As someone who runs a pet care company in Manhattan I had a lot of hope for the new CBS show “Dogs in the City”. The host Justin Silver seemed like the perfect pick for a show about the trials and tribulations of urban dog ownership. I couldn’t wait to watch this dog trainer who moonlights as a comedian! “Dogs in the City” was going to be my new summer stress-relief show and I was looking forward to watching a man who could educate his clients and make light of what those of us in the business do on a daily basis.
The pilot episode “I Speak Dog” (CBS Wednesdays at 8pm) began by introducing us to three of Justin’s clients who needed help with three very different problems. We meet Beefy the famous skateboarding bulldog who isn’t walking with his owner’s new wife or letting her sleep peacefully at night. Rosie is a lovely Bernese mountain dog whose owner is concerned about her weight and food consumption. Charlotte spends her days at work with her owner but has a bite history and lunges at everyone in the office.
Justin Silver was entertaining, the dogs were cute, and I was pumped!
And then the show came back from commercial.
And I was yelling at the screen for the next 45 minutes.
One of my life goals is to help educate the public about proper dog handling skills and punishment free training methods that are scientifically proven to be both the most humane and successful methods available to us. I am rooting for Karen Pryor and Victoria Stilwell to overshadow the poor training knowledge of the Zeitgeist. When “Dogs in the City” aired, Positive Reinforcement Trainers everywhere got a huge slap in the face. When Justin Silver was called a behaviorist on “The Talk” we got a fist in the gut. When he “taught” Rosie the “Leave It” command by pushing her in the chest and hitting her in the chin Positive Reinforcement Trainers everywhere received a giant knock out blow to the head.
My heart sinks knowing that so many viewers are going to watch this and “try it at home”. I’m going to do what I can to support my corner. I welcome feedback from owners, walkers, pet sitters, trainers, and behaviorists. I don’t know everything, but as someone who works with an amazing trainer and city dogs every day I do know that there is a better way. Welcome to “Dogs in the City DEBUNKED!”
EPISODE 1: I SPEAK DOG
Please watch the episode to better understand Justin’s solutions. I sum up the solutions below.
Client: Beefy, the Skateboarding Bulldog
Issues: Beefy won’t walk with his owner’s new wife & has separation anxiety
Justin Silver’s Solution for Separation Anxiety: Beefy is barking at his owners when they are in bed and he is not. To curb this Justin puts beefy behind a gate and has his owner (Patrick) step out of sight. When Beefy starts barking Justin gives him a treat stuffed Kong. Then he has Patrick show himself to Beefy and yell NO!
Justin Silver’s Solution for Walking: Justin brings his own dog to help train Beefy. Then Justin puts a martingale collar on Beefy and has Patrick’s wife jerk the collar so that Beefy will walk. They he gives him chicken.
DEBUNKED: Separation Anxiety: Justin Silver is rewarding Beefy for barking. Instead of giving him a treat filled Kong to occupy him and then walking away he gives him the treat filled Kong after he’s been barking. This is rewarding the barking and sending the message that barking = food reward. When he has Patrick come back into Beefy’s eyesight while he’s barking this is rewarding the barking with exactly what he wants: his owner! Justin is teaching Beefy that barking is going to bring his owner back. Essentially, Justin makes the problem worse by reinforcing exactly the behavior he is supposed to be eliminating. Walking: Justin brings his own dog to this appointment and states that his dog is going to help teach Beefy to walk. Then he ties the dog up and ignores it for the entire session. He introduces Beefy to a martingale collar, which is the less severe version of a choke collar. Martingale collars and choke collars cause damage to the trachea and spine (Martingale collars are much less severe and less damaging and are useful for breeds like grey hounds because their heads are the same diameter as their necks. Using a cloth martingale on a grey hound makes sense because the tightening action prevents it from slipping off. Using a martingale on a bulldog is unnecessary). He has the owner give Beefy what he calls a “cue” but is really a “correction” to let Beefy know that it is time to walk by pulling on the leash and tightening the collar around the dog’s throat. This is not a command (like “lets go!”) but an unnecessary correction. He is not teaching the dog a new command or how to walk but simply correcting him . We only see the owner walk 3 steps with the dog, choke Beefy again and then give him chicken. I don’t call 3 steps a walk, do you? Adding the chicken as a reward after the choke makes the association in Beefy’s brain that choke = chicken. What does that have to do with walking? And didn’t he say his dog was going to help with the lesson?
Client: Rosie, a gorgeous Bernese Mountain Dog
Issues: Owners are concerned about her weight & She eats everything
Justin Silver’s Solution for Rosie: Justin takes Rosie to the vet to make sure that she is a healthy weight and to get sound nutritional advice. Then he teaches Rosie “leave it” by pushing her in the chest and hitting her underneath the chin when she goes for food he has dropped on the ground. He makes “eheh!” noises when she looks at the food. When Rosie is ignoring the food Justin gives her the food he said she couldn’t have.
