Multi-platinum recording artist, Josh Groban may best be known for his incredible musicianship, but his role in Crazy Stupid Love has proved that he has the acting chops and his extraordinary guest hosting on Live with Kelly certainly matches his tremendous voice. Of course, it came as no surprise to Wendy that underneath all of the talent was the heart of a doting pet parent. Whether on tour, on vacation, or relaxing on the couch, Groban is never far from his Wheaton Terrier, Sweeney. We were fortunate enough to snag a sliver of Groban’s time and were not too shy to ask the ruff questions!
Why did you name Sweeney, Sweeney?
Josh Groban: One of my favorite shows of all times was Sweeney Todd. I‘ve always been kind of a theater geek and I always said to myself when I get my first dog I’m gonna name him Sweeney just because that was a cool dog name, and he’s lived up to that name, he’s not quite as demonic as the character in the musical but sometimes he can be pretty close
How did you Choose a Wheaten Terrier?
JG: I was at the dog park with a friend of mine and I saw a Wheaten Terrier, and I never saw a Wheaten Terrier before and said what breed is that? And she told me, and I looked him up and it was great because there were a couple things I liked about the breed, one was that they’ve got this really playful kind of puppy-like nature that they seem to never get rid of, he [Sweeney] is 8 years old and still acts like a kid. The other thing is that they don’t shed. I go on tour, and I wanted a dog that I can take with me on the tour bus and not feel like I had to leave home, and to not have to worry about allergies and dander on the road…He’s got this soft amazing fur…
Wheatens are hypoallergenic, Do you have allergies?
JG: No, but generally with the bus air condition the air re-circulates and you know if you got hair flying all over the place, and I gotta sing every night, it could cause some problems. It’s really nice to have a great dog with really great hair.
What kind of music does Sweeney bark to?
JG: It’s interesting, he absolutely knows if I’m messing around on the computer or if I’m working…like he just knows. If I’m surfing the Internet he’ll give me the cold-shoulder, he’ll go over there, he’ll be a brat, he’ll go tear something up, he’ll take toilet paper from one room to the other…you know whatever. If I’m sitting and I’m playing the piano or if I’m writing a song he will just lay under the piano and he’ll get into it. Sometimes he gives me little signs that he likes the melody or not. If he likes what I’m working on he’ll be laying on his back with is tongue hanging out and if he doesn’t he’ll have his nose to do door like ‘let me out of here’ so yeah he’s a good sounding board.
If Sweeney was a musician, what kind would he be?
JG: He would probably be in a 80s hair band
Why?
JG: I don’t know, he’s got this crazy hair. He doesn’t even need gel to keep it up, it’s huge!
Where are you favorite places to take Sweeney?
JG: My house in Malibu. He loves the ocean; his favorite thing in the world is the ocean. He doesn’t like going into the pool, he just doesn’t like feeling that there’s nothing underneath him, if he can feel sand on his feet then he’ll go crazy, he likes the ocean…he likes the tennis court…he likes the dog park, he loves playing with other dogs.
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