Songfacts®:

• This song is a political satire that caused a great deal of controversy. The video is a cartoon, which portrays British Prime Minister Tony Blair as the pet poodle of US President George Bush. In another scene, Blair and Bush are dancing together, with Blair wearing a dress. The implication that Blair would do whatever Bush told him to played out months later when the US went to war with Iraq. Despite criticism from the British public, Blair supported Bush and sent troops to help the US.
• Michael wrote this after watching television news and realizing there were a lot of angry people in the world.
• The song was written before the September 11 attacks, but was shelved until June 2002 because of them.
• After releasing this song, Michael explained that he is patriotic, but feels there needs to be more open debate, which he was trying to stir by writing this. "'Shoot the Dog' is political satire, expressing my personal opinion about the lack of public dialogue between the government and the British people today,' he said. "I wrote it to get people talking, not to change the world and certainly not to cause offense. If it stimulates debate and makes people dance and laugh, I think it will have done its job."
• The music is based on a 1981 song by The Human League called "Love Action (I Believe In Love)"