Did anyone watch it last night? I have to say I was in complete agreement when it was decided to put the American Bulldog to sleep. When the owner was herself terrified & could not control him, she had no other option. She also has 2 small children, she was petrified that he would injure them. The dog looked really worried in the kennel, he attacked the vet & the trainer when he was first admitted. The owner struggled getting out of the kennel block unbitten at one point. He was a huge dog & had he ever gone on the rampage, the consequences did not bear thinking about. I don't always agree with their training methods, but last night they got it right.

They did contact breed rescue to see whether he could be rehomed but breed rescue said they couldn't take the risk with such uncertain temprement.
I also agree after seeing it that this was the best thing for all concerned.  Very sad, but one of those times I feel it was right.
I don't often agree with what I see in Dog Borstal, but even poor Lynn (the trainer, think thats her name) was in tears.

Yes, and having gone through something very similar (although my dog also had medical problems to add, which was the root cause) I was in tears. But I agree. The only thing I'd have liked to have seen different was when they visited the owner 2 months later. Wouldn't it have been nice to see them with a new dog of a breed known to be really good easy family pets, such as Golden or Cavalier or something? Something they could all have coped with well and helped them get over things.

Poor bloody dog, all he was doing was overblown playbiting, tinged with fear because hed been punished for it all.

I have no doubts someone could have turned him around easily, for heavens sake, such a VICIOUS dog was called off iwht a 'no!'.... truly, a savage beast.

However i know that there are not homes easily found for bull breeds who have been labelled aggressive or dangerous and I do agree there are fates worse than death (such as being owned by that fool).

Would have been nice to see it being pointed out WHY he was the way he was, which was purely, 100% down to 'user error' and nothing more.

You cannot turn these dogs around easily, anyone that thinks so when an American Bulldog is displaying signs of aggression, is a very foolish person. 
They are a highly strung breed and absolutely LETHAL in the wrong hands, it was all down to 'owner error' they took on a dog that they were not fully prepared for of course it is not the dogs fault, the owners are 100% to blame for Wilsons problems.  The right thing was done, and I stand by that, these dogs do not adapt well to change, thats why theres a few of them cropping up in rescue centres right now with no hope of ever being rehomed, one rescue I know of took over 4 years trying to rehome a young aggressive American Bulldog she was passed to pillar to post, from owner to owner, returned back to rescue more times that I care to think about before they came to the decision it was kinder just to have her put to sleep, you do have to look at the bigger picture sometimes and of course what is kinder to the dog.  American Bulldogs especially aggressive ones, do not adapt to change well, so fostering him out, or placing him in the hands of rescue would have been totally the wrong thing to do, he would have attacked someone and it could have been a child.  There was a case a couple of years ago now where there was an American Bulldog that had been rehomed through rescue that went onto KILL a child - which is probably why most places refuse to take them now.

The only thing I'd have liked to have seen different was when they visited the owner 2 months later. Wouldn't it have been nice to see them with a new dog of a breed known to be really good easy family pets, such as Golden or Cavalier or something? Something they could all have coped with well and helped them get over things.

I suppose if you had gone through such a traumatic experience though, especially with her being so frightened of the dog, you maybe wouldn't be keen to repeat dog ownership, especially so soon afterwards?

Wouldn't it have been nice to see them with a new dog of a breed known to be really good easy family pets, such as Golden or Cavalier or something? Something they could all have coped with well and helped them get over things

No it would`nt , do you think they would have had any more control over a GR or a Cavalier....I dont!!

That boy was the way he was , purely through owner error....they had given him no disciple,  they allowed him to become the dog he was.

No it would`nt , do you think they would have had any more control over a GR or a Cavalier....I dont!!

That boy was the way he was , purely through owner error....they had given him no disciple,  they allowed him to become the dog he was.

Dogs do not need DISCIPLINE as such, just rules! No need ever to be harsh. Goldens are "holiday dogs" compared to many breeds -it's like being on holiday training one of them compared to many other breeds, so yes even novices can and DO cope.

