very intresting take on the rottie thing, it does make you wonder, does the way a breed is marketed play a part in how they turn out???

Can I just put, that I agree that this might cause irresponsible breeders, Eastenders is a watched by loads of people, and I have just managed to convince my auntie not to put her labradoodle up for stud, with no health tests or anything, and I have with someone else just convinced someone with a pair of british bull dogs not to breed, espcailly as the male is aggresive luckily start up costs of AI and a c-section even before costs of raising the pups put them off, but there could be plenty of people on the fence, about breeding, and this could sway them one way or the other.

I think it does, in terms of the sort of people who perceive breeds because of tv/film portrayal - using BCs for example, because of One Man and his Dog there really are a huge number of people who think BCs are literally born ready trained, they see the dogs working on the telly and all thought of the training that goes into the dogs to do that job goes out the window `cos them collie dogs is born brainy enough to know how to do everyfink` - rescues are full of BCs from people who literally bought on that basis

Reply from the BBC, did anyone else get the same response?

I didn't expect such a lengthy response, so that's something, I suppose and at least my thoughts have been acknowledged.


"Dear Miss Bowers

Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'EastEnders' on BBC One, and your concerns over the storyline which featured the introduction of a St Bernard dog. Please accept our apologies for the delay in replying. We know our correspondents appreciate a quick response and are sorry you've had to wait on this occasion.

I understand that you don't feel this storyline is true to life and have noted your suggestions for the way you would like the storyline to develop. However, drama productions are not always best served by strictly mirroring real life and a certain amount of dramatic licence can often be involved in trying to develop a plotline and convey it to the audience.

There are obviously constraints which mean that we cannot or do not always want to keep as closely to the level of detail that some viewers would like us to. We treat our characters as individuals, with their own sets of behaviours, and they cannot be expected to represent the way we might hope all dog owners would behave.

A St Bernard appearing as a lovable fictional pet in 'EastEnders' is very different in context to seeing them upheld as exemplary breeds. Audiences generally have no difficulty in accepting that such programmes are fiction not documentary and any portrayal is not strictly representative of real life counterparts, nor is it intended to encourage real life comparisons.

Whilst the majority of our characters are decent, law-abiding members of the community, it is a convention of soap opera to feature a range of character-types, and villains, opportunists, and those of questionable morals have always had their place in 'EastEnders'. It is important to note however that the majority of frowned upon activities that have featured in the show over the years have eventually seen their perpetrators get their comeuppance in one way or another. As in real life, this can be seen in a variety of different outcomes; from the law courts, to guilt, personal suffering, retribution and being taken to task by other characters who can be seen to strongly disapprove of their actions.

Nevertheless, I appreciate your concerns and would like to assure you that we've registered your comments on our audience log. This is the internal report of audience feedback which we compile daily for all programme makers and commissioning executives within the BBC, and also their senior management. It ensures that your points, and all other comments we receive, are circulated and considered across the BBC.

Thanks again for contacting us."

Rather patronising, I think. Only to be expected.

Yes, you're probably right.