The Dog House returns for fifith series...woof you believe it!

It’s occasionally said that some people care more about their pets than their friends or family.

Therefore if you are thinking of taking the plunge and getting a dog for the first time, adding to your existing collection of animals, or replacing a dearly departed pet, you have a big decision to make about your next canine companion.

Not only do you have to look its history, health and behaviour, new owners want to have some sort of connection with the dog that they are going to be sharing their life with.

With all that in mind, it came as no surprise when, in September 2019, The Dog House first aired on Channel 4.

A dating show with a difference, it featured discarded, disowned or neglected dogs at Wood Green, The Animals Charity in rural Cambridgeshire, as they are matched with prospective new owners.

Over the past four series, we have witnessed the highs and lows of being part of the trust as the staff try and rehome hundreds of canines each year.

Some dogs are strays while others need a new home as their original owners cannot look after them for one reason or another.

Helen Prestage has worked at the trust for more than a decade and she explained the the heart-warming show’s rehoming process to Express.co.uk.

“All dogs require an amount of work and I think it is important to consider your lifestyle and what you can offer a dog as much as what sort of dog you want,” she says.

“Part of that matching process we do is look at the dog’s needs as well as the people’s and we try and match them to each other.

“It’s a lifelong commitment, if you are getting a dog at two or three you could have that dog until it’s 14 or 15 years old.”

With so many dogs arriving at Wood Green each day, Helen says it’s hard not to fall in love with some of them and have a personal favourite, However, she and her colleague do their best to stay impartial and professional.

“The official statement is we don’t have favourites, we love all dogs,” she adds.

“But we do have favourites which we could take home if we could or dogs which are on our minds a bit more. I’m a bit of a sucker for a sighthound.”

The Dog House is back for its fifth season tonight following its Christmas special in which we saw identical twins Noah and Toby met spaniel cross puppy Jeff, and Darran fell in love with Patterdale cross Crackers.

In this evening’s first programme, the unstoppable Tilburn girls and their dad James meet Papaya, while doting Yvonne and Graham think their sausage dog Baxter needs a buddy and have their eyes on another sausage called Tinkerbell.

And finally, Tom and Adele want a dog to get them out walking after a health scare. Helen and the rest of Woodgreen’s staff rise to the challenge and deliver not one but two.

But will the pooches be a perfect match for their new owners and each other?