A bad rap
The United Kingdom, however, bans not only the “pit bull type,” but also the Dogo Argentina, the Japanese Tosa, and the Fila Brasileiro, all breeds with some reputation for being trained as fighters or as guards. According to Mr. O’Meara, the other breeds never had much of a presence in the United Kingdom.

Specific recognized breeds such as the Staffordshire bull terrier and American Staffordshire terrier, close relatives to the “pit bull,” are not specifically outlawed in the United Kingdom. But if they have broad chests and short hair that fit the general perception of a “pit bull type,” they can fall under the law, Mr. O’Meara said.

Link

3rd: Paper Review – BBC Radio Nottingham (Breakfast show)
14th: Re: Dangerous dogs – BBC Radio Nottingham (Frances Finn mid-morning)

February

9th: Re: Dangerous dogs – BBC Radio Wales (news)
9th: Re: Dangerous dogs – BBC Radio Northants (Lunchtime)
16th Re: Vet fees – BBC Inside Out (filming)
21st Paper review – BBC Radio Nottingham (Breakfast show)

March

3rd: Re Dog attacks – BBC Radio Derby (Breakfast show with Shane O’Connor)
4th: Re What your dog says about you – BBC Radio Nottingham (Frances Finn)

April

25th: Paper review – BBC Radio Nottingham (Breakfast show)

May

22nd: Re dog training – BBC Radio Northamptonshire
28th: Re dangerous dogs – BBC Radio Nottingham (news)
29th: Re dangerous dogs – BBC WM

June

18th: Doing business online – BBC Working Lunch (filming)
20th: Paper review – BBC Radio Nottingham (Breakfast show)

July

9th: Re: Bruce in Northern Ireland – U105 (morning show)
15th: Re pet travel – BBC Radio Northamptonshire (Bob Warmsley)
21st: Doing business online – BBC Working Lunch (aired)
22nd: Dogs in relationships – BBC Radio Nottingham (Frances Finn)
24th: Bring Bruce home – BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (Sue Marchant)

August

3rd: Re Dangerous dogs – BBC Radio Derby (Breakfast show)
10th: Re Canine intelligence – BBC Radio Nottingham (Drive time)
10th: Re Canine intelligence – BBC Radio 2 (Chris Evans show)
24th: Re Bruce / Northern Ireland – 4FM
24th: Re Canine intelligence – BBC Three Counties (Breakfast show)
24th: Re Canine intelligence – 4FM (Drive time)

September

2nd: Re car safety and pets – BBC Radio Northants (Lunchtime show)
3rd: General dog issues – BBC Radio Nottingham (Frances Finn)
9th: Dog behaviour – BBC Radio Wales (Drive time)
17th: Re Dog attack – BBC Radio Sheffield (Breakfast show)

October

26th: Re Better British Dog Owners – BBC Radio Nottingham (Morning show)

November

9th: Better British Dogs – BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (Sue Marchant)
12th: Re Dogs as fashion items – BBC Radio 4 (Woman’s Hour)
30th: Re: Dangerous Dogs and dog attacks – BBC Radio Derby (Drive time)
30th: Re: Dangerous Dogs and dog attacks – BBC Radio 5Live (Richard Bacon)

December

1st: Re: Dangerous Dogs and dog attacks – BBC Radio Derby (Morning)
1st: Re: Dangerous Dogs and dog attacks – GMTV
3rd: Better British Dogs – BBC Radio Kent (Drive time)
9th: Better British Dogs – BBC Radio Nottingham (Frances Finn)
14th: Better British Dogs – BBC Radio Leeds (Breakfast)
14th: Better British Dogs – BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (Sue Marchant)
15th: Status dogs – London LBC (Jenny Barnett)

The topic was related to the recent book ‘Dogs in Vogue’ which is, as it happens, a very nice book – amazing shots (as you’d expect) and in my opinion didn’t portray dogs as fashion accessories at all.

Any way, you can listen to the show in full should you have an interest in this topic by visiting this link:

Woman’s Hour: Are Dogs Fashion Accessories?

Find out more about ‘Dogs in Vogue’

For some former print titles, the switch to digital edition is a step into the unknown, is not always done for the right reasons, and is done with little imagination. For K9 Magazine, a print title from an overwhelmingly digital stable, it was like coming home. Ryan O’Meara explains why they ditched their flagship print magazine and what they hope to achieve from its digital rebirth.

I think we’ve done absolutely everything back to front in publishing. From day one, we did things the wrong way round, always have.

K9 Media, the publisher behind K9 Magazine and a portfolio of some 40+ digital properties (that’s the fancy term for websites so I have learned) was started back in 1999.

We were / are a digital media company. But in 2001, K9 Magazine was launched. I have never denied the fact that K9 Magazine was born of the result of advertisers telling us how much they “loved what we’re doing, we just don’t really have an online marketing strategy at present. Do you have any print media?”

It took us seven issues to get K9 Magazine right and we even had to go out and get additional investment to sustain the company after this hungry new inky addition ate all of our cash in a way that our digital children never did. When we did get the magazine right though, we really got it right. It grew fast. TV coverage, major, world-exclusive celebrity interviews, brand recognition, we made a magazine that I became very proud of. Despite this, I still couldn’t get as passionate about print as I was about pixels.

