New Films To Stop Children Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Chiswick-based company makes digital movies showing children how to be a dog's best friend

Young children often treat dogs like a friend, but it can be difficult to teach them about the different types of dog and how they think and feel.

So Chiswick-based production company Contented Brands have worked with the charity Dogs Trust to write and produce educational films to teach children about how to treat and care for dogs.

The seven short films feature Jimmy n’ Chew, two lovable puppet dogs, and are due to become part of the curriculum in schools later this month.

The educational films are targeted at children between seven and 11 years old and address the basics of dog ownership, including how dogs interact with each other, the differences between dogs, how to feed them: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8HeM7a4lmU

One even features a rap about status dogs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOjIYQLVs4s

In their debut film, ‘Nice to Meet Chew’, Jimmy meets Chew for the very first time and realises that he is not the only dog in the house: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRKPAVc02kc

Adrian Burder, the Marketing Director of Dogs Trust, said: “We are very excited about Jimmy n’ Chew.

“They are due to go ‘live’ into schools in September and they are already gaining a lot of interest online. Both dogs have unique personalities specifically created to appeal to parents as well as children.”

Primary school teacher Susan Bell said: “The friendly, fun, accessible characters of Jimmy n’ Chew get serious messages across in a humorous way, appropriate to children within the age group targeted. We particularly liked the rap.”

In the past, Contented Brands www.contentedbrands.com have worked with and created films for companies and organisations including HSBC and Shelter.

Dogs Trust cares for 16,000 stray and abandoned dogs in rehoming centres across the UK, as thousands of dogs are abandoned by their owners each year.

Jonathan Tomlin

September 6, 2013