My take on it is very positive I have to say.

Highlighting rescue dogs, full marks.

Showing that you dont have to have a dog from puppyhood for there to be great training and bonding, full marks.

Having a dog on there which was beaten yet has overcome it enough to cope brilliantly with the atmosphere, lots of strangers and noise etc let alone be doing newly learned things at the same time, full marks again for showing `baggage` can be dealt with very well indeed.

Regarding the dogs bonding with the celeb handlers then being dropped. Well, one has already been adopted by her handler, and I suspect she wont be the only one.

For those who are still available for adoption afterward, the fact is that while they have been in rescue they will have also bonded with kennel staff / walkers, same as rescue dogs in foster care bond with their foster families then move on to another home, so realistically having an extra handler for a few weeks is not much different in terms of bonding especially for longtermers who will have adapted to many people coming and going ie volunteers who leave because they have a new job or move away or whatever.

I am sure the procedures to adopt the dogs will be as stringently enforced as usual, if not more so because there will be so many people wanting to know how they get on in new homes and hopefully followup stories done.
Prospective adopters are almost transparent to experienced rehoming `officers` so anyone trying to adopt for the wrong reasons would not be too hard to spot I would think.

So overall, I think the Beeb has actually got a dog program right for once

As an aside, I was pleased to see a handler pulled up by a judge for being too loud with his dog, [ shouting a command at him ], and pointing out that the quieter the voice the harder the dog will listen and how the dog looked like being near the handler as a result of being shouted at was the last place the dog wanted to be.
In response to the judge who said ` but if your dog was running toward the road you`d have to shout to get a response ` [ or words to that effect ], teaching reliable recall *first* is better than hoping shouting at a dog `might` work...
So some good positive reinforcement messages going on there too from at least one judge, happy with that

Finally, Cookie - Go little Staffie Go !
What a fantastic ambassador for the breed she is, bright, fun, intelligent, soooo sweet, everythng good about Staffies in one gorgeous package :smt049

I loved little Bruno, how could you resist that face?!

I think all the celebrities will probably adopt their dog, apart from maybe Clive?

So Glad Bruno has got a home with Kirsty. I agree it is a really good programme and it is very difficult to have favourites, They are all something special in different ways.

Well said Patch - agree totally. These dogs are only getting three training sessions (at best, there have been illnesses which have meant that some have had less) with the handler/trainer team during the week so are doing remarkably well.

For me though, the very best part of this is the raised awareness of rescue dogs needing homes

Oh poo!!!! I forgot to tune in for the 10 o'clock episode! Very nice to hear that Bruno has a home though, not surprised mind!

Yeah I have to say I felt that it was a bit forced and was slightly disappointed by this. But that could just be teething problems, I'm just eternally grateful that Ben Fogle wasn't hosting it!
I absolutely agree with this, people can change, even in the quickest of flashes. My Dad has never "got" dogs or any "dumb animal" (this is what he referred to many years ago when talking about domesticated animals), but he absolutely adores Isla. To the point where she can eat his lawn and he doesn't mind!
I'm guessing you've never rehomed a dog from Dogs Trust??!!! Trust me Dawn, they give you the first degree! Even when you've previously rehomed one of their dogs and said dog has been doing brilliantly for four years.

So if that Afgan was too much to handle then it simply wouldn't be rehomed with that family, trust me!

And that last description sounds very much like many Labradors I know!

Ahh I knew I could rely on Dogsey to advise the outcome of last nights show! Sid came in from work at 9.30 so I missed seeing who won as we got talking!

Glad to hear Kirsty has adopted Bruno, he was adorable. Julia already said last night she didn't think she can let Cookie go either so that's fab too!

I think it is brilliant that such a prime time slot is highlighting that rescue dogs can be great pets and you ARE able to teach old dogs new tricks (I know some are young dogs, but you know what i mean!!!:smt002 )

Let's hope this prompts other people to considering rescues in the future.

I read an article which said some of the participants were annoyed that the Beeb had decided the money gained from the phone-ins went to Children In Need as they had previously been able to nominate a chosen charity and many of them had wanted it to go back into Dog Rescue charities Sad if that's the case, why couldn't they split the money between them? Children In Need whilst being excellent charity already receives so much money compared to these smaller ones

as much as i agree with this programme in principle and its great to highlight the dogs plight.......i do find the show boring especially Julian Clarey.

JMO.

Children in Need is such a valuable charity. It funds many smaller projects that run to help children. Yes, dog charities could also do with the money, but I wouldn't begrudge CIN a penny of the money they are getting from this.
There is a Gingerbread centre here in Derry that will be forced to close shortly due to lack of funding. (CIN have helped to fund it, but still not enough to keep it going.) It was a total lifeline to myself when my two were younger; I seriously don't know how I would have got through such a difficult time in my life without the help, support and restbite that I got from them. There are many other children's charities that benefit from the funds raised for CIN. Much as I love my dogs, I still feel children's needs come before dogs.

Gutted i missed it last night! totally forgot it was on and was visiting my aunt..
Its lovely to hear kirsty is keeping bruno I thought she might when i saw how worried she looked when traning him on the dog walk in last weeks programme.

What happened last night did they do a similar course?

I think it proves just the opposite - that most rescue dogs do NOT come with a lot of baggage and can be trained just as well as the next dog.