corvus
Posted : 9/26/2006 3:59:52 AM
I loved this show and watched every episode they cared to play on Animal Planet while I was over in the States. Until I'd seen them all. I didn't find it dry in the least. But then, we really like our British television over here. I'm quite used to their manner and find them endearing. The presenters are actually quite engaging once you "get to know" them. I loved this show because of it's holistic approach, like Jones said. I thought it was fantastic that no problem was automatically thrown in the too hard basket. I saw them train a duck with a visual version of clicker training, train a sheep, and make toys for a giant Pacific octopus. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most shows like this jump from case to case? I always thought it was a good incentive for staying tuned because you'd get to see what happened with the animal later on. And if one case wasn't that interesting, another that was started soon after might be.
Anyway, I thought the methods they used were creative, positive and sensible. It was enlightening to see them showing you that anything could be trained with the right methods and a bit of work. They did show the methods on camera so you knew what was being done, but of course they can't show the whole process. The duck training blew me away. I thought it was genius.
Their behaviourists are actually really knowledgeable. They have Kelly Marks for horses, and the woman is a genius when it comes to talking to horses. It's inspiring to watch her work. I think part of what is so great about this show is that it isn't all about dogs. Their motto is to facilitate the bond between owners and their pets and bring the two closer together with gentle methods. What could be more needed in this day and age?
I'm sure Kathy Sdao and Patricia McConnell are wonderful, but I personally have never seen a behaviourist on this show say something I've doubted. And I've never seen a behaviourist to rival Kelly Marks. As a very opinionated and critical behaviourist in training, I like to think that I can judge a good behaviourist. [

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