That Dog In "Sherlock" Was Just As Useless During The Filming Of The Episode

“It didn’t move! That was an immobile dog."

In "The Six Thatchers", you might remember that Sherlock used a bloodhound to track some blood that was found on a smashed Margaret Thatcher statue.

Robert Viglasky / BBC/Hartswood Films/Robert Viglasky

Only for the dog to not move at all.

BBC/Hartswood Films/Robert Viglasky

It really was quite useless.

It turns out that the reason why the dog didn't move was because, while filming that episode, the actual dog couldn't move, so they made a scene about it.

Robert Viglasky / BBC/Hartswood Films/Robert Viglasky

Speaking at a Q&A following a screening of the new episode late last month, Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat said: "It didn't move! That was an immobile dog. You know that little scene ... which is my favourite scene in that sequence, me and Mark Gatiss wrote that on the street to account for the fact that the dog wouldn't move! It just sat there."

Mary (Amanda Abbington) and John Watson (Martin Freeman), also on the panel, then imitated the dog's handler from that day on set.

Robert Viglasky / BBC/Hartswood Films/Robert Viglasky

Martin: "She said, well... The dog doesn't like pavements."

Amanda: "It doesn't like people."

Martin: "It doesn't like people."

Amanda: "Or crowds."

Martin: "Or busy streets."

Amanda: "Or open spaces."

Martin: "Or open spaces."

They said that there was also a backup dog, which was also immobile.

Moffat said that he always wanted to use a bloodhound in Sherlock, as one appeared in Arthur Conan Doyle's books.

BBC/Hartswood Films

"I've always wanted to put it in. My god did we regret it."

CORRECTION

Jan. 02, 2017, at 10:28 AM

Martin Freeman obviously plays Watson. An earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to his character as Holmes. Apologies.