Simon Cowell has been forced to draft in help because his German shepherd puppy is running riot.
The Britain’s Got Talent star, 64, told the Mirror he has asked Lucy Heath from the incredible dancing dog act The Trickstars for help with training Pebbles. “She’s a little bit naughty,” he groans. “She nicks everything, including all the telephones in the house. Anything she can get hold of, she will take. And then when I try and get it back, she’s running away from me and she just thinks it’s a game. So she’s got a very playful nature.”
Simon ditched his mobile phone in 2017, and reckons it makes him happier, although it does mean he is more reliant on the house phone which Pebbles, who joined the family in January, keeps stealing.
Lucy and Strike, a five-year-old border collie, wowed the BGT judges in the first week of auditions last month with a stunning dance act to the tune of Friend Like Me from the Aladdin soundtrack.
Simon went backstage to meet Lucy after her performance – and admitted he could use someone who knows how to control an unruly dog. In 2016, Lucy and her maltese-pomeranian cross Trip Hazard finished seventh in the ITV competition. Since then, she has added three more dogs, including Strike.
Simon said the performance left him speechless and he was eager to pick up some tips, even though Pebbles’ naughtiness is part of the reason he loves her.
“I think we got really lucky with Pebbles,” he continues. “I think she’s absolutely beautiful, gentle, very protective already. She’s just a gorgeous, gorgeous, beautiful dog.”
Simon is also a proud dogfather to Yorkshire terriers Squiddly and Diddly, whom he has had since 2013, and his late mum’s Yorkie Freddy, whom he adopted in 2016. He and his fiancee, Lauren Silverman, and their son Eric, 10, adopted terrier cross Daisy in Barbados in 2018, and Simon introduced a new chihuahua puppy to his home last month, too.
Squiddly, Diddly and Daisy featured on stage on Britain’s Got Talent as part of Kevon Carter’s performance, which compiled clips of dogs barking. Lucy, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, has been training dogs for 18 years and previously said of her training methods: “We use their favourite treats and their favourite toys.”
She wanted her act – in which she and Strike were joined by more canine dancers as the routine went on – to be a surprise for the judges as well as everyone in the audience.
The 38-year-old added: “To go back on with four dogs, I was hoping everyone would think it was going to be another predictable dog act, and then hopefully we shocked everybody. We did get a rehearsal in the morning, so I thought if it’s really bad I’m just going to go home."
Judge Alesha Dixon, 45, said Lucy’s return to the series showed a strength of character that impressed her. “The fact that you decided to come back and audition on the show tells me a lot about you and your competitive spirit, which I love,” she said.
Bruno Tonioli, 68, described the performance as “the best dog act I’ve ever seen”, while Amanda Holden, 54, echoed his sentiments, adding: “I can just about get my dog to go into the garden for a wee. This is one of the best dog acts we have ever had on the show.”
In 2018, dog lover Simon spent £180,000 to clone Squiddly, Diddly and Freddy. “I cannot bear the thought of them not being around,” he admitted. I might actually do it sooner rather than later, which will mean we have six dogs running around.
"You hope they’re going to be the same dogs and that you’ll love them as much as the current ones. I cannot imagine Squiddly, Diddly and Freddy not being around.”
The dogs travel the world by private jet, where they relax on reclining leather seats. They reportedly drink Icelandic mineral water from porcelain dog bowls and enjoy organic, sugar-free choc drops for treats.
Britain’s Got Talent continues at 7.30pm on Saturday on ITV1.
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