I was walking with the dogs across the farm a few days ago when I stopped to watch a red kite soaring above the two small ponds near the top of our land. I began to ponder how I, perhaps, take these majestic birds for granted; they are seen quite commonly in our part of the world but I am regularly surprised that people living just in other parts of Britain are not even able to recognise a red kite in flight, often mistaking them for a buzzard. I was reminded, not for the first time, how lucky I am to live the life that I do, but this encounter inspired me to collate a few facts for you regarding this remarkable bird of prey that we so nearly lost not even a century ago.

So you should already know that the African elephant, the giant panda and the polar bear are considered ‘vulnerable’ by the World Wildlife Fund, but did you know that there are numerous native breeds of dog from the British Isles that are also judged as vulnerable by the Kennel Club. Here we look at the twelve breeds that are seen as most at risk.

Would you be embarrassed if your boss, or perhaps your clients, heard the way you speak to your 'fur babies'? *cringe* I'm referring to that high-pitched, over excited Alvin and the Chipmunks style voice - you know the one... What if I told you that your adult dogs pay no heed whatsoever to this 'technique'?

We all benefit from the extraordinary power of our dog's noses whether it be sniffing out illegal drugs, detecting explosives or, more commonly for most of us, scenting game when working to the gun; but how many of us really consider how they do all this?

These days everything in life seems to be a competition, and it doesn't seem to stop when it comes to our dogs, people always want to compare and 'one-up' each other, but are our working dogs suffering due to this race to be the best?