Has anyone watched this on Animal Planet, what do you think of it?

One thing that bothers me is the way he seems to promote dogs off lead on roads, esp since I thought US had much stricter leash laws than we do.

I have seen this show.  I dont like the off leash stuff either.  I also dont like the constant umbilical work, along with not saying a single word to your dog for 2 weeks straight.  I would also feel very uncomfortable with the surveillance cameras being set up in my house.

He erks me the wrong way.  I dont know about America, USA, but in Canada if your dog is off leash, it means it is running at large and your dog can be taken away and you can face a $5000 CAD fine.  Off leash is strictly not allowed.  (Unless it is at an obedience event, or in your back yard - must be fenced)

The only people who are allowed to have their dogs off leash are people with Guide Dogs.  That doesnt make sense to me, but whatever. 

This trainer, on the program, is a little off.  I know I wouldnt use him to help me train a dog!!!!! 

I've only seen two and he hadn't done that yet. I don't like the way he talks to the people or the surveillance cameras, though I must admit I'd be tempted with some of the ones I've seen!

I've seen a couple and I'm not keen.

The umbilical work isn't too bad - but not talking to the dog is just daft.  Using verbal cues is no different to using the finger snap he likes for the 'sit'; and tone of voice can make so much difference in dog-human interactions.  I didn't agree with umbilical at all for the goldendoodle in the first ep I saw - he was advising that the woman do that all the time, even when feeding the baby.  The dog was known for jumping up and fooling about, what if it had suddenly moved off while she was holding the littlun?

And his classes I'm not at all keen on.  Running with a dog then turning 180 degrees without warning and running again is not a safe thing IMO.  I'm not saying that changing direction for lead training is bad - I've used it myself in the past - but I would never do it while running. It must increase the force on the dog's neck considerably.  I once saw a trainer doing the directional change with a pointer that was trying to interact with dogs walking nearby - the poor thing was flung round when it tried to run to them as the trainer changed, and IMO running and changing in this guy wants is the same thing.  Not good for the dog.

He is also very condescending, very in-your-face and quite rude.  TBH if he came to my house and talked to me the way he has to the people I've seen him work with - such as chucking harnesses on the table and saying "whatever" :rolleyes: - he would be out on his backside VERY quickly.

Edited cos I messed up my bolding. :rolleyes:

I think it is very sad that you can't have your dogs free run anywhere but on your won property, and it worries me that those restrictions may come to the UK because of irresponsible ownership.

One of the pleasures of dog ownership is to see your dogs off lead really enjoying a flat out run tearing up and down for the sheer joy of unrestricted movement.

I won a breed that has independent tendencies so can be difficult to let of lead and reliable (as in coem when I say not when they feel ready :D ) recall, but once they have good manners with people and other canines I can at least let them off in large country parks or enclosed recreation grounds and let them exercise even if one in particular has selective hearing as to when it is time to come back to Mum.  I often have the others nicely back on lead and Jozi humming under her breath so to speak pretending she hadn't heard me.

I will admit human littering with food waste and containers has made walks less pleasant than they used to be, but the idea of a dog permanently on lead is abhorrent to most British Dog Owners.

havn't had time to read whole thread but i saw a bit of it yesterday, when he reduced a poor teenage lad to tears! i would never have allowed him to do that to one of my sons, he was really having a go at the lad whilst he sobbed- it was awful!

just seen a bit more of it, he brought in a dog to a backyard where the resident dog immediately attacked it and he and a child had to pull them apart. he then dragged the dog by the neck and shouted at it saying more or less 'so you want to rumble?'  he then deliberately let the dog off the lead whilst the family said it will run off and off it ran. it could have been lost/stolen/run over and  family members had to go and find it. i found it all completely bizzarre!  am i missing something?

Yes, I thought that bizarre - if he knew the dog was aggressive, surely it would have been better to bring his dog somewhere neutral ON lead with the other dog also ON lead, rather than let his dog hurtle into the other dog's territory, surely something a lot of dogs not normally aggressive would object to!! And I agree with the running off section too! :-(

ive seen parts of this programme a couple of times but can never watch it all the way through because he annoys me so much. i remember one episode i was horrified at was the couple with 2 terriers and one problem they had was the dogs would pull them out the front gate and down the steps and the couple would end up letting go of the leads so they didn't fall over. anyway, when the trainer went back and decided they hadn't been working hard enough with the dogs, he said to them " is this what you want to happen?" and he opened their front gate and watched the dogs run out and across the road, onto a green and away. he just stood there with the couple and watched the dogs run away when he knew this is what the dogs would do. those dogs could have gotten run over or lost, and it was completely intentional (i presume to shock the couple). despite whether the couple hadn't worked hard enough with the training, i dont see why he needed to deliberately put the dogs lives in danger to prove a point.

Not seen the programme but OMG

The "trainer" is a nutcase and I'm shocked that somebody who pulls the stunts he does has a TV program - never mind a job.   Letting dogs who are known to run away off lead to demonstrate the owner hasn't trained the dog is complete insanity.  It's not even as if he does this in open countryside - he does it on suburban streets.  

I think the idea of not talking to a dog for a week (which is the time period he normally seems to advocate) is interesting and could have merit in some situations.  Most of these owners babble incessantly to their dogs, give mixed messages about good and behaviour, and the dog has stopped listening to them.  I suspect this is as much so the owners learn to pay attention to the dog and its body language - as it is for the dog to do the same.

I can see the use from that point of view, to a degree - lord knows I ramble on to my dogs all the time and as a result they don't lsiten as much as I'd like.  But I get round it by making my actual cues distinct - different tone, or I use whistles for the recall and so on.  Not talking to a dog at all isn't helpful IMO - the dog would just be stressed by suddenly being more or less completely ignored (as he seems to favour not fussing them either).

this was the one with the jack russel x did u c when it ran though his legs he smacked it as well. this bloke is a rubbish trainer why put programs on like this when we have ceaser to watch who doesnt hit or shout at dogs.

> we have ceaser to watch who doesnt hit or shout at dogs

Hmm He's hardly a model I'd like to follow though. He does terrify some dogs and uses pinch/prong and shock collars. I'll admit his tactics seem to work but there's no way I'd let him near any of my dogs.

the awful thing is, some irresponsible owners will watch this and think it's ok to treat a dog like taht because "the trainer does it". I've never actually watched it-dont think i will now either. He sounds like a total idiot. Am wondering how much of it was staged for TV though like a lot of American shows often are?

Am wondering how much of it was staged for TV though like a lot of American shows often are?

Not just American shows, trust me...

true. 'tis difficult finding anything decent to watch on tv now.

I saw an episode, where it was an out of control Golden Retriever.  The lady didnt tell Brad (trainer) that she was wanting to breed it.  He saw it on the survellance camera.  Then the next time he came, he took the lady and the dog to the vets, and basically ordered her to spay the dog, or to put it down.

Now I can see not wanting an irresponsible breeder, but to do that? 

And I dont like it when he lets dogs run off leash, when the dog is known for either being aggressive, or running away.  Like all have said, the dog could get hit by a car, lost, etc.

I sometimes wonder, if he has fenced off an area, and let the dog go.  You never see a fence, but I think it is totally irresponsible to let hte dog run off like that.  If it were mine, I would scream and yell at Brad, as I rush straight away to get my dog.  If anything happened, it would be his neck.  I mean, you ask the guy for help, and he pulls a stunt like that which could get the dog killed.

Anyways, Brad is a jerk.