Episode 216 - Living on the Edge - May 8

Any time new episodes of It’s Me or the Dog are airing on Animal Planet in the US, Victoria will answer questions about that episode later that week. Post your questions to Victoria about the most recent episode here anytime.

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Mattie
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Re: Episode 216 - Living on the Edge - May 8

Post by Mattie »

k9train wrote:I wrote nothing about using dominance on the dog. I wrote that the dog displayed dominant behavior, not insecurity. I'm fully aware that some dominant dogs which display dominance are really insecure, however not all dominant dogs are insecure. As the previous poster pointed out, the dog moved toward her and other people, always. Other displays of dominance -- as the previous poster pointed out -- were the erect ears and tail set. The dog did not display insecurity.
These are also signs of insecurity, nervousness etc. I took on a dog that was dog aggressive, she gave the impression of being very confident and dominant, I was lost on what to do with her until one day I spotted the very slightest indication of fear. Once I discovered this I was able to work with her, she became very good with other dogs and was a good teacher of dogs with bad manners. I admit that this is very difficult to see especially with dogs that are well practiced with showing this type of behaviour.

Dominant dogs is our interpretation not a dogs, I have another dog that I have been told by several people that I should put her in her place and show her I am boss, Bonnie is a very confident dog, she always has been even when in rescue, she gives the impression that she won't take any nonescense of anyone or dog. In fact Bonnie is a very sensitive dog, easy to upset but doesn't show it, just the oposite, she looks like she is trying to dominate.

We need to look underneath the behaviour and not take it at face value.
I'm certain Vitoria can help some dogs with certain issues but I've not seen her do much with aggressive or dominant dogs. In one episode she works with 5 Weimaraners, of which two are aggressive with one another. In the end she couldn't sort it out because only four were pictured. The most aggressive one had to be separated.
This hasn't been shown in the UK, but I do know that dogs that attack others should never be left with them, they should be seperated for all the dogs safety. It took me 3 months to intergrate a dog into my pack as she would attack them at first. Again she taught me to watch and see, most people look but don't see, she needed to feel safe and until she did, she would continue to attack.
She does work well with such things as house breaking though and she does well with using the dogs for what they are bred for (gives them a job, herding, etc).
Surely this is the best way to go, train and work the dogs for what they were bred to do. This solves a lot of problems without as much stress.
And I'm still confused about the episode with all the Pugs that ate their own (and the others) feces. She taught them with cookies to steer clear of the poop, which was flagged. What happens when no one is home to flag the poop so the Pugs don't eat it?
Good management, when training dogs you also have to manage them so they don't get the chance to do what you are trying to stop. In this case the dogs didn't get the chance to eat poo when the owners were out. I couldn't understand this until I saw the episode, then it was very clear.
Also, I'm curious why she tells all of the dog owners that they will probably have to get rid of the dog or that the dog is nor for them? All of the people get very upset and most of them cry. I don't know if this is to boost ratings or if it is used as a 'cliff-hangar' so people will stay tuned-in to see if they had to relinquish the dog??
It would upset me as well if I was told that, Victoria isn't the only trainer on TV to say this to the owners, so why pick her out? Many owners don't research the breeds before getting a dog, they see a dog they like the look of and buy a puppy, they don't have any experience of dogs or puppies so a recipe of disaster. Some will be able to turn this round buy many can't, the best way for the dog is to rehome it to people who can give him what he needs.

I can understand you wanting to ask questions about training methods, I don't always agree with her either, but I wouldn't dream of going onto someone's forum and attack their methods, that doesn't achieve anything but does show the poster up in bad light, many that do this are bullies and hiding behind the internet, unfortunately there are a lot of these about. You use the name of K9train, are you a dog trainer?
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Mattie
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Re: Episode 216 - Living on the Edge - May 8

Post by Mattie »

Why do people think that what is shown on the TV is what happened, just look at the soaps and the way people believe them. Most of the filming that is done ends up on the cutting room floor, because the program didn't show Victoria saying goodbye to the dog doesn't mean she didn't, maybe that wasn't good tv to show.

While there is some very good information on these shows, also take them with a pinch of salt, they don't show the full story in an hour, in fact the show isn't an hour, there are also adverts in that time.
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jacksdad
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Re: Episode 216 - Living on the Edge - May 8

Post by jacksdad »

I can tell your from personal experience what is show on tv is rarely the full story or even the story told correctly, even when there are no political agendas.
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OhioRuthie
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Re: Episode 216 - Living on the Edge - May 8

Post by OhioRuthie »

This episode reran today on animal planet...it was intense but I thought Victoria did a great job as usual. That was a beautiful dog.
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