I don't like the fact that the money doesn't go to the dogs though. And I guess some might decide they want to own the dog because it's been on telly. Still I'd hope these people would be weeded out.

I do agree with the money thing, but I guess the Dogs Trust are still happy that it is of benefit to them in other ways and perhaps the programme wouldn't have got the support from 'non-doggy' people if it had been for a dogs rescue rather than children in need.

And yes, I'm sure they will weed out those who only want a famous dog.

Our current dog comes from the DogsTrust and we were vetted as normal.

At the same time as we got our pup another family had a pup from a large litter in the run next to ours. I used to see the wife out and about with the dog quite often. She came to the same training class but stopped as it took up too much time.

I saw one of her children a few months later and he stopped to say hello. When I asked after their dog he told me it had gone back to the home as it kept jumping up at the children

I am not criticising the vetting system at all as I can't see any other way of checking people out to see if they are suitable for dog ownership but these were people who had decided they wanted a dog, chosen a pup, kept it for six months and then returned it as they couldn't cope with it.
When I spoke to mum later on she said they hadn't realised a puppy took up so much time and they had decided that the dog was getting too big to control properly. This is my major concern about the programme - it doesn't address the long term issues of dog ownership.

I am really pleased that rescue dogs are getting the publicity they need but would have much preferred it if all aspects of dog ownership were shown. I think it would have been an ideal opportunity to hammer home the fact that a dog is a lifetime responsibility rather than something one can see on a TV programme and think it may be nice to own. I am sure the DogsTrust vetting system will weed out a lot of people who may not be suitable for dog ownership and just hope that those people don't then go on to buy a dog from another source to only end up in rescue further down the line.

I do like the show and take it for what it is - it's not a dog training programme although that is a part of it, it's ultimately about rescue dogs and raising their profile which is a good thing as long as any rehoming is done right, which I'm sure it would be.

I am pretty sure the viewers are actually voting in part for the underdog pair which are, well and truly, Huey and Casper Now whether that is right or not is another matter, but I think that's what is happening.

Casper has been abused and had a problem back injury which I think may have swayed some votes his way - guess that's normal human behaviour to vote sympathetically. The pair are also very entertaining (at times) and I imagine this also sways the vote towards them.

I can't remember but I think it was made clear from the start that judging would be on not only the round but also on handling, and a few other things i can't quite remember

If it was Obedience or working trials then there would be a KC marking system and the best trained dog would probably win, but this is more for fun and I am finding it quite fascinating how people are voting, and how the handlers are improving or how stress and nerves is getting to them.

At the end of the day I hope the rescues get a good heads up from possible dog owners

Wys
x

It would be interesting to know what impact this has had on rescue societies and whether more dogs than normal have found a home.
Becky

I think the big difference though is we are watching the show as dog owners who are all aware of what dog ownership entails. This programme is aimed at all TV viewers who might not be so aware of the responsibilitles of dog ownership

I think the kids programme covers responsible dog ownership really really well...

I must remember to watch that this afternoon,

Caught the morning kids programme for the first time this morning & was really impressed with it.

What time is the kids one on?