One of the joys of moving to Suffolk has been the discovery of so many new exciting walks: on heathland, in the woods and on the beaches.  (Today we were on a footpath that led across a golf course and before I realised it, the dogs had happily decided to join in by kindly retrieving their balls - fortunately the golfers saw the funny side!)

Now that Titus is showing his age we don't normally walk for more than two hours a day but even so, I am amused to discover that this could be adding years to my life.  A recent study on 600,000 men and women aged 40+ found that walking just two and a half hours a week could add more than seven years overall.

Other recent research has shown that taking a daily walk can make you more able to cope with life's ups and downs.  The lesson is clear: if you want to live forever and take life in your stride, get a dog and get walking!  But if you can't have a dog for any reason but would still like to walk one, visit www.dogwalkingnow.co.uk that tries to match dogs that need walking in your area with friendly walkers. 

My older flat coat Titus has never been a licker but the younger, Rosco, has his tongue in your face or ear whenever possible.  Personally I think it's a disgusting habit and I hate it - I know all too well all the unsavoury places his tongue has been!  But some owners revel in their dog licking their face although they might not be so keen when they discover that recent reseach by the Japanese shows that mutual kissing can result in gum disease - for the owner.  They found that certain types of bacteria can be exchanged between dogs and owners, working both ways, and that dog owners had a higher rate of bacteria in their mouths than non dog owners.  After finding that three kinds of disease-causing bacteria were prevalent in dogs' plaque, they concluded that several gum infections could be transmitted to humans.  However, others argue that many bacteria in a dog's mouth are naturally the same as in a human's mouth - and that it may well be safer to kiss your dog than a human!

Dogs were in the news last week for three very different reasons.  First, Theo an Army sniffer dog received the Dickin Medal (the animal VC) for life-saving bravery in Afghanistan.  You may remember that the young springer cross died shortly after his handler was killed.  Then there were the Specsaver Hearing Dog Awards.  As a totally biased flat coat owner, I was delighted to see 5 year old Zena take second prize!  And finally there was the outcry from some but by no means all, after Alan Titchmarsh accused self-styled dog whisperer Cesar Millan of "pretty barbaric treatment" and "totally unacceptable" dog training methods.

Are you a Millan fan?  Tell me what you think....