Back on Live With Gabby this morning, and the first time I’ve been on the new format where the phone in has been replaced with more stories and chat. It was a bit disappointing not to be offering live advice to viewers – but overall I thought the new format worked really well and it meant we had lots more time to chat through all the pet headlines from the week. These included the great story of children being encouraged to read to dogs which is just another example of what wonderful and useful companions dogs can be.
We also talked about the research showing how ‘cat people’ and ‘dog people’ differ, and this was something I really relate to – there is definitely something different about people who love dogs and those who prefer cats. Maybe it’s down to personality, maybe some of it’s down to men versus women, or maybe it’s just simple preference. Whatever the details, I would put myself in the dog camp – which, according to the research, means I’m more practical and better at relationships than my wife who’s more of a cat woman (but then she should be better at arts and creativity).
As well as talking about the pet stories in the news, we also looked at some pet gadgets including a race track for a hamster (who was too scared by the presence of Gabby’s dog Sidney to move!) and edible Christmas cards (not a good idea in my opinion as they will only encourage inappropriate eating). Then we watched a film about a slightly bonkers woman and her pack of pampered bulldogs.
My initial reaction to this was really negative - there’s something quite shocking about dogs being so pampered and indulged. However, as I watched it, I thought, actually, these dogs seem to have a great life, and are obviously really well looked after. So perhaps I was just being a bit of a pet snob – who am I to criticise how people live with their pets provided they are happy and healthy? I’d be interested to hear what you thought…
Watch online at http://www.channel5.com/shows/live-with-gabby/episodes/wednesday-09-november-5