Your Dog – March 2026

Summary

Your Dog March 2026 (£5.99) asks on the cover whether your dog could fetch the fame, and follows guide dog in training Crumpet through his first winter. Nathaniel Cureton's team opens with a tribute to Sarah Fisher (1964-2025), the welfare advocate who died at 61.

The cover story gives the issue its science: Magnetic attraction at page 14 explains how dogs use magnetic fields, especially when they toilet. Cassie, a black Labrador, is the canine hero at page 8, Roman the Lurcher cross needs a forever home at page 9, and Lights, camera, action at page 16 shows how close stardom really is.

Regulars cover the practical run: heelwork to music at home, TTouch for confidence, the problem with heelwork, puppy teething, a health check on the senses and the Italian Greyhound breed profile. Walks get 10 spring routes, dog-friendly campsites and Bedfordshire's hidden beauty, while Sefton Park and Cornwall close the travel pages. Three issues cost £3.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover Story

p.14 · Magnetic attraction
The cover story explains how dogs use magnetic fields, with the strongest case being what they do when they toilet. The science gives owners a reason to watch rather than hurry a dog circling on a walk. Let your dog choose its own spot and direction next time instead of pulling it along.

▸ Dogs at Work

p.8 · Canine heroes
Cassie, a black Labrador, has changed a life and takes the hero slot on the cover. The issue names her under CASSSIE THE CANINE HERO. Ask what task a dog like Cassie is trained to do before you assume any clever pet could.

p.24 · Crumpet takes on winter
Guide dog in training Crumpet faces his first winter, the cover's second lead story. The column builds on Crumpet's classroom work from earlier issues. Check a young dog's coat and paws after every winter walk rather than once a season.

p.28 · Back to school
Dogs go into the classroom in this feature, following Crumpet's winter page. Working dogs learn in ordinary places before they qualify. Take your own dog into one new quiet building this month.

▸ Training and Behaviour

p.22 · Give it a go
The give-it-a-go column tries heelwork to music, with Andrea McHugh reporting she and Dash were invited onto the Royal Kennel Club Heelwork to Music demo team at Crufts, appearing Friday 6 March. Practise one short routine to music before trying a full display.

p.34 · The problem with heelwork
This page handles what to do when harness and lead will not cooperate, the Plan B behind the cover's better walks without the battle. Loose-lead work fails for mechanical reasons as often as behavioural ones. Change one piece of equipment before blaming the dog.

p.32 · A TTouch of confidence
The TTouch column builds confidence through enrichment you can do at home. Home enrichment costs nothing and suits winter days. Run one new surface or object past your dog for two minutes today.

p.36 · Puppy love
This page deals with the teething problem, the chewing that arrives with adult teeth. Teething has a predictable timeline, so the damage is manageable. Freeze a wet cloth and give it to your puppy before it finds your furniture.

▸ Health and Breeds

p.38 · Health check
The health check keeps a dog's key senses in the best condition, covering what owners should watch. Eyes, ears and nose are the first places loss shows. Look at your dog's eyes and ears in good light once a week.

p.40 · Breeds — Italian Greyhound
The breed page profiles the Italian Greyhound. Coach-potato reputations hide how fast and cold-sensitive the breed is. Buy a coat for an Italian Greyhound before the first frost, not after.

p.43 · A mental game
This column asks whether a dog can have autism, treating behaviour questions seriously rather than dismissing them. Behaviour labels need evidence before they help a dog. Write down exactly what your dog does before you accept any label.

▸ Places

p.44 · Did someone say walkies?
Ten spring walks open the places section, giving owners routes to try as the season turns. Numbered lists are easier to act on than descriptions. Pick two of the ten and put dates in your diary.

p.48 · Travel — Bedford's hidden beauty
The travel page covers Bedfordshire's hidden beauty, one of the cover's location promises. County walks suit dogs who find famous routes too busy. Check the stiles and livestock on any new route before you set off.

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Editor's Take

The magnetic fields cover story is the reason Your Dog March 2026 stands out, because a magazine that explains what a dog does when it toilets is doing science rather than sentiment. Cassie the black Labrador and Roman the Lurcher cross give the hero and rehoming pages real animals rather than stock photographs, and Andrea McHugh's Crufts date of Friday 6 March is the kind of detail readers can use. Weakest is the heelwork pair, where Give it a go and The problem with heelwork cover the same ground in two places, and the travel section spreads across Bedfordshire, Sefton Park and Cornwall without depth on any. The Italian Greyhound profile is short. Buy this for the science and the working-dog pages.

Strengths
• Magnetic fields story covers toilet behaviour
• Cassie and Roman are named dogs, not stock
• Crufts heelwork date is checkable
• Health check targets the senses owners ignore

Weaknesses
• Two heelwork pieces overlap in the same issue
• Travel pages spread thin across three places

Verdict: Recommended — the cover science and hero dogs earn the £5.99.