The Funny Farm - Episode Five

Television (Full Length) – 2002

I’d never worked with pigs before until I got asked to do my first pig shoot, which was a still shoot for Rachel Hale. And yeah, ever since then, one of my favourite species to work with. Very intelligent, and they do get a bond with you just like a dog.

– Animal trainer Marie Manderson on working with pigs

He did previously find it very threatening you know, taking off the collar, putting on a collar. And he did threaten quite seriously when that was happening. But now he's listening to basic commands without growling.

– Craig Gillibrand on his dog Slammer's training progress

Trying to get a cow to dance — not really a natural thing to do, is it? You don't see many dancing cows in the paddocks, do you? The reason for that is this isn't really a natural behaviour — it Is a trained behaviour.

– Animal trainer Mark Vette on teaching Spot the cow to dance

So the main thing to remember when you're working with these bulls is they're normally gonna run around you, but if there's a small area and they want to go through, they're gonna go through that. And if you're in it, they're gonna bowl you. So you just have to remember to watch where they're gonna be looking to to exit.

– Animal behaviorist Mat Ward on working with bulls on a commercial shoot

Most animals can be cured. But a very few have deep-seated problems for which there are no easy answers. Slammer came to Mark two years ago, when his owners wanted to cure his aggression.

– Narrator Jason Hoyte introduces the episode's first animal, an aggressive dog named Slammer

[Mark] Vette, 47, is often called New Zealand's Doctor Dolittle. With a background in zoology and a lifelong love of animals, he has made a career out of training them for film and television work. Hercules, his huntaway-rottweiler cross, is the star of the Toyota 'Bugger' advertisements, and last year gave a doggy perspective to Funny Farm, a reality TV show based on his owner's animal training business.

– Writer Lucy Corry on The Funny Farm, The Waikato Times, 4 October 2003