Out & About

How to deal with an older dog starting to show some bad behaviour after many happy years

A-list dog trainer Ben Randall helps a reader whose ageing dog has started changing its behaviour — and not for the better.

Skate at Somerset House is the friendliest thing you'll ever do in London

Relying on the kindness of strangers is alive, well, and found in Skate at Somerset House on the Strand.

Zebras, lobsters, lions and Ronald Reagan's baby elephant: The strangest pets in history

These days nobody would dream of keeping a wild animal as a pet, but there was a time, not so long ago, when a gentleman could stroll into Harrods and buy an elephant or an alligator. Jonathan Self explores the era of the exotic menagerie.

Ben Randall: Ask Country Life's canine agony uncle a question about your dog

Over the past two years our award-winning dog trainer Ben Randall has been sharing his advice with Country Life readers.

The First World War, as seen through the unique Country Life Picture Archive

Country Life looks back at the First World War through the lens of the Country Life Archive. View images, read a selection of wartime articles, and also download war artist Muirhead Bone’s first catalogue of drawings, originally published in 1917.

How to look after a dog who's gone deaf, by A-list trainer Ben Randall

Ben Randall handles a query from a reader whose dog has lost her hearing.

What do you get the dog that has everything? A shepherd's hut with a heated towel rail

Plankbridge's latest hut is designed specifically for washing the dog. Because a clean hound is a happy hound.

You've got peemail: Why dogs sniff each other's urine

Ever wondered why your dog is so fond of sniffing another’s pee? 'The urine is the carrier service, the equivalent of Outlook or Gmail,' explains Laura Parker.

Seven true ghost stories from a century of Country Life

Over the course of Country Life's 125-year history, dozens of readers have shared their tales of ghosts. Here we've picked out seven of the most fascinating.

Curious Questions: Why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween?

The devilishly smiling image of Jack O'Lantern is inseparable from Halloween, but what's the story behind it? Martin Fone explains — and discovers that the festival many complain about as an American import has been this side of the Atlantic for centuries.

Give the dog a throne: the ridiculous homes we make for our four-legged friends

Devoted dog owners, past and present, have created a veritable 'Barkitectural Digest'. Flora Watkins pays tribute to some of the most palatial pet houses in the land

How to deal with a dog that's stronger than you are — especially when it runs off when it gets excited

Ben Randall tackles an issue for an owner of a dog that's almost as big as she is.

Mud, glorious mud: Why we should get down and dirty in our wet earth

We loved it as a kid, and we should love it as an adult. Mud is fun to walk through, play with and has real scientific benefits for our health to boot.

'My dog goes crazy when he sees someone with a ball launcher. How do I make him stop?': Expert trainer Ben Randall explains what to do

Taking on a dog with ingrained bad habits can be a headache. Ben Randall explains how to retrain them to keep calm.

Dawn Chorus: The artwork thrown in a museum bin, Cambridge's most famous sight and the world welly wanging champion unmasked by the BBC

What is it like to grow up in a castle? Can you name Cambridge's most famous landmark? And who is the Welly Wanging World Record Holder? All this and more is revealed in today's Dawn Chorus.

How to stop a dog from whining and barking in the early hours of the morning

A dog with an early routine is one thing — but a dog who occasionally decides to beat the birds up at dawn can be trickier to deal with.

More Champagne, madam? The beautiful train journeys that bring back the Golden Age of travel

The romance and glamour of taking a trip on an original steam train is hard to resist, and all the more so when paired with fine dining and opulent surroundings. Octavia Pollock took a trip to find out more.

Riding through the kitchen on horseback, plus take our Quiz of the Day

A spectacular view of Snowdonia, the intelligence of owls and our quiz of the day are all highlights of this morning's Dawn Chorus.

A taste of the exotic: the strangest animals roaming the British Isles

Thanks to escapees from private collections and zoos, hitchhikers and releases of inconvenient pets, followed by the breeding efforts of these resilient species, the British Isles are now home to all kinds of exotic fauna not at all native to these shores.

How to teach your dog to go to the loo when you need them to — and not just when they decide the time is right

It can be frustrating and stressful when your dog is stubbornly refusing to do its business while on a lead, especially if you’re in a scenario where you can’t let them roam free. Expert dog trainer Ben Randall explains how to encourage your dog to go on command.