Is the show America's Greatest Dog, having the dogs do stunts that are too extreme for house pets. ?

Question

I was watching the show last night and it seemed like a charging elephant and making the dog jump from a 30 ft high platform were a bit extreme. Then at the end the dog "Galaxy" was limping and in obvious pain. Do you think this show may be going a bit too far in order to get ratings, with little concern for the animal's well being?

Answer 1

The elephant thing was wild..I can't believe any of the dogs stayed.  When the elephant stopped and did its noise thing...I could not believe it!  My dogs would have ran away lickidy split..  I could not believe that any dog would have jumped of the platform. 30' drop?  Unreal.  I do like the show but don't jive with some of the judges.  The British one drives me nuts.  I love my dogs but I wish they could do some of the stuff that the dogs on the show do.

Answer 2

I believe the challenge was ridiculous. Star and Andrew were SMART to not jump - what if the next time one of those other dogs is on a high platform, say a deck, and they jump off and there's no harness to save them?

That wasn't courage - that was which dog was stupid (I don't have another word for it...) enough to betray its instincts and leap off a 2-story platform.

The judging is horrible as well. Last week, they tell Bill he was pushing Star too hard. This week, he wasn't pushing her enough. Make up your minds, already!

I don't even know if I want to watch now that Bill and Star are gone. It's America's Greatest Dog, not 'Which dog can shlep through a ton of completely random and potentially dangerous challenges without getting seriously injured.'

Answer 3

I don't know if it is the show or the dog owners.  They had a choice for the harder ramp or an easier one.  JD trying to make a point, chose to make Galaxy go up the steeper one, she's 9 years old, he should take those things into consideration.  Whereas Bill (so sad he left) wouldn't make Star go up the steep ramp because he said she couldn't handle it.  It is up to the owner to decide what is okay and what isn't for their dog, and I think JD made a bad choice.

Answer 4

I think asking the dogs to jump from the platform was insane.A well trained dog will trust their handler but but it was too much of a leap of faith to ask for the jump

Answer 5

Those dogs are house pets. But I do agree that what they did to Galaxy last night was wrong. They don't take the animal's health into consideration. The stunts should be tested before used. Galaxy did look as she was pain. I hope she was looked at by a vet.

Answer 6

I think a few of the stunts were a little overboard but overall the dogs did great. I love that show and cried when Galaxy started limping. I would of eliminated myself and Galaxy immediately if it were my dog who was hurt.

Answer 7

It does seem a little extreme, but they do not appear to be unsafe.

From what I saw about Galaxy, he simply had a knot in a muscle. Humans get knots in muscles, as I'm sure that other dogs do when doing extreme physical activities.