# Dogtown



## mickyb (Oct 31, 2008)

HAS ANYONE WATCHED DOGTOWN, YOU GET IT ON BT VISION NOT SURE IF YOU CAN ON SKY, GOD THEY ARE WONDERFUL, THEY RESCUE ALL THESE DOGS, AND HELP THEM AND REHOME EVERY SINGLE ONE, THEY WILL NEVER PUT A DOG DOWN, HAS ME IN TEARS EACH TIME I WATCH, HOW CAN PEOPLE BE SO CRUEL. channel.comnationalgeographic.com/series/dogtown, amazing. :thumbup1:


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

I agree. This is one of my preferred dog rehabilitation programmes on TV.  Here is the website of the actual sanctuary that is 'DogTown' in the programme - Best Friends Animal Sanctuary They manage to rehabilitate even the most aggressive dogs without forceful methods and took in 22 of Michael Vicks fighting pitbulls to rehabilitate with some of them going on to new homes and some staying forever at the sanctuary. They are known as the Vicktory Dogs


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

hey, caroline! :--)

i love Best Friends, they are a top-notch organization with a sterling rep, and the facility itself is non-standard, but flexible and well-designed. they have areas away from visitors for the shy or those recovering from trauma, they;ve got bird, cat, dog and other areas so that the cats are not being stared-at by dogs across the room, LOL, and take it all around, they do a *Brilliant! job,* IMO.

i have to admit, tho...  i hate to say it, but i was disappointed in DogTown. 
the trainers have a very bad habit of overfacing the dogs and making very predictable errors, even in set-ups -

in comparison to jerking, poking, hanging, etc on CM/DW, DogTown looks like a Paradise staffed by angels, LOL -- 
but they often default to flooding, which is a poor technique with a very-high likelihood of side-effects.

for instance, 
the un-trusting F-Rott who had hooked-up with a novice M handler; she just liked this guy, and felt comfy with him. 
they were doing OK, but because the handler was a real beginner, her reactivity + suspicion of strangers was not changing - 
she was happier as a dog with a trusted person, but she was not progressing toward adoptable.

so they decided to begin some training - not B-Mod, but basic manners. 
they bring the Rott indoors on-leash, there is one other dog + handler, the F instructor approaches them, and the dog begins 
to get anxious... her mouth closes, her body tightens, no more smiles for her handler, no easy-faced panting + free gait; 
she is tight, and winding tighter. 
the instructor is talking to the handler; she is not staring at the dog, but the dog is very wary by now - 
the woman is within arms reach. she steps into the dogs personal space, OFFERS * HER * A * TREAT 
between her _fingers!..._ with an abrupt presentation, right in front of the Rotts face... 
and wham, gets bitten.  U could see that coming a week ahead.... :frown2: 
_really predictable; bad interaction, poor planning + did not read the dog._

and of course, everybody says afterwards... _*Why did she bite? *__for heavens sake... _ 
a stranger got WAY-too close, WAY-too fast, and walked directly into her personal space, less than 18-inches from her chest!

there have been a bunch of those, just poor decisions - 
sticking a dog-naive dog INTO THE KENNEL RUN of a boisterous teen-thug M, then spraying BOTH dogs 
with pepper-spray when the resident dog decides to assault his intrud... er, visitor? 

5 toy-dogs from a pup-mill bust are in a single large walk-in cage; they chase and CATCH the other FOUR dogs, 
with lots of swooping and grabbing, and leave the one that BITES the hardest, and is the most terrified, for last... 
well, that set Animal up for success. 

obviously, it is not every minute of every episode - Heavens, no!  
there is good B-Mod practice, taking under-socialized dogs to stroll, and check-out the dog-friendly shops; taking 
dogs who need to unwind and settle, into staff-homes for fostering; and lots of other good stuff, too.

_but some of the bad stuff was *really bad...*_ 
like putting Animal, the heavily-matted puppy-mill survivor, into a S/S 3-ft cube sink, to _*bathe and groom him?! 
his haircoat looks like a helmet, it is so dreadlocked, and he is terrified, to boot! 
he needs to be sedated, and clipped, not bathed - dogs get COMBED tangle-free clear to their skin, 
before anybody gets wet with anything but pump-spray de-tangler, if that.* 
she sticks him in the tub, he predictably melts-down, slithering in panic all over the sheet-metal tub-floor, trying 
to escape, trying to bite; all the while, his KNOTS and MATS are getting WET and will be TIGHTER when they dry... 
then she says, no - he will have to be sedated tomorrow, and clipped while he is sedated. _ 
couldn;t U have made that decision 20-mins after U saw him, in the walk-in shelter cage, 
before he was crated for the flight to Utah? :frown2: he was in Ur hands, U saw his coat-condition - 
and his obvious terror and extreme stress. 

that one was probably in the top 3 candidates for worst handling. ouch.

good B-Mod is rarely dramatic, except in its outcome. 
it is step by step, patient, incremental and as stress-free as possible. 
it can look reeeeally, reeeeeally BORING next to Cesar! :laugh::laugh: 
but it is a gentle process, and not intended to entertain.  
the thrills and chills come when U see what they can do  _*Now,*__* that was impossible for them before... *_ 
thats when i get goosebumps, LOL...

if i was going to score them, Best Friends would get ELEVEN of 10 possible points for intention, dedication and clarity of purpose. 
depending on the case, i would give them 4 to 6 out of 10 for B-Mod, 
and 6 to 8 of 10 for rehabilitative socialization and habituation. 
they are better at the under-socialized than the trauma-cases, IMO.

JMO, Ur mileage may vary!  
--- terry


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## CarolineH (Aug 4, 2009)

Well I suppose, at the end of the day, the wages paid by sanctuaries and rescues are hardly like to attract the very best trainers who gave up making errors of judgement a long time ago. As long as those trainers are prepared to learn by their mistakes, continually re-evaluate and upgrade their knowledge and have the dogs best interests in heart then we shall just have to accept that they are only human and not perfect. At least they aren't leaping onto dogs to pin them down or string them up until they semi-asphyxiate, of that we can be grateful.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

> As long as those trainers are prepared to learn by their mistakes,
> continually re-evaluate and upgrade their knowledge and have the dogs
> best interests in heart then we shall just have to accept that they are
> only human and not perfect.


absolutely, and human-learning does not cease after high-school, either! :001_cool:



> At least they aren't leaping onto dogs to pin them down or string them up until they semi-asphyxiate, of that we can be grateful.


yes, compared to certain Persons, the Best-Friends staffers are angels with harps and halos, LOL...  
being human is good - _being *humane* is even better!_ :thumbup1:

cheers, 
--- terry


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