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Archive through September 04, 2008

Reality TVClubHouse Discussions: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2008 - 3: Greatest American Dog: ARCHIVES: Archive through September 04, 2008 users admin

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Bingosmama
Member

05-12-2006

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 5:44 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Bingosmama a private message Print Post    
Absolutely not Puzzled....no way would I do that to a dog...if they were trained, like police dogs, they would be able to do that stuff but to take a normal house pet and make him/her do that is cruel....JMO

Puzzled
Member

08-27-2001

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 7:27 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Puzzled a private message Print Post    
Cruel is right, Bingos.

I'm guessing that if someone wanted to train a dog to jump like that, that they'd start with low jumps and gradually build up to it. That would also give the dog a chance to realise that the harness was supporting him/her. Giving a dog a few minutes to practice and then make the jump so high really was, as you say, cruel.

Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Thursday, August 28, 2008 - 8:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
I didn't like the competitions last night.. it was asking a dog to go against all instincts.

Anniem
Member

05-21-2006

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 11:44 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Anniem a private message Print Post    
It makes absolutely no sense to me that the judges scolded Bill last week for not letting Star stop when she was ready, and sent him home this week for letting her stop when it was apparent that she was too frightened to jump. What did they want him to do?

Karuuna
Board Administrator

08-31-2000

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 12:45 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Karuuna a private message Print Post    
I think what they are looking for is a dog who has such a great bond with their owner, and great training relationship, that they can fairly quickly teach the dogs to adapt to new situations and challenges.

That would mean if you didn't have that relationship already, you wouldn't be likely to develop it in house, and probably should go home.

At the same time, if you don't have that relationship, you shouldn't force your dog to try to make it for it, in order to stay in the competition.

It does seems conflicting on the surface.

Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 1:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Anniem.. I had that exact thought.. he might have tried longer to get Star to take that leap, but after he was chastized last time, he pulled back.. So this time he was dinged for her not jumping and for him not making her climb the steeper ramp!

I think Galaxy was the one who was fishtailing as he came down the line.. I was cringing at the thought of the muscle strain and what it might be doing to his back/neck.

And while I love seeing the dogs and owners and some of the tasks have been fun.. ok some fail, but it isn't hurting them and they are cute and still loved. But some of these tasks seem hurtful to me.

I guess I just knew my dogs were the greatest, for me, and the training they got was for their safety and mine (not jerking on a lead, which gave me bad tendonitis from an unruly lab) and then whatever was still fun .. when it became not fun or boring, I didn't see the point. I didn't need to compete

With my first champion lab (conformation.. she got her basic working certificate but never hunted) I could tell that she enjoyed learning each command but the idea of doing an obdience "routine" was just not her thing. She was bored.

And the funny thing that happened. A friend who had a trophy shop and superintended dog shows or was show secretary also put on various dog related programs, workshops, trainings. I learned to tube feed puppies from him. Anyway he had a big deal with a dog psychic at a hotel near Disneyland once and the idea was to have a variety of dogs with problems and they would come up on stage and communicate with this psychic. Doug called me and said he needed a sporting dog, did I have one who was well behaved. Well sure, but I didn't think she was troubled or had any problems. He said that was fine. So Jani and I went and the other dogs had a variety of problems and then I brought Jani up and had to admit that I didn't know of any. The psychic said she was seeing Jani, enjoying riding in the car, running in a field (well that was pretty easy and correct) and said she was happy.. true. But I had to ask a question so I asked why she was not into obedience. LOL.. the psychic said, Oh she's BORED! And at that exact moment, Jani gave a huge labrador yawn. The audience loved it. But I cannot imagine putting a large or giant dog or even a small dog with a long back, say, a dachshund, into that zip line situation.

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Friday, August 29, 2008 - 6:30 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dogdoc a private message Print Post    
I think Andrew was the star of the show. When the elephant reached over to him with its trunk , Andrew just sat and sniffed at him. Since I watched the Monk episode with the elephant and the terrible thing that happened to the trainers head, I would not have let my dog sit there.

Skydiver6
Member

07-21-2006

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 6:18 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Skydiver6 a private message Print Post    
I didn't like this last episode at all! I think both parts were dangerous. I would not have subjected my dog to the elephant. It is too much of an unpredictable. The chance of my dog possibility getting hurt is not worth any reality TV show to me. I thought it was ridiculous to ask the dogs to jump off that platform! The dogs do not know they have on a safety harness. What happens next time they think they can jump off something and have no harness on and get hurt. Galaxy got hurt anyway.

