On BBC3 tonight at 9pm  looks quite good.

Watching it now.

I emailed Mic Martin during the week to see when our training course is going to start, and he said that he had hate mail from last weeks episode. I can't wait to take my 11 month old to him for basic training, her recall is terrible.

I was a bit disappointed in the boxer owners... but proud of the lab owner at the end.

I think she improved so much didn't she?

I wish the blooming shake bottle was not used though, to teach the Leave - you can do it so very effectively with the clicker, and walk past tempting articles too, just as she did, but probably even more effectively :)

I disliked seeing one dog being dragged along as he was being got used to his headcollar, no need for that although it was only for a short moment. Also one of the dog trainers is going to end up being bitten the way they are carrying on.

I like the way the army trainer introduces something for the dogs to do, that Boxer was so up for learning and was full of it, a great dog to train and I think he was happier to be doing something :)

Lindsay
x

What I disliked this time was the way they kept going on about the Lab puppy turning aggressive sometimes -they clearly showed a puppy play biting, doing play bows, just being playful, tail wagging! There was no aggression in that at all.

I loved the fact that Mic punished himself when HE made a mistake -fair! :)

Wish I could get BBC3.  I emailed Mic Martin when I was having probs finding a good training school. He seems to be quite a no nonense personality and doesn't appear to take prisoners judging from the tone of his emails   I so wish I could see the programme to see if he comes over the same on TV.  If he comes over the same I guess people will either love him or hate and never the twain so to speak.  His abrasive emails made me laugh and I couldn't help but agree with all he said.  Everything is seen from the dog's perscpective and clearly explained so you can easily see that it the owner not communicating with the dog rather than the dog being a "problem".   He put me onto the club I have used (and must go back to very soon :rolleyes:) who is a friend of his and the methods are the same.  Classes are great fun, varied and we both enjoyed them a lot. :)

Darn, I must get hold of one of those Digiboxes.  Are they all you need to get all the BBC channels?

I'd make sure you can receive the channels where you are before buying the box,you can check if the service covers your area on currys,comet etc websites before you buy by just putting in your postcode.I wanted to buy one for my parents for Christmas but it didn't cover where they live:rolleyes:

If it does cover your area then yes,the digibox is all you need

If it's Sky Digital you're after, the signal covers the UK and Eire, if comets website says there is no coverage, it probably means that it can't be recieved witha standard 45cm dish.in that case you need to get a bigger dish.
These channels can be recieved in Spain with a big dish, so it shouldn't be a problem recieving them in the UK.
Talk to your local satellite tv shop, they would be more clued up on it that a big electrical store. I worked as a satellite tv engineer for 10 years and
only failed to get a signal once, the house was in the middle of a forest and trees can block the signal.
Also if it's just the BBC channels you are after, you don't need to subscribe to SKY, they're free to air.

Jimbob

I believe we are talking about the freeview digi boxes :) The coverage isn't as good as Sky's in rural and coastal areas.

I wasnt overly impressed with the female instructor this week.
And is it me..or is she getting considerably less 'Air time' than the other two Instructors? she does come across as somewhat lacklustre compared to them. But then Mic is such a big character....

I keep missing it.  Only managed to catch the last 10 minutes, but was not impressed.  I've never seen any dog training where a shake bottle seemed to be used for everything. 

Hiya,

Yeah the shaking a bottle of stones at dogs is apparently the way to train for any problem :rolleyes: .  I'm not saying that it is never appropriate to use noise aversion, and the lab last night could cope with it unlike the Weim and staffy last week, but I agree with Linsay that it could have been done just as effectively with reward training and a clicker.

Dragging that Jack Russel when it had just had that head collar put on was disgusting - how to put a dog off ever accepting a headcollar.

The Boxer was gorgeous and I do like that Mick gives the dogs something to do, but I don't like him at all, I think he's very rude, you can have a no-nonsense approach with out being rude as Victoria Stilwell proves.  If your training people to train dogs you need to have at least some people skills which I think he is lacking.  :-)

Karen

I thought he was a bit aggressive himself towards the lab owner.  I'm not sure how much of that is for show really.  Within minutes of meeting her, he came to the conclusion that she would be impossible to work with.  Based on the fact that she didn't like be shouted at.  I give her credit for addressing him, I much rather see it nipped in the bud from the start than at the end of the show.

Note that he was not so agressive with the next people. He could do with going to classes for people skills.

ha ha - I wish I'd seen it. 

>Note that he was not so agressive with the next people

negative and positive reinforcement?  I think that is really funny - psychology works on him as well as the dogs then? :D

Its only been two shows so far, yet Mic's methods have got a 'f you' response from all THREE sets of owners he has been allocated! I think that actualy says a lot about his alpha male pack leader method of dealing with HUMANS....he'd get the same answer from me if he tried his punishment methods on me too!

Em

Just to say at the outset I've not seen the programme so cannot comment on his attitude although I can imagine.  It's horses for courses isn't it?  I don't suppose the programme makers are going to enlist people who like him as conflict makes good TV.  That cr*ppy Holiday Showdown programme would be dead in the water (wish it was) if they paired up families who liked the same leisure activities.  From what I can gather MM has a successful business so there are plenty who do put up with his manners which are probably tempered in real life.

My mum worked for Jean Christophe Nouvelli who featured in the Hell's kitchen series.  She said she didn't recognise him in that programme and that in the years she'd worked for him she had never heard him raise his voice to anyone from chefs to floor staff. It's all over the top for effect.

