IT'S the news that is guaranteed to get tails wagging across the south.

Dogstival, a two-day festival for thousands of pet owners and their canine companions, is returning to the New Forest in 2021 following the success of this year's event.

Billed as the Glastonbury for dogs, Dogstival will be held at Burley Park, Burley, on June 5-6.

It will feature two days of dog show acts and demonstrations, plus live music and a range of food and drink supplied by local producers.

Other attractions will include giant dog-diving splash pools, stand up paddle-boarding and an agility challenge called Barkour.

Dogstival will also feature a specially-designed gundog village, which aims to celebrate the Forest's origins as a royal hunting ground.

Organisers are teaming up with TV vet Scott Miller, whose Healthy Hound Den will promote canine health and wellbeing.

This year's Dogstival was due to have been held at Pylewell Park, near Lymington, in May. However, the Covid crisis resulted in the event being switched to Burley Park in September.

Organiser Richard Nowell said: "It was quite special to be one of only a handful of live events to go ahead this year.

"We welcomed more than 7,000 humans, along with thousands of dogs to Burley Park."

The festival will be backing a raft of charities during 2021 including the Dogs Trust, Medical Detection Dogs and Support Dogs.

The charities will be supported through a number of fundraising initiatives both in the lead up to the festival and during the event itself.

The first national lockdown produced a huge rise in dog ownership across the UK.

Insurance provider PetPlan saw searches for dog insurance increase by 15% between March and June and the Kennel Club has reported a 168% increase in searches for "new puppies".

Mr Nowell said Dogstival organisers were looking forward to welcoming many puppies to their first festival.

He added: "We will be publishing tips and advice to ensure your four-legged friend is ready for the best day out they could imagine."

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