Sophie was back on the apps
Sophie had been ghosted the previous week after preparing for a date which never happened.
By Wednesday she had returned to dating apps rather than allowing the disappearing man to put her off entirely.
Scott and Chris discussed the awkward early stages of another date, including the importance they placed on making it as far as a second drink. The conversation became another reminder that, because Sophie worked on the programme, her dating life could very quickly become material for the show.
The larger dating story from the previous day, however, involved Noah, a gamekeeper and a dog.
Scott wanted the dog’s version of events
Noah had given a puppy from the family dog’s litter to a man Noah was dating.
The man later became a bobber.
Scott’s solution was not to concentrate entirely on Noah or the gamekeeper. He wanted to know whether the dog was happy.
That required a Dog Whisperer.
Dr David Sands joined the programme as a specialist in canine behaviour. Scott and Chris initially treated the title as though he might literally translate complete sentences from dogs into English.
David had to explain what dog communication actually involved.
Dogs learned associations with human words and routines, but much of their communication came through posture, movement, expression, vocalisation and context. A growl, bark or whine could communicate different things, while an everyday word such as “walkies” could acquire enormous meaning because of the activity attached to it.
Humans also communicated with dogs even when they did not realise it. Attention, ignoring behaviour, body position and repeated routines could all affect the relationship.
Freddy got a Radio 1 consultation
Once the explanation had become sensible, Scott and Chris immediately made it silly again.
Listener Charlotte had a dog called Freddy and brought him to the phone.
David was asked to interpret Freddy’s reactions while Scott and Chris tried to discover what the dog was thinking.
One question concerned music.
The obvious test became “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?”, with Freddy’s physical response treated as evidence to be analysed.
Scott had hoped for something closer to a fluent conversation in “canine”, but the feature instead produced a mixture of genuine behavioural science and Radio 1 attempting to interview a dog about its favourite song.
Listeners were split between describing it as a new low and admitting that they had enjoyed it.
Scott was already inviting more people to put their dogs on the radio.
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