A HAMPSHIRE pooch is set to have a starring role in a campaign urging people to be responsible while walking their dogs in conservation spots.

Daily Echo online's dog advice columnist Natalie Light will be appearing on a cinema screen with her rescue dog Jack later this month in a bid to conserve South Downs National Park.

Natalie is a dog behaviourist who answers our reader’s doggy dilemmas every other week and she entered a competition launched by the park to create a film showing how she walks responsibly through the park with Jack.

Now the pair, who live in Burridge, have been chosen as one of four finalists in the Take the Lead campaign, sponsored by the National Park Authority.

Their two-minute film shows Natalie out in the park with Jack, wandering through the fields, teaching him tricks and demonstrates how she feels dog walkers should act when they’re out with their pet.

It will be shown at a premier with three other dog-owner duos’ footage on the Big Screen in Brighton on August 16 and watched by more than 50,000.

They will also be shown before other films for the entire time that the Big Screen is in Brighton – until September 13.

Natalie said: “For me it’s about not leaving any trace. It’s about management and keeping Jack busy.

"He’s a rescue dog and can be a bit wary about other dogs running over and being in his face and he would like to chase if I gave him the opportunity.

"I do a lot of training with him – I use a long training lead so it’s trailing behind him and I practice my recall when we’re on walks and I make sure he’s engaged with me.

“I was over the moon to be chosen as one of the winners. As a behaviourist and ecologist with a background in wildlife conservation, how dog owners behave with their dogs in the countryside is one of my specialist areas.

“The video that was made with Jack allowed me to promote responsible behaviour with your dog such as keeping to paths, not disturbing wildlife or other walkers and always picking up after your dog."

“I hope that the people that watch it enjoy seeing Jack and I having a wonderful time on a walk and that it helps them understand why certain behaviour is necessary so that the beautiful, nature-filled countryside is preserved for everyone to enjoy.

“Natalie adopted Jack, who is now eight-years-old, from the Blue Cross shelter in Southampton when he was 18-months-old.

She said: “He’d been in their re-homing centre for eight months and been overlooked, but I fell in love with him straight away.

"I was looking for a high energy breed that needed some training as I wanted to do agility. He was and still is a lot of fun and we have a brilliant time together, he is genuinely my best pal.”