Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs

Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs

Madman

R4 DVD

Martin Clunes is a well-known actor and television personality and has been involved in various documentaries. A Man and His Dogs is his most personal due to his enduring affection for his own dogs and his obvious enthusiasm for the canine species. Clunes literally oozes excitement as he makes more discoveries about the history of dogs or comes to experience new breeds first hand.

The journey Clunes makes is an impressive one. He opens the film by personally introducing us to his own dogs at his home Martin in Dorset, Tina and Arthur and then exploring the animal which shares 99.8 of its genetic material with the dog, the wolf. He first experiences them in the wild and then comes close-up to a wolf pack in a marvellous one-on-one encounter.

He then follows the evolutionary trek of the wolf to the pure bred Australian dingo which survives on Fraser Island and the mix breeds which live on the mainland. The mix breed dingoes come in all forms including one which likes to howl to the sound of the piano and others which form a unique relationship with the aboriginal people of the outback.

Clunes also explores the early origins of human-canine interaction with the working dog. These include Jack Russells who go ratting, sheepdogs rounding up flocks in the Lake District and the police dogs that catch criminals. He also has the privilege of being dragged through sleet and snow by a team of overexcited huskies and dug out of the snow by a very impressive rescue dog who wants nothing more than a game of tug-a-war as thanks.

At the same time Clunes is more than willing to handle more controversial aspects of dog breeding. He looks at our obsession with dogs which leads to such extremes as overpriced dog accessories and worse still, strict pedigree standards which leave dogs suffering with all manner of illnesses. Even showing us a surgical intervention to solve a health problem directly caused by pedigree breeding.

The pedigree dog issue has been much in the news of late in both the UK and Australia and Clunes makes it clear that the dog’s wellbeing must come before any standard simply used for beauty and prestige. Dogs are not fashion objects but our friends and companions and must be respected and treated as such.

Clunes also visits Africa to see the only breed of dog which predates the wolf and which has never learnt to interact with humans. The wild dogs of Africa only accept an alpha from their own pack with the dead alpha being replaced with his son. Since there is no place for a human role within the pack, it has remained separate from man and hence is at great risk with a few surviving in the wild.

Clunes has an appealing manner, disarming us with his humour and charm and yet covering a lot of content in a short time. The documentary is well presented with flying visits to all sorts of locations and balances a celebration of dogs with a good overview of canine history, health issues and lots of other informative content.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 4 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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