It's a Dog's Life! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Visit people in hospitals

PAT stands for Pets as Therapy. In Britain more than half a million people are visited by PAT dogs and cats each year.

PAT animals visit schools and old peoples' homes too. The dogs (and owners) go through very careful tests to make sure they have the right temperament to do this vital work.

PAT is a voluntary service pet owners provide, relying on donations from the public.
Check out their website.

Answer: She has been taken from a poor background and rehomed with me

This is a very common term among working dog owners here and I was surprised to be asked what it meant at a demonstration I was doing with my dogs.

Most 'rescue dogs' come from dogs' homes and sanctuaries where they have been dumped by people who don't value them.

Many agility dogs are ex-rescues and repay their owners incredibly by their dedication and love. In Europe agility dogs must be pedigrees - thank goodness that doesn't apply in Britain as most 'rescues' are cross breeds and rarely have any papers.

Rescue centres in Britain do not let dogs go to new homes without making sure the dogs are spayed or neutered to prevent more unwanted dogs being bred. They also do careful home checks to be sure that the new home is suitable.

Answer: Good Citizens Award

The Good Citizens Award Scheme is administered by the British Kennel Club.
In most localities you can find a club which will help train you and your dog.
There are three stages Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Find out more on the 'Kennel Club' website.

Answer: Crufts

Crufts is a huge show held at the National Exhibition Centre in Solihull in the West Midlands each March over four days.

Not only does it have championship competitions for pedigree dogs but it has huge areas of dog related stalls and demonstrations by all kinds of dogs. There is a special area where you will find one at least of all the most popular breeds of dogs and their owners, who will talk in depth about their breed and what makes it a good/bad/indifferent pet, to enable the public to understand a little more about a breed before buying. This is called Discover Dogs.
Westminster Show of course is held in USA. Olympia is the big horse show in London which does feature flyball and agility too.

Answer: all of these

As well as these you may see demonstrations by 'Hearing Dogs for the Deaf' Fire Service sniffer dogs, Drug sniffer dogs,Good Citizen Award dogs,in fact a huge spectrum of dog activities.

Answer: a team relay race to retrieve tennis balls

Flyball is a very exciting sport to watch. Two teams of four dogs race against each other, one at a time, to run over a series of low jumps, operate a machine which gives up a tennis ball,grab the ball and return over the jumps with the ball.

Some team skills are: getting the cross over right so one dog is released just as the first dog is back, not wasting a second
making sure the dog turns efficiently at the 'box' where it gets the ball
watching the light system to make sure the return was a 'clean' return and doesn't have to be run again.
catching the returning dog so it doesn't charge back up for another ball!

Answer: at a country or hunting show

A 'scurry' is a competition for any dog that will retrieve, mainly gun dogs.
One or more dummies are hidden in various places around the 'scurry' which will be a fenced off area of about 100 square metres with either long grass and shrubs or man made hiding places like fences, boxes bales of hay and tunnels.
The dogs take turns to find the objects and bring them back to their owner. The winning dog will be the one that retrieves all the dummies in the fastest time.

The dummy is a canvas tube about 8 inches long filled with sand or some other stuffing.

Answer: all of these

In Britain there are a huge number of dog rescue centres and sanctuaries. Some have royal support while others rely only on their neighbours and friends.

Sanctuaries will not have any healthy animal destroyed unless it is a danger to humans, whereas many other centres have to make hard choices in order to look after the dogs they think have a chance of being rehomed.

Many people looking for a new pet will only consider a youngster or a puppy which is a shame, as there are many older dogs, well trained and needing a new home only because their very kind and loving owner has died.

Answer: the poodle coat is nonallergenic and doesn't shed

This fashion worries me. I am concerned that people won't realise what they are taking on. I also wonder what happens to the puppies in a litter which do not have the poodle coat, are they destroyed because they have no monetary value?

I can see the need for nonallergenic dogs but why can't people just have a poodle?
Poodles come in three convenient sizes to fit most lifestyles, BUT only if you are prepared to own a dog which is smarter than you!

A bored poodle or even a half breed poodle will look for ways to amuse itself which may not always suit its owner.


The poodle coat doesn't shed, which is great, but have owners considered the cost of having their pet clipped every six weeks?

Having been owned by poodles for years I can't think why anyone would want any other breed.

NB: I won't accept looking cute for an answer because ALL dogs look cute!

Answer: any or all of these

In Britain, a stray dog is an unusual sight. It may be genuinely lost, dumped by a dog thief, dumped by its owner or maybe just escaped from its garden down the road.

It is not always a good idea to approach a stray dog as it may not be friendly. The best thing to do is to keep an eye on it until help comes. My main concern would be protecting it from traffic.

I always think, 'What would I want people to do if one of my dogs got out or lost'. I certainly wouldn't want people to ignore it.

I am one of the many doggy people of Britain who rarely step outside the house without a pocket full of dog treats and often a spare lead!