Dove Cresswell – Training Dogs in Films
One of the most interesting dog trainers around is Dove Cresswell. Why? Because she works in television and films training animals to perform according to the script. She’s worked on various films including Space Buddies, The X Files: I Want to Believe, Cats and Dogs 2, Saved! and Sam’s Lake. She’s also worked on the television programs such as Romeo, Behind the Camera: Charlie’s Angels, and Cougar Crossings.
It’s not just dogs that she’s trained. She’s also trained large reptiles, cougars, rodents, birds, cockroaches and deer. She’s trained all kinds of dog breeds and all sizes. She can train dogs up to Master’s level in the Agility sport. For a twenty-five year old, I think that’s pretty impressive.
Her first foray into dog training was with her own labrador puppy which she took for dog obedience classes. Then, in her back yard, she spent hours teaching tricks and coaching her dog through an obstacle course.
She was a volunteer at the {Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals|SPCA}. By 17 she had a paid staff position at an animal hospital after she had volunteered there from the age of 16.
She did a BA in Science-Biology and got into films by chance working on a docu-drama Cougar Crossings where she proved she could work with young cougars.
At present she volunteers with That’ll Do Border Collie Rescue. She has three dogs of her own – a Border Collie, an Australian Shepherd, and a mini Poodle x.
If you’re concerned that animals {are mistreated|don’t enjoy their time} on film sets, Dove makes it quite clear that they do enjoy making films and that there’s lots of fun in between takes! In USA and Canada, all animal trainers in films and television are watched by the American Humane Association.
If you want to get your dog into films, your dog has to be very well trained. Dove looks for dogs that compete in Agility or Obedience because they’re already well trained.
Dove has worked with several top dog trainers and taken the most effective methods out of all of them. From all her knowledge and experience she put together her own dog training course. It is based upon the same methods she uses to coach animals for their film roles. You can’t afford to waste time on the film set, so you can be sure that her methods are very effective.
If you want to learn more about Dove Cresswell and her particular training methods, check out the Puppy Training and Dog Training Online website. Also, why don’t you check out a review of Dove Cresswell’s course and other dog training manual reviews.
