Underdogs become top dogs as they train to fly a plane, revealing their unique qualities

Twelve abandoned dogs from across the UK will attempt to become the first dogs to fly a plane in a new television series. The dozen canines were chosen by experts from the 120,000 in UK rescue shelters each year and were taken to a Sussex mansion for exercises designed to prepare them for their challenge. During a 10-week training period, scientists looked at their communication, empathy, memory and reasoning skills and the six-episode series follows their journey as they blossom under the care of trainers, behaviour specialists and vets. Among those putting the canines through their paces are Mat Ward, a clinical animal behaviourist who acts as an expert witness in dog-related court cases, and Cath Phillips, a police dog trainer. A chosen few will then be sent to flight school to be trained in flying a single-engine aircraft. At the end of the series each dog will be given a loving new home. Presenter Jamie Theakston said the series would show how unique and talented each dog is. "People give up on them too easily and this series will show us why we shouldn’t. They are just as deserving and just as intelligent," he said. Theakston added that he had been surprised by each dog's ability to show empathy, despite the difficult circumstances they had grown up in. "Even if a dog has been deprived of human contact or has been badly treated, it is just as able and motivated to initiate a new relationship with a human very quickly." Stanley Coren, professor of canine psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, was not convinced the dogs would be able to manage the challenge. "Given that we would not expect a human three-year-old to be able to fly a plane, I would not expect that a dog could do so either," he told The Independent.