The infamous saying, “Never work with animals or children,” was first spoken by W.C. Fields as a tip for those humans being forced to share the stage and screen. It is often still muttered by cast or crew members when one or the other shows up on set. And that means Briana Messerschmidt, community outreach director of Hollywood Paws<\/a> hears it a lot!<\/p>\n Hollywood Paws is a Los Angeles-based company that helps dogs (and their humans) in almost every aspect of becoming an animal actor or model \u2014 careers that have a shared skillset. \u201cIn people world it\u2019s different, but in dog world it\u2019s the exact same thing,\u201d Briana explains.<\/p>\n Briana started working at Hollywood Paws around 10 years ago. Before that, she went to a specialized school to learn how to train animals. She is also an associate marriage and family therapist with skills that, no doubt, help when faced with someone quoting Mr. Fields!<\/p>\n The first dog actor Briana Messerschmidt, community outreach director of Hollywood Paws, owned was Belgian Malinois Lilu. Photography courtesy of Briana Messerschmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The first four-legged actor Briana owned was Lilu, a brilliant Belgian Malinois. In general, the industry is vain, Briana explains, which means Lilu didn\u2019t have the same opportunities as other breeds would. \u201cCute,\u201d \u201csweet,\u201d \u201cfamily dogs,\u201d are who usually book the jobs. In advertisements, casting is looking for a dog who will catch your attention and then will pass the spotlight to the product being featured. Dogs like Lilu, who tend to be associated with police or military working dogs, just don\u2019t fit that description.<\/p>\n Even with industry bias against her, Lilu booked a number of jobs due to her impressive training. In 2013, Lilu showed off her skills on the set of Guinness World Records Unleashed by removing 20 people\u2019s socks in one minute. She could have done more, but there weren\u2019t any socked feet left on stage. Later in the same year, she went on the TV show Katie and set the record for the most shoes removed in one minute. Both records still stand.<\/p>\n Today Briana works with her Golden Retriever, Coral, who has already been featured in an ad. Photography courtesy of Briana Messerschmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When Lilu went to live with her human dad full time, it took a while before Briana was ready for another furry family member. When she was, she opted for a breed that has the best chance of booking work \u2014 a Golden Retriever. \u201cThe dog everyone wants \u2026 the iconic family dog with an easy temperament that everyone wants to put in their ad.\u201d<\/p>\n Enter to the stage, Coral. Coral is a year old, and her doggie resume is already filling up.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a trainer I can\u2019t help myself to train sometimes. It just comes naturally,\u201d Briana explains. In her trainer role, Briana tells future actor dogs’ owners to not worry about getting any gigs until the dog is at least 8 months old. For those first eight months it\u2019s key to world isn\u2019t a scary place is key to them succeeding in the business.<\/p>\n For \u201ctraining\u201d as a puppy, Coral was taken out every day and everywhere, including active sets where her mom was working with clients. Then Coral got lucky. Whistle contacted the agency looking for a Golden Retriever puppy. At that point Coral, who was around 4\u00bd months old, hadn\u2019t done much specific training, but she was confident and that\u2019s what she needed to do the job. Just like that, Coral became one of the dogs featured on Whistle\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Coral knew the basics the director was looking for. \u201cThat\u2019s all they ever really want on set \u2014 a dog being a dog, but they want specific things they do on cue.\u201d Basics include \u201csit,\u201d \u201cdown,\u201d \u201con your feet,\u201d \u201ccircle,\u201d \u201con your side,\u201d \u201cbarking,\u201d \u201ctaking a bow,\u201d \u201chead up\u201d and \u201chead down,\u201d which later in the dog\u2019s training include focusing on the end of a stick called an aim stick, which allows the trainer to get higher ups and focus off herself.<\/p>\n What makes the basics more difficult is the dog\u2019s ability to do it a good distance from the trainer and with a high level of distraction. A dog can be in a scene while her trainer is 8 feet or more away, often behind the camera and surrounded by other humans where she is expected to perform on cue while other actors and crew members are working around her.<\/p>\n Photography courtesy of Briana Messerschmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since her first job, Coral has learned to hit her mark. For dogs, a mark is usually a physical thing that she knows she has to go to, stop and perform on. Briana has added \u201cwatch me\u201d and \u201cwatch it,\u201d and she can place food in the scene and Coral will sit on her mark and stare at the food \u2014 without One day she will be as good as her sister Lilu and be able to perform all of her skills while focused on something, like delicious food. Her self-control even includes being able to hold something in her mouth and dropping it on cue \u2014 again, without eating it!<\/p>\n For Coral, her acting work is a fun game where she is rewarded with love, praise, treats and the spotlight. I bet even Mr. Fields would think more like Emma Thompson if he had had the pleasure of working with Lilu or Coral. Thompson edited the comedian\u2019s quote by saying, \u201cThere is that thing about not working with animals and children \u2014 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s true. Although you should never work with donkeys.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post The Life of a Dog Actor<\/a> by Wendy Newell<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post The Life of a Dog Actor<\/a> by Wendy Newell<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n The infamous saying, “Never work with animals or children,” was first spoken by W.C. Fields as a tip for those humans being forced to share the stage and screen. It is often still muttered by cast or crew members when one or the other shows up on set. And that means Briana Messerschmidt, community outreach director of Hollywood Paws<\/a> hears it a lot!