How heavy is your hound?

Dieting With My Dog is the honest and heartfelt story of one overweight woman and her chubby spaniel, struggling to lose weight and get fit together. This book is for anyone who has ever loved a pet – through thick and thin.

Dieting with my Dog is out later this month priced at £9.99 (plus p+p). Check it out over at the H&H website!

Clever Dog! eBook now available through Apple's iBookstore

Got an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad? Love reading books? Well, we've now got our Clever Dog! title available in eBook format in Apple's iBookstore!

Priced at £7.49 (paperback version £9.99), this means you can read Ryan O'Meara's fascinating book at a great bargain price!

Get the paperback version
Get the eBook version

Device requirements: Can only be viewed using iBooks on an iPad, iPhone (3G or later) or iPod touch (2nd generation or later). Samples can only be sent to iBooks on your devices running iOS 4.3.3 or later that have Automatic Downloads enabled.

Coming soon: Clever Dog eBook!

We've gone all technological at Hubble and Hattie!

Our great book, Clever Dog! by Ryan O'Meara, is getting the eBook treatment, and will soon be available to buy from the iTunes iBookstore!

The dog is undeniably the most successful domestic animal of all time. He shares his life with ours, has integrated into our society, and won the hearts and minds of millions of us.

In this book, Ryan O'Meara explores a whole raft of canine skills and talents, and trys to piece together how and why the dog has enjoyed such immense success as a domesticated animal.

The book looks at the dog as a problem solver, conflict resolver, and health asset. As a decision maker and hero. And as a loyal and trusted friend.
Clever Dog! is a compendium of life lessons we can learn from our dogs, based on a combination of what we know about them and – indeed – what we think we might know about them.

We'll have more information for you once the book goes live, but in the meantime you can still grab yourself a traditional copy of the book from the H&H website, priced at £9.99! (excludes p+p)

An Oldie but a Goodie...

I'm sorry we've been a bit on the quiet side recently folks, let us make it up to you with this amazing Ok Go video:

Not only is the video in aid of animal rescue, it was all filmed in one take! Those are some seriously clever canines...

There are quite a few music videos out there that feature some amazing animals, let me know which your favourite is!

New release!

Ever looked at your dog as he plays blissfully, or and thought you could learn a thing or to from how he lives his life? Check out our new book, Clever Dog! and find out how!

The dog is undeniably the most successful domestic animal of all time. He shares his life with ours, has integrated into our society, and won the hearts and minds of millions of us. We call ourselves dog lovers because we do sincerely love them: they are fully-fledged members of our family, and we have elevated them to positions of authority in the human world. Assistance dogs, protection dogs, detection dogs, companion dogs ... they all enhance our lives immeasurably.

Clever Dog! is a compendium of life lessons we can learn from our dogs, based on a combination of what we know about them and – indeed – what we think we might know about them.

Clever Dog! is now available from the H&H website priced at £9.99 (plus p+p)

Now in stock!

You can now get your paws on a copy of our new book, Living with an Older Dog from our website!

Most dogs live longer these days, thanks to a greater understanding of what they need in terms of food, exercise, health monitoring, and medical care.
This book describes how to recognise and understand the changes – both mental and physical – that occur as your dog ages. It explains – with the help of unique and specially-commissioned photography – how to manage these changes successfully, and thus how to make the senior canine years more enjoyable and fulfilling for both you and your dog.
Exercise, diet, grooming, sharing the house with a younger dog, travel and holiday arrangements – all this and much more is covered in detail. There is also advice on how to work closely with your vet in order to manage your dog’s senior years, as well as sympathetic advice for when the time comes to say goodbye.

Living with an Older Dog is priced at £14.49 (including UK postage) and is available now from the Hubble & Hattie website.

Animals in the Arts: Byrons' Epitaph to a Dog

Near this Spot

are deposited the Remains of one

who possessed Beauty without Vanity,

Strength without Insolence,

Courage without Ferocity,

and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.

This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery

if inscribed over human Ashes,

is but a just tribute to the Memory of

BOATSWAIN, a DOG,

who was born in Newfoundland May 1803

and died at Newstead Nov. 18th, 1808.

These are the words inscribed on the tomb of a Newfoundland owned by celebrated Romantic poet, Lord Byron. Byron apparently loved the dog, and it's hard to deny it when you look at the evidence.

Reportedly, when Boatswain contracted rabies, Byron remained with him and nursed him without fear of being bitten and contracting the disease. Boatswain was buried in a tomb much bigger than Byron's own, and this epitaph later became one of Byron's most famous poems. Clearly, Byron loved his faithful companion, and was not content to let his loyalty go by unnoticed by the world.

It's a lovely reminder that despite power, fame and fortune, true love and companionship are always available in the form of a dog. Byron puts it more eloquently than I ever could:

'[T]he poor dog, in life the firmest friend,

The first to welcome, foremost to defend,

Whose honest heart is still his Master's own,

Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone'

Lord Byron: Epitaph to a Dog, 1808

So if you're reading this, and you have a lump in your throat (be honest), now is the time to express your love for your dog. Not all of us can afford huge monuments, or have the words to put together a stirring ballad, but there are simpler ways to show your dog that he's appreciated...

Let us know what you do to show your hounds just how much they mean to you; be it a special dinner, a long walk, or a really good belly scratch.

Every dog is special, and we want to know about each and every one...