the photo with the Lab-mix/ Viszla-mix / Redbone-X / whatever [hard to tell butt-on] looks like a high-% hybrid,
50% wolf or better [an F1 progeny of a dog x wolf, or the progeny of an F1 50:50 bred back to a wolf].

but i don't see why the parentage of the canid matters, in this case [& BTW i am extremely against
breeding dogs with wolves, it enhances neither species & degrades behavior enormously].

my complaint was entirely about the selection of guests, who should IMO conform to reward-based,
since that's the premise of the show & the intention of Vic's training: use dog-friendly tools & methods.
the prong collar clearly visible in that photo would be one such no-no, IMO.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Like you Terry,I am also not a proponent of wolf ownership. I am familiar with the link and In my opinion I think it highly irresponsible of such trainers to call this dog a wolf. Like you, I was disappointed Victoria would use trainers that utilizes the methods you pointed out in your earlier blogs. I was simply pointing out that you should also question the trainers motivation for fame. To call a domestic dog a wolf is a dangerous statement.Look into how many dogs are mislabeled as wolves or wolf mixes and end up in very bad situations. I will not get into a debate over this. What I will say is somebody on Victorias crew did get it wrong,very wrong. My concern is for the owner and her dog. If she is not on a megaphone all over the web Greg1, I would take that a sign of the wheels of justice at work!

Henry, please don't take offense but I agree with Terry. This is not a domestic dog. Most likely at least a high percentage hybrid. This is a good site for reference on hybrids: Wolfdog Content - What Does It Mean?

Even in movies wolves are usually portrayed by malamute or husky crosses (easier to handle) with wolves so many people are not aware that North American wolves are usually tall and narrow and come in shades of black. In the video I posted earlier in particular the trot, rounded ears and tall narrow structure is very different from my Belgian shepherd. I am also noticing HUGE bottom molars in the photo.

I have personally interacted with two half wolves (mixed with malamute) and they looked less wolf than the one in the show.

The k9-1 guys seem pretty established and think it is a little unfair to accuse them of something unethical. I too am more bothered that Victoria would put them on the show, but i would guess these shows come to the trainers and not vice versa. They seem upfront of what they use and at least seem to try to educate on the proper way to use those methods. In this video they clearly are not hiding that they condone aversives YouTube - ‪Foundation Style Dog Training (K9-1)‬‏

If the show is off the air i would guess it is because of the backlash she got from showing prong collars on the episode. She could probably lose sponsors. I remember years ago there was an episode where she suggested euthanasia to a cockerspaniel, and they killed the dog on the episode! She got tons of backlash for that and that episode was killed too.

I would never use a shock collar on a dog or a prong like these guys, but I will use positive punishment with a head halter or no pull harness. I've seen Victoria use positive punishment too on her show - it is just not what she likes to highlight.

I think the problem is if she wants an exciting show that has a pitbull doing attack work on it - it is going to be hard to find a trainer that does that work with only PURELY positive training. The best she could do is not show the cranking on the dog on camera and highlight to the audience only the points she wants to make.

I am very curious if she will be more careful to represent only purely positive training this next season. She definitely has been getting more purely positive with each season.

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"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals"

what bloody faffing hypotenuse does it matter, WHAT BREED the dog is!?!

if i train a JRT, a Malinois, a GSD or a 15# Poodle, IT DOES NOT MATTER - the process is the same.
bite-sports are all very similarly trained, especially when we refer to motivational training which avoids
corrections & aversives, & focuses on helping the dog succeed & builds terrific enthusiasm by making
the lessons tremendous fun, & keeping the dog successful.

if Vic wants to see an APBT do bite-work, i am sure Teresa Lewin would be thrilled to help her with that;
seeing the early-beginnings is often much more illuminating than seeing a fluent dog, 6-mos later.
Teresa trains in Schutzhund & has titled her GSD with reward-based training.

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terry pride, APDT-Aus, apdt#1827, CVA, TDF
*wolves R wolves, dogs R dogs, + primates R us.*
tmp, sept-2007

Last post didnt go through, here is the quick version:

this is the clip with the pitbull from the show. The breed mattered because, as unfair as it is to pitbulls, she was trying to demonstrate the power of bully breeds in particular. Unfortunately, pitbulls do create more sensationalism than 15# poodles:

animal.discovery.com/videos/its-me-or-the-dog-weapon-on-a-leash.html

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"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals"

It's Me or the Dog: Weapon On a Leash : Video : Animal Planet is a fixed link

Why's showing a Pittbull with good recall "unfair"? I think I even saw that show first time round, whilst I was wrinkling my nose, in the context it was obvious the aim was a wake up call to the owner.

greg's right about P+ being shown on VS's show at times, we discussed if it was necessary in a thread on indoor marking for instance. I am not sure that VS didn't use the setup to be "seen to be doing something" so the rather chaotic householders undertook necessary supervision & regular trips outside to extinguish the indoor marking by P-.

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For eager & reliable recall, be fun for the dog to come back to! Then often send them off right away to do what they wanted!
DT&B - Glossary of acronyms & jargon terms.
Encouraging good behaviours, whilst consistently avoiding practise of bad alternatives leads to extinction of the bad. So if dog sits 6/10 times it doesn't sit 4/10 times, encouraging with the right rewards (positively-reinforcing) enough for 9/10 times means it now fails to sit only 1/10 times, sit 10/10 means...

My first impression was that exploiting the pitbull's power can add to the general fear of them, prejudice, and BSL.

But, you are right. There really isn't anything unfair being said or portrayed. I love the breed - maybe me being overprotective of their image.

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"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals"

And I'm sure you're right to, fact is a Toy Poodle or Yorkie, behaving the same, would have looked "cute" to uneducated TV viewers and they'd have laughed. It had to be a large powerfull dog to have the visual impact of what our "Wouldn't hurt a fly" (as so many complacent owners say round here, even after a predatory chase has occured) pets are capable of and why solid training is important to control them well.

__________________
For eager & reliable recall, be fun for the dog to come back to! Then often send them off right away to do what they wanted!
DT&B - Glossary of acronyms & jargon terms.
Encouraging good behaviours, whilst consistently avoiding practise of bad alternatives leads to extinction of the bad. So if dog sits 6/10 times it doesn't sit 4/10 times, encouraging with the right rewards (positively-reinforcing) enough for 9/10 times means it now fails to sit only 1/10 times, sit 10/10 means...