<\/p>\n Hollywood Paws is a Los Angeles-based company that helps dogs (and their humans) in almost every aspect of becoming an animal actor or model \u2014 careers that have a shared skillset. \u201cIn people world it\u2019s different, but in dog world it\u2019s the exact same thing,\u201d Briana explains.<\/p>\n Briana started working at Hollywood Paws around 10 years ago. Before that, she went to a specialized school to learn how to train animals. She is also an associate marriage and family therapist with skills that, no doubt, help when faced with someone quoting Mr. Fields!<\/p>\n The first dog actor Briana Messerschmidt, community outreach director of Hollywood Paws, owned was Belgian Malinois Lilu. Photography courtesy of Briana Messerschmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The first four-legged actor Briana owned was Lilu, a brilliant Belgian Malinois. In general, the industry is vain, Briana explains, which means Lilu didn\u2019t have the same opportunities as other breeds would. \u201cCute,\u201d \u201csweet,\u201d \u201cfamily dogs,\u201d are who usually book the jobs. In advertisements, casting is looking for a dog who will catch your attention and then will pass the spotlight to the product being featured. Dogs like Lilu, who tend to be associated with police or military working dogs, just don\u2019t fit that description.<\/p>\n Even with industry bias against her, Lilu booked a number of jobs due to her impressive training. In 2013, Lilu showed off her skills on the set of Guinness World Records Unleashed by removing 20 people\u2019s socks in one minute. She could have done more, but there weren\u2019t any socked feet left on stage. Later in the same year, she went on the TV show Katie and set the record for the most shoes removed in one minute. Both records still stand.<\/p>\n Today Briana works with her Golden Retriever, Coral, who has already been featured in an ad. Photography courtesy of Briana Messerschmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When Lilu went to live with her human dad full time, it took a while before Briana was ready for another furry family member. When she was, she opted for a breed that has the best chance of booking work \u2014 a Golden Retriever. \u201cThe dog everyone wants \u2026 the iconic family dog with an easy temperament that everyone wants to put in their ad.\u201d<\/p>\n Enter to the stage, Coral. Coral is a year old, and her doggie resume is already filling up.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a trainer I can\u2019t help myself to train sometimes. It just comes naturally,\u201d Briana explains. In her trainer role, Briana tells future actor dogs’ owners to not worry about getting any gigs until the dog is at least 8 months old. For those first eight months it\u2019s key to world isn\u2019t a scary place is key to them succeeding in the business.<\/p>\n For \u201ctraining\u201d as a puppy, Coral was taken out every day and everywhere, including active sets where her mom was working with clients. Then Coral got lucky. Whistle contacted the agency looking for a Golden Retriever puppy. At that point Coral, who was around 4\u00bd months old, hadn\u2019t done much specific training, but she was confident and that\u2019s what she needed to do the job. Just like that, Coral became one of the dogs featured on Whistle\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Coral knew the basics the director was looking for. \u201cThat\u2019s all they ever really want on set \u2014 a dog being a dog, but they want specific things they do on cue.\u201d Basics include \u201csit,\u201d \u201cdown,\u201d \u201con your feet,\u201d \u201ccircle,\u201d \u201con your side,\u201d \u201cbarking,\u201d \u201ctaking a bow,\u201d \u201chead up\u201d and \u201chead down,\u201d which later in the dog\u2019s training include focusing on the end of a stick called an aim stick, which allows the trainer to get higher ups and focus off herself.<\/p>\n What makes the basics more difficult is the dog\u2019s ability to do it a good distance from the trainer and with a high level of distraction. A dog can be in a scene while her trainer is 8 feet or more away, often behind the camera and surrounded by other humans where she is expected to perform on cue while other actors and crew members are working around her.<\/p>\n Photography courtesy of Briana Messerschmidt<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since her first job, Coral has learned to hit her mark. For dogs, a mark is usually a physical thing that she knows she has to go to, stop and perform on. Briana has added \u201cwatch me\u201d and \u201cwatch it,\u201d and she can place food in the scene and Coral will sit on her mark and stare at the food \u2014 without One day she will be as good as her sister Lilu and be able to perform all of her skills while focused on something, like delicious food. Her self-control even includes being able to hold something in her mouth and dropping it on cue \u2014 again, without eating it!<\/p>\n For Coral, her acting work is a fun game where she is rewarded with love, praise, treats and the spotlight. I bet even Mr. Fields would think more like Emma Thompson if he had had the pleasure of working with Lilu or Coral. Thompson edited the comedian\u2019s quote by saying, \u201cThere is that thing about not working with animals and children \u2014 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s true. Although you should never work with donkeys.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post The Life of a Dog Actor<\/a> by Wendy Newell<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/2004_WorkIt_Lilu_Briana.png\")
<\/p>\nLilu the Belgian Malinois<\/h2>\n
![\"dog](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/2004_WorkIt_Coral_WhistleJob.png\")
<\/p>\nCoral hits the big time<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/2004_WorkIt_Coral_WhistleJob_5.png\")
<\/p>\n
\neating it!<\/p>\n<\/p>\nLilu the Belgian Malinois<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nCoral hits the big time<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
\neating it!<\/p>\n