AN East Renfrewshire wonder dog has been showing off her skills in a new fitness challenge to raise cash for charity.

Islay can do press-ups, high fives and even burpees, with her owners, Greg Wilkie and Lauren Robertson, describing how she loves to learn new tricks.

Now the two-year-old golden retriever has been chosen to launch Scotland’s Race for Life at Home – a fitness challenge that will raise money for Cancer Research UK during lockdown.

Greg, from Newton Mearns, said: “Islay loves learning tricks and we had a lot of fun making a video at home to show off what she has learned so far.

“The secret to success, I think, is patience and plenty of treats to reward the dog when they do the right thing. We’re all going to be spending a lot of time indoors this spring, so it feels good to keep fit and plan something positive to help people who are going through cancer right now.

“Cancer will affect one in two people in the UK at some point in their lives and it’s a disease which touches so many families.”

The Race for Life 5K and 10K at Glasgow Green on Sunday, May 17 is among events which organisers Cancer Research UK have postponed this spring to protect the country’s health during the coronavirus outbreak.

Lisa Adams, the charity’s spokeswoman for Scotland, added: “Our priority as a charity is ensuring that people affected by cancer are getting the support they need right now.

“But we are already getting people asking about doing Race for Life at Home because they don’t want to see the charity lose out on vital funding. It’s truly humbling to see the response.

“So from their homes, we’d love for supporters to join us and Race for Life at Home in these challenging times.

“From a run or 5K walk around the garden to limbo in the living room, there is no wrong way to Race for Life at Home. With no entry fee, people might choose to twerk, limbo, star jump, squat, skip, dance, or come up with their own novel way of taking part and share it with friends. The message is very much that ‘while we might be apart, we’re doing this together’. There is no wrong way to get involved and join our community.”

People can visit raceforlife.org and sign up free for ideas on how they can create their own Race for Life at Home challenge and are encouraged to join the Race for Life at Home community by sharing photos and videos on social media using the hashtag, #RaceForLifeAtHome.