Agility competitors Susannah Chalmers, who suffers from spinal stenosis and arthritis, and her Papillon Arran, recently returned from the ParAgility World Championships in the Netherlands with two individual bronze medals and the individual overall reserve world champion title. Having heard good things about the championships, Susannah had been inspired to apply for a place in the UK team and in January of this year found out that she and Arran had been selected. This was the start of what Susannah describes as “the adventure of a lifetime”. You can share Susannah’s experience — and that of her incredibly talented and clever canine partner — on page 45.

The owners of Staffordshire Bull Terrier-cross Boatswain knew their much-loved dog ’wasn’t right’ when he stopped chasing squirrels and went off his food. What they hadn’t expected however was to be told that their dog had an aggressive and rare spinal osteosarcoma. The treatment options included ground-breaking surgery and so the Staffie-cross became the first dog in the UK to undergo pioneering reconstructive spinal surgery. Read the full story on page 54. There’s lots more in this issue to enjoy too, including advice on how to get your dog to listen to you, a new series on running with your dog, wonderful dog walks in North Norfolk, and a breed focus on that gentle giant of the dog world, the Newfoundland (see page 24).