Hope all kinds of unsuitable people don't now rush out and get a Golden  

I felt very sad watching this program.
The ABT was a very playful boy, young but had training issues that had not been corrected by its owners due to the fear of the dog, the dog had become dangerous and I feel this was purely down to not having any form of training socialisation and despline.
I am a fan of this breed, have never owned one (yet) but feel that it could have been ANY breed in this situtation where the owners had become scared of him and had not given him firm commands from a young puppy.

I did cry at the end when they said the poor dog was PTS, he may have been beyond help at that stage, but truly I believe he would have not turned out that way given the proper training from a young pup :( :(

I personally am pleased that we didnt see them with a new dog.  Like a previous poster has said Wilson was like this through their lack of knowledge and nothing more.

I do think that it was ovbiously a lack of knowledge that the dog became this way. I didn't see the program but have heard the stories alot!
It would help alot more if breeders that bred these dogs were also more careful about where their puppies went as sometimes a few words of caution are enough to make people re think their choice. Were they told when they got him how much training etc he would need? I very much doubt it... a case of ignorance and also lack of knowledge on their part but i actually feel sorry for these people as sometimes although everyone should research their breed before getting a dog not everyone does and sometimes people then become scared to ask for help and the whole thing escalates! I am not condoning not training a dog but sometimes we jump and persecute before realising the whole picture. There are people out there who deliberatly set out to ruin their dog by making it aggressive and it is these people that i have no sympathy for!!

I do think that it was ovbiously a lack of knowledge that the dog became this way. I didn't see the program but have heard the stories alot!
It would help alot more if breeders that bred these dogs were also more careful about where their puppies went as sometimes a few words of caution are enough to make people re think their choice. Were they told when they got him how much training etc he would need? I very much doubt it... a case of ignorance and also lack of knowledge on their part but i actually feel sorry for these people as sometimes although everyone should research their breed before getting a dog not everyone does and sometimes people then become scared to ask for help and the whole thing escalates! I am not condoning not training a dog but sometimes we jump and persecute before realising the whole picture. There are people out there who deliberatly set out to ruin their dog by making it aggressive and it is these people that i have no sympathy for

Yes there is that too,   the breeders of this dog is as much to blame .

trouble with that is, if someone really wants something, they will do their utmost to get it. Don't know their case, but if someone has been round a few good breeders, they learn what questions will be asked, and the cute ones will learn what to say and many people can be exceptionally convincing. They will agree and promise the world, say anything, to get what they want. It must be so very hard for the responsible breeders of these dogs to find the 'right' home. Although, I suppose its probably quite right that the breeder just looked for the money. You just can't tell. I wonder if anyone actually contacted the breeder at any point in this dogs life. :rolleyes:

i dont agree that he was playbiting! he did attack the vets hands and she wasnt touching him at the time. did they have him as a pup? i thought he was a rescue? must have not been concentrating, but i did weep when the trainer did, i was surprised they kept him as lomg as they did although wasnt he still a puppy? its repeated tonight id better watch it again

What time, and which channel is it repeated on?

No, that was fear and im not surprised given just how badly managed he was.

The decision to fail him and the start of the process that lead to him being pts was the biting of the judge, and afaik he didnt even make contact, the minute the owner yelled 'no' he hit the ground cowering.

Thats not the actions of a dangerous dog although i grant you left with that owner hed have quickly become one.

I have absolutely NO doubt that any number of sane sensible dog trainers could have turned him around in a matter of weeks, i have seen dogs on various tv shows with FAR worse problems than him, ive seen dogs on dog borstal worse than him!

I dont entirely disagree with him being pts becuase whilst there ARE people who could sort him out, and id count myself one of those, thosepeople already HAVE dogs they are/have sorted out and dont have room for another. I know I certainly dont and amongst training/behaviour friends we couldnt find one of us who would.

I still think though, had he NOT been a bullbreed, had he been a dane or a big lurcher or a st bernard, he would not have been put down and he would not have people saying things like 'theres nothing you can with these dogs'... because thats rubbish there IS, hes just a big dog. If he was actually seriously aggressive and intent on causing harm, he would have done that already and he would likely never have appeard on dog borstal (they do refuse to see cases that are seriously dangerous).

Im so angry that this has yet again done the bullbreeds massive harm when its got NOTHING to do with his breed and everything to do with his owner.

