They’re man’s best friend, but that doesn’t mean they like to have someone use them as a footstool.

But for dog lovers everywhere, an Edinburgh woodworker who has just graduated from the Chippendale school has come up with the answer.

Fergus Hart can design and make your very own doggie footstool from a carefully-shaped MDF core and covered over by specially-chosen English sheepskin.

But more than that, because Fergus can also hand-craft your very own personalised and bespoke footstool from pictures of your (real) dog.

“I grew up with dogs and currently have a Labradoodle and a Collie,” says Fergus.

“But I’ve always wanted a Miniature Newfoundland, so I decided to make one as part of my course work,” he says.

Fergus believes that he’s filling a gap in the dog-lovers’ market, because he can hand-build any breed of dog from good photography – and he already has four orders.

Fergus is setting up Fergus Hart Furniture from incubation space at the furniture school, where he’s hoping to breed a new generation of dog that doesn’t bark, need walkies or mind being treated like…well, a footstool.