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Master groomer and TV presenter, Verity Hardcastle, revealed her top tips for caring for a pet and we are loving them.

Everyone knows taking care of a pet whether it's a dog, cat or rabbit, it takes a lot of work but she's here to help.

1. Dogs are what they eat: Poor nutrition can really cloud their mind.

The first one will obviously be nutrition.

If you're feeding your dog Smarties every day, you can imagine the difference in your dog. Not only obviously does good nutrition help their skin and coat and body, but it’s also so helpful for their mind.

Verity Hardcastle said: "I've heard from a lot of behaviourists that they attribute a lot of behaviours that they see in dogs to poor nutrition.

"A lot of behaviourists will go into a home and the first thing they will ask the owners is, ‘what are you feeding your dog on?’ This is really, really important because poor nutrition could really cloud their mind. So that's super important."

2. Grooming your dog is so important.

Verity Hardcastle is a master groomer and says grooming your dog is vital.

She said: "When I say about grooming your dog, it's just small bursts every day, every other day, obviously depending on your breed. It's really important you don't let your dog get knotty or tangled, because knots can obviously be so uncomfortable for a dog.

"Not only do they restrict movement, they're uncomfortable, they can restrict blood supply to certain areas that don't let the air flow through the coat.

"They can also overheat. so they can't regulate their own temperature. A bad coat can hide parasites and skin issues underneath them. We see a lot of skin problems in our dogs, especially lighter-colored dogs, white dogs in particular.

"It can be such a lovely thing to do together, sitting watching telly. Again, Butternut Box has got some small training treats, these are perfect. So you can feed one and brush the other."

3. Make sure your dog has a hobby.

Apparently dogs love having a hobbie.

Expert Hardcastle said: "I'm a really big advocate for trying to get people at home, who are looking at their dog and just used to doing their morning routine, to try to look outside the box.

"You have a look of what hobbies are out there to do with the dog. It's great exercise, it's great mental stimulation, and it's lovely bonding for the both of you.

"Exercising and tiring them out isn't just about pounding the pavement, it's really about exercising their minds."

4. Allow your dog time to sniff during walks, don’t keep pulling them away.

Number four is the importance of allowing your dog to sniff.

"Dogs get so much mental stimulation from sniffing. This is so important that when you're on a walk, you're allowing your dog to sniff its space.

"It’s scientifically proven that it makes the dogs feel more optimistic. It makes them feel calmer and also it's exhibiting a natural behaviour."

5. When training, always look at positive training.

"When you're training them, you just always need to be looking at positive training.

"There’s loads of information about positive training online, but effectively it's a bit like how we bring up our children, ignoring the stuff you don't want to see and rewarding the stuff you do want to see.

"It’s also about rewarding them when they're being calm in their bed and they're just been lovely. I've got my treats to hand and when they're being so lovely, like relaxing in the house, I'll reward them for that.

"We mentioned games, it’s really fun to get the family involved and play with the dog."

Let us know how you get on implementing these new tips and tricks with your dog.

Related links:

• There's been an 80% increase in dogs being re-homed due to housing limits.

• DSPCA rescue two puppies dumped in rubbish.

• Dogs Trust sees massive increase in dog surrender requests.