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‘A dog is for life’: the iconic slogan still going strong, 40 years on

It’s been 40 years since the famous campaign slogan by the Dogs Trust: It was so successful they even had to trademark it.

But they’ve had to make because the charity still takes in unwanted dogs every year — sometimes even on Christmas Day!

Make sure that people don’t give you one!
Rosemary Pirie, dog trainer

“Last year [2017] alone we had 4,827 calls from people wanting to handover their dogs in the month after Christmas, with many of these being Christmas presents that haven’t lived up to expectations, or given up once their owners realised the responsibilities of dog ownership.”

As dog trainer Rosemary Pirie explained on Out for the Weekend, there are things you can do to make sure you’re not one of these people.

“You need to sit down and make sure that people don’t give you one. A lot of the dogs for Christmas aren’t bought by the owner: they’re surprises.

“You’ve got to be sure that if you’ve spoken with your family about ‘oh we’re really thinking of getting a dog’ — don’t let Granny, Grandad or Auntie Jeannie think it’s a good idea... ‘we’ll surprise them all on Christmas day’.

“You must be open and say ‘Great idea, but not for Christmas please!’”

Rosemary Pirie on Out For the Weekend

Dogs, Still Not Just For Christmas

Dog expert, Rosemary Pirie joins us to talk all things canine.

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