New series of Channel 4's The Dog House highlights current issues faced by rescue centres

Series six will run for five weeks at 8pm every Sunday. It will be followed by a Christmas special, with a further six new episodes expected to air early next year.

‘The Dog House’ follows staff at Woodgreen Pets Charity in Cambridgeshire as they go about finding dogs their perfect match, transforming both the pets and their hopeful new owners’ lives.

This new series provides behind-the-scenes insight into the tireless efforts by staff to train and rehabilitate nervous and excitable dogs, preparing them to find loving new homes on the show. Alongside the magical, tear-jerking matches the show has become known for, the new series offers viewers a first-hand glimpse at current issues affecting both rescue centres and pet owners. It highlights the increase of stray dogs being handed into Woodgreen, which has seen a 45% rise in stray pets coming through its doors in the last year.

The series also touches upon how more people are unable to meet the needs of their pets, and delves into the realities of how losing a canine companion affects dogs and the emotional journey of canine grief.

The Dog House – behind the scenes

• The Dog House is filmed at Woodgreen’s 42-acre centre in Cambridgeshire, where the charity also takes in and rehomes cats and small pets.
  ​
• A total of 527 homeless dogs at Woodgreen found their perfect match in the past year.
  ​
• What viewers see on The Dog House is only a snapshot of the incredible work that goes on day-in, day-out to support vulnerable pets. Woodgreen’s in-house veterinary team carried out 8,532 operations and procedures over the past year, ranging from routine neutering and dental operations to complete orthopaedic and joint surgeries. The charity has seen a trend in more pets needing significant vet treatment potentially due to delays in seeing vets – a likely result of the cost-of-living crisis.
  ​
• Before filming starts on each new series, the film crew undergo a training session on how to behave around dogs, led by canine behaviourists and stars of the show, Sue Ketland and Wendy Kruger. Some of Sue and Wendy’s insider tips to help the dogs feel comfortable around the cameras include wearing green to blend in with staff and having a pocket full of treats to throw into kennels when needed.
  ​
• The Dog House has transformed people’s lives on and off-screen. Viewers regularly get in touch with Woodgreen to share how the show has changed their lives, including one avid fan who overcame her nervousness around dogs when she saw the positive impact they can while binge-watching the show. Another viewer even offered to donate a kidney to a kidney patient on dialysis, who appeared in the first series.
  ​
• The cameras are constantly rolling and recording during filming, with 30 fixed rig cameras, four roaming cameras and six Go Pros strategically located to capture the heartwarming and emotional nuggets you see on TV.
  ​
• Up to a million viewers regularly tune in live to The Dog House on Channel 4, and it receives around 100k views a day on repeat episodes.