Have you always wanted a canine companion?

Are your children pestering you for a new puppy? Or are you about to get a new working dog?

Do you have a dog filled gap in your life and feel like now is the time to fill it?

If so, we want to hear from you for a new documentary series following puppies and their new owners.

If this sounds like you or anyone else you know please call us on
0207 013 4053 and leave your name and contact number or email us on puppies@rdftelevision.com
Or like and share on Facebook: The Puppies TV Show

[Admin: permission to post]

Really hoping the opportunity will be taken here to explain on TV HOW people should go about buying a healthy and responsibly bred puppy, and will not follow people buying a designer crossbreed or from other unsuitable breeders. We need something positive that teaches Joe Public how to find a good breeder and what questions to ask etc. Also how to spot a bad breeder and puppy farmer.

I'd be very careful about exactly what is intended with this programme before joining in.   I warn because 'that programme' sucked a lot of unsuspecting breeders into contributing when clearly they didn't realise quite what was going on.   I know of a number of people who contributed, whose bit either ended up on the cutting room floor, or was so taken out of context as to be barely recogniseable as their original words.

Be careful!

ps  I'd also be concerned about the approach to mix-breeding!!!

The series is being made by RDF for the BBC. If you look at the RDF website and the sort of stuff they make it might give you some idea of what to expect.

RDF is a huge company with a vast array of productions but most at the 'popular' end of factual entertainment.

The only way to get a clear idea of editorial intention is to ask to see the developed treatment as agreed with the relevant commissioning editor and signed off for production to begin. Many series like this are scripted to a degree and then they are 'cast' by seeking out members of the public that fit the producer's ideas. Most companies at the start of production will write up a weazle-worded description of what the series will be. That description gives them enough wriggle room to earn the trust of potential participants, stay the right side of the law and the agreed treatment- but it will almost certainly not reveal the true intentions of the producers. The series could have a serious educational intention or it may be made primarily to entertain with lots of tinkly music and ironic voiceover. Personally, I'd guess its the latter, but only a guess.

Perhaps Admin could ask the person who posted on behalf of the company to give a little more information on the purpose of the series and the sort of things it'll cover and the general tone. Also who is the producer/director? In many ways we are awfully media savvy these days, but people are still prepared to throw caution to the winds for the dubious honour of 15 minutes of fame on the small screen.

I would want to know all the production staff before contributing to ANY programme being commissioned by the BBC.    Any mention of a certain JH would have me backing away as fast as I could!

Honestly? 

After the treatment owners and responsible breeders received at the hands of JH and the BBC?

Anyone touching this would need their head read!

Why help or contribute to a programme to be aired by a company that treated the world of dogs with such arrogance and contempt?

>Perhaps Admin could ask the person who posted on behalf of the company to give a little more information

Done. They will respond after the weekend.

'The Puppies' (working title) is a new observational documentary series. It will explore the extraordinary relationship between man and man's best friend as we follow a number of households taking in a new puppy. It will also reveal the science of dog development and discover what's going on in the puppies' bodies and minds over the first year of their lives. We want to film with people from all over the country and all sorts of different breeds of dogs (from sheepdogs to family pets to disability assistance dogs).

I also wanted to give you some background on RDF Television. We are one of the UK's most respected independent production companies and regularly work with all of the leading British broadcasters. Recent credits include Inside the National Trust (ITV), Secret Millionaire (C4) and The Military Awards: A Night for Heroes (ITV1).

If you have any concerns or queries please don't hesitate to contact me and the team on
T: 02070134053   E: anna.johnson@rdftelevision.com

Is Jemima Harrison invited to participate in any way, shape or form please?   

Hi Anna, thanks for coming back with a fuller brief. It would be really helpful to know who the main names on the production team are, the P/D and Exec? Who is the Commissioning Editor? Since science is being flagged up, who do you have on board as your canine/science expert/s?

I think complete transparency is the only way to get people here involved, so the more detail the better.