DEBUNKED: While I appreciate that Justin took Rosie to the vet, using force to “teach” a dog is not okay. Nor is rewarding the dog with the item that it was supposed to ignore. This simply teaches the dog not to grab the item right away when its owner says “leave it” but to wait a second and then it is okay to go grab the item. “Leave it” is not about teaching her when it’s okay to eat the food. “Leave it” is supposed to teach a dog to leave whatever it is they’re going for… and that they are not going to get that item ever. Instead, they should get something else from you, be it a favorite healthy treat, a toy, or even praise and some love.
Client: Charlotte, who goes to work with her owner
Issues: Bites & Lunges people and dogs that enter the office
Justin Silver’s Solution for Office Aggression: Justin first tells his client that she should leave her dog at home until the aggression has been curbed. Then he draws an invisible line on the floor and instructs the owner not to let Charlotte go past that line. He tethers Charlotte to a spot underneath a desk to limit her movement. His final advice to the owner is to warn guests that she is there and to come out of the office to speak to them.
DEBUNKED: When Justin enters the office and Charlotte lunges at him Justin allows the behavior. Why not turn his back and cross his arms to both protect him and teach Charlotte that jumping gets her nothing? This is dog-handling 101 but I guess he didn’t get the memo. Props to Justin for telling his client to leave the dog at home but unfortunately, this is not what happens. Nor does he work on changing Charlotte’s behavior at all. He teaches his client how to manage the behavior, BADLY. He tethers Charlotte underneath a desk, creating an area that she will probably start guarding. While they are “practicing” the new set-up Charlotte bites another dog! As his ending solution is that the owner come out of her office to greet clients there has clearly been no progress. I also have to mention that he continually calls this an “aggressive” problem when the correct term is aggression. He also says “The aggressive case is when the dog is misunderstood and protecting his owners” as if all aggression cases are the same. There are so many causes of aggression from protecting/guarding to insecurity, anxiety, fear, etc. A lot of aggression cases in NYC stem from the lack of proper socialization.
Next time on Dogs in the City DEBUNKED: We look into Justin Silver’s training background and qualifications. Hint… he doesn’t have any.
I so agree with you. This man is just a hack trying to leech off established shows and taking whack jabs at Dog Whisperer. Inexperienced, overly cocky, with absolutely no training whatsoever.
Hi Lauren,
Well I have to say that I found the show painful to watch – I was appalled. Justin Silver definitely does NOT ‘speak dog from what I observed in the premiere episode of the show. Mr. Silver did not connect with the dogs or the dog’s people. I felt that he was arrogant, his methods and his theories were immature and insensitive to say the least. He tethered one of the dogs – what does that teach the dog? If this is the extent of his capabilities the show is nothing but trash. I call myself a Dog Whisperer because of the way I work (nothing to do with CM) and Mr. Silver is not a dog Whisperer but he is a mediocre trainer. The Burmese MD did not require an aggressive poke in the chest to ask it not to take the food – the dog was highly sensitive – simple body language would have been enough to instruct that dog. I saw none of the ways I work displayed by this man. Apparently some people are speaking of him as a ‘dog whisperer’. In my opinion he definitely is not a Dog Whisperer. Below is a little detail on how I work with dogs and clients and I saw very little to non of that in his methods…
An understanding of
*The real intelligence, sensitivity and capability of dogs;
*How to read a dog’s face and a dog’s overall body language, and;
*All of the methods of communication – both conscious and sub-conscious, that people and dogs use to communicate, and how to intentionally employ the right method, at the right time, in the right way to suit the individuals and the situation.
Understanding and recognition of the individual that is each dog – no two dogs are the same…taking a ‘cookie cutter’ approach to techniques is not the way to work with a dog;
A complete recognition and understanding of all the elements that feed a behaviour and create an issue:
*The vast majority of people can only identify one or two elements…which vastly *Behaviours do not exist in isolation – there are always many elements that feed a single behaviour, there all always multiple behaviours that create a behavioral issue;
Self-restraint and discipline on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
Sensitivity, awareness, intuition, instinct and timing on the part of the human who is directing the dog;
*In order to understand, connect with and adapt quickly and effectively to a dog’s learning requirements you must be able to employ the same tools a dog uses – acute sensitivity, awareness, instinct, intuition and timing;
*Kindness, endurance, consideration, patience, persistence, perspective, the ability and know how to let the past go, the ability to set realistic expectations at any one point in time;
The creation of structure, rules, boundaries and limitations for each situation at the macro and micro level;
Understanding of all the elements that make up an instruction and direction to a dog…there are multiple steps involved in an instruction – not just one!
So, my task is to…
Teach/train the human…
*To be aware of how their psychological/emotional state affects their dog;
*To understand how they are mis-communicating to their dog;
*To understand their dog; its body language, its reactions, its needs;
*To learn how to effectively communicate with their dog – including using less voice and instead more body language;
*To see when their dog is asking for direction;
*To provide leadership to their dog;
Coach and mentor the dog.
