A flying dog? It’s not so barking! TV experiment which aims to train the world’s first canine pilot
Alfie the adorable lurcher-collie is training to be the first canine pilot
The bizarre challenge is part of a TV experiment called ‘Dogs Might Fly’
It aims to show the intelligence of man’s best friend by teaching them how to control an aircraft
By LAURA LAMBERT FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 00:41, 27 February 2016 | UPDATED: 00:53, 27 February 2016
With his paws steady on the joystick and his eyes focused on the runway, Alfie is the picture of concentration.
Which is just as well – as the plucky canine is in flying school.
It may seem barking mad, but this lurcher-collie cross’s training is part of a TV experiment which will attempt to produce the world’s first four-legged pilot.
The programme, Dogs Might Fly, aims to show the intelligence of man’s best friend by teaching them how to control an aircraft.
The show uses X Factor-style auditions at rescue centres around the country, to whittle stray dog hopefuls down to 12 contenders.
And Alfie, a 23-month-old who seems entirely comfortable strapped into a harness while being trained in a flight simulator, is one of the high-flying contenders.
Other early frontrunners are Reggie, a German shepherd-labrador cross, and Shadow, a collie cross.
It may seem barking mad, but this lurcher-collie cross’s training is part of a TV experiment which will attempt to produce the world’s first four-legged pilot
This latest challenge follows on from Driving Dogs, an experiment by animal psychologist Mark Vette’s which put two stray dogs through driving lessons during a two-month boot camp in 2012.
It resulted in both dogs successfully driving a modified Mini around a racetrack in a live stunt.
Now Mr Vette wants to go further and see a dog take to the skies.
The six episodes of Dogs Might Fly, starting tomorrow on Sky, will chart the progress of the 12 dogs as they undergo ten weeks of rigorous training in a luxury Sussex mansion.
The three best are then sent to flight school to be taught by Mr Vette. At the end of the series, it will be revealed whether the most talented animal is ready for a real-life dogfight behind the wheel of a single-engine aircraft – or whether the task is just too ambitious. Jamie Theakston, the presenter of the show, said: ‘You’ll see just how remarkable rescue dogs really are.
‘People give up on them too easily and this series will show us why we shouldn’t. They are just as deserving and just as intelligent.’
Start: Badbury Rings car park off B3082 Wimborne-Blandford road (grid ref ST962032), Alternative start for dog-walkers, B3082 car park opposite ‘Sturminster Marshall’ turning (grid ref ST966023) and taking bridleway-track north
End: Badbury Rings car park
Country: England
County: Dorset
Type: Country
Ordnance Survey: OS Landranger 195
Difficulty: Medium
Description
Edward Griffiths discovers an Iron Age hill-fort, ancient tracks and drove roads
Badbury Rings and Sheepbriar Drove
This isn’t a strenuous walk, but the ancient lanes around Badbury Rings and through the glorious farmland of Kingston Lacy Estate are filled with variety. At 327ft above sea-level, the Iron Age hill-fort has superb views all around, including Penbury Knoll hill-fort on Pentridge Hill to the north, Blandford Camp beyond Tarrant Rushton airfield in the north-west, and Charborough Parks folly tower in the south-west. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the large hotels on the cliffs of Bournemouth. Not only was Badbury Rings hill-fort occupied by Iron Age people, but by an army under Ethelwold around AD899 and by Royalist Dorset Clubmen in 1645. Sheepbriar Drove is part of an ancient route which followed the drier ground above the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Wimborne Minster, skirting around the historic Kingston Lacy estate on its way.
The Walk
1From the car park, take the path through two kissing-gates into the Badbury Rings enclosure. (Dog-walkers starting in the alternative car park, take the signed bridleway-track north and ignore Point 1 until you arrive at the junction with two benches.) Join the clear rutted track running up to your left. Its a bridleway, and you brush against the outer ring. Follow the track round to the right into the open field and join the faint grass path still skirting around the outer ring. When youve passed the OS trig point visible on the inner ring, go over the National Trust squeeze-stile by the gate near the left wood. Over into the footpath/bridleway junction, turn right to find the two benches. Turn left onto the footpath-track with the Kingston Lacy notice.
2(Dog-walkers, turn right onto the footpath-track with the Kingston Lacy notice.) Now, all together at last, follow the good track with pleasant views, ignoring any turnings into the wood. Follow the right bend when the wood ends. Continue down the footpath-track alongside the right hedge, through into a second field, for about mile in total. Around the right bend, go through the squeeze-stile by medieval Lodge Farm on the right. When you arrive at the B3082 beech avenue, go right along the wide bridleway-verge before crossing over into the signed bridleway-track with Kingston Lacys Blandford Lodge over to your left.