Its on again tonight calmstorm, BBC 3  -  8 pm

No, that was fear and im not surprised given just how badly managed he was.
Thats not the actions of a dangerous dog although i grant you left with that owner hed have quickly become one.

A fear aggressive dog IS dangerous! Possibly the most dangerous there is, as the fear makes them unable to cope and judge situations normally.

Im so angry that this has yet again done the bullbreeds massive harm when its got NOTHING to do with his breed and everything to do with his owner.

Don't you think the breed done MOST harm in this episode was racing Greyhounds? With all the comments about how they don't cope with being rehomed after they've finished racing?

It ought to have been pointed out though that the American Bulldog is NOT a KC recognised breed, because it DOES make a difference.

You are completely missing the point.  I have spent a long, long time around Bull breeds, including the American Bulldog, an aggressive one, or a fear aggressive one is capable of doing much damage and please believe when I say an aggressive American Bulldog, especially an aggressive bolshy male would NOT adapt well to change, new people, surroundings, new home..PERIOD.
The kindest thing for the dog was done, he was aggressive, I could see he was a TYPICAL example of a confident male American Bulldog he wasn't fear aggressive that dog was bad to the bone purely because of what his owners had let him get away with from such a young age.  These dogs need firm and consistant training for the first two/three years of their lives, they are far from an easy breed infact they should only be owned and managed by experienced Bull/Mastiff breed owners.
Yes, he was badly managed and owned by a complete pair of idiots that shouldn't have purchased him in the first place - but you could see dispite their complete lack of knowledge, they did love him/think a lot of him.  I feel for the dog, of course I do, but I know the damage these dogs can do especially when so unpredictable, he would have never have been 100% trustworthy even if he had of been rehomed with the most confident of owners, he was a timebomb just waiting to go off seen dogs like him firsthand and I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night knowing that the programme had advocated rehoming him, the right thing for everyone concerned, including Wilson, was done.

Bad to the bone?

Jeeeeez, my saluki x 'appears' more aggressive than Wilson did.... she leaps and snarls and bites, take it youd have her pts quick as a flash then!

Wilsons behaviour was verging on fear, 99% of it was play, inappropriate play granted but that IS what it was (and in the case of my saluki x, that is also what it is but shes an OAP and it doesnt bother me so im not about to stop her).

I dont disagree with him being PTS, there are far worse fates than that. But if you think that dog was 'bad'.. i think perhaps dogs arent really your forte, i didnt see a bad dog there at all i saw a dog needing guidance and a dog who given a bit of positive training would have been a star.

If he was so bad, given his size and the potential damage he could cause, how come he DIDNT cause any damage how come he hit the deck the second she screamed 'no'.

His leap to nip the trainer was totally predictable, he had a history of being triggered into overexcited bitey play as someone left a room. He was totally 'readable' it was completely obvious how he was feeling about everything.... these are just not the traits of a seriously dangerous dog.

I whole haertly agree with theemx, Wilson should'nt have been put pts, poor thing was petrified. I'm sure someone with time, patience and the right training knowledge could have turned Wilson around. Rest in peace poor Wilson.

I've spent enough time (over 20 years) with breeds such as the Bullmastiff and Cane Corso, I know a potentially dangerous dog when I see one, Wilson was dangerous to the point he was totally 100% unpredictable, badly managed yes, idiot owners yes, was the right thing done? Yes, 100% he couldn't have safely been rehomed or 100% turned around, as I said and stand by that, the American Bulldog especially a dog like Wilson would not have adapted too well to change infact I would stake my life on it, if he had of been rehoused he would have been a disaster just waiting to happen.

I didn't see a scared dog, I saw an almost fully grown bolshy, pushy 100% confident male American Bulldog that had no proper guidance in his life, of course that was not his fault his owners were purely to blame.  I still stand by that the right thing was done for the safety of Wilson himself and possible people he would have come into contact with had he been rehoused.  I think perhaps you may be rude stating dogs are not my forte, been around these type of breeds for a heck of a long time, how many Corso's or Bullmastiffs have you ever owned?  How many American Bulldogs have you ever come into contact with that were aggressive?  Personally I wouldn't have liked the task of trying to turn Wilson around, I value my limbs and sanity.