If he is the best that New York has to offer I find that very sad. He gets a fail grade from me.
Anyway Lauren, glad I am not the only one who thought his methods were dismal. Best Regards, Karen the Ottawa Valley Dog Whisperer.
Hi Lauren,
Well written. I work for Elli Frank and I am the one model that has been nipped by Charlotte. They completely cut out my interview on “Dogs In The City” where I said that Charlotte is actually a sweet dog and Elli cares deeply about animal rescue and her business. CBS clearly made cuts to make Elli and Charlotte look terrible. Hopefully people can see that Justin didn’t make any progress with Charlotte despite his claims to “speak dog”.
Hi
I haven’t seen the video as CBS blocks it my geographical region on their website. But from your description it sounds like the show will do more harm than good.
In the UK the BBC hired a guy for their One Show and they introduced him as their “Weekly resident Trainer and Behaviourist” after the first episode there were thousands of complaints to the BBC and the TV regulatory authorities and a massive face book campaign to get him off as he was setting dog training and behaviour back 20 years.
It worked, after the second episode they dropped him like a brick, maye something our colleagues accross the pond should try.
Further to my previous post here are a few links and apologise for the spelling mistakes:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2042203/One-Show-axes-bully-dog-trainer-Jordan-Shelley-faces-RSPCA.html
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peterwedderburn/100106472/the-bbcs-new-dog-trainer-is-a-disgrace-his-unsafe-methods-belong-to-the-last-century/
The show was awful. I agree with all you wrote. Such a disservice to dogs and owners to run this show. I hope it is cancelled
Thank you for that well-written piece! You have voiced all my concerns and did so much better than I could have – saving me the trouble of writing a piece for my FB page. I am incredulous that this is the best that CBS could come up with and even more astonished that it made it to air! We Trainers and Behaviorists with true experience and real credentials are still cringing from the first episode. I am truly saddened to see that the old, misguided, force-based methods were used by one so young. I’ve shared the link to your piece on my FB page. Thanx again!
Helen Del Bove, ABCDT, CPDT-KA
Smarty Paws Dog Training
New Hyde Park, NY
Hi Lauren,
Great job, I agree with all your points! I’m glad you are debunking this guy, unfortunately the Positive Dog Training world may take yet another hit from TV shows trying to oversimplify and butcher what it is we real behaviorists actually do everyday!
I thought the show was particularly irresponsible for allowing a setup where that model’s poodle mix got attacked by Charlotte. This was totally preventable and morally reprehensible that a “trainer” and TV show would allow this for the purpose of entertainment. Silver didn’t discuss body language at all with the owner – which is what we professional dog behavior trainers would do with a client- and the show had many nice close ups on the dog’s face and body showing that she was giving obvious stress and distance increasing signals. A real “aggression expert” would’ve picked up on this right away and known that Charlotte was too stressed out and at her limit and would not have introduced another dog into the situation knowing that Charlotte may bite. Instead, this guy stood back and let that poor poodle mix be a test dog showing his inexperience and complete lack of knowledge.
Keep up the good work, I will be posting your blog to my Facebook and Twitter accounts as well!
Aubry Backer, MS Ed.
Owner/ Positive Dog Behavior Trainer
Tailwaggers, Inc.
Serving Westchester County NY, Bronx NY, Greenwich & Stamford CT
Proud APDT and TrulyDogFriendly member
So totally agree and will be happy to help start a campaign against this creep– actually it’s the show’s producers who need to get educated.
Here’s shameless promotion: you want to read a warm witty book about dogs in the city (my favorite subject) checkout BARK IF YOU LOVE ME.
I Will have to visit again when my course load lets up – nevertheless I am taking your Rss feed so i can go through your blog offline. Thanks.
Hi Lauren:
I only watched the Rosie episode-but that was enough. Here you have a trainer teaching a child to tease a dog, at face level, with a high value treat, and then popping the dog in the chops when the dog reaches for the treat. Now a professional might be able to safely get away with that kind of reckless garbage, but then we have handled thousands of dogs of all stripes and can evaluate the likelihood of an attack pretty well. Even we make mistakes-and I can tell you every time I have been bitten it was my fault/my mistake in either relaxing too soon, getting overconfident, or simply not paying attention to the signals the dog was sending. The public does not have these experiences and evaluating talents-especially kids. This guy is setting up some poor child to get a full facial bite. “Sure Suzy, just dangle the turkey in front of Rover, and when he tries to get it pop him in the chops-it will be just fine”. And we wonder why thousands of children get seriously bitten IN THE FACE evvery year-and then I get called when the bite to a child leads to yet another avoidable fatality. We can only hope that most of the people watching so far don’t have resource protective dogs. And I will certainly be happy to testify for the injured party that this show set them up for the injury.
SO the end result was that a single part of the show was enough to show me there was no informative value here. Too bad they didn’t look a little further for a real, experienced, certified and professionally competent trainer for their show.
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