Statement Regarding Casper

In a recent article in the New York Daily News, it was reported that during an episode in the 3rd US season of It's Me or the Dog,

"threatening actions were taken against a Presa Canario named Casper."

The article suggests that these purported aggressive actions contributed to the already dangerous dog's instability. These statements are false.

Misrepresentation

Casper was never subjected to any such treatment on camera or off during my time filming the episode. In fact, as part of my attempt to demonstrate to Casper's young owner the extreme power of dogs such as his and show him how dangerous his dog could be if he was not willing to take the necessary steps and follow my training, I arranged for Eric to watch a demonstration with an experienced handler and his own trained protection dog to show, in a controlled scenario, how powerful a bully breed can be.  This segment included the handler, his trained protection dog, and an experienced trainer in a bite suit, who waved a bite stick at the trained protection dog and NOT CASPER - a common scenario in protection work.  At no time was any stick waved at Caspar.  Misrepresentations such as these by respected publications like the New York Daily News are dangerous, misleading, and ineffective.

It is also misleading to suggest that the issues with his local condo association regarding Casper were triggered by his appearance on It's Me or the Dog. On the contrary, the neighborhood was already concerned with Casper and his owner Eric, and there's no doubt that the biting episodes which actually triggered the dispute would have occurred (probably even sooner) without him appearing on the show.

Eric's own words

Casper was (as his owner Eric himself admitted) indeed a potentially dangerous dog, and while I worked with him for several days and tried to convince his owner of the need to put in the time and effort necessary to rehabilitate Casper, it was to no avail.  As the episode clearly demonstrates, despite his protestations to the contrary, Eric did not follow through on much of the training we began during filming, nor did he neuter Caspar as I urged him to do. I am very glad that the judge, in this case, required Caspar be neutered, as I had argued vociferously on the episode and off-air that this might well help curb some of the existing issues Caspar already had and prevent future negative behaviors from occurring. Also, I am always very clear about the need to continue the training which begins during the filming of the show long after I and the crew leave.  In this case, I actually arranged for Eric to work with other local trainers, as Casper was a dog in particular need of extensive further behavior modification. Eric did not follow my advice and neuter his dog or take me or the other trainers I arranged up on the offer of continued training.

In short, I'm afraid that Casper is a victim of an owner unwilling to take the steps necessary to ensure his dog's proper development and deal with the existing anxieties that Casper had, and I completely agree with his own assessment (as well as my own original assessment and that of the court) that Casper poses a threat to those around him.