3Through the car park and barrier, follow the grass track around the edge of Kingston Lacys wooded park. After about mile, 200 yards after the top of the rise, turn right off the arrowed bridleways into hedged Sheepbriar Drove between high fields. Pass the left turning which runs down to Barford Farm. In another mile, go through the right half-gate onto the signed National Trust designated bridleway grass track.
4Up, over and down, there are fine views from this track, including to Badbury Rings ahead. At the bottom, zig-zag left-right and continue up to the half-gate which opens onto the B3082 beech avenue. Turn left between the new and old lines of beeches. Before the road dips down to the left Sturminster Marshall 2 turning, cross over where the visibility of oncoming traffic is best. Continue along the verge bridleway. (Here, at the car park, dog-walkers finish their walk.) Everybody else, theres another mile to go before you reach the drive back into Badbury Rings car park so enjoy the views left over the Stour Valley as you go.
Fact File
Start: Badbury Rings car park off B3082 Wimborne-Blandford road (grid ref ST962032), Alternative start for dog-walkers, B3082 car park opposite Sturminster Marshall turning (grid ref ST966023) and taking bridleway-track north
Distance: 4.12 miles (7.25 km)
Maps: OS Landranger 195
Terrain: No really difficult hills
Dogs: Under close control; not allowed in Badbury Rings enclosure
Public transport: None
Picture to make you Smile for the weekend!
Dogs ready for a Friday night out! Aren’t these two so cute!
The Animal Health Trust, a highly respected veterinary institution, has issued a warning that some imported “jerky treats” may be highly toxic to dogs. A public warning from the AHT does not happen often, and deserves to be taken very seriously.
There have been a number of pet food scares in North America and Australia in the past decade, but to date, the UK has managed to stay in the clear.
Thousands of pets died in the US pet food recall scare of 2007
The most memorable episode was in the USA in 2007 when thousands of dogs and cats died after eating pet food contaminated with melamine, a nitrogen-containing compound which had been illegally added to imported Chinese pet food products in order to boost the apparent protein content.
Melamine causes kidney failure, and as well as the deaths, many pets suffered serious illness during the episode. Over 5000 pet food products were recalled, and serious long term damaged was inflicted on the credibility of the North Americal commercial pet food business.
Owners who had lost pets were disappointed at the level of compensation paid out because calculations were generally made based on the monetary value of the animal, unrelated to the emotional bond between owner and pet. How much is a cross-bred mutt or cat worth? Nothing like the emotional value to a doting owner, that’s for sure.
Jerky dog treats caused serious issues in the USA in 2013
There was another major pet food recall issue in the USA in 2013: this time jerky dog treats were to blame. There have been a number of issues over pet food safety over the past decade in Australia as well. The warning from the AHT is the first hint of imported pet food issues in the UK.
My advice is simple: read the label of any food product that you give to your pet
Pete Wedderburn
The warning is very specific: “some imported jerky treats may cause kidney problems”. Jerky treats are dried strips of meat: dogs love them. Vets across the UK have seen an increase in the number of dogs being diagnosed with kidney problems after eating certain imported jerky treats.
The dogs have shown a decreased appetite, increased thirst and increased need to urinate. Many of the affected dogs had been fed dried jerky type dog treats, specifically chicken or duck. While a cause is still unknown, all the treats were identified as originating from China.
Dogs looking at food on the television screen
Make sure to feed only European meat to your pets CREDIT: MANABU OGASAWARA/GETTY
Several possible causes have been explored, such as the presence of melamine, salmonella, pesticides, glycerin, antivirals and the level of irradiation of the treats, but none of these have been confirmed. So to date, the mystery remains. This issue has previously been investigated in depth in the USA, and again, no definitive cause has been found.
One fact has been established in the UK: the link with the imported jerky treats.
Dog owners: make sure you feed only European meat to your pets
So what should dog owners do? My advice is simple: read the label of any food product that you give to your pet. I’ve written previously about the variation in animal welfare around the world: EU regulations insist on far higher standards than most other regions.
If you’re dog stops eating a much, take it to the vet CREDIT: JUNIORS BILDARCHIV GMBH/ALAMY
This potential toxicity alert is another reason to check to be sure that any meat products you give your pet are sourced in Europe, rather than further afield.
And if your dog does start to drink more and stop eating as much, go to your vet at once: prompt treatment can be lifesaving.
Police have deliberately run over a dog running loose on a road, saying they had “no alternative” way to minimise risk for motorists. But what are the rules on such incidents, asks Justin Parkinson.
The foxhound was on the A55. A car and a lorry had to swerve to avoid it and one officer was bitten as he tried to catch it, according to police. In the end, they decided to kill it, by running it over at a fast enough speed to ensure it “would not suffer”.
