Animals

Training the ShamWow Way: Not as Seen on T.V.

by Stephanie Feldstein

category: Responsible Pet Ownership

Published November 29, 2009 @ 01:00PM PT

• 2478 Views

On Animal Planet’s new show Super Fetch, trainer Zak George recently taught a dog to make the bed in less than 30 minutes.

Okay, so it’s fairly obvious that it didn’t really happen live on the air. There was a lot of time invested in the repetition necessary in dog training and setting up each step of the trick. So why isn’t it obvious that pieces are missing from other TV training shows?

Super Fetch gives you tips on how to teach the tricks they do, but it’s clear that the show is about fun and games. Unfortunately, many of the other dog training shows deal with serious behavior issues and it never ceases to amaze me how people try to mimic what they see on TV without a real understanding of the issue, the method, or the magic of video editing. Any show that has, or should have, a “Don’t Try This at Home” disclaimer are dangerous for both humans and dogs. Spliced scenes of aggression rehab and aversive methods, like the ones used by Cesar Millan, the so-called "Dog Whisperer," are misleading and can cause people to try methods that are likely to backfire.

Positive training on TV, such as Victoria Stillwell’s It’s Me or the Dog, at least uses safer methods that anyone can try at home with minimal risk. When you’re rewarding behaviors instead of punishing them, you’re less likely to cause damage, even if you miss the mark. But with a show like It’s Me or the Dog, viewers still need to understand that we’re not being shown everything that’s going on, and every situation is different. Working with a trainer in-person will always be more effective than relying on notes taken between commercial breaks.

We just need to remember the old adage that “you can’t believe everything you see on TV” when it comes to dog training shows. Especially when it comes to dog training shows.

(For more information on why you can't train your dog the way they do it on TV, check out this great article from the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.)