I did not watch both episodes from start to finish, but I had it on in the room while I was doing other business on the computer, so caught enough of to be -- well -- not real impressed, not exactly anxious to keep tuning in.

What little I saw that actually focused on the dogs seemed interesting, but most of what I was picking up was just your typical reality show filler garbage.

I'm old enough to remember the good old days when channels like Nat Geo, Discovery, the Learning Channel, etc. actually had intelligent, interesting, and informative programming, geared for viewers with attention spans longer than a minute or so at a time and who didn't need to be entertained by idiocy and stupidity. A bit of a rant, sorry.

Anyway, maybe this show will get better as it goes along.

Hmmm..I liked it. I especially liked the comment about these not being 'pet quality dogs; if you want a pet go to Petco'. I can relate.

Show reminded me of OP shows + dog. I like the training bits they show, esp the detection work. These dogs are not at all like protection sport dogs, these are, as my friend once said, working class dogs and have no business being in pet dog homes. John's comments about the show is in sync with what another k-9 handler told me so I will continue to watch.

I like it. I liked the turtles, the guy crashing upside down into the side of the building,the slow motion, the whole thing.

I'm glad they show real training. The good and bad. Its not meant to be a how to video, but its detailed enough, like the part in the one episode about transitioning and the difference between the Lab and the other dogs.

Considering I'm don't have much knowledge of actual working dogs, I generally liked it.

Things I liked:

The trainers cared about the dogs and the handler relationship more than selling the dogs.

Used positive reinforcement instead of just corrections.

Showed handler errors, and even showed a green canine officer getting bit (ruled the handlers fault, not the dogs).

Seemed fairly knowledgeable (to an outside like me).


Things I didn't like:

You NEVER hold a snapping turtle by the tail.

Kory, you are correct. Without seeing the show yet, having David and Fama as part of their history, is enough to earn my respect.

I thought that was right.

About the show itself. There's no way they can do a show just about the training. It would get repetitive and boring very quickly for most people. It wouldn't survive long. I'd like to see a little more in depth training in it though. Maybe that will come. I didn't see it as portraying the dogs a vicious at all. Far from it.

I got the impression that the Nat'l Geo executive producers had a little more input after the pilot episode. The second episode had far fewer "bleeps" and focused more on the dogs and actual training, and the dogless segment was relegated to three minutes at the end.

I thought it huge that they showed the bad handler paying for his mistake.

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

I'm old enough to remember the good old days when channels like Nat Geo, Discovery, the Learning Channel, etc. actually had intelligent, interesting, and informative programming, geared for viewers with attention spans longer than a minute or so at a time and who didn't need to be entertained by idiocy and stupidity. A bit of a rant, sorry.

I miss that kind of programming a lot. I don't even have or want cable in the house anymore.

 Quote: Cheri Grissom

I did not watch both episodes from start to finish, but I had it on in the room while I was doing other business on the computer, so caught enough of to be -- well -- not real impressed, not exactly anxious to keep tuning in.

What little I saw that actually focused on the dogs seemed interesting, but most of what I was picking up was just your typical reality show filler garbage.

I'm old enough to remember the good old days when channels like Nat Geo, Discovery, the Learning Channel, etc. actually had intelligent, interesting, and informative programming, geared for viewers with attention spans longer than a minute or so at a time and who didn't need to be entertained by idiocy and stupidity. A bit of a rant, sorry.

Anyway, maybe this show will get better as it goes along.

I completely agree with you Cheri, I so miss those types of programs and their content.
They still exist for a few but something has changed and it isn't a good change.
Lots of junk out there... But I will have to watch a few more episodes and see if it gets better.

 Quote: Kory Fox

I don't know if anyone picked up on it, but if I'm not mistaken David Winners said in one of the first posts about Fama that he first met her at a training facility in Indiana and the trainers looked like a bunch of bikers. Maybe I'm remembering wrong and thinking of something else I read. I'm not good at figuring out the search function to verify that. But if I'm remembering right, that's got to be the same kennel.

I know someone confirmed it already, but thought I'd move this here from the very first of David's "Fama Episode 1" posts


"Day 1: It's northern Indiana in April. It is 38 degrees and raining, which is beautiful weather for that time of year. At least there was no hail. 20 of us, fresh from the island of Oahu Hawaii, are packed into a classroom to begin our illustrious careers as dog handlers. All our instructors, who are bikers with tattoos and long lists of working dog credentials, introduce themselves, followed by Ken. Ken, the owner of the kennels, is the biggest of the biker guys, has the most tattoos, and also has scars all over his arms. You would think he would be intimidating, but quite the contrary. He is potentially the most charismatic speaker I have ever seen. He is so passionate about dogs that it exudes from his pores. When he talked about how odor travels through a room, I could see it! His eyes lit up, and if he had a tail, it would have been knocking stuff on the floor. I knew I was going to like this place."


Edited by Amy VandeWeerd (02/11/2013 11:45 AM)
Edit reason: brackets. grr.