#Surfing - We've featured surfing dogs on Afloat.ie before, but this video from half-way round the world shows a new champion waveriding pooch with an Irish pedigree.

As The Asahi Shimbun reports, Pinocchio - or Pino for short - is a six-year-old male Irish setter from Kanagawa, Japan who's taken first prize in the animal class of a national surfing contest for four years running.

Once he gets a push-off on his owner Kazuhiro Tsukahara's specially adapted stand-up paddle board, with extra grip for doggy paws, Pino flies solo on the waves alongside his human counterparts, much to the amazement of onlookers.

The Asahi Shimbun has more on the story HERE.

A very different group of doggy paddlers made history last weekend at Ireland's first ever surfing contest for dogs.

Organised at Lahinch beach by Co Clare-based dog trainer Raquel Noboa, the event raised around €500 for Guide Fogs for the Blind.

"It was a fantastic day and it's a great way to get people off the couch," she told the Irish Independent.

BBC News has a gallery of photos of the dog day afternoon HERE.