Childs best friend (for a good few years at least) usually takes the form of a soft toy. Who else can they chatter away nonsense with, involve in all their games, drag around the garden, sit beside them in the supermarket trolley and then cuddle all night long? Well, you'll probably be there for most of that...but we don't fancy your chances of squeezing into the trolley; that's a job for Barry the Bulldog. If dogs are man's best friend, then he is the perfect early years companion.