AS the Christmas shopping rush arrives, one charity is bucking the trend and asking people not to buy something very particular this Christmas.

Dogs Trust, the charity behind the famous "A dog is for life, not just for Christmas" slogan, has launched a Christmas ad with a difference with the very important message that "dogs aren’t Christmas presents.

Every year the charity takes in dogs which were unwanted Christmas presents.

In the comical ad we see actors treating Christmas presents like dogs – taking a games console for a walk, throwing a ball for a hairdryer, trying to get a drone to sit and saying goodnight to a bottle of perfume.

The scene then switches to a woman trying to wrap a dog as a present before TV presenter Mel Giedroyc explains in a voiceover that "Christmas presents aren’t dogs! And dogs aren’t Christmas presents. A dog is for life, not just for Christmas".

Mel, who has her own rescue dog Juno, says: “It’s bonkers that people are still buying dogs as Christmas presents. I hope this ad helps people realise the craziness of giving a bouncing, playful, pooing puppy as a present. Getting a dog needs to be a much-pondered decision. They’re gorgeous and loveable but bloody hard work. Remember ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’!”

The Christmas ad is being shown in cinemas around the country. The charity is urging people to share the film online and help spread the word.