The True Story Behind the Caspar episode of It's Me or the Dog

In 2010 I worked with a client on It’s Me or the Dog who wanted to do protection work with his Presa Canario, Caspar.

Caspar had many concerning behavior issues that I believe were due in part to how he was bred and how he had been raised. Caspar spent many hours of the day cooped up in a room at my client’s home while the client was at work and not only had this majestic and powerful dog become very frustrated, he was starting to get suspicious of anyone that came into his house. 

However much my client wanted to teach his dog to protect him, I didn’t think protection work was a good idea, especially with Caspar’s issues, and to illustrate why, I found a dog training school close by that did protection training. (Various factors in the client’s personal situation made it impossible for him to travel very far for training). I thought it was important for the trainers at this particular school to meet Caspar and for them to give my client their professional opinion regarding the viability of the dog as a candidate for successful protection dog training.

The trainers concluded that Caspar was not a candidate for protection work but agreed to take him on as a client, because we all knew that my client would need extra support after I left. I also worked with these particular trainers on another case with an English Bull Terrier who lived with a family, including three young boys, as they had a really good dog safety program for children. I trusted them to provide ongoing training for Caspar and my client and they agreed to do so without the use of aversive equipment. Unfortunately my client did not make full use of their kind offer. 

I believe in education, and throughout my training life I have spent time learning about all kinds of training methods, including ones I am not comfortable with. I think that all trainers should learn about what’s out there, even if they don’t agree with a particular philosophy or technique. It might shock people (pardon the pun) that I have spent time and observed many experienced trainers, including friends of mine, using e-collars to train companion, sport and working dogs here in the States. As hard as it was for me to watch them work, it was important for me to do so. Some handlers were definitely more talented than others and so my stand on the use of aversive equipment is not to belittle the passion or talent certain trainers have for their craft, but to state where I and others like me, draw the line when it comes to dog welfare.

This reminds me of something Karen Pryor said to me when I went to visit her at her home outside Boston. She made a comment about a famous trainer at the time. Although she didn’t agree with how he trained dogs, she did think he was particularly talented in one area - his timing when applying punishment was perfect. You can be talented in what you do, she said, but intimidating dogs into obeying doesn’t make what you do right. 

In the nearly 20 years since Caspar’s episode aired, the production has periodically received disgruntled communications from both positive and balanced/aversive trainers. Positive trainers were upset that the show provided an opportunity to highlight trainers who were known locally to be balanced and thus use aversive tools and methods with dogs. Balanced/aversive trainers point to the inclusion of these trainers on my show as some type of admission of guilt or hypocrisy - that positive methods alone did not work in this case and that I needed these other trainers to complete the process. Neither of these takes are accurate. While I continue to maintain that the trainers that appeared in this episode were skilled and passionate about their craft, their particular inclusion in the show was necessary due to various mitigating factors, and them agreeing to participate was a fair and appreciated offer of support for the positive training program that I had put in place. We had an agreement that if the owner were to call upon their services after I left, which I very much hoped he would because both he and Caspar needed ongoing guidance, they would only employ positive methods with this dog. If my client did not stick to the training plan I gave him and seek additional help from the trainers at this school, we all knew that Caspar’s behavior would get worse.

Producing a TV show about dog training always comes with a unique set of challenges, and when it happens over the course of several decades, a bright light is focused upon my evolution as a dog trainer. While I never promoted the use of aversive tools like shock collars or harsh handling, like most good dog trainers I know, my methods have evolved. We do better because we know better. And as one of my favorite paraphrasings of Charles Darwin suggests, we must evolve or become extinct. My evolution has occurred in the public eye, but I remain extremely proud of the public record left behind by It’s Me or the Dog and my other TV shows, including my commitment to always putting the welfare of the dog before all else no matter the situation.