Petlog

Clee cat again, I am so pleased with him, he has had three jobs in less than a year & done so well on them all.


It was a shame that we had dogs on the shoot and they weren’t good with cats so we had to leave Clee in his crate hidden up a corner, the one dog had a bark at him and I was worried this was going to make him nervous for the rest of the day. Clee likes to be with us and I also didn’t know whether he would settle in his crate. To start with he protested but then he surprised me by settling really well, we would check on him and have him out for a fuss every now and then.



Our first time on set was just basics again, cats take a couple of times on set to settle, they aren’t like dogs. He was a bit wary as to where the dog was to start with but he settled nicely and towards the end he was doing some nice sits and walking from Kay to me and back. There was another cat there and he was quite happy with that so I was glad of that too!

Back on set again and we got Clee playing and got him to stretch and lie down and reach up with a paw. He couldn’t have been any more relaxed, he was sooooo good. The photographer got an awesome shot of him reaching his paw towards camera – such a shame I can’t have any, I would have loved a copy of that.

After lunch the models were in and they were pretend vets who had to hold him on the vet table. To start with he was held by the female model and she hadn’t got much experience with animals but they didn’t do too badly at all and Clee didn’t get fed up with being messed about with. After a break we then had him with the male model and he was a bit awkward with Clee, but Clee was such a star and didn’t get fed up or stressed at all, I thought he might get a bit angry about being messed about with so much but he didn’t at all. After another break we had him on the table with both models and he was so relaxed he was almost dropping off!

Finally the last shot was getting him to interact with the female model while she was lying on the floor, so getting him playing and sitting in front of her looking to camera etc. He was fab again and as laid back as he had been all day – at this point it was 7pm so it was a long day for him.

He couldn’t have been any better, everyone thinks it is hilarious he has his squeezy cheese and he became known as Mr Cheese!! On set from 9am – 7.30pm – with a 3 hour drive there and 3 hour back it was a really long day but he was absolutely fab, I couldn’t have asked for more! Really proud of the little Tiger!

Purina

Clee’s first job as a grown up! He’s not long turned a year old, I was a little bit concerned about how he would do as they change a lot – Rum was fine as a puppy but once he had ‘grown up’ he decided the flash was far too scary to put up with!


He was quite nervous to start with but it was a relaxed atmosphere so we had him out of his crate and sat on the settee with him (with his harness on just in case!) – he was a lot happier chilling with us and settled nicely. His first time on set we just sat with him and got him to do some sits and the photographer got some basic shots, he was good, a little bit aware of everything around him and a little unnerved but he got used to it a bit.


With cats they do get fed up easily so we do give them a break and the photographer will then work on another animal and swap and change frequently. The second time on set he was a lot more relaxed and we got him playing and jumping on and off a box, he was a lot more into his toys and squeezy cheese. SQUEEZY CHEESE – what a discovery! He loved his ham flavoured squeezy cheese, it’s so much easier than treats, can be smothered on a target stick, a lot easier just to give him a little bit and he loves it!


While another cat was being photographed they asked me to take clee on set to see if it would wake this other cat up, Clee was a bit shocked to see another cat and it did unnerve him as he is used to being spat at by mum’s cat (Dixie). It was a shame as it did effect his attitude and his last and 3rd time on set he was a little bit wary of this, but he was still good and we got some shots. It was only half a day so it was a nice short shoot to start him off properly.

Here are some pics from my phone of him chilling :)

PDSA

Clee's first job, I was a little worried about how he might behave but was pretty sure he would be a good boy.  I wasn't wrong, he was fab, he literally has just turned 6 months.

Mark came to the shoot to give me a hand and it was really helpful to have another pair of hands.  Clee was a star, we did some shots with him sitting on my lap which he was more than happy to settle down to.  Then moved on with some of him next to presents, he wasn't really interested in his food and clicker so we resorted to toys and a laser pointer which he worked fine for - occassionally wanting to go and explore!  We did some shots of him playing with a toy they wanted and some of him posing.  It was a shame as we wrapped just as he started to tune into his clicker and was being really good then, but it wasn't a problem as he had worked fine for the toys.

Everybody loved him and said how calm and relaxed and friendly he was.  He really didn't bat an eyelid at anything, I would really like him to do more as he was very good.

Here he is when we stopped at the services and let him out of his carrier for a wander:

Pedigree Dentastix

Thanks to a posting on Facebook I found out they were looking for a crossbreed for the new Pedigree Dentastix ad and of course I thought how good Diz would be.  I was over the moon they picked her, at almost 11 years old she still looks great and her teeth in fab condition.

So we arrived just outside Manchester at 7:30am!!  Had a lovely breakfast though - bacon and egg roll mmmm.  Then we moved onto location where they had a mobile groomer on set, Diz loved being pampered, she whined in ecstasy at being blow dried!!

