If it comes down to the dog or your dumb ass...

[lieueitak]

Last night, I couldn't sleep, and so I decided to just flip through the channels. So at 4 am, I come across this show on Animal Planet called, "It's me or the Dog." Basically, it's a dog training show. People write in about their misbehaving dogs, and the host comes out and teaches the people how to curb bad behavior. Or rather... it's a show

Comments

[she_who_dares]

Already I feel sorry for Pongo. He has dumb owners AND a dumb name. Dalmatians are beautiful dogs, and idiots like that don't deserve them, methinks (or any kind of dog, naturally).

[lieueitak]

I agree. At one point in the program, the narrator said, "the owners decide to give Pongo a second chance." To me, it's not the dog who's messed up or who needs another chance. If anything, the owners should be thanking their lucky stars that the producers didn't take that beautiful creature from their dumb asses. Also, apparently, Pongo had bitten some people outside of the family, and again, the owners should count themselves lucky that they weren't sued for having an aggressive dog, whom they refused to properly train.

[rainbowstevie]

...I need a "flaming angry" icon to deal with situations like this. It never ceases to amaze me when people refuse to have their pets neutered (especially if it's a dominant male). And one would think that "not letting him on the furniture in the first place" would be somewhat OBVIOUS if they expect him to stay off of it on his own. Geeze. I don't think I could even sit through that show.

[lieueitak]

To me, the only reason NOT to neuter your pet is if you have your animal participating in dog shows (and thus to be bred eventually) or dog sports where you aren't allowed to neuter your pet without faults/being disqualified. Very clearly, these idiots weren't going to breed (THANK GOD) their dog, so why not neuter him? Especially since dalmatians aren't usually known for their love of children, have high energy naturally, etc.

The whole thing was rather infuriating. Like you said, if you don't want the dog on the furniture, you should, you know, keep him OFF the furniture. It just seems logical.

If it weren't 4 am when I watched it, I don't think I could sit through it. But as it were, I was sort of falling asleep/too lazy to find the remote. :-P

[vivid_memory]

Seriously, it never ceases to amaze me how stupid some people can actually be. I mean, how difficult is it to grasp the concept of NOT reinforcing the behavior you're trying to stop? The poor dog!

If that's the way they discipline the dog, I can't even imagine how they discipline their kids.

Did they make any comments about the fact that these people are basically abusing their pet? (I haven't seen the show, but that's the impression that I got).

[lieueitak]

Did they make any comments about the fact that these people are basically abusing their pet? (I haven't seen the show, but that's the impression that I got). Not really. I mean the trainer said that it was absolutely 100% not okay to hit the dog, and also said that by being aggressive towards the dog, they were scaring the dog. By frightening the dog, they were reinforcing the aggression and such, but the word abuse didn't show up at all, and frankly, the trainer was nicer about it than she should have been. Of course, my natural response to the situation would result in jail time.

[brambernut]

Was this a British show by any chance? I'm sure I've seen something similarly named over here - well seen advertised. We even have things where a nanny (Supernanny, even) comes into a family's home and straightens out children's misbehaviour. That is not their fault but the way they're disciplined by their parents.

[lieueitak]

I think the woman might have been British. But I don't know for sure. We have Supernanny too. :-P