A bright future is predicted for dog stars as Springer pups join the Cancer &  Bio-detection Dogs team
Two working Springer Spaniels with star quality have been donated to the charity Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs where they’ll shine as pioneers sniffing out human disease.
The dynamic pups have been gifted to the charity by Working Springer Spaniel breeder, Enid Lake from the Isle of Skye and presented to the Charity by international broadcaster and writer on astronomy, space and science, Heather Couper. The pups have been appropriately named Rigel (after one of the brightest stars in the sky) and Sirius (the Dog Star), and the sky’s the limit for what these dogs can achieve.
Heather trained as a scientist and has spent the past 20 years working entirely in the media. She has hosted two

I've had a fantastic time today finding out about the dog sport of Schutzhund with the Leicestershire Schutzhund Club. I'm researching an article for Dogs Monthly, and recording interviews for DogCast Radio too. I was offered the chance to be the "helper" - the one who wears the glove. I jumped at the chance, and although as you can see in the first photo the force of lovely German Shepherd Susie's jump surprised me at first, all she wanted to do was play tug of war with the glove. If the glove is thrown on the floor, the dog picks up the glove and ignores the person who has thrown it on the floor. It's just like a game of tug you might play with your dog with a rope toy.

It's four days after Star's TPLO surgery for a ruptured cruciate ligament now, and it's been a rough four days for us all, but especially Star. She doesn't take pain well, and I don't blame her if I'm honest. She is normally such a cheerful dog and it's been upsetting to see her spirits and her tail down for so long. She refused to drink until yesterday, so we've been dosing her with water using a syringe from a bottle of children's medicine. She has objected to the procedure, but eventually resigned herself to it.