Who saw that show on Animal Planet and what do you think?

Hello:

I saw it and I thought it was a good show. Overall I give it 3 1/2 - 4 out of 5 *'s. I think it's great anytime the media takes an extra few minutes to air a show on the military, especially when it's done in a positive light. As a former U. S. Marine, I can't argue with that, I think its good for troop morale, good for the public and it's good recruiting "PR" as well.

I know they didn't go into detail about how they actually train the dogs, but I thought it was interesting on how they followed a class through each phase of training until graduation. I know the answer to this, they wouldn't do that, because they don't want people to see how they train their dogs, especially for liability reasons and during this time (WOT) with forwarded deployed troops in the Persian Gulf, Middle East.

Personally, I think they should of went into more detail overall, learning how to train a K9 (since most of the dogs are trained and the handlers aren't) for those few green dog. Like are they using motivation or compulsion, etc. Learning the dynamics on how to catch a dog as well as overall handling techniques. I think it would of been interesting to see if they had any classroom discussions on fight drive, nerves, prey drives, etc.

Also, back in the "OLD CORPS" I was never in a class or training that graduated as many people as they started, I am sure someone had to remediate some portion or they dropped out for various reason. Also, more could of been seen about their selection of certain dogs and why they either pass or fail and show some more testing.

I think it could of been a tad more realistic, I am sure a few of those handlers got nailed, but it didn't show any dogs showing any kind of handler aggression. Especially on the first day when one of the dogs was going into heat exhaustion in the little water crossing. The instructor had the trainee, kneel down and pick up and carry a dog, who he didn't know without a muzzle, I think most hard dogs would of taken a snap at a strange person doing that to them?

I think the most realistic scenario was when the female airman had to have her dog checked at the vet and he didn't want to get his ears checked, her dog put up a bit of a struggle and fuss. They could of also touched on the requirements a bit, you know 21 years old minimum, blank number of years as an MP/MAA, above average Pro/Con or fitness reports, before being able to apply as a handler, etc.

I always thought that the discovery channel and animal planet should have more shows aired about how to train a dog, either tracking or OB, or CGC or CDX, UD, instead of all of those "The funniest animals on the planet" vinettes, or physics who talk to horses, etc. That stuff is a waste of valuable air time.

Just my $.02,
Semper Fi,
Brandon

That was a great show, I learned a lot. The military has not always been good to its four legged soldiers. In Vietnam they killed or just left behind the dogs after the war. Hopefully the military has mended its ways.

Uhhhh. . . I don't know about anybody else, but that show had me questioning some of the military's program.

I didn't really like it.

Good for promotion of working dogs though. I hope others enjoyed it. I know that some people in my family liked it and all of the sudden for the first time got interested in my dogs and training.

Maybe it's just because I'm young and haven't been around long, but in the last few years. . .this past year in particular, I have noticed A LOT more interest in working dogs. Both service and sport, but mainly police and military dogs.

Gotta love it.

VanCamp, what didn't you like about their program? I would be interested in your opinion, and others in the know. I put up a post last week as a reminder to watch it, and damned if I didn't have to be somewhere else. Animal Planet repeats enough that I'll see it sooner or later. I agree about the publicity. People that know my intrest in working dogs were asking me all kinds of questions about the dogs.

I really enjoyed the program and to see it being told in away that none dog people could understand ,but not in depth enough for us dog folks who would of liked to of seen the dogs really being trained and people being nailed as i am sure they were ,trained dogs,with less trained handlers.
I have heard some really good positives about the program, we need more like that, and may be more on there breeding program ,and selection process.Peter

OK I didn't see 95% of the show. I saw only about the last 10 min of it but didn't anyone think these dogs looked ancient, fat, washed out, and arthritic? Were these like retired dogs they were learning on? The one dog looked to have had hip surgery and the other one had a back injury that had surgery. There were several that look grossly over weight and looked so old that they could barely do the work. Granted I only saw the last ten minutes so I am only basing my opinions on that.

Karmen, I was thinking the same... why such FAT dogs in hot texas! I thought the program was interesting... I was shocked at the number of dogs... 500 to 700 dogs!! I just have a hard time imagining that! Think of the money they would save if they kept them at a decent weight!

To understand the military working dog program you have to look at it from two different perspectives. A lot of the dogs that you see in that program, remain at the dog school solely to train students. So yes some of them are not in the shape you would expect for a working dog that is actually in service. In the early 80's, the military decided to seperate handler training from dog training. To do that they created a cadre of troops whose purpose is to train dogs. Trained dogs were used to train students. As an old timer in the MWD Program I was, and still am, against that method of training. I do recognize the benefits of saving training time which of course is a cost issue. In the late 60's when the military went to the "Patrol Dog" it was not uncommon for a class to have as many as 24 dogs and students. The class was 12 weeks long. The class would be a mixture of green dogs, sentry dogs being retrained as patrol dogs and dogs that had been in previous patrol dog classes but needed additional training. Rarely was a student held back at the end of 12 weeks. It was not uncommon for a dog to be held back however. Over the years, because of budget constraints and other issues, the amount of training time was reduced to 10 weeks. It was after that, the military started looking at the prospect of seperating handler and dog training. Just a short history lesson on the that portion of the dog school. I did enjoy the show. I"ve walked every inch of the grounds that were shown over the 13 years I was there as an instructor.

DFrost

First Post here. Have been lurking about. Didn't get to see all of the show but plan to catch all of it when it is shown again. I had just returned from a police K-9 seminar with a former key player in that program. I'm anxious to get his reaction to it.

The thing that stands out in my mind is respect for individuals who are training green handlers whether that be one or many. I train a 5 K-9 team unit for a police department. The process of training can be very stressful but also rewarding. You start with guys or gals that don't know which end the poop comes out of and train them to be a fully functioning team.

I questioned some of the things that I saw but they're insignificant. Overall it seemed to be a cool spot on the life of handler and trainer of working dogs.