EXPERT dog handler Mark Harrison is hoping his adorable new litter of puppies will spread some additional love to their new owners.

Mark is seeking to add the titles of the seven courageous mountain rescue teams working in the Peak District, including Oldham where he is a member, to the puppies official Kennel Club names.

And Mark’s idea to include Abbie’s seven pups, has been greeted with delight by his mountain rescue colleagues.

Abbie, a four year old Hovawart, is classed as a rare breed in the UK by the Kennel Club.

The name of the breed means "an estate guard dog, " which was its original use of the breed originating in Germany’s Black Forest region.

Mark, a company finance director, explained: “The puppies do not have names yet as I will leave that to owners.

“However, as there are seven puppies, I’m hoping we can incorporate into their official Kennel Club names the names of our seven mountain rescue teams covering the Peak District.

“This would mean Woodhead, Derby, Edale, Buxton, Kinder, Glossop and of course Oldham, would then be part of their names.

“As dog handlers we work with all of the teams in the Peak District and not just our own teams — so it seems quite fitting.”

Abbie was born in Poland and brought to the UK when she was four months old. She started training as a mountain rescue search dog shortly after she arrived and was graded in January last year at the Search and Rescue Dog Associations (SARDA) national course in the Lake District.

Mark, married with three children, had been a member of Woodhead Mountain Rescue team for 13 years before switching over to Oldham team earlier this year with Abbie.

He added:”There are currently nine graded mountain rescue search dogs based in the Peak District of which Oldham team has four - Abbie, Bob, Ty, Moss - and trainee Dave.

“Abbie is the only female in the dog section of Oldham team and has a reputation for being assertive with the boys, keeping them in line.

“She has a wonderful temperament, is extremely toy focused and has trained Oldham team members to stroke her at team training nights by persistently nudging them until they give in.

“There are seven pups in total, six boys and one girl, whom we propose to keep and may consider training as a search dog if she displays the right characteristics and has good working drive.”

Two of the other pups are earmarked for search and rescue homes, one with Lowland Rescue in the South of England and the other in Canada.

A OMRT spokesperson said: “We were absolutely thrilled to hear that Abbie’s puppies arrived safe and well and that Abbie herself is doing great.

“She’s an amazing search dog with a wonderful temperament and all the team think the world of her.

“The fact Mark wants to incorporate all the individual team names from the Peak District into the puppies Kennel Club names is a fantastic idea and typical of his dedication to both mountain rescue and being a search and rescue dog handler.”

You can make a donation to Oldham Mountain Rescue Team at www.justgiving.com/oldham-mrt.