CESAR Tails of the catwalk

On set with Tori

While Gill admits that some of her dogs can be difficult to work with, Tori is a gem. "She’s brilliant," says Gill. "Tori’s so lively – she loves to run, and if she sees a stretch of water, she’ll swim like a fish." Tori and Gill have just finished working on TV show Doc Martin, and despite being only two years old, Tori acts like a veteran. "She’s a great film dog, with a good concentration span and can act for half an hour at a time. And she adores the attention from the people on set."

It took Gill just six weeks to get Tori ready for The Young Victoria, although some dogs need specialist training. "For example, I recently had to train a dog to roll over onto its side," she says. "Dogs have a great desire to please, but the motivation is based on correction and reward." So pieces of food are used, sometimes hidden in actors’ clothing, and at the end of a scene they’re given to the dog to reinforce behaviour.

To an extent, Gill can get film dogs to convey emotions. "If you tell them: ‘There’s a good dog’ it makes them look happy," says Gill. Make-up is also used. "Sometimes we use hair gel, hair dye or talcum powder to make them look dirty, and we occasionally put a bit of Vaseline around their eyes to make them look older or weary, always ensuring the product is absolutely pet-friendly of course."

Gill would never do anything that compromised a dog’s wellbeing, and she has refused to allow her dogs to take part in certain stunts. "I was recently asked to get a dog to jump onto hard concrete flooring and to get another to attack an actor’s throat," she says. "I said ‘no’ to both requests. We are all qualified animal trainers, and our reputation is at stake."

Working with dogs needs discipline. "A filming day can be 12 hours long, so we always have a car very close to the studio," says Gill. "In breaks in filming the dogs can drink water, have a lie down in bed, or something to eat. They are never on set all the time."

As for the human actors, Gill is mostly tight-lipped, although she does say that Emily Blunt loved working with Tori in The Young Victoria. "I have known actors to fall in love with their dog co-stars," says Gill. "On the other hand – not naming names – there are some who don’t like working with dogs.”

At Home with Tori

Gill lives in a hamlet near Banbury, Oxon, and after a hard day’s filming she comes back to four faithful friends, including Tori, Terence, a Belgian Shepherd dog that plays Well’ard in EastEnders, Well ‘ard’s grandson Check, and Strapper, a Jack Russell, whose credits include ‘Gladiators’. It’s a happy family, and the dogs enjoy the run of Gill’s farmworker’s cottage. "They’re allowed on the furniture and sleep on the bed and watch TV with me," she says. "And there’s lots of fields nearby for them to run around."

Gill recruits new dogs in two ways. "Sometimes I find dogs in rescue places and train them," she says. "Others are owned by people who are paid for their dog’s time." Because of this, Gill receives pictures from dog owners all the time, which she welcomes. "I’m always looking to expand, and yes, it can be lucrative," she says. As for the dogs, they don’t mind as long as they get fed, walked and given lots of love. "Dogs are very pragmatic," says Gill. "They’re happy with the basics." And, she says, they never, ever become prima donnas – unlike their human co-stars.