The postman calls three times

I'm the kind of dog that loves postmen, mainly because just recently they've been bringing me some lovely goodies.

First of all came a surprise package all the way from Scotland which contained the items the Lady Of The House bid for in an online auction in aid of RoyalHeart Greyhound Rescue and run by the lovely people at the Living with Pet Bereavement forums.

It wasn't just paper,like it looks in this picture, honestly. In fact there were two parcels. Once had some boring stuff for the LOTH but the other had two collars for me, a big bag of rawhide chips and a special chewy shoe from my great friend King Presley.

Then there were some packages of posters and a big banner from the Retired Greyhound Trust for the event the LOTH and her friend Alyson are doing in April (of which more on another day).

Then this week, the postman rang for a third time with a big box, and this is what happened next:

It turns out that the LOTH and I had won a competition we entered in the magazine that comes from our pet insurance people at PetPlan and we'd won a leather lead, a non-slip water bowl, a furry bed an a lot of dog food from Natural Instinct - who pride themselves on dog food as nature intended.

I am planning to share with food with my good friends Biscuit, Fender and Revel who live nearby but I've made myself at home on the bed already.

Hope you are lucky too in everything you do this weekend. Have a great time.

Open wide for the chicken-flavoured toothpaste

Looking after your dog's teeth as best you can is really important.

There are some nice chews you can buy to help keep teeth in good nick....but as with humans there is no substitute for getting the old toothpaste and brush on them regularly to remove any plaque and make doggy breath as sweet-smelling as possible.

"Open wide!" - "I am doing!"

I have some chicken-flavoured toothpaste which is rather nice and I am happy to let the Man Of The House give my teeth a regular brushing.

Meanwhile the Lady Of The House has finally chosen a dog insurance policy and she has one that does cover me for any dental work I might need as I get older providing I have a dental exam at the vet's once a year.

Is pet insurance for life....not just for 12 months?

This morning's walk with the Lady Of The House took a bit longer than the usual 20 minutes or so because she took me off to a nature conservation area near our house which was full of the most delicious smells.....rabbit, cat, fox....

It was a heavenly blend of aromas which had to be savoured. Met some nice dogs and owners as well. Dog walking is great for making new friends. Instant camaraderie.

Back home I flopped in the hall, as per usual, and the L O T H hit the computer upstairs to start wading through the minefield that is dog insurance.

When she was a girl, she tells me, it was unheard of to insure your pets. You just took your chance when they needed treatment at the vets.

These days with vets offering lots of clever treatments and operations that keep pets in good health for many years it makes more sense to insure yourself against these costs.

L O T H has never taken out pet insurance before and there's a lot to get your head round (or so I can hear as she talks to various companies upstairs).

Some policies sound good, and offer incentives like double reward points on your shopping, then you look in the smaller print and find out that as your pet gets older it's going to cost you more. They also charge a higher excess for selected breeds, which includes greyhounds.

Some policies don't cover dental work - which is an issue lots of dogs have as they age.

Others have a cut-off point when a dog reaches a certain age - and what are you supposed to do then, may I ask? It's obvious that as we age there's more chance of things going wrong with us.

Lifecover sounds like a good option if you can find the right policy with the right level of cover.

Some policies charge an excess that is a percentage of the treatment costs - which can be expensive. I'm glad I've not got to sort it out.

I'm sure she'll find a policy that suits us all...hopefully before it's time for my afternoon walk.

See you soon.

This is me 'dog tired' after my walk