Hiya,

Mic is like that in real life too! He has come from a Working dog/Police background rather than a purely pet dog one, so I guess thats why his training methods are strict. As I said before, I've trained with him, I get on fine with him, I appreciate the fact that he knows more about training than I do, and when he asks me to do something, I do it (within reason). If he makes a mistake, he's big enough to admit it and give himself push-ups! As far as the thing with the Labrador owner, at the end of the day, although her dog improved, her second trainer admitted that she irritated him,  Mick only said the same in his own un-flowery way!
Sure, he's not everyone's cup of tea, but he made a real difference with the Boxer last night (I thought it was b****y rude of the two owners to slope off before the end).

Plus it makes for great telly!

Ali :)

P.s what club do you go to that's run by his mate? (just me being nosy - I may go there as well)

Ali - I've PMd you :)

It would almost be worth trying to get on the show just to bring a plastic bottle with stones in it, and when he started behaving badly just shake it and yell leave. What I don't get is why they use a toy and swap between encouraging the dog to play with it and punishing it with the bottle. That poor Weimaraner was so confused and frightened.

I believe that the first thing that should be eliminated in dog training is the ego of the trainer. 

MM strikes me as a victim of extreme testosterone poisoning; 'I'm really putting my reputation on the line here' Please, Mick, don't bother on our account.

If the point of 'Dog Borstal' is to change owners and potentially save dogs' lives (the Lab had been 'very bad' to the owner's mum - the very thought of which reduced her to tears) then Robert achieved this and without a silly 'dominance' display.

I applaud the two women who took the good bits of what MM had to offer but who refused to buy into the whole 'passing my test and proving I'm great' thing.

As for the woman (we can't even remember her name she makes so little impact) she needs to lose weight, buy a wig and get some tight leather gear on if she wants to be taken seriously as a dog trainer...fancy expecting us to pay attention when she looks like a normal woman!

As for the woman (we can't even remember her name she makes so little impact) she needs to lose weight, buy a wig and get some tight leather gear on if she wants to be taken seriously as a dog trainer...fancy expecting us to pay attention when she looks like a normal woman!

LOVE it!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D Quote of the month!!!

"I applaud the two women who took the good bits of what MM had to offer but who refused to buy into the whole 'passing my test and proving I'm great' thing."

I disagree with that!  The trainer had instilled a lot of time and effort into helping both owner(s) & dog and they repaid him by leaving without even having the common courtasy to say "thank you" and "good bye" :rolleyes:  You could see how 'excited' MM was by the fact the Boxer enjoyed the mini-agility and was a natural.  He'd put a lot of effort into making a course for the dog to 'pass his test doing' and I think it totally unfair on MM that the two woman just upped and left before seeing the whole course through - very rude and inconsiderate!

"the Lab had been 'very bad' to the owner's mum - the very thought of which reduced her to tears"

The woman said that the lab had hurt her Mam very badly :rolleyes:

Maybe I saw this wrong, Lori.  But I thought the point of that excercise was to teach the dog that even if its something he enjoys he has to put leave it when the leave command is given.

I'm no expert, tho'. 

"But I thought the point of that excercise was to teach the dog that even if its something he enjoys he has to put leave it when the leave command is given."

Exactly right :)

Best way to do it though is to give a "ok" (as in, you have permission to play with the tuggie) and "leave" command - I didn't see that, it would have been less confusing for the dog i feel.

Lindsay
x

Have been having a good nose through all your comments regarding Dog Borstal...and some have had me in stitches.  With regards to Mic's attitutde to training, ok yes it does look rude obnoxious and any other word u want to call him, but beleive me it works...havent had the pleasure of working/training with Mic himself, but since starting my current career i have come across many who are like Mic , if not worse..a few i have trained with, have had many women and id like to add men in tears, i myself have never got that bad, yes ive wanted to swear and probably set my dog on them but i go into any training session with a new guide with the intention of learning whats best for my dog and more importantly myself...whether they want to shout and scream at me like a banshee or be polite...at the end of the day these people have gone to someone like Mic because their dog needs help or more so, them..i do on the other hand totally agree with u all, that have commented on the way the woman trainer dragged the poor JRT around when they put the headcollar on him was bang out of order. Regarding the stones in the bottle excersise, beleive it or not i have seen a GSD bitch overcome her fear of stones with this training..an old colleague had a very nervous bitch after following a riot they were called to were the poor dog ended up with glass bottles and stones thrown at her...after spending 4days with a trainer who is 100% like Mic in his attitude, she went on to pass an exam with top marks within a week..this was after using a bucket with stones, at first i thought it was cruel, but if any of u had seen how this little bitch had turned around from a shaking nervous little dog, to one that wouldnt let nothing bother her, you would be amazed. At the end of the day we are all going to differ on what training we think is best, but dont put these people down until you yourself witness first hand how it works..And most of all remember, these tv companies do like to edit these programmes to get a wide range of responses from us all.

Regards

Nicci

I agree Linsay - a much better way to do it.

Nicci,

You're right we are all going to have different ideas of what training works best and more importantly what works best for individual dogs, but any of us are perfectly entitled to put our opinions out there/put down methods if we think they are unfair to a dog, and I think on 2 of the 3 dogs that have had bottles of stones shaken at them it was wholey inappropriate, and by us putting our opinions out there about these methods it may make inexperienced owners reading this board think twice about using a method which may well not be appropriate for their dog, but because they have seen "professional trainer" on tele doing it may think it an appropriate course of action.  I don't think scaring a dog into learning something is ever ok unless it is a behaviour which is putting the dog or other people in danger and every other method has been exhausted, and certainly don't think it is appropriate for teaching basic behaviours like 'leave' to puppies.

Karen