Atherton explained that one of the main reasons spaniels, particularly Springer Spaniels and Cocker Spaniels, can be challenging for families is their boundless energy.

These breeds were originally bred for hunting, meaning they thrive on high levels of activity and mental stimulation. While this makes them amazing working dogs, it can become overwhelming in a home where families may not have the time or resources to meet these demands.

“When I see a spaniel out in the field, doing what they were born to do, it’s incredible,” Atherton said. “But when you take that same energy and put it in a family home, it often becomes a problem.”

Many spaniel owners agree.

One follower commented on Atherton’s video: “I have two spaniels, and I totally agree with you. They need so much activity to stay happy.”

Atherton’s message is clear: for families seeking a more laid-back dog to fit into a busy household, a breed like the spaniel may not be the best match. While these dogs can be loving and loyal, their high energy levels and need for constant engagement can lead to stress and frustration for owners who can’t keep up.

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The cooling UK labour market is continuing to bring down wage growth, according to new data that will help to reassure the Bank of England that price pressures are easing.

The median pay award in the private sector fell from 4.4 per cent in the three months to July to a two-year low of 4.1 per cent in the three months to August, according to new figures published on Wednesday by Incomes Data Research.

A pick-up in public sector pay growth meant the median award across the economy as a whole remained stable — a rise of 4 per cent.

Zoe Woolacott, senior researcher at IDR, said the public sector was “currently in the catching-up phase, after a lengthy period in which pay awards lagged behind those in the private sector”. But she added that if inflation fell further, “pay awards are likely to follow it, eventually”.

IDR’s figures corroborate similar data published by the research group Brightmine last week, which showed most annual pay awards were bunched around the 4 per cent mark in the three months to August, with fewer employers handing out bumper payouts.

Sheila Atwood, content manager at Brightmine, said this was due not only to the recent fall in inflation, but also reflected a weaker labour market where “the number of under- or unemployed individuals is starting to outpace the number of job openings”.

The BoE is keeping a close watch on these indicators of pay growth, as well as on official earnings data and its own business surveys, as it seeks to gauge how far inflationary pressures in the economy are easing.

UK inflation held steady at 2.2 per cent in August — far below its 2022 peak above 11 per cent and close to the BoE’s 2 per cent target. But services price inflation has edged up and this week’s increase in regulated energy prices means headline inflation is also likely to rise at the end of the year.

The BoE left interest rates unchanged last month, after August’s cut to 5 per cent, with governor Andrew Bailey arguing that for inflation to stay low, “we need to be careful not to cut too fast or by too much”.

The more hawkish members of the Bank’s monetary policy committee worry that the pandemic and energy crisis might have triggered a lasting change in the way the UK labour market behaves, with workers able to bargain harder against a backdrop of staff scarcity, and businesses better able to pass on costs to consumers.

Official data shows that UK average earnings growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 5.1 per cent in the three months to May — down from last year’s peak, but still well above recent norms.

However, the labour shortages that fuelled wages over the past two years have now dissipated. Adzuna, the job search engine, said last week that competition for jobs was at its highest level in three years, with more than two jobseekers for every vacancy after the number of jobs advertised in August fell 17.5 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Tony Wilson, director at the Institute for Employment Studies, said that with competition for jobs “returning to more normal levels” and employers “filling their jobs pretty quickly”, this “should give the Bank of England a bit more confidence on future interest rate cuts”.

Economists at Goldman Sachs said on Tuesday that there was “significant room for private sector pay growth to normalise now that price inflation has fallen” but that it was still likely to remain above long-run averages, with public sector wage growth also set to remain firm on the back of recent pay deals.   

Iran risked a direct attack on Israel last night because its leaders felt they were losing face at home, as well as among their Middle Eastern proxies. They wanted to send a signal to Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis that they have not abandoned them.

Yet the barrage is more dangerous than Tehran’s missile attack on Israel in April, which was slower and telegraphed. This new salvo was fired against the backdrop of Benjamin Netanyahu’s invasion of southern Lebanon, the bombing campaign and the assassinations of Hezbollah leaders, as well as the devastation in Gaza and the 7 October slaughter of Israelis.

Today’s attack brings a wider regional war a step closer. Neither Iran nor Israel wants that conflict, or is equipped to fight it. However both have promised further retaliation, in an exchange of ballistic missiles that could quickly spiral out of control.

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Israel has a multi-layered missile defence system but analysts believe a combined attack from enemies could breach it. During the April bombardment, Israel’s allies including the US, UK and France helped to intercept missiles. Iran’s arsenal is bigger and more varied than Hezbollah’s.

Talk of “severe consequences” sent shivers through markets. Washington is committed to underwriting Israel’s defence but Mr Netanyahu has shown a willingness to defy his allies in the White House. The next US president will be determined to avoid war with Iran.

Israel’s Prime Minister knows – but will not care – that his military gains still require a long-term strategy to break this cycle of conflict. The best-case scenario is that Israel and Iran return to rhetoric rather than bombarding one another.

Nigel Blow, a long-serving former Harrods executive, has decided not to become the boss of department store Fenwick despite being due to start in the role this month, the BBC has learned.

Mr Blow worked at Harrods for 14 years from 1992 to 2007, a period when the luxury London store was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed.

It comes after the BBC broadcast a documentary last month based on the accounts of more than 20 women who said they had been sexually assaulted or raped by Al Fayed while working at Harrods.

Following the allegations against Al Fayed, Mr Blow declined to answer multiple requests for comment. A day after contacting Fenwick, however, the BBC was told he would not be taking up the post.