The death of the animal near Conwy has provoked an angry response, with Sky News presenter Kay Burley saying those responsible should feel “shame” and one Facebook user calling them “spineless cowards”. The RSPCA has described it as a “particularly tragic incident”, adding that it is speaking to North Wales police to ascertain what happened.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council says it doesn’t offer official guidance on how to deal with dogs on roads, and that forces and officers must decide for themselves how to react.
“It’s best described as a drastic action, but possibly justified,” says Doug Boulton, a former traffic officer with Staffordshire Police who runs the forensic accident investigation firm D&HB Associates. “There would have been very little time to make this decision. If cars were already swerving there might have been an accident in which a person, a child maybe, was injured or killed.”
The alternatives would have been to close the road and catch the dog, or close the road, and make sure the surrounding area was clear, and shoot it. “Those would be time-consuming and there might not have been enough officers on duty in the area to block off the road in a hurry,” says Boulton. “The officers wouldn’t have done what they did lightly and it must have been horrendous for them to run over the dog.” He adds that he’s never heard of police taking this action before.
North Wales Police says other methods of destroying the dog were considered but rejected because they were too dangerous to drivers.
Shutting the road would have been a reasonable option, as the dog was loose at around 03:00, when traffic levels would have been low, says Trevor Cooper, the dog law consultant for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
“This stray dog would undoubtedly have been frightened and it’s such a shame that an alternative way wasn’t found for him to be contained, then seized and returned home,” he says. “I appreciate that a lost dog being on a road is a danger to road users as well as being a danger to the dog itself, but the appropriate and proportionate way would surely have been to temporarily close the road.”
Under the law in England and Wales a dog is defined as a “chattel” – or possession – meaning police could be prosecuted for criminal damage for killing the foxhound. But a possible defence would be “necessity” – in this case that the action could be justified by the need to ensure safety on the road.
The Animal Welfare Act of 2006 states that methods used to destroy an animal must be “humane”. Cooper questions whether running the dog over rather than shutting the road to catch it would come under this category. “If this had been a cow on the road, then there’s no way that it would have been considered appropriate to run them over,” he says.
North Wales Police says the decision was “not taken lightly” and that officers dealing with the incident had “no alternative”.
Our early morning Dog Walk by the River Stour, Wimborne.
Just such a beautiful sunny morning and there are now a few picnic tables and benches on the river bank accessed via Station Road by Wimborne Market. Dream Boats Boat Hire is based here.
Can’t wait for the summer to picnic with my dogs!
Here is Four Paws Cat Zebbie, interrupting my report writing by lying right on top of the notebook to get a stroke and cuddle!
Zebbie is a very affection Cat! Love him!
One of the most rewarding parts of my job as a Dog Walker … here is Four Paws Dog Diesel giving me an affectionate kiss! Diesel you’re a sweetheart!
Cat neutering. Of cos this it is just as important for dogs!
Getting your girl cat spayed
To protect her from getting pregnant, your cat will need to go the vet to have a simple operation called spaying (also known as ‘fixing’, ‘neutering’ or ‘being done’).
When your girl cat is about four-months-old, she will start to attract the attention of tomcats who’ll want to have sex with her.
This is why it’s important to have her spayed before she is four-months-old to protect her from getting pregnant while she’s still a kitten herself.
You may have heard that it’s good for cats to have a litter of kittens before they are spayed – but this isn’t true. Once she has been spayed your kitten will be able to do all the things cats enjoy doing, like going outdoors, climbing trees and playing.
Getting your boy cat snipped
Your boy cat will need to have a simple operation, called the snip. This can stop him from spraying in your house to mark his territory, which can be very smelly, and getting nasty injuries from fights. He’ll also be less likely to wander off and get run over, as cats that are snipped tend to stay closer to home.
Having your cat snipped will protect him from a nasty disease called FIV – which is the same as HIV in people, but for cats. It’s spread through cat bites, often between males fighting over a female. It can’t be caught by people.
What’s involved in the operation?
Your cat will need to be dropped off at the vets, and picked up again later that same day.
The operation is very simple. He or she will be given an anaesthetic. Once they are back at home, they will need to stay in for a short time – your vet will advise – but they will soon be fit and well again.
Need help with the cost?
If you receive benefits you may be able to get some help with the cost of having your cat spayed. Contact your local RSPCA branch.
Other charities, such as Cats Protection may also be able to help.
Tackling the cat crisis
The cat population in the UK has reached crisis point. Despite subsidised neutering schemes from rescue organisations, more and more cats are coming into our care and less homes are taking in cats. Our centres are full and we’re left to pay expensive private boarding fees.
Urgent action is needed to increase neutering rates and reduce the number of unlucky cats that end up in rescue centres.
Eye injuries should be treated with saline solution so as not to upset the pH balance of your dog’s eye.