Jeeeeez, my saluki x 'appears' more aggressive than Wilson did.... she leaps and snarls and bites, take it youd have her pts quick as a flash then

you have a dog that leaps up snarls and growls at people? and bites them?
or have I 'read' this wrong?

Only people she knows and likes.

But basically, yes, she jumps up, growls very loudly and nips, this is in my house when people come  in. (not on the street!!!)

Looks bl**dy aggressive if you didnt know her. In fact it is her version of teh wiggly inside out happy to see you doggy dance.... just she was 9 years old before she was either happy to see someone or allowed to express any kind of emotion at all, previous to that she got the sh*t kicked out of her.

Fortunately for her, I am capable of telling the difference between aggression and play, and again, fortunately for her I wouldnt dream of letting her do that to a stranger/child/someone who didnt like it - she doesnt 'have' to do it.... but if allowed or encouraged to express herself freely thats how she chooses.

I could train her not to... well maybe, i suspect i would only ever acheive training her not to do this and would never teach her an appropriate way of greeting people (due to her past treatment), so on balance, given she is now 12 and doesnt have that long left, i think she can stay the way she is. Id rather she was happy and relaxed and did this than shut down and depressed which is the alternative.

Shes not everyones dog, if i had children i wouldnt allow it, if i had frequent guests i wouldnt allow it, but i have none of those things so i can allow it.

Growling, jumping and biting need not be aggression, that was my point. With my girl, it most definately isnt, and with Wilson i very much doubt it was either *(the biting the vet was, that was fear aggression and isnt wnhat im talking about here).

If I had a dog that leaps and snarls and bites around people, other dogs..etc I'd seriously be considering that dogs options for the safety of other people and animals around me. 
You cannot take chances with dogs as powerful as Wilson was especially where the safety and wellbeing of children are concerned, these breeds have a bad enough rap as it is, without taking chances on a dog like Wilson was.

This dog was a rescue dog http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/4500566.stm phantom pregnancy, other behavioural problems possibly who knows, but that was a RESCUE American Bulldog that was unfortunately given the opportunity to kill a child can you safely say that Wilson would not have seriously injured someone had he of been rehomed?  No, I doubt that you or anyone can.  I will say and continue to say until it starts to drum in American Bulldogs and other breeds like them when placed out of their comfort zone DO NOT adapt well to change and strange surroundings, I seriously think Wilson should not have been on dog borstal at all him being on there just totally backs up what I say when dogs like him are placed out of their comfort zones.  They would have probably had more success getting in a behaviourist to work with him within their home.

I laugh at her... thats my preferred option.

I do take big powerful dogs like Wilson very seriously, and im fairly sure ive said somewhere i dont particularly disagree with him being PTS - there arent homes for bull breeds labelled aggressive, regardless of the veracity of that label.

There are people who could sort a dog like him out, and theres a fair few of them i know and several on this thread, but how many of us have the time and space.... none id guess.

So no, i dont disagree with pts, because hed not have got a home, and with that owner he was a liability to other peple and those children.

But i absolutely disagree that he WAS aggressive in the first place, except when cornerd by the vet and wound up by his freaking panicking squealing owner. And i know a great deal of dogs whod have got snappy in that situation.

He wasnt aggressive and he wasnt a danger because of his breed, he was a danger because of his SIZE and his lack of training/socialisation.

That is my problem with it all.

Im taking the mick with my example of abby, yep she does leap and snarl and bite IN PLAY and i allow this because i have NO children, and i have NO visitors who would mind.

Her favourite game with us is to chase us round the garden seeing whose bottom she can bite - we choose to play it we choose to get our bottoms munched (shed neve rdo more than a tiny bruise though).

This is a private silly game that an owner plays with her dog, this is not something id ever allow my dog to do in public to people we are not friends with.

If i have guests here who are strangers to Abby, they are introduced to her whilst i am holding her collar and once shes sniffed them, she then ignores them /(nowt so funny as a saluki).

But yes, her favouritest people in the whole wide world (ie me, my best mate and her boyfriend, my oh, my friend and my erm, other friend....), are greeted wtih RAAAAR RAAAAAAAAR RARRRRRRRRR *bounce* NIP.

My whole point bringing that up is, this is play, its a greeting and its a silly play.

