‘Denise’s spoilt dog was fed with a silver spoon’
DENISE Van Outen’s spoilt dog “always got what she wanted” while Michael Owen apparently gave his pooch anxiety.
The canine confessions were revealed by the expert stars bring in to tame misbehaving mutts.
Graeme Hall, 56, has trained more than 5,000 dogs. But the presenter of Channel 5’s Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly met his match with Tilly, Denise’s escapologist French bulldog.
Graeme admitted: “Denise was delightful, but her dog was super mischievous and in real danger of escaping from her garden.
“Tilly was the first dog I’ve seen fed with a silver spoon. She was like a spoilt child who always got what she wanted. Denise and [exboyfriend] Eddie Boxshall were a bit clueless, but once they re-established who was in charge, things rapidly improved.”
Meanwhile, ex-England striker Michael, 42, got in touch in 2019 when Staffie Ronnie savaged a dog, leaving it needing stitches.
Graeme said: “I was concerned the dog had an aggression problem but it was Michael that was anxious. Dogs read our faces and body language. If we look anxious, it rubs off. Once Michael introduced his dog to others in a slow, careful way, they looked so much more relaxed.”
Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 30, called in Graeme after winning X Factor as pug Harvey pined when she toured. He said: “The little dog started barking at the window making a nuisance of himself. I showed her how to stop him using the sill as a stage for his protests.” Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly is on Tuesdays on Channel 5 at 8pm. A new series of the Talking Dogs With Graeme Hall podcast is out now.