WHEN you walk into most pet retailers you'll find catnip products shelved together with no distinction between them. Standard grade, therapeutic grade, catnip-only, catnip-silvervine blends - all presented as broadly equivalent but they're not. Understanding why matters both for the professionals recommending these products, us as consumers and for the cats they're intended to help.

A FORMER veterinary nurse whose pet dog Hope was trained by the Support Dogs charity to help her live independently for the first time is now aiming for a master's degree. Ruby Trueman, from Saltaire, Bradford, is preparing for the next stage of her life, safe in the knowledge that her four-year-old chocolate Labrador can assist with day-to-day tasks. And the 23-year-old hopes to one day achieve her ambition of helping people with disabilities live a fulfilling life with the

THE Natural Dog Expo has announced it is hosting the first-ever awards dedicated exclusively to the 'raw and fresh' pet food industry. The event will take place on May 1, 2027, at the St John’s Hotel, Solihull. Created to recognise innovation, excellence, and leadership across the fastest growing pet food sector, the awards will shine a spotlight on the brands, businesses, and individuals driving the future of natural pet nutrition.

NUTRAVET has launched an innovative liquid nutritional supplement formulated to help support pets during periods of recovery. Nutravive is a highly palatable liquid designed to support hydration and wellbeing in dogs and cats during illness, post-operative recovery, or periods of reduced appetite.

DOG owners are being urged to take extra care when walking their dogs, after a vet’s own pet suffered severe internal injuries whilst running into a stick from a broken branch in the woods. Caroline Collins, a veterinary surgeon and director at Pennard Vets in Kent, shared her experience to highlight the potentially life-threatening risks of stick-related injuries. Her dog, cocker spaniel Daniel, was injured having run into a stick whilst on a walk.

HOUND-racing is one of Cumbria’s oldest sports, passed down through the generations, and on weekends and some weekdays you may come across the spectacle of men and women standing in a field with binoculars in hand, shouting and cheering, calling out names, banging dog bowls and blowing whistles to encourage their hounds as they fly across fells to the finishing line. The hounds follow a paraffin and aniseed trail for a distance of five or 10 miles.