Mike & Scrabble in Dogs Monthly

Hot on the heels of February's Your Dog article featuring Mike and Scrabble, comes Dogs Monthly …  and there's something very familiar about the interviewer …

Pick up a copy of March's Dogs Monthly

I'm sure you're all familiar with Mike&Scrabble by now (but head over to the H&H website if not!), and we have some great stuff lined up this year from them both. In the meantime, both Scrabble, and her Human, Mike Dicks, are being interviewed, photographed, quizzed, and queried in the doggy press.

Mike&Scrabble in Feb's Your Dog

Dogs Monthly's March issue features a very interesting, open, and revealing interview with Mike, covering the background to how Mike&Scrabble came to be. It's a great interview: click here to read, or better still, pick up a copy of March's Dogs Monthly.

As chance would have it, Mike was interviewed for Dogs Monthly by non other than Catherine Pickles – possibly better-known to Hubble & Hattie readers as Worzel's Mum! Anyone who's read even a small portion of one of Worzel's books will know that being Worzel's 'Momager' is a pretty full-time job, so it's great to see Catherine has been able to squeeze in an interview with Mike, and give us a chance to enjoy some of her fantastic journalism.

As we've mentioned, this year will see some great new projects from Mike&Scrabble … and Worzel, so watch this space.

And keep up the great work, Mike&Scrabble!

And Catherine, too.

And Worzel, of course.  

Mike&Scrabble – A guide to training your new Human is available now in Hardback and eBook formats.

Margaret Green Animal Rescue – 2017 Events

Margaret Green is providing plenty of opportunities to get out and about in 2017 … and give a helping hand at the same time

Founded in 1965, Margaret Green Animal Rescue cares for over 1200 animals each year across its three centres. Very close to Hubble & Hattie's heart (we even made a nice Christmas donation), and very close to H&H HQ, being just a few miles away at Church Knowle, Dorset, where it has a 35 acre rehoming and visitor centre, in the heart of the beautiful Purbeck countryside.

Why not pop along to one of its 2017 events for a fun day out? There's something for every age and animal lover …

• 9th April  ::  Sponsored Walk  ::  Devon
• 9th-23rd April  ::  Easter At Church Knowle  ::  Dorset
• 15th- 20th May  ::  Margaret Green Week Everywhere!  ::  Event to be added very soon for the 20th May
• 11th June  ::  Wingletang Companion Dog Show  ::  Devon
• 6th August  ::  Companion Dog Show  ::  Dorset 
• 3rd September  ::  Tri-4-Rescue  ::  Devon
• 24th September  ::  Country Fayre  ::  Dorset

Of course, every year is a busy year at Margaret Green Animal Rescue, and planning and running events can be very time consuming … so why not come along and volunteer?!

The help and support of volunteers, at events, and at its centres, is always welcome, and really does make a difference. Tasks include such things as …

• Helping set up event fields 
• Manning stalls
• Serving refreshments and cake 
• Helping in the car park 
• Baking for our event 
• Selling raffle tickets 
• Face painting

… and a whole lot more, of course!

Get in touch now with Jazmin on 01929 477074, or email jazmin.house@mgar.org.uk, and see how you can help … and have fun and help animals at the same time!

Mike&Scrabble, Your Dog, and a new video …

Your Dog is giving away copies of Mike&Scrabble, and we have a new video interview with Mike Dicks

Mike&Scrabble have been getting much attention on social media, and now the doggy press is getting involved. Your Dog magazine is featuring Mike&Scrabble in its February issue, and is GIVING AWAY TEN COPIES!

You can read the article  here … and you can enter the competition by picking up a copy of February's Your Dog … you can even do it from the Your Dog website!

Click the spread above to read the article, and pick up a copy of February's Your Dog magazine to enter the competition!

When in Dorset …

When Mike brought Scrabble down to deepest Dorsetshire to meet the Hubble & Hattie team, we wasted no time in getting out the camera and microphone.

In this latest video, Mike talks all-things Scrabble … how Mike became Scrabble's human … how Mike's training is coming on … what Mike and Scrabble do when they hang out together, to name just a few questions!

View the full video below, or on our YouTube channel.

We've got some very exciting new stuff coming from the Mike & Scrabble kennel this year, but you can get a copy of this great little book RIGHT NOW, in BookBook and eBook formats, from our website and all good vendors.

Moooovie of the week

Occasionally, a YouTube video comes along that just has to be watched. Over and over. Again.

If you've not come across this recent YouTube video then you're in for a real treat!

Now, I love cows. They're surprisingly intelligent and have quite complex social lives, forming longterm friendships and social hierarchies (they even develop grudges against other cows!). They're also highly curious creatures, and love to investigate things, and people.

Of course, being a cow has its own issues … where to find the best grass … where the best spot in the milking parlour is … and, just as importantly, getting a good back scratch. George Saunders, a photographer who specialises in farm machinery and farm equipment (we like him already!), recently posted a video of cows using a home-made scratching device, and I just can't stop watching. It's so good, I think it's Mooovie of the Week. Sorry.

There's something deeply satisfying about watching these bovines checking-out the scratching device, and having a good ol' back and head scratch.


WARNING! It's very, very hypnotic. Hubble & Hattie cannot be held responsible for any time (hours…) spent watching this video. You have been warned.

And – just in case you're in the frame of mind to recreate your own back scratcher with your own menagerie (hey… I'd make one of these for me), then check out George's video – Building the Cow Scratcher 2000 – and see how the device that brings so much hypnotic back-scratching pleasure was made!



Right … I'm off to the hardware store … I got me a project!

How to talk to your dog …

We all talk to our dogs … but do they understand us?

Even though we tell our dogs stuff, ask them questions, and speak to them like a human, they don't really know what we're saying … do they?

Dogs are pretty unique in the animal kingdom, in that their association with humans goes waaaay back … so far, in fact, that their behaviour and cognition has developed in remarkable ways just by being around us for so long (let's face it, it must be pretty frustrating for them!). Whilst they've yet to learn to speak to us in our language, it appears that they have a better comprehension of us than we may have thought.

This fascinating article from The Conversation reveals some interesting stuff about how the way we talk to our dogs affects their cognition, and how dogs may have evolved communications skills akin to those of human children.

We all know our dogs understand every word we say (*ahem*) … but do we understand them? We've plenty of books that help us understand our dogs better: Dog Speak by Christiane Blenski is a great place to start. This pocket-sized, jargon-free guide to the language of dogs is useful in all life situations. In fact, it's so good, it's part of the Kennel Club Accredited Instructors' Course Reading List!