It's Me or the Dog - Review

I had the opportunity last evening to watch 2 episodes of "It's Me or the Dog" on The Animal Planet Channel. Both episodes involved families with adopted terrier mixes. Both dogs were very poorly behaved in the home, on leash, and off leash.

If nothing else, I will say that "It's Me or the Dog" gives a great glimpse of PR (Positive Reinforcement Only) training. Regular visitors know that I'm not a big fan of that approach when working with dogs. In the past I've discussed programs featuring BT (Balanced Training, for example, "The Dog Whisperer") methods, so I thought this would provide a good opportunity to discuss a television program featuring PR training.

As I watched the show I realized that I was actually growing very uncomfortable . The biggest reason was that some of the terminology and explanations given to owners would be ones I would use. However, meanings were obviously far different from mine. For example, the need for leadership and structure in a home and the need to correct bad behaviors was discussed. These are all things with which I would normally agree. Unfortunately, I saw nothing during the program to indicate to me these things were occurring.

As an example, for one dog that was routinely jumping on the owners, a "correction" was nothing more than turning away from the dog and ignoring it - this is NOT a correction. After turning to ignore the dog several times, the dog would stop jumping up momentarily, out of confusion. At that point the dog was offered some very uninspired praise, and it was implied the problem was fixed. I'd had been more impressed if the dog had been "proofed" - trying a set-up that would previously illicit the bad behavior to see whether the dog intentionally chooses the correct behavior instead.

Otherwise, most methods on the program involved addressing problem behaviors by getting the dog more interested in something else - lures, treats or redirection. The show implies that the bad behaviors are fixed or improved each time, but again, these changes are never really proofed. Such methods may be good ways to initiate early training, but they don't offer substantial long-term solutions. Some examples....

One dog had a problem running off while off leash. As a solution, the dog was placed on a long line as the show's trainer waved rubber toys and blew a whistle when the dog turned toward her. On a re-visit to the homes a few weeks later, the dogs were still on long lines and the owners were still needing to "lure" the dog to them on recalls. Not a good sign that the dog is really learning "come means come". In fact, the dog was more interested in running circles around anyone calling to it (playing) than actually coming (obedience).

Another dog was charging other dogs while on leash walks. A diagnosis of fear was offered due to it's excited whimpering. Hard to say in a few seconds of video, but the dog didn't impress me as having any fear issues, rather just poor manners and an unwillingness to listen to the owner. The solution involved re-directing (luring) the dog with a tug toy when other dogs were in the area. Again, maybe a short term method to gain initial attention, but the owners were still needing to carry a toy on walks weeks later. Playing with the dog when it wants to charge other dogs is not leadership. Toys or treats shouldn't be required crutches for more than a short time.

An effective training approach establishes communication, leadership, and structure. Long term use of treats or lures to keep a dog's attention actually demonstrates a lack of these things. In such cases the dog typically sees the owner as servant and subordinate. That's not a healthy human/dog relationship. I hope owners can appreciate the difference, and realize they can expect more from their dogs than this show offers.

As I've mentioned in the past, owners need to decide how they want to work with their own dogs. I respect any owner's decision, but I do feel owners should be able to make informed decisions. I felt "It's Me or the Dog", while giving a good glimpse of PR training, was more telling in what it didn't show.