RICHARD Curtis has directed some of the biggest stars in film and had multiple box office successes, but not the Richard Curtis we talked to.

Our Richard Curtis is no less impressive in his field and has won heaps of awards for his directing work with different kinds of cast.

He's a canine freestyle and heelwork expert, has won the Crufts Freestyle crown three times, the Crufts International prize, judged the show twice and taught dog training all over the world from Australia to Japan to America.

The 39-year-old from Lincolnshire will demonstrate his skills at Erith Riverside Shopping Centre on August 10, as part of its Pets Party Day.

Richard, who runs K9 Freestyle Dancing Dogs, directs a cast of seven dogs and it has been love (actually) from the age of nine when he took his West Highland White Terrier Nicky to obedience classes.

He told Vibe that routines "can be as imaginative as you like as long as it is not detrimental to the dog".

"Everything I do with the dog uses positive reinforcement, using toys and treats to get them to perform," he said.

"Hopefully you will always see that their tails are always wagging and they are very alert and happy about what they are doing."

Richard said it took around two years to get his pooches ready for a starring role.

He said: "It is a gradual process. It is a little every day with the young dogs but with the older dogs, when they know the task, it is like us if we do something again and again we get bored.

"You have to keep it fresh for the dog every time."

Richard said anybody can have a go at training their dog and all breeds can be taught.

He said: "It is just case of tailoring your attitude a bit. The Chihuahua will have a limited attention span so you have to focus on quality not quantity."

The most important thing, Richard said, is to make sure you reward your dog for doing right rather than punishing it for doing wrong.

He said: "For instance, a lot of people have their dogs pull on their lead or they run off and don’t come back and the worst thing you can do is keep telling it ‘no’.

"When the dog is actually walking to heel, very few people tell the dog it is doing good.

"We tend just to focus on the negative.

"It is all about making sure that when the dog is doing well that it is aware that it is doing well."