I always like to find a spot for Dizzy to settle her down as soon as we get there because it is a long tiring day so if she can have somewhere to chill then it makes it a lot easier.  I had forgotten how good she is to work with, I would ask her to settle in her spot and leave her to go to the loo and she didn't move a muscle.  I even walked back into the kitchen to find someone tempting her with a treat but she was not moving from the spot she had been left in, she is soooo good!

Set was in the kitchen and was basically just a mat on the floor!  They basically filmed her playing tuggy with me all day from different angles.  The only thing Diz and I struggle with is what you would think to be the easiest shot, I dread the words from the director 'I just want to see some love between you and the dog.'  Diz just is not interested in fuss when she is working, she wants to be doing things and always looks so depressed when having cuddles!  Still they managed to get what they wanted I just feel it is always hard work.

The last shot was the most complex of the day and by this time it was 4:30pm and Diz was getting tired, but as soon as I started asking for more from her she seemed to get her second wind!!  So it was Dizzy walking onto the mat holding a tuggy, stopping before camera, sitting and then dropping the tuggy.  I think this was her favourite part of the day, oh apart from the doggie chocolate bone treats she had lol! 

She really enjoyed the day and we didn't really have any waiting round, on the go constantly so for an 11 yr old she did superbly, she did sleep well that night!  Here she is crashed out catching 40 winks on set

Burgess Supadog

urgess have released a new dog food which is a casserole, it uses freeze dried pieces of real beef which expand when hot water is added and turns into a gravy and looks just like a beef casserole! So to launch this they were having a video day and they want to promote agility so I was invited to train a celeb and their dog to do agility.

We arrived at the hotel late Wednesday night and settled down for the night, they provided Emz with a bed and a bowl.

Next morning we went off to shoot the video. Met Jeremy Edwards and his dog Molly. She was a great little dog and was a complete natural at agility. Jeremy and I did some chat about agility for camera then I did a demo with Ember (there was a tunnel, weaves and jump from one of those little home sets). Then we taught Molly to do each bit of equipment, we were lucky as she loved her food so she was dead easy to train to do it. We did a summary and that was that done, we probably started at about 11am and went on till about 2pm. Having to stop for the usual aeroplane going over, people clip clopping in high heels etc etc. Back at the studio we filmed me mixing the food and feeding it to Emz and also we both sat on the sofa and I had to feed her treats for camera.

It was a great day, Emz was absolutely shattered at the end of it. I had taken the car as it is so much more easy to drive round London.

Italian Bank

Today it was going to be Cas as the production company had seen her from her Goldfrapp video, however they advised us there would be lots of people and children dancing so I decided Ember was probably the better of the two.

So off we went to London, got there for 10am and didn't get called till 6pm, Ember was having a great time as she befriended to young boys to play with all the time. Ember is not one for laying down and conserving her energy, she is on the go all the time though by the time we were called she was starting to get a bit tired and when she's tired she gets quite reactive to things such as noises etc.

As soon as we got to London I was put in costume, I had been beginning to wonder what this would be and when I arrived to see mini skirts I almost had a heart attack, but luckily they dressed me in something more suitable. I have to say working a dog in a dress is a little strange - I had no pockets for clicker, target stick, treats etc. Kay took this piccie of me dressed up!

So anyway onto Ember, we took her on set when called and rehearsed a bit with her and she was great if a little noisy and excitable as finally she was getting to work! Then the dancers came in and they were dancing so close to her, kicking their legs and waving their arms she got a bit freaked out and wouldn't stay at a distance as she was worried. So she did some work close to me then the dancers were stopped and she did some stuff at a distance. She was very good considering she had had a long boring day.

Unfortunately they never used the scene Emz was in, here's the commercial:

Citroen Shoot

Diz had some work today in Wimbledon. Typically it was the worst day ever to travel! I woke up to a blanket of snow and I thought once out of our lane the roads would be fine, nope so surely the main road into the village - nope again, main Shifnal A-road would be clear - no again, at this stage I couldn't believe the state of the roads and almost got stuck up the hill out of the village twice, the wheel was just spinning at one point! Well the main road to the motorway would be gritted and no again, 5 miles I travelled to get to the motorway and I didn't get out of 3rd gear! The motorways were horrendous, the outside lane was just covered in snow, I couldn't believe the amount of cars in ditches on the M40, a snow plough travelling in the opposite direction - quite surreal. Anyway we got there spot on 10am.

Had a lovely hot bap for breakfast, didn't do anything before lunch as they were packing the car and getting the set up perfect - it was a nice C3 Picasso. Braised beef for lunch and we didn't actually get Diz on set till 4pm. Shot various different positions with her lying in the car with chin up and down, sitting up and then some of her sitting by the car, looking in to the car and looking towards camera. She was good as gold and had stayed on her bed in the studio all day, she's such a chilled out dog, so easy to work with. We left at 6pm and got home about 10pm.