Spring is back, by popular demand, but boy did she keep us waiting this year! I don’t know about you but I’m so over the muddy walks and daily power washing of caked paws. But now the sun is shining, the bare trees are budding and the fleas are back in force.

Dogs, and cats, like humans get hay fever. When the sun comes out and spring arrives the pollen takes to the air. The mud goes away and we’re back to walking our dogs on grass again, and all this sets off our hay fever, and that of our dog.

I’m often asked if its possible to train an ‘old’ dog new tricks. The answer is Yes! It’s an ‘urban myth’ that senior dogs are impossible to train. If you’re blessed to take on a puppy at eight weeks, there’s really no excuse.

The ‘hair of the dog’ cure goes far beyond fixing a hangover. Modern science has enabled us to quantify the positive effects dogs (and other animals) really do have on our wellbeing.