In a big hefty dog in a house with children its inappropriate and its dangerous - in MY house, in a dog a third the weight, its funny and we allow it.

I disagree, Wilson was aggressive and an accident just waiting to happen.
The dog lunged to bite the trainer, he went for the vet, he had also bitten the owner and several other people so the owner said before appearing on the programme, and lunged at the judge assessing him towards the end of the programme which is what failed him, how many more bites and to what severirty must a dog bite, before people see it as dangerous and unpredictable? So sorry I don't agree with "He was only nipping"! He was still aiming at stopping people doing what they wanted to do, or stopping them from trying to dominate him, I did not see play involved anywhere.
The very nature of an aggressive large bull breed such as the American Bulldog is absolutely lethal, when he was being boarded in the kennels all I saw was an unstable dog probably down to him being in a strange environment again a perfect example of what happens when you take dogs like Wilson out of their comfort zones and place them in a strange place around people they do not know.
It's all very well saying in the right hands with experienced owners..etc but he was unpredictable and aggressive, to pass the problem on in my mind would have been totally irresponsible, they took the advice to have him put to sleep via experienced dog handlers/trainers. The producers and staff working on the programme would have had the full picture and story as to regards what was going on with regards Wilsons behaviour I doubt the decison for them to advise having him put to sleep would have been an easy one.

My 11 week old pup bites people to get her own way, stop them doing things she doesnt want them to do - shall i have her put down?

She will as an adult be considerably taller than Wilson, if i allow her to carry on play biting when shes 30" tall, will she automatically be aggressive?

Its a good job for dogs out there that unlike you SOME people can predict waht dogs like wilson will do, predict when they will be fearful and may react by biting and when they will jump up and nip...

Its clear you hate bullbreeds so theres little point discussing it with you, but suffice to say, if a yorkie had been displaying the same behaviour, no one would have claimed it was being aggressive (again, aside from the incident with the vet, whcih was fear aggression with considerable provocation).

I do not disagree that inappropriate play in a very large dog is inherently dangerous, but when WILL people learn that growling does not equal 'going to rip your head off' any more than 'wagging tail' equals 'friendly'... a dog can be dangerous without being aggressive, and a dog can APPEAR aggressive without actually being a danger.

These things are not cut and dried or blakc and white, and as long as people get dogs and refuse to understand how they behave, why they behave that way and to read their body language, dogs like Wilson will be born, and will die with little chance of a halfway decent life.

Were not debating the behaviour of an 11 week old puppy though are we :rolleyes:  This was an 18 month old American Bulldog :rolleyes:
How dare you try and question my experience with breeds like Wilson, I've had them for years, recently lost my Cane Corso, again not a breed for everyone and certainly not one for the inexperienced, pretty much like the American Bulldog in ways and mannerisms!  I hate Bull breeds? I think you should take that jokable childish comment back without hardly knowing anything about me. I've owned and loved them for years (Over 20 to be exact!!!)...I just know a dangerous and unpredictable dog when I see one.

How was he unpredictable?

He was COMPLETELY predictable, i cringed seeing her let him run around the room loose as the examiner was about to leave as the big part of why he was on dog borstal was because he had issues with people leaving the room. I could absolutely see what was about to happen.

If you dont hate bullbreeds i am afraid you do a very good job as coming across as if you do.

If Wilson had been as unpredictable and lethal as you claim, then he wouldnt have been on dog borstal in the first place, he would have been dead long before.

If he was that dangerous, then where are all the people he injured? Theres no way his owner could actually have stopped him had he intended to do anyone actual harm, no way on this earth, she was terrified of him. So why isnt she up in court for her dog having bitten all these people?

The fact is, he wasnt aggressive particularly and he was extremely predictable, he was totally untrained and what had once been innocent puppy play was eventually dangerous - i dont at all disagree that his behaviour was dangerous.

I completely disagree that he was intending to harm anyone, if he HAD, he would have, and quite clearly, he didnt.