Read the full article here

The Three Counties piece was an item on the importance and value of socialisation for dogs (and their owners) – they asked me which breed I thought was the most intelligent, I said Afghan Hound, purely to buck this trend which keeps seeing them ranked low on the intelligence tests. Unintelligent is not an accurate reflection of the Afghan’s I’ve met and I think some people like to call a dog’s intelligence in to question just when that dog doesn’t do what they want – non compliant is not the same as unintelligent!

The 4FM item was discussing the survey of two weeks ago which contrasted canine intelligence to that of a two-year old child.

Something which I don’t agree with!

Nope. Neither.

It’s…………

……JP Morgan Chase!

Knock me down with a feather. I would have never have got that question right in a pub quiz. But it’s true. Just heard it on Bloomberg.

What next? Am I going to find out that the largest manufacturer of running shoes is not Nike or Addidas but Barclays Bank?

Probably not.

2) Position it with hot women showing much flesh – check.

3) Make it much bigger/stronger/faster than predeccors – check.

4) Wait for Mr Outraged from Hemel Hempstead to do the rest of your job for you – checkmate.

AN energy drink called Simply Cocaine was blasted by anti-drug campaigners yesterday.

The drink, with a cartoon character called “Charlie” on the bottle, has double the caffeine content of Red Bull.

Excess caffeine drinks can trigger heart problems. But Martin Barnes, of the charity DrugScope, is angry over the name.

He said: “This is an intentionally provocative and cynical marketing stunt. Making light of an illegal drug that causes harm isn’t smart.” ~ source, The Sun.

Oh Mr Barnes, I’d say it was smart. Very smart. You brain surgeon, you.

Alice Cooper sent Mary Whitehouse a bouquet of flowers after she pretty much did ALL of his marketing for him by appearing in the media saying how he should never be allowed in to the country and that his depraved, sickening stage show was something that young people should never be exposed to. Nice one Mary. Way to sell out Wembley Stadium (twice).

If I was launching a youth orientated product I guarantee, absolutely guarantee right, slap bang at the top of my list of priorities would be the task “How to get Mr I Know Best For Everyone to be outraged about it. If you can do that, job done. Cheap, effective and never fails to work.

The reason I particularly liked this book is because its key, central message is something I could relate to in myself and is something I can see – all too often – in up and coming business owners. The title of the book somewhat gives away what that message is which, to me, reads very simply as: Stop dicking about, get on with it!

I used to be the world’s worst for tinkering. I couldn’t launch something because it was never ‘quite perfect’. I would find myself paralysed with little doubts about a new project or product that would play on my mind and all the while I’d be doing that, the clock would be ticking.

Does this sound familiar?

“I’ll be able to get on to the marketing just as soon as…..”

“I will book the advertising campaign once I’ve just…….”

“We can start actively selling this once we’ve just……”

“I can move on to sales just after I’ve……”

That was me.

I’d tinker the hell out of a project and would invariably take so much time procrastinating – although I didn’t accept or acknowledge that was what I was doing, but it WAS – that by the time I was ready to go with the launch, the moment of inspiration that caused me to actually set up the project or venture had long gone. In many cases I’d over analysed so much I’d not only have lost inspiration, I’d convinced myself of all the weaknesses and had demotivated myself.

This book, very clearly tells you to stop dicking, start doing. It’s a MUST read – but more importantly – it’s a must DO.

In fact, if you have something you want to do and are saying to yourself “Ooh, that book looks good. I’ll read that and as soon as I have……” – then you DEFINITELY need this book (but you should REALLY be doing that thing you said you’d do!).

I have to admit, I still think that even I over analyse still, to this day – and that’s despite the fact that most people think my biggest strength is the sheer volume of projects and ventures we have on the go at any one time (which is NEVER less than 50).

So what I do is this; if I ever find myself scratching my head, putting fingers on my chin or leaning back in my chair for ‘thinking time’ I realise I’ve gone wrong.

A good plan can take 3 minutes or 3 years but once you KNOW it’s a good plan, get out and do it. Don’t let your mind convince you otherwise once you actually get the wheels moving. If it’s a bad plan, kill it before you actually get to the action stage of the project – but if you’re IN the action stage then you should have already decided your plan is a good one, so get on a DO IT!

Ready, Fire, Aim is such a great ethos and it suits me down to the ground.

Get it ready, fire it, aim it.

Think about it!

———-

I will post more of my favourite, most inspiring business books here on the site soon.

It’s a full service new media consultancy. Which sounds quite buzwordy, which I don’t like, so I have made sure that what the company does can be explained in simple, plain English:

We come to your business, give you actionable ideas (at least 147 of them), all of which will make your company better. We  show you how to use digital media to make your company more profitable, more efficient (commercially and environmentally) and your people more  productive – and subsequently – happier. In short: More money, less waste, happier people via digital media.

The principle reason for starting this company is to help businesses and public sector entities get a better handle on how to use digital media to improve their companies, departments or organisations by passing on the knowledge I’ve picked up over the past decade or more working, day in, day out, in new media.

I have been booked to speak at an innovation event in September and I am genuinely excited at the prospect of being able to pass on some tips and ideas.

Ideas. I have LOADS of them. At any one time I’m walking around with at least 147 ideas in my head and whilst I can’t always act on them myself, I love the idea of being able to pitch them to other people who can.

Independent Digital Media