A SUPERDOG who escaped death has beaten the odds and qualified as a semi finalist on Channel 4’s Superstar dog series.

Trickster border collie Izzy, who can ride a skateboard and do the conga, beat thousands of other contestants to win a place on the show.

Despite not making the final, the two-year-old's owner said she has come a long way in a short period of time.

Gareth Hughes, 29, said: “My next door neighbours took Izzy in as a rescue pup as the dog warden was about to put her down.

“Their circumstances changed and I said I would take her a year and a half ago.

"She’s come a long way and the fact that we were one of the 12 to qualify for the semi-finals from over 1000 people entering at the start is amazing. I didn’t think we would make it that far.”

“She’s a lovely little dog with bundles of energy and she’s extremely intelligent.”

Gareth started training Izzy straight away with her incessant nature to please him and play with toys.

She’s been trained to fetch the washing from in the machine, bring tissues, jump on Gareth’s back and do various circus tricks.

'It keeps her mind active'

Gareth, of Venables Way, added: “Izzy’s happiest when she’s in training because it keeps her mind active. You can teach any dog to do tricks but border collies are the most intelligent breed and so pick it up quickly.

“As they are working dogs they can end up with mental health problems if they’re not kept active. At the moment I’m trying to build up her core strength so I can teach her to do a headstand using her paws.”

Now the pair have started training to tackle the Pennine Way, 267 miles from Derbyshire to the Scottish borders for charity this summer.

Gareth has started uploading videos of Izzy’s tricks in a bid to raise funds for local charities.

Gareth added: “I’d like to raise the funds for either dementia, as my wife’s gran suffers with the condition, or for young carers.

“I want to be able to see where the funds go so that it makes a big difference to the charity and not just pay for people’s wages.”

To watch Gareth and Izzy click here.

Izzy showing off her tricks.