I'm sorry you cannot see things from any other point of view other than your own.
Wilson had a history of BITING people other than his owners, maybe you missed this being said? (not nipping or playbiting, BITING) this along with the combination of him lunging and trying to attack people whom were clearly no threat to him, in my opinion makes a dangerous and unpredictable dog (take away the fact he was an American Bulldog, I would still have thought and said the same).
I don't hate bull breeds, as I say I have owned them for over 20 years, I hate seeing breeds like him placed with totally unsuitable owners. How many American Bulldogs have you owned to draw the conclusion that he was not a danger to anyone? How well do you personally know the breed?  Why on earth do you think dogs like Wilson are put to sleep in rescue on an everyday basis?  Even breed rescue (and there is one) wouldn't touch him so his owners said at the end of the programme, now that was American Bulldog breed rescue.

You arent reading what I'm saying...

Where did i say i didnt think he was or would become a danger, of course he was a great hefty dog leaping on people and nipping.

What i said was, the intentions behind it were not aggression.

My mates extremely friendly St Bernard would be seriously dangerous if he threw himself on someone and playfully nipped them.

It wouldnt automatically make him aggressive though.

From wikipedia: "In psychology and other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior that is intended to cause harm or pain."

Nowhere was Wilson intending that, except in the interaction with the vet when he did intend to cause harm, as a self defence move to protect himself. (The fact he was intended no harm by those people is irrelevant as he percieved that they did).

Yes its sad he was PTS but again, no where have I said that it would be practical or possible to do otherwise and whilst i have every confidence that i and a great number of other people could solve his issues, people such as myself dont have the time, or the dog free home required to take such a challenge on. So i dont disagree iwth the decision to PTS.

I know bullbreeds very well, and i know dogs inside out and back to front thanks.

I am MORE than aware of the situation in rescue being involved in various rescues and even more aware of the 'plight' of the bullbreeds in the UK currently, as I am also involved in DeedNotBreed..

Rescues up and down the country wont touch bullbreeds who havent bitten anyone, they dont have room for innocent puppies or gentle oldies either.

That in itself doesnt mean that Wilson was aggressive.

Im not arguing that he wasnt dangerous, just that his intentions were not to cause pain/harm, and on those grounds he would have been pretty easily fixable by the right person.

I am sick of people mis-describing dog behaviour: I hear it every day, and in todays increasingly dog unfriendly climate it horrifies me to see dog people doing it too.

Play is not aggression, jumping up is not aggression, play nipping because a dog wasnt taught not to is not aggression - all these things may be dangerous in a great dane and merely annoying in a yorkie but they are not aggression.

of course he was a great hefty dog leaping on people and nipping.

He had a HISTORY of biting (NOT NIPPING) other people as well as his owners!!!! 
Good grief, how many times must a dog bite or hurt someone before it is deemed dangerous? 

I can understand your frustration, but given how he was behaving and how little control the owner had, if they were unable to find anyone responsible to take him I think putting him to sleep was the best option. She seemed scared to do anything with him even before he was causing her trouble.

I'm sure they could have found any number of irresponsible people to take him on, but in that case the dog is probably better off dead. It does seem very likely that if that family had kept him, there would have been a serious incident at some point, either in the home or outside.

He did just look like an overgrown puppy who hadn't been taught proper boundaries to me, very sad indeed.

M.

when its got NOTHING to do with his breed and everything to do with his owner.

Isn't that nearly always the case though themx, bad ownership giving certain breeds bad names... typical really..

Exactly sara1bee. When the programme started I thought "but he's only playing!" as that was what it looked like, but then he bit the VET for no reason, could not be examined by the vet (and let's face it, vets DO examine a LOT of dogs so are used to it), and then he bit the judge at the end of the test. It was NOT play biting then.

Wilson wasn't a rescue dog, they had him from a pup.

You are quite right this can happen to any breed and it get to the stage where the situation is unredeemable as the dogs mind has been so screwed up.

