’s a goal. But to dupe owners into believing that their messy dog, and their messy relationship, and their messy training ability will yield the same results, is a seriously questionable marketing approach, and if you’re honest, not exactly an ethical one.

That said, if you’re honest, and if you explain all the details, and aren’t playing some BS shell game with them, that’s fine. If you’re up front and explain that what you have is the byproduct of countless hours of work on your skills, your dog, and LIKELY the dog you started with being solid, that’s cool. But to imply, even tacitly, that they can or should expect something similar, unless they have something similar—in all areas—is disingenuous to say the least.

Wanna show folks the joys of training and what’s possible? Wanna show them what you accomplished with a less than perfect situation? Great. I love it. Just be honest. Don’t BS your clients. They deserve better.

As for me, here’s my demo dog. You won’t find videos of me and him showing off his fancy training. Instead, you’ll find videos of messy looking client dogs; you know, the kind regular folks tend to have, and tend to need help with. These are the folks I serve, so I show them a reality that reflects their own. The only demo dogs I show are my client’s. Because my dogs, and my experience aren’t theirs.

P.S. If you ARE doing sport, protection, detection, agility, or some other activity where your dog’s abilities are directly applicable to your client’s needs, then by all means show ‘em. But let them know your results don’t guarantee theirs.

P.P.S. Please do not feel compelled to comment about the dog you got off the street, or the shelter, and rehabbed and is now amazing. I understand there are exceptions. But, individual experiences (exceptions) don’t equal universal ones. What I’m primarily talking about here aren’t the exceptions (unless you’re presenting that individual reality as universal), I’m primarily talking about the trainers who knowingly compare apples to oranges, or a Ferrari to a Miata, and pretend they’re the same in order to get a sale.

P.P.P.S. Any comments with snarky, nasty, lazy (not actually reading or thinking, yet emotionally highly reactive), will be deleted. We all know what I’m talking about. Ethics. If you’re ethical, you’ll have zero issues with this. If not, I’ll expect you to be upset.

23/12/2022

Now this is a smart comment! 👏👏

So many struggle with having different rules for different dogs. Many owners feel that any differences are unfair, and so they try to ensure all are treated precisely the same way.

Bad move.

Each dog needs what it needs. Some can thrive with fewer rules, less structure, and the most breezy of consequences, and others need all of the preceding in a much more intense fashion…and some need something in between.

Don’t get caught up with attempting to make something equal when equality of approach is often detrimental. Your job in a multi-dog home is to customize your approach to each dog and ensure that whatever they need to thrive is provided. Period.

“Fairness” isn’t a helpful mindset, what’s best for each is.

PS, if anyone comments “Just train the dog in front of you” I promise to delete your comment based simply on the annoyingness of having to read, yet again, this painfully over-used and abused cliché. We can do better. 😉

22/12/2022

19/12/2022

I thought this was a cute photo of Vaila, Jack & Harry hogging the sofa. Then I noticed the photobomber 🤣

18/12/2022

Eric, Archie & Theo. Big personalities! X

17/12/2022

Hannah Henshaw-Conaghan. I can see you have sent me a message but for some reason, I cannot access it 😳. Please WhatsApp or text me, 077832 80197. Thanks. Sara

17/12/2022

Be kind to your vets, your vet nurses and your vet support staff. Vets have the highest su***de rate of any profession, 4 times greater than that of the general population. None of us are in this field for the money and we truly want the best for your pets. A thank you can go a long way.

https://www.nomv.org

17/12/2022

My little Nordic buddy Eric. Isn’t remotely fussed about the weather but does enjoy a fire & a soft bed 🥰

16/12/2022

Here’s a pack of frosty wee beauties!

12/12/2022

Inca looks like the Teacher in charge on a field trip!

12/12/2022

My squad 😁

12/12/2022

Baby Cocker, Daphne, with Senior Cocker, Tess ❤️