Shane Hartshorn, owner of Canine Education in Leicestershire, England, and a Victoria Stilwell Academy graduate, brings positive reinforcement principles, professionalism, and humor to his work with dogs and their people. Recently, he stepped into the role of support trainer on Channel Four’s The Dog Academy, providing a calm presence integral to the show’s success.
In an exclusive interview on Victoria Stilwell’s Positively Podcast, Shane shares what it was really like behind the scenes—from managing dogs in challenging conditions to supporting Victoria and the team through some of the show’s trickiest cases.
Behind the Scenes
Anyone who’s worked in television knows that on-screen glamour requires hard work. Shane discovered the reality of filming meant doing your own makeup, managing your own wardrobe, and dealing with shirts that seemed to show every wrinkle and drop of sweat. “It didn’t matter how much you pressed it or dry cleaned it,” Shane recalls. “It just looked like somebody had sat on it and rumpled it up.”
As a support trainer in Series Two, Shane’s responsibilities went far beyond simply holding a leash—he needed to handle dogs during interviews, work with reactive cases, and manage dogs for training demonstrations—all while understanding the nuances of positive reinforcement training without constant direction.
One particularly challenging day involved working with a reactive dog in less-than-ideal conditions. Victoria needed Shane and his dog Ernie to serve as the “stooge dog” for distance work—but first, they had to find the right field. “We got to the wrong field first,” Shane recalls with a laugh.
When they finally reached the right location, the weather turned sour. “The heavens opened, didn’t they,” Shane says. “But we stood there. We were professional, you know, we worked it through.” Despite the rain, Shane and Victoria managed to communicate and work seamlessly across the field, understanding each other’s needs without even speaking.
The Magic of Ernie
Ernie, Shane’s chocolate Labrador, played a crucial role. His calm temperament and solid training made him perfect for working with reactive dogs who needed a non-threatening presence to practice around.
“He was just an amazing dog,” Victoria says of Ernie. “He was like, ‘What am I doing here? I’m a lab, and I love the rain. I don’t care.” Thanks to Ernie’s steady presence and Shane’s skilled handling, they were able to get the reactive dog comfortably close—a significant achievement given the challenging circumstances.
Lessons from the Dog Academy
When asked what he learned from his time on The Dog Academy, Shane identified three key takeaways about the reality of television production:
First, the sheer amount of work involved surprised him. “I didn’t realize how exhausting it was going to be,” he admits. “Sometimes you’re on set at seven in the morning. Some nights we weren’t leaving until nine o’clock at night.”
Second, he found the television industry more down-to-earth than expected. “You look at the whole television industry—oh, it must be this big, glamorous industry and everything. No, no, no, no. It wasn’t. It was quite normal.”
Third, and perhaps most importantly, the incredible diversity of cases kept every day fresh and engaging. “We ranged from reactivity to OCD behaviors,” Shane notes. “You didn’t know what you were going into on a daily basis. And again, that’s why it was so much fun.”
What impressed Shane most was seeing dogs adapt and thrive in this unfamiliar environment. “I remember them coming in, quite stressed, to this new environment, it was quite overwhelming for them. Then to see the dog just come down off that stress level, and actually go, I’m safe. I’m in a good place.”
Watching this transition over the course of nine hours of filming—dogs going from stressed and uncertain to confident and happy—reinforced everything Shane learned at VSA about the power of positive reinforcement training.
Want to hear the full conversation with Shane? Listen to the complete episode on Victoria Stilwell’s Positively Podcast to learn more about his journey and experiences behind the scenes.