Then I was pissed that Bill got criticized for putting Star first and not having him go up the steeper ramp and last week he got yelled at for pushing Star too hard!!! What's with that???? I thought the judges would compliment Bill on his smart choice this week. I thought Andrew and Star showed that they were the smartest dogs this week!

Naja
Member

06-28-2003

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 6:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Naja a private message Print Post    
ITA, Skydiver. There is no way in heck I want my dogs to overcome their fear of jumping from too high of a place. Heck, they don't even need to jump from 15 or 20 feet to get hurt. 4-6 feet can do it, and even less if it's an old or fat dog. Can you imagine if poor Star had jumped, and then the next time she came came to a 6 foot jump without a harness she figured she could do it? yikes. That whole stunt was ridiculous to me.

Mamabatsy
Member

08-05-2005

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 11:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mamabatsy a private message Print Post    
If they are looking for the smartest dog, they'd choose the one who got the heck out of the way of the elephant the fastest and flatly refused to make that jump. What they seem to want is blind obedience not intelligence.

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 11:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dogdoc a private message Print Post    
I don't know if I would call the second test "blind obedience". Dogs can think things out. The owners went up the ramp and on the swing line first. The dogs could get the hang of it from that. The elephant is a different story.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Saturday, August 30, 2008 - 4:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
I think they are running out of "tricks" (or stunts) to do. I haven't watched this episode yet and I'm not sure I want to. There's a world of difference between working with your dog to establish a rapport, and then training that dog to do tricks. It's another thing to make the dog do something that is totally and completely out of the realm of "being a dog." I don't think it's fair to "force" the dogs to do the things it sounds like they were being told you do. These dogs are not stunt dogs and shouldn't be required to perform these kinds of stunts.

Sadiesmom
Member

03-13-2002

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 8:53 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sadiesmom a private message Print Post    
All is not as it appears, after all this is a "reality show" Humane society on the show and this episode in detail

So, it is just editing and not as bad as it looked. Interesting to know that each dog did the zip line in practice. Some must have thought it was not much fun.

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 2:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dogdoc a private message Print Post    
Thanks for that article Sadiesmom. Frisbee is not a good game for dogs. It requires them to jump in the air and twist as they grab for the disc. A safe way to throw a Frisbee would be to keep it parallel to the ground. Galaxy could have been hurt jumping.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 5:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    

quote:

"Although these animals were given some preparation, American Humane does not agree with the use of private pets in entertainment. American Humane recommends that only trained animals be used in entertainment."


My point exactly!

Thanks for the article Sadiesmom. At least we know that they were being monitored at times, although I find it disturbing that they are not monitoring every show.

Now, if I could just teach my Costa Cat to play catch with a Frisbee. He's quite good at the jumping/twisting thing! <wink>

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 6:05 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dogdoc a private message Print Post    
Cats are born to jump and twist.

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 7:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Dogdoc, you dork! That was my point!! <BIG grin>

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - 7:36 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dogdoc a private message Print Post    


Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Monday, September 01, 2008 - 5:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    


Puzzled
Member

08-27-2001

Monday, September 01, 2008 - 7:25 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Puzzled a private message Print Post    
Thanks, Sadiesmom. Why would they deliberately make the elephant challenge look so dangerous. Sheesh, don't they realise that most of their viewers would be dog lovers?

I still don't approve of the jump, though. I think it's possible that Galaxy hurt himself on the jump, but it didn't show up until later. That's happened to me.

Dogdoc
Member

09-29-2001

Tuesday, September 02, 2008 - 6:01 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dogdoc a private message Print Post    
The producers made us think Star was dying from a snake bite one week. She was fine. It will be interesting to see what a veterinarian says about Galaxy's injuries.

Jodied75
Member

08-26-2004

Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - 9:12 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jodied75 a private message Print Post    
Didn't a vet already examine her? I thought the vet said the injury was in the top of her front right leg, and she said something like she could feel very little cartilage.

Galaxy does a lot of jumping - she always leaps into JD's arms.

Sunbeaks
Member

07-21-2005

Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - 8:12 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sunbeaks a private message Print Post    
Personally, I didn't approve of the jump at all. No matter how safe the equipment or well prepared the dogs, I would not allow any of my dogs to jump from that height. If they did it once and happened to like it, what's to say they might feel confident enough to jump on their own without the safety of a harness - like off our back porch or upstairs deck!

I love the show, but I really did not approve of this jump.


Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 1:49 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
ACK! No results? I got cut off due to the convention..

Seamonkey
Moderator

09-07-2000

Thursday, September 04, 2008 - 1:57 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Hmm Evidently Theresa and Leroy were booted? And Travis & Presley stayed?? Strange..