Wasn’t just
WE WERE ALL FED UP ABOUT COVID, BUT DO YOU RECALL HOW THESE FOLK BLEW THEIR TOP LAST YEAR, AS WELL AS (IT’S TRUE) A BURTON TURTLE?
Most dogs love nothing more than going out for a walk, so if your fourlegged friend is refusing to leave the house, something must be up. That’s just one of this week’s problems for our Dogs Trust Wagony Aunts, who are here with answers to all your questions about canine capers.
My dog has stopped wanting to go out for walks. What can I do?
Something might have scared him when he was outside, such as a firework going off in the distance, a car backfiring or bad weather. Changes in behaviour may also be linked to underlying health problems, so speak to your vet to double check he is in good health. They will also be able to refer you to a qualified behaviourist.
In the meantime, don’t force him to go on walks if he doesn’t want to. If he enjoys the first few minutes of a walk, then it’s fine to keep walks short for now. Head for quieter areas and steer clear of anything that makes him worried. Try to make walks fun by bringing his favourite toy and some tasty treats with you.
If you have a garden, you can spend time here doing enjoyable activities such as playing with toys and scattering food for him to sniff. This will help to build his confidence outdoors. Just make sure he can always choose to come back inside if he wants to.
There’s also a lot you can do to keep him active and exercised indoors, such as reward-based training sessions, hiding treats for him to find, toys, and interactive puzzle feeders.
How can I stop my dog from digging?
Digging is a normal behaviour and there are all sorts of reasons why dogs
do this. They might be roughing up the ground to prepare a cool resting spot, looking for interesting scents, spreading their own scent or burying something they want to keep safe.
Stopping your dog from digging altogether might frustrate or upset her. But don’t worry, you can help her dig in a way that’s still fun and protects your flowerbeds, by making a digging pit:
Choose an area of your garden that you’re happy for her to dig in.
Find a sturdy container (such as a cat-litter tray or a heavy-duty plastic box).
Dig a hole deep enough so the top of the container is flush with ground level. Fill the container with the earth you’ve dug out from the hole, or use dog-friendly sand. Teach her to enjoy digging in this area by scattering or burying treats, or half-burying some of her outdoor toys for her to dig out. If you start scrabbling in the dig box yourself, you might find she comes to investigate and copies you!
The more rewarding it is for her to dig here, the more she will return to it. If she starts to dig anywhere else, pop over to the dig pit and start hiding her rewards in it so she comes to see what you’re doing. She’ll learn that digging here is much more fun than digging elsewhere.
You can also make an indoor or patio digging box using a cardboard box filled with shredded newspaper. Hide her toys and treats for her to dig out – she’ll love it!
THE year 2021 put everyone through the ringer as Covid spread misery across Burton and South Derbyshire.
However, some people had other reasons to be upset - and they were not shy about showing it. We have looked through our stories from the year and picked out some of the people who had reason to be angry.
Whether they lost their temper over a lack of sleep, saw their chickens drown due to blocked drains or hit out over dodgy parking on their street, they were all positively livid about something.
And, as you will discover, the animal world was not immune to losing it in 2021...
van abandoned outside homes for 14 weeks
A FLATBED truck caused anger in May after it was abandoned on the pavement - reportedly for almost four months.
The white truck was blocking access for wheelchairs or pushchairs, parked partly on a pavement on the corner of Ashbrook and Dunstall Brook in Brizlincote Valley.
Sandie Williams, resident and Neighbourhood Watch coordinator for the Dunstall Brook and Ashbrook area, reported the truck to the police and councillors. But she said she had been told that while it was taxed and had a valid MOT certificate, it could not be moved.
Mrs Williams said she would be accused of theft if she had it towed away. So she placed stickers on the truck highlighting how long she claimed it had been parked there.”
The truck was full of junk, including clothing, wrappers and cans, Mrs Williams said. A two-week notice was placed on the vehicle by East Staffordshire Borough Council, the resident told the Burton Mail.
Couple whose Chickens drowned on wedding day
A COUPLE whose chickens drowned on their wedding day were furious over blocked drains in September.
Lucinda and Geoff Cooper felt ignored by the authorities as their garden and driveway flooded regularly, leaving a trail of dirt and debris behind.
Geoff, a former Royal Navy engineer, said the garden flooded due to the drains up the road towards the Cadley Hill Roundabout being completely blocked and overgrown.
They were calling on the council to clean up the road and unblock the drains near their home in Woodland Road, Stanton.
Geoff’s wife Lucinda, a former trainer, said at the time: “There has always been flooding on the road. I remember it flooded on our wedding day. We had chickens at the time and they all drowned.”
A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said at the time there was an agreement for the district council to clean the gullies and monitor them going forward.
hammer-waving delivery driver’s sleep struggle
A DELIVERY driver waving a hammer woke a Burton street in anger when he was struggling to get to sleep.
Pawel Wodzynski’s actions in Derby Street, Burton, were heard at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court, which was told how a number of residents to came out of their homes when the delivery driver first appeared.
One witness recalled seeing the 30-year-old hit a man with his weapon as he took the defendant to the floor in a struggle. The extent of the injuries to the person hit with the hammer by Wodzynski were not revealed.