I felt it was sad to have Wilson PTS yet feel in the circumstances it was the right thing to do. I am sure with careful handling and the right owner he could have led a long and happy life but unfortunately it would have been almost impossible to find someone willing to take him on with his problems.
This is real life and to find the right owner for this dog would have been a miracle, there are just so many good dogs in rescue who struggle to find good homes and to put him into yet another situation where he was frightened ( and rescue is frightening ) would have compounded his problems. Then he may have been incarcerated in kennels for months before the RIGHT person came along further making his life a misery. So IMO (for what that's worth) I feel the right think was done in these circumstances, sad though it was for all concerned.
I am glad though that the family did not have another dog but I imagine they will one day and lets hope they have had a hard lesson and put lots more effort into any new dog they own. I believe it was said that she did a lot of research into this breed and thought she was getting a great family pet, but her bad management and the size and possibility for error in Wilsons case took over and she did not have the knowledge to stop what happened.
We do not know the details of Wilsons breeder and so cannot comment but I suspect it was yet another one of those "Interested only until the cheque was in the bank" scenario's If not then I apologise but oh so often this is the case.
Maybe with luck it will make one or two sit up and think about what they are taking on when they take a puppy into their homes...even if it makes ONE person think harder then Wilsons life will not have been in vain.
RIP Wilson Run free now lad.

I quite agree, on another forum there is a feeling that this episode should not have been shown. I disagree entirely, if it puts just 1 person off, it will have been worth it. I blame the owner, but probably the breeder should also be blamed. Perhaps all prospective owners of these powerful dogs, should be made to watch the programme & see 1st hand what can happen when the dog is not trained & socialised correctly. The damage which he could have inflicted, does not bear thinking about.

well i watched it just to see what the fuss was about and im afraid my biggest issue was with the greyhound owner and the pratt training it......it was pure cruelty to do what they did. That dog has hundreds of years of careful breeding to make it chase rabbits on sight....furthermore it had raced for 4 years and then that idiot woam wanted to train it to ignore rabbits. I thought it was terrible and have written to complain that it breaches the new law regarding dogs rights to behave naturally blah blah. Having sight hound myself I could see the confusion on the poor chaps face with the prat of a woman shouting at him.

just a word about goldens being good pets (or however it was worded) we had one at the park that would run up and hump your leg and when the owner pulled it off it attacked her. it also atacked her when it smelt a bitch in season and now i think it has been pts. all breeds can be agressive in the wrong hands:rolleyes:

I think they were using the rabbits as ''guinea pigs'' . The dog wouldn't leave other dogs alone, big or small, so she needed to be in control and the dog had to learn to 'leave' which it did. There wouldn't have been enough different dogs at DB to be able to do this so maybe this is why they used the rabbits?

But dogs aren't that stupid - they can recognise the difference between rabbits and other dogs! They can even tell the difference between their own 'family' cat and 'strange' cats - which are generally fair game for chasing when their own one isn't! If you want to train a dog to leave other dogs alone, you train using other dogs, not rabbits, or squirrels, or cows, or children!

I was just saying though that maybe - right or wrong - they were just using them for practise.

I think that with all the tv programmes about dog training far more emphasis needs to be put on the reasons the dogs shown have so many behavioural problems - ie lack of suitable training, socialisation, wrong breed for owner's circumstances etc. :(

I just hope this episode hasn't put people off getting this breed of dog, looking through lots of rescue sites recently i have noticed a few of these dogs up for rehoming.

I only saw this last night, and I really think it would have been helpful if they had mentioned that Wilsons behaviour was almost certainly down to his well-meaning but novice (clueless?!) owners. It was obvious watching it for 5 minutes what some of her mistakes were. I have a Golden, she is very very placid and easy to train, but I can guarantee if she was saying hello to someone (she has been trained to sit for this) and they started shouting 'no!' and waving their hands in the air, she would get excited and jump up. It just seemed that in trying to discipline Wilson, he was getting a lot of negative attention, which was encouraging his 'bad' behaviour.

I do think it would have been fairly easy for an experienced person, using positive re-inforcement, to re-train Wilson. However, these homes are few and far bewteen, because they usually already have their own dogs and no room for any more. It was obvious the family who owned Wilson could not keep him/cope with him. In the circumstanecs, I do think having him put to sleep was the rigth decision. It is just such an absolute shame that a dog has to be destroyed because of something humans have done. Why on earth didn't the breeder intervene when things started to go wrong for the family?

>Why on earth didn't the breeder intervene when things started to go wrong for the family?

Was the breeder told? Not all puppy buyers keep in touch with their pup's breeder. But then, a proportionof breeders couldn't give two hoots what happens to the pups as soon as the money's changed hands.