Dogs Might Fly
Turning Rescue Dogs into Pilots
I'm proud to have played a central role in Dogs Might Fly — a six-part Sky1 series that showcased just how extraordinary rescue dogs can be when trained with kindness, patience, and science.
If I can teach a dog to fly a plane, there’s a good chance I can help you with your dog too.
🛩️ The Premise
Twelve unwanted and abandoned dogs from across the UK were selected for an incredible journey: to become the first dogs ever to fly a plane.
🔍 Episode 1: The Search
A nationwide search for dogs from rescue centres found some of Britain’s most extraordinary canine characters bursting with potential.
🏠 Episodes 2–5: The Dog House
I joined a team of dog experts at the "Dog House" to explore the capabilities of the twelve dogs, with the ultimate aim of selecting three who would attend flight school.
As well as testing the dogs’ cognitive abilities, emotional stability, and memory, we undertook three incredible training challenges:
🎬 “Bedtime” — a mini-movie performance
🎶 “Happy” — a dog-starring music video
🎭 “Pup Up and Away” — a live theatre production
Each challenge tested the dogs’ trainability and confidence in new, high-pressure environments.
(Scroll down for behind-the-scenes training videos.)
✈️ Episode 6: Flight School
Two of the three rescue dogs I personally trained made it all the way to Flight School.
I was honoured to design the core training programme and specialist equipment that allowed Shadow, Alfie, and Reggie to take full control of a Cessna 172 aircraft — and earn their wings.
Mat and Reggie on set
Alfie and Mat fully focussed at Flight School!
🎥 Watch the Training
Here’s a peek behind the scenes:
Training Alfie, Shadow and Blondie for the "Pup Up and Away" training challenge - Episode 5 of Dogs Might Fly.
Training for the music video challenge - Episode 4 of Dogs Might Fly.
Training Alfie and Shadow for the bedtime mini-movie challenge - Episode 3 of Dogs Might Fly.
"Happy" - the final edit of the music video training challenge.