It’s a special day for esteemed Animal Psychologist and Author Dr Roger Mugford – 5,000 miles and a world away from his home base in the sprawling English countryside, this gentle man will be in glittering Las Vegas receiving the World Pet Association’s Matsui Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable career as a pioneer in pet behavioral therapy.
More than 80,000 ‘problem pets’ have benefitted from the services offered on his Surrey farm, he has given expert testimony in numerous British Courts cases concerning animal behavior and welfare and, since founding The Company of Animals in 1979, he has created some of the best (and most kind) pet training and safety accessories in the business. Did we mention that he’s also trainer to the Queen’s corgis?
The award will be presented tonight at Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues as part of the SuperZoo 2015 entertainment for the 20,000 plus visitors to this mega pet industry trade show. Before the celebrations begin, we chat with Dr Mugford about the rather more leisurely pursuit of being On The Road with his dogs…
Meet The Dogs: Dr Mugford currently has four dogs, pictured here with his recently departed (and much loved) Terrier named PC.
When traveling in the car with you, do your dogs a) sat in your lap, paws on the steering wheel b) head out the window taking it all in c) laid-back and snoozing or d) secure in carrier e) other behavior!
I drive a Land Cruiser 4×4 because it suits my farming and outdoor lifestyle. My 4 dogs pile in the back and know that cars bring new places and new pleasures. In the back of the truck I have a seriously well engineered dog guard to keep them safe from my erratic driving. For longer trips, the 200 miles between my farms in Surrey and Devon, the dog’s wear their ‘CarSafe harnesses’, the very one that I designed.
One curious feature of dog behavior in cars is that they quickly become adept at recognizing their destination: they become excited as we turn off the highway or negotiate the last couple of miles to home. That shouldn’t surprise us because dogs are observant, and recognize familiar smells and landmarks.
What is remarkable is that some dogs, like my recently departed little terrier PC, recognized when he has arrived at an address that he had only visited say, once before. Better than that, PC also became excited on arrival at a completely new address which we had never previously visited. It was as though he was my canine SATNAV with his version of “you’ve arrived at your destination”! How did he do that? It must be that his brain and consciousness was closely aligned to mine, and somehow my conscious or unconscious thoughts roused him just before I arrived at the designated address. (I had many opportunities to test PC’s remarkable ability, because he always accompanied me on house visits to see clients and their dogs.)
If you could click your fingers and wake up anywhere in the world with your dogs, what destination would you most like to experience together and why?
I live near London, about 100 miles from the ocean. My dogs love to be beside the seaside – the sound of crashing waves makes them (and probably all dogs) giddy with excitement. Crashing into white water to recover sticks, or when I am in a playful mood I throw rocks in the water. If it were to be some foreign location, it would be in the wonderful temperate rainforest of British Columbia, whose shores, lakes and forest are the perfect habitat for people and their dogs.
What is your fondest memory of taking a trip with your dogs?
I once flew with a girlfriend and her dog Charlie from Whitehorse in the far north of Canada to Darwin, one of the most northerly settlements in North America. Charlie was a big dog, who sat beautifully behaved and quite unconcerned at the experienced of being airborne in a tiny Cessna, fascinated by his elevated view of the world. Charlie was a dog who enjoyed every possible form of travel, so long as he was with his people.
Do you have an all-time favorite dog-friendly accommodation? Perhaps one that went above and beyond in terms of making your furry friend welcome?
In the town of Carmel in Northern California there is a fantastic hotel, created and still run by the retired Hollywood star Doris Day. Everything in the Cypress Inn is designed to make the canine guests welcome. On our visit there were, about 30 dogs checked in, and none were troublesome in the restaurant or lounges. I have had no such experiences in the UK but of course in France dogs are more welcome in restaurants and hotels than here in the UK. I can only recommend a stay at Cyprus Inn! (BELINDA: We couldn’t agree more! The Cypress Inn is featured in Bodie On The Road and we found it extraordinarily dog-friendly!)
Have you ever had any doggie disasters while traveling with your pet?
I can honestly say that I have not. Of course, there have been car breakdowns where the AA, or in the U.S AAA, rescued myself and the dog’s. That was my nearest to a potential disaster. Of course my dogs have occasionally been sick in the car but I blame the driver and not the dogs. I would now use an Anxiety Wrap to help overcome their travel sickness.
Any tried & tested tips for happy travels with your dog?
Chose the right make of car; a Porsche or Lamborghini is not dog friendly. Be sure there is good air-con with plenty of space for the dog to lay out. Start early with training a puppy and teach them that car travel (usually) has a happy ending. Finally, be sure to restrain your dog tightly with either crash tested crates or for larger dogs a tight fitting and robust harness, such as my CLIX CarSafe.
