Good Housekeeping (UK)

‘Millie almost caused a divorce!’

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It took actress Joanna Scanlan a long time, and some marital disharmony, to win over her Staffordsh­ire Terrier, but it has led to a deep bond. ‘Getting out-of-doors every day makes life worth living’ Millie was absolutely impossible when we first got her from a dogs’ home. She is a Staffordsh­ire Terrier and I had been put off having one, but she seemed sweet and affectiona­te so we took her on a whim. Then the journey began. For the first two years, she would disappear when we took her out. My husband and I would go home and eventually she would reappear. I took her to five dog trainers, boot camp and even the Queen’s dog trainer, who charged a fortune, but did teach me a good trick.

At first she was totally detached, but then I started giving her a massage in the evenings. That gradually built a bond. It took more than a year, but eventually she started to connect with me and my husband. Having nearly got divorced in the process of arguing about methods that we should use on her, we all came together to work as a little team. Millie even starred with me in my BBC sitcom, Puppy Love, as my dog, although on set she was still a bit unpredicta­ble and chased a miniature pony. She stopped when she found a llama!

We are very strict: there is no going on furniture, doing things for a reward or going upstairs. When you have to work hard to achieve a connection and a relationsh­ip with an animal, you have a deeper bond. I adored my last dog, a Jack Russell, but this is different. Millie has challenged me, and I have had to look at the way I was using dogs for comfort, rather than respecting the animal for herself.

Recently I was filming for the Channel 4 series No Offence, and had to leave Millie. But I would happily text home about what Millie is doing from dawn to dusk!

I always think of dogs as a bridge to nature. Getting out-of-doors every day for walks makes life worth living, especially in a city. Dogs take you to places where you connect to nature with your own nature.

 ??  ?? ‘Millie seemed sweet… Then the journey began,’ says Joanna
‘Millie seemed sweet… Then the journey began,’ says Joanna

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