JUST BARKING!

Poodles transformed into a pony, camel, lion and gorilla for BBC1’s reality TV dog show

IT has already divided the critics, with some saying the reality TV show is pet heaven and others calling it a dog’s dinner.

But last night’s episode of Pooch Perfect was perhaps the most controversial yet. The four dog groomers competing for a spot in the final had to transform their poodles into other animals by shaping and dyeing their fur.

Lakhi Thindal, seemed to be inspired by My Little Pony as he turned Dixie into a horse – carving a saddle into his coat and colouring his feet to create hooves. Georgia Fuller transformed

Willow, an Australian labradoodle, into a lion, complete with mane.

Kelly Davis made her pooch, Maxwell, look like a gorilla, giving him a monobrow and disguising his ears, while Mich Dale turned her double doodle Woody into a camel, albeit one with a slightly flat hump.

The dye used to colour the dogs’ fur is washed out straight away. Earlier in the BBC1 show, hosted by Sheridan Smith, the semi-finalists groomed lamb-like Bedlington terriers, before being tested on their dog knowledge.

Judges Verity Hardcastle and Colin Taylor awarded Miss Davis the Best in Show accolade, while Miss Dale was eliminated from next Thursday’s final.

Last month, Pooch Perfect was criticised for an episode in which contestants applied dye, glitter and nail polish to dogs – although the BBC insisted all products and grooms are safe. Experts condemned the show as ‘disrespectful’ while Elisa Allen, director of animal welfare group Peta, said the ‘tacky puppy pageantry’ should be axed.

Mane event: Georgia Fuller with Willow, who was even given a pom-pom tail to look lion-like Not getting the hump: Woody didn’t quite cut it as a camel My little poochy: Lakhi Thindal transforms Dixie into a horse with saddle and hooves

Jungle look: Kelly Davis and ‘gorilla’ Maxwell