[Noel]

My favorite is It's Me or the Dog!

 

[FourIsCompany]

I if I had to pick one favorite, it would be The Dog Whisperer, but I really like It's me or the Dog, too.

 

[Noel]

I think that a lot of people like It's Me or the Dog!
Victoria is REALLY good.

 

[rosemaryninja]

I don't know if this necessarily counts, and I only ever caught a couple of episodes, but I found Greatest American Dog really entertaining.

 

[GottaLuvMutts]

Dang it, I really need a TV! I'd be glued to all those shows.

 

[FilleBelle]

Aw, Greatest American Dog was pretty fun. I was hoping they were going to run another season of it this summer!

 

[CorgiKarma]

The Dog Whisperer.

Does anyone remember a long while back there was a show on Animal Planet called Zig and Zag, or something to that effect? They had teams run agility courses. I was fairly young, but I loved it!

 

[sparkle]

I don't know of any real good dog training shows as they all are either over the top,filled with too much drama, or simply lack in resolving issues in a way that give the viewer any clear illustration in any particular process.

I think the tv shows are more about ratings than actually focusing on dog training for the most part.

 

[Shaina]

Greatest American Dog was interesting to watch until they started getting ridiculous with the challenges.

Honestly, though, after watching that show I could never watch "It's Me or the Dog" because Victoria Stilwell really came across in such a way that she now annoys me to pieces.

 

[Noel]

Victoria annoys you?

 

[Marsh Muppet]

Victoria annoys you?

That voice is pretty hard to take. It has that fingernails-on-a-chalkboard quality.

I used to enjoy Barbara Woodhouse's (Walkies!) TV show. I doubt she could have a TV show today. She was not particularly telegenic, and there was no manufactured drama.

 

[Shaina]

If I could watch any dog show in the world it would have been Dogs with Dunbar, though. Hands down.

Victoria annoys you?

Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying she's a bad person and I honestly know virtually nothing about her training abilities. It's just that a "reality TV show judge" role was not her cup of tea...I watch a minimal amount of TV so maybe I'm just more critical about what I do watch.

Most shows that center around dogs--if I watch it's to observe dog behavior and kinda ignore the rest of what's going on, as it's (as someone else said) usually melodramatic and full of preaching from someone who claims Supreme Knowledge, lol.

 

[Inga]

Greatest American Dog was interesting to watch until they started getting ridiculous with the challenges.

Honestly, though, after watching that show I could never watch "It's Me or the Dog" because Victoria Stilwell really came across in such a way that she now annoys me to pieces.

Ugh! I agree. I couldn't stand her on that show. She came across as a self important ego maniac. She also seemed a bit of a hypocrite telling the people to push their dogs and then yelling at them when they did. There didn't seem to be any consistency in her views. At least not on that show.

 

[txcollies]

Dog Whisperer is my fav.

Victoria is rather annoying, I'm not a huge fan of her show.

 

[Shaina]

Ugh! I agree. I couldn't stand her on that show. She came across as a self important ego maniac. She also seemed a bit of a hypocrite telling the people to push their dogs and then yelling at them when they did. There didn't seem to be any consistency in her views. At least not on that show.

Yes that's exactly it -- thank you Inga! I just couldn't come up with a way to describe it the way I wanted to...that was perfect.

Then there was the time she got into a fight with another judge and they had to apologize to each other after commercial like schoolchildren...

 

[Marsh Muppet]

It's not a dog training show, per se, but Dogtown is good. There are some interesting segments about training/retraining/rehabilitating problem dogs. I get a kick out of the laundry room crew.

I have seen VS do some things that I consider ill advised, and not at all in keeping with many of her statements. I'm not a regular viewer (that voice!), so perhaps there's some context I've missed. I suspect that all the doggie gods do things on TV, for the sake of pacing and drama, that they might not do in real life. If the demands of celebrity conflict with the best interests of the animals, I think I know which imperative gets knocked into the crapper.

 

[LoveMyBirdDog]

I don't understand why Victoria Stilwell never suggests getting the dog a crate. And she even told one family they shouldn't ever crate their dog. This I just don't understand.

I do watch her show. However, I like the Dog Whisperer better. But I don't get The National Geographic Channel with my Dish Network package so I never get to see it. I love to see him working with his pack of dogs. It amazes me.

 

[philovance]

Victoria annoys you?

Victoria succumbed to the "reality" show aspect of Greatest American Dog and I, too, found her distasteful although I enjoy *her* (not the owners) in "It's Me or the Dog." Her fake fight with the genuinely awful Wendy Diamond wasn't even good reality TV.

The problem with Groomer Has It and Greatest American Dog is that they really have nothing to do with real live dogs. The dogs are just props and excuses for melodrama and nastiness on the part of the judges. And in fact in both of those shows the dogs were mildly victimized. E.g., being asked to jump off a ledge to rejoin their owner in Greatest or dogs so matted they have obviously been neglected for months before being groomed on Groomer has it.

To the extent that Victoria went along with this BS I lost respect for her although if I could afford her I'd hire her. Which is more than I can say about Andrea Arden, NYC's most visible celebrity trainer, after seeing her on Underdog to Wonderdog. I guess I just don't like reality shows.

 

[RottieMomx3]

Ugh! I agree. I couldn't stand her on that show. She came across as a self important ego maniac. She also seemed a bit of a hypocrite telling the people to push their dogs and then yelling at them when they did. There didn't seem to be any consistency in her views. At least not on that show.
__________________

Ditto!

If I had to pick the dog whisperer would get my vote.

 

[Lolas_Dad]

I always watch Dog Whisperer even if I have already seen the show I will watch it again. It's me or the dog is ok but for a real problematic owner on not being able to control their dog's behavior I think the dog whisperer gets better results.

I think that some of the dogs he has taken on Victoria would probably recommend putting the dog down. That's what I like about Cesar. He will not recommend a dog be put down. If it won't work out with the dog he will take the dog himself and give the owners one of his stable dogs. It's a win win for all involved including the dogs.