It's Me or the Dog

Tim Quicke tells us what it's like being a producer when your show's cast have four legs and tend to drool.

What is your role on the programme?

I’m the executive producer of It’s Me or the Dog. My role is to mediate between Channel 4 and the production comapny. I have an overview of the casting process, the story telling and how the actual programmes are put together. I find the producers and directors to make the programme, and also cast my eye over the stories and the dogs we film with.

How many people apply to be on the programme?

Well it’s unbelievable with have literally thousands! They are constantly coming through the It’s Me or the Dog website, even now the programme has not been on air for quite a while and without any advertising, we still have about 600 sitting in our inbox!

Why do you pick the ones you do?

We look to try to get as many different types of behaviour as possible, because we don’t only help the people whose homes we go to and whose dogs with work with, viewers watching the show can also pick up tips for their own pets. So we try to find dogs with a wide variety of problems so we are not repeating the same behaviour in each programme. We also look for dogs with plenty of personality and owners who really do need the dog. The programme is It’s Me or the Dog and sometimes that is the case. Sometimes the dogs cause rifts in relationships and sometimes it really is who stays, the partner or the dog?

How long does an episode take to make?

About five weeks in total. Victoria spends roughly one week working with the families then she leaves them for a few days. So from deciding which family and dog we’re going to work with, till the programme is finished, takes about five weeks.

One of the most well known clichés is don’t work with animals, so what inspired to you to make a programme about dogs?

Well it’s just a classic issue, people do have problems with their dogs, and people want to be able to control their dogs. Whether their dogs are weeing, biting or pooing in the house. People don’t always know the answer. It’s a bit like being a parent, you don’t get a manual with a dog that tells you how to do it. So it’s a universal thing, which dog owners or anybody that comes into contact with dogs can relate to.

Obviously you deal with problematic dogs, any close scrapes?

Yes! We had a dog in this series called Chaos who was a serial humper. This dog would just try to hump anything that moved! He took a particular shine to the camera man who couldn’t be in the room, he had to put the camera on the tripod and leave, as the second he came in, the dog would be on his leg. Consequently, the legs of the dog’s owner were completely black and blue. He would just hold on and wouldn’t let go. So whoever was in the room, the dog would hump, and the camera man had to leave on a couple of occasions.

Has there been one event which has gone terribly wrong?

Not really because Victoria is so good at her job, I mean it’s incredible! As soon as she comes into contact with a dog with problems, she’s able to see what the problem is and solve it quite quickly. There have been a few funny or embarrassing moments, dogs that wee on the equipment or have bad gas problems, but never anything that’s been so bad that it’s prevented Victoria to do her job.

Is there one story which stands out most in your mind?

I like Chaos the dog, the dog that humps. Their owners are punks. The mum and dad had Mohicans and brought a dog to match their image but the only anarchist in the house ended up being the dog. His behaviour was so exertive he would send the punk parents to bed at 7 O’clock. It got so bad that when they came home from work and watched telly, they had to go to the bedroom and lock themselves away from the dog. It was such a problem and really affected their lives, but Victoria came in and was able to offer some techniques. So that’s my personal favourite, seeing the amazing transformation, but they are all great for different reasons.

What is Victoria like to work with?

Oh fantastic because when you are working with somebody that knows their job so well, it takes all the distress out of it. As you said there could be moments which could have been quite dangerous or difficult to deal with, but Victoria is able to go in, see what the problem with the dog is and come up with a solution. She’s got a thousand ideas and different ways of dealing with different problems, each dog, like a person has a different personality, and needs to be handled a different way. It’s like she can talk 'Dog' like a horse whisperer! It’s incredible, she cares tremendously about the animals and owners and about finding solutions for these people. For the viewer it can appear quite funny but when you are living with those problems day in and day out, it totally takes over your life.

Are there any differences working with celebrities and their pets?

We did an episode with Jodie Marsh, her dogs were quite pampered but that’s because she had a great affection for her dogs! I didn’t think that because she is a celebrity that it was any different than any other owners. Pets are a part of the family and they get treated that way.

Can you give an overall impression of what it is like to work on the show?

You need a totally dedicated team to make a programme like this. People have to be animal lovers and people lovers, because you are dealing with dogs and people and the effect that it has. So you need a dedicated and focused team from the camera man right the way through to the runners and researchers. The whole process of casting is lengthy, we have researchers talking to hundreds of dog owners everyday. And they need to be passionate and tuned into the programme to be able to deliver dogs that people would like. We have quite a small team who work closely, about 8 in total. We like to have sound and camera people who can work with Victoria and who are good around dogs, it’s a loyal family.

How is the new series different, than the others?

For a start there is a doggy IQ item, people often judge dogs by their appearance especially when it comes to intelligence. So people always imagine Labradors to be intelligent because they lead the blind, people often think of poodles as dim dogs, because they have got pampered hair doos, so we wanted to find out - do dog stereotypes really stand up? Also we have tried to put in more facts and information for people, for example one of our stories is about dog napping. We deliberately tried to find new problems and dog napping is one of the biggest growing crimes in the UK, so we gave little items in the episode to advise people how not to get their dog stolen, or what to do if your dog does get stolen. We have an aggressive dog, so there is information on how to spot signs of aggression in a dog, and what to do if you come face to face with an aggressive dog.