400 Complain Over BBC 'Dog Trainer'

[Teddy Bear]

Though I never watched this programme just reading about what this 'Dog Trainer' (as the BBC like to think of him) did makes me angry. Especially as I'm an ardent fan of Dog Whisperer Cesar Milan, who is absolutely inspirational, even if you don't have a dog.

I think this trainer must be dyslexic and has seen Cesar's programme as Dog Whipserer.

Notice that despite 400 complaints, including other dog experts and canine welfare charity the Dogs Trust, the BBC just dismisses them and says of the trainer 'Roxy’s owners were happy with the outcome and that he would display other techniques in future programmes.'

The BBC knows better than everybody what's good for them. You can imagine what they would have reported if it had been Murdoch showing the same thing.

I just hope the next dog this 'trainer' tries the same technique on is a Rottweiler or Pit Bull.

One Show embroiled in animal cruelty row after trainer 'bullies' Jack Russell

By Paul Revoir

Last updated at 10:59 AM on 21st September 2011

The One Show has become embroiled in an animal cruelty row after viewers complained that a dog trainer on the programme was ‘teasing’ and ‘bullying’ a Jack Russell terrier.

Jordan Shelley, the BBC programme’s new ‘dog man’, was introduced to viewers last week as part of a section on the show which sees him help correct pets’ behaviour.

But his tactics have immediately caused outrage, with the BBC understood to have received more than 400 complaints following his appearance on Friday’s episode.

Viewers reacted with anger to Mr Shelley’s ‘dominance techniques’, used when he was brought into a family home to control an unruly Jack Russell called Roxy.

Experts in the field were also critical of the techniques, which were recorded during a 45-minute ‘battle of wills’, claiming that they did not cure the animal of its behavioural problems.

As part of the training, filmed six weeks ago, Mr Shelley was seen kicking the dog’s food bowl away from it as it was eating and putting his foot into the animal’s mouth and face to establish who was in charge.

'Battle of wills': Experts have criticised Jordan Shelley's techniques with Roxy (pictured) which included sticking his foot in the dog's mouth

Among those who have written to the BBC to complain is canine welfare charity the Dogs Trust.

Lynn Barber, head of canine behaviour and training at the trust, said she was ‘very disheartened’.

She said: ‘The technique might have been acceptable 30 years ago but nowadays it would be considered seriously detrimental to the dog’s welfare.’

Viewers have taken to online message boards to express their anger.

One wrote: ‘Terrify, bully and stress a dog to make it comply, what does that “teach” a dog?’
Hosts: Alex Jones and Matt Baker host the BBC show which is popular with viewers

Hosts: Alex Jones and Matt Baker host the popular BBC show

Another said: ‘He didn’t actually train anything, did he? He just basically wore her out by teasing her.’

Mr Shelley said last night that he would never approve of ‘causing distress to a dog’ and that he also used ‘reward-based’ techniques.

He added: ‘Safety comes first in all my training.’

The BBC defended the trainer, saying Roxy’s owners were happy with the outcome and that he would display other techniques in future programmes.

[thehighlandrebel]

Dogs are considered unclean in the religion of peace so the b-bbc is issuing a Fatwa and a call for Jihad against dogs and dog owners.

[thehighlandrebel]

BTW the word Jihad in German is Mein Kampff.

Much like the identical ideologies of Islam and Nazism.

Eradication of the Jewish people.
Eradication of Christianity.
World domination through violence and terror.

[Teddy Bear]

That's an interesting coincidence - it never occurred to me - thanks for that THR I'm sure I'll be using that in the future.

As for the latter, I'm sure Goebbels would be proud of the work the BBC is doing.

[Teddy Bear]

The Telegraph has an article about this programme today in which they also provide quite a few good links.

The BBC's new dog trainer is a disgrace – his unsafe methods belong to the last century
By Pete Wedderburn

The BBC’s One Show has a popular Facebook page, with nearly 20000 people “liking” it. Most items under discussion receive a dozen or so comments from viewers, with up to fifty comments for more controversial subjects. But one recent posting stands out, having received over 350 comments so far. What is it about? The Israeli/Palestinian crisis? Climate change? Religion? In fact, the contentious subject is something that may seem mundane: dog training.

The One Show has a new segment, known as “Fix My Dog”, which you can watch for yourself at 31:20 of the BBC video. The show has recruited a new “dog behaviour expert”, a handsome 21-year-old chap called Jordan Shelley. In his first outing, broadcast last Friday, Mr Shelley dealt with an aggressive terrier called Roxy. As you’ll see for yourself, by the end of the training session, the dog did seem to be behaving less aggressively; it’s the method that was used to achieve this that’s controversial. Mr Shelley used a dominance-type technique, involving a “battle of wills”. This may seem superficially appealing to some people, but it’s an outdated technique that belongs in the last century.

The main sequence involves the dog guarding its food bowl, snarling at anyone who approached. Mr Shelley dealt with this by deliberately taunting the dog, pushing his foot in the dog's face as if saying "go on then, snarl all you like, bite my foot if you want, but you won't get the better of me". Some of the footage drew close to the line between "pushing his foot into the dog's face" and "kicking the dog". Many viewers were shocked by what they perceived as cruelty and bullying of the small dog. After forty five minutes of this intimidation, the dog eventually backed down and stopped growling at Mr Shelley.

It’s one thing for Mr Shelley to force the dog to behave in his presence, but what about when he’s gone? And what if viewers at home try similar techniques with their own dogs? As the Dogs Trust charity has pointed out, “any other pet dog owner attempting these methods will put themselves and their families at risk of serious dog bites.”

There are far more effective, safer methods for dealing with the type of situation that was shown on the programme. A simple Google search for “dog food guarding” will generate much more dependable advice than was shown on the BBC programme last week.

If the BBC researchers had taken the time to discuss dog training with any of the established animal behaviour organisations, they’d easily have been able to recruit an experienced, qualified (and telegenic) dog trainer. Why didn’t they do this?

Jordan Shelley doesn't seem to have any formal training or qualifications, and I’ve been unable to track down any evidence of his experience. High profile television programmes have a responsibility to ensure that advice given out is consistent with current best practice: the One Show’s dog training segment certainly does not do this.

So how does the BBC recruit so-called “experts”? Do they have guidelines, or is it as random as “a friend knows someone who seems to be good?” And if so, is that good enough for a responsible national broadcaster?