We've all gone potty about Pudsey! How the nation has fallen in love with the dog who simply loves strutting his stuff

By DAVID WILKES

Dogged: The star of Saturday's Britain's Got Talent show, Pudsey the dog and his partner and trainer, Ashleigh Butter run through their routine near their home in Wellingborough, Northampton

Polishing his act looks like a stroll in the park for Pudsey as he shows off the moves that saw him dance into the final of Britain’s Got Talent.
As these pictures show, even on a day off from competing the cute pooch enjoys strutting his stuff - and has plenty more tricks to spare like ‘high-fiving’ his teenage handler Ashleigh Butler with his paw.
But despite all the hundreds of hours of practice and being the favourite to win, Ashleigh still worries Pudsey could behave like a diva on the big day and scupper his chances. ‘Pudsey has got his own mind if he doesn’t want to do it he could easily just walk off the stage and say I don’t feel like doing it today,’ the 17 year old said. ‘I don’t think people realise it is quite hard with a dog.’

Stealing the limelight: The pair then breezed through the semi-final with a 1920s-themed performance
It prompted Cowell, who has a well-known penchant for dancing dogs, to declare: ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for all my life... I would love a dog like that, I really would. Can’t we breed him and I can have the puppies?’
And after Sunday’s semi triumph, Cowell and fellow judge David Walliams - who described them as ‘like Torvill and Dean, or Rogers and Astaire’ - went up to the pair and gave six year old Pudsey a cuddle and a kiss.
But Ashleigh, who was given Pudsey - a cross between a border collie, bichon frise and Chinese crested - as an 11th birthday present by her mother and has been training him sever since, would never dream of parting with him.
Asked if she would sell him to Cowell, she told the Mail: ‘No - Pudsey is priceless. I couldn’t give Pudsey away. I wouldn’t mind going round Simon’s house on day visits that’s fine.

Stars of the show: Pudsey and Ashleigh won millions of fans with their act on Britain's Got Talent

But nothing else.’ And she joked: ‘I think Simon is in love with Pudsey. I think I’m going to have to keep a close eye on Pudsey - I’ve had so many people come up to me and say I am going to steal him.’
If they won the prize of appearing at the Royal Variety Performance and £500,000 cash, Ashleigh would buy Pudsey a ‘bling collar’ and a new bed.
And for herself? ‘It would be a dream of mine to set up a business for film animals,’ she said.
She added that she hoped one day Pudsey might even follow in the paw prints of The Artist’s four legged star Uggie.
‘The dog is really good, so I definitely think Pudsey would be brilliant at something like that,’ she said

'Bling collar': If they won the prize of appearing at the Royal Variety Performance and £500,000 cash, Ashleigh would buy Pudsey a 'bling collar' and a new bed

Got it licked: Pudsey and Ashleigh went through to the semi-final with a performance based on the Oscar winning movie The Artist

Ashleigh, of Northampton, also owns Pudsey’s mother, a bichon frise called Buffy. She travels to competitions around the country with her mother Penny and sister Taylor, 14.
Despite her fears about his diva-like tendencies, she said of BGT: ‘Pudsey is loving it and we are both just really enjoying the experience.
‘Throughout all the big events, we have done Crufts, and Britain’s Got Talent he has been phenomenal through the whole experience. I find the bigger the audience then the better he performs.’


Star qualities: Talented Pudsey could soon embark on a movie career after impressing millions of viewers on Britain's Got Talent

source: dailymail