The BBC first attempted to contact Mr Blow on 21 September – and received no response to multiple subsequent requests.

On 30 September Fenwick was contacted to ask if it had any comment to make about the documentary and Mr Blow’s long-standing links with Harrods.

About 24 hours later, Fenwick told the BBC: “In July 2024, we announced that we would be appointing Nigel Blow as CEO of Fenwick. Nigel Blow has informed us that he will no longer be taking up this position.”

No reason for the decision has been given.

Fenwick is best known for its 140-year-old store in Newcastle, and has eight stores around the UK. It closed its branch on Bond Street in London earlier this year.

Mr Blow has been the chief executive of the privately-owned department store chain Morleys since 2019.

The BBC was told “no comment” when it called Morleys on Tuesday to ask if Mr Blow would retain his position at the firm. He is still listed as chief executive of Morleys on the LinkedIn social networking site.

He joined Harrods as a merchandise controller in 1992, rising to chief merchant of the store, with a seat on the board, in 2003.

There were media reports of Al Fayed’s alleged abuse of women during this period – a profile in Vanity Fair in 1995 alleged sexual misconduct against staff, then a documentary in 1997 and a book in 1998 alleged sexual assaults.

Al Fayed died last year aged 94.

Mr Blow left Harrods in 2007 to join the Irish retailer Brown Thomas.

In 2013 he took up a post with another Fayed company – this time as managing director of Turnbull and Asser, the shirt-maker with a Royal Warrant from Prince Charles.

It is owned by the Fayed family and chaired by Ali Fayed, Mohamed’s brother, where he stayed until 2017.

The BBC has been contacting as many former directors of Harrods as possible to ask what they knew about Al Fayed’s behaviour and ask for their reaction to the BBC’s investigation.

Another former Harrods executive, Andre Maeder, was recently announced as the new chief executive of the department store Selfridges.

He told the BBC he was “horrified” to watch the documentary about Al Fayed, but added he “never saw or heard anything” about his “abhorrent” behaviour.

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Sir Keir Starmer will take his mission to “reset” Britain’s relations with the EU to Brussels on Wednesday, but European capitals are warning that the UK prime minister should not expect an easy ride.

Although Starmer has improved the mood between London and its former EU partners, member states warn that familiar issues such as fisheries, a youth mobility deal and an objection to British “cherry picking” will loom over future talks.

The UK premier, who opposed Brexit, has insisted Britain will not rejoin the EU single market or customs union, prompting some member states to question whether Starmer’s plans amount to a full reset of relations. 

Downing Street said Starmer would discuss his ambitions for the next few months with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Charles Michel and president of the European parliament Roberta Metsola.

He is focused on the idea of a wide-ranging EU/UK security pact, covering issues such as defence, migration and security, with a view to a summit between the two sides next spring, according to UK officials.

Starmer also wants to agree a veterinary deal to cut border friction on agrifood trade, an agreement on professional qualifications and a deal to help touring musicians from Britain to travel easily across the bloc, they added.

His chancellor Rachel Reeves has also suggested that Britain could become a rule taker for EU regulations covering established industries, such as chemicals, although both sides are sceptical about whether such a regime could work.

EU ambassadors, meeting ahead of the Brussels talks, said the commission should block what they said was a British tendency for “cherry picking” access to the EU single market, according to people briefed on the discussions.

While Starmer’s broad concept of closer ties with Brussels has widespread support among the EU’s 27 member states, stances diverge on what specific areas should be targeted.

A degree of confusion also prevails over what London wants in areas such as youth mobility and whether the UK is prepared to accept “dynamic alignment” with EU rules in order to secure a veterinary agreement.

Officials from von der Leyen’s office told member states at a hastily arranged briefing to ambassadors on Monday that the EU would prioritise areas such as citizens’ rights, fisheries and youth mobility.

Starmer has ruled out a return to “free movement”, but British ministers believe a compromise could be found with Brussels to allow greater opportunities for young people to move between the EU and UK.

The ambassadors also named their own wish lists of focus areas, according to the people, not all of which overlapped with the core priorities of either side, confirming the potential complexity of any future EU/UK deal.

“Everyone wants to see things improve,” said one of the people briefed on the meeting. “But until we know exactly what we are talking about, it’s hard to get too excited.”

Some countries urged von der Leyen to be cautious about any new initiatives, pointing out that the UK had been clear on its “red lines” and reminding the commission it should always put the EU’s interests first, the people said.

Any changes to the EU’s relationship with the UK will almost certainly require unanimity among its member states, many of whom still harbour grievances over London’s failed attempt to divide the bloc with bilateral approaches during the Brexit negotiations.

Starmer and von der Leyen’s meeting comes two weeks after UK and EU official advisory groups on the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement called for greater co-operation between the two sides.

“The EU and the UK should co-operate over their respective legislation that has an impact on trade,” they wrote, citing new EU directives to monitor the effects of deforestation and sustainability.

They also called for “enhanced mobility” for businesses and citizens as well as “pragmatic” implementation of border checks that will be introduced this year by both London and Brussels. 

Meanwhile Reeves is planning to revive talks with China over improved economic and financial ties, with UK Treasury officials saying initial discussions were under way including a possible visit by the chancellor to Beijing.

Formal talks between London and Beijing on financial co-operation last took place in 2019 but were frozen once previous Conservative prime ministers toughened their stance on China.

Reeves has signalled she wants to improve trade with China as part of the new government’s drive to boost growth and the idea of a meeting next year — first reported by Sky News — will provide a focus for those efforts.