From ads to The Gentlemen red carpet - training dogs for TV

A woman who works as an on-set animal handler and trainer for TV, adverts and events said it all began with her own dog being randomly scouted for a commercial.

Katie Frimston describes herself as "animal mad and obsessed" and owns eleven terriers, many of which are also show dogs. "If you ever see a Welsh Terrier on the TV, or in commercials or magazines, it's usually one of mine," said the 32-year-old from Crewe, Cheshire,

Her seven-year-old Welsh Terrier, Bear, has now appeared in adverts for brands including Aldi, Boden and Northern Trains.

Frimston also manages other people's animals on set, including two Dobermanns at the recent premiere of Netflix's The Gentlemen.

Her background is as an animal behaviourist and lecturer, and although dogs are in high demand for advertising, she can work with a variety of animals.

"Cats, reptiles..I can fly birds of prey."

She has handled dogs at recent high-profile events including London Fashion Week and the The Gentlemen launch.

"It's mad, because you've got all the press taking all the photos of the celebs and I'm in the blooming background, "she said of being at the premiere of a show she is a massive fan of.

"It was bizarre, but good, so I'm hoping to do a few more of them now, because I really enjoyed that."

Her role on sets involves protecting the welfare of the animal in the spotlight, from food and water to appropriate rest breaks and travel arrangements.

She will also help coach the animal to get them to perform the action needed for the shot.

As all of the animals are someone's pet, she likes to meet and assess them before a job, and also advise their owners on what to expect on set.

For example, if you watch a dog food commercial, she said, you might see a dog sat on a sofa, "but you won't see there's about 30 crew behind the camera in a tiny London terraced house."

When her own dog, Bear, appeared in an advert for Northern Trains, the terrier's job was to wait on the platform for the train's door to open, hop on and nod at the camera.

Although the scene is seconds long, it took around an hour to get the shot, as "it's hard for a terrier, as they are triggered by movement."

Frimston said she prepared her pet for the performance by taking her to Crewe Heritage Centre - a railway museum - to get used to being around trains.

The work comes in peaks and troughs, and Frimston describes it as as lifestyle and not for everyone, as it can be very last minute.

Demands can also be very specific.

For London Fashion week, she was asked to find and look after a "back-up" Schnauzer.

The client already had a Schnauzer for their live event, but needed to have a second on hand in case of issues or illness.

"Obviously you can't take a dog with diahorrhea on the catwalk!" she said, outlining a potential worst case scenario.

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