2009.05.05
Should reality shows feature real dogs?
I confess to being a Food Network junkie; I have it on all the time, especially while I am cooking. I hardly ever flip over to it's neighbor on my cable lineup, HGTV.
Apparently the home improvement and decorating network has decided to venture into the reality genre with a show called "Leader of the Pack."
I have never seen it. Don't think I want to.
Blog reader Sharon sent me an e-mail yesterday and asked if I had heard of it. I had, actually, from my boss last week, who had pretty much the same reaction Sharon did to this show.
Here's the premise of it from HGTV's Web site:
"The Reckseit family believes that their home isn't complete without a dog, but they can't agree on what kind to adopt. So they choose eight dogs to bring home, where they will begin a series of challenges to test their skills and compatibility with parents Milena and Peter, along with their children Stuart, Adam and Molly. Seven of these dogs will be adopted by new families, but one will eventually become the beloved best friend and Leader of the Pack to the Reckseits."Here's Sharon's take on it:
"They started off with eight (dogs) and the one I watched (Sunday) was so heartbreaking that I will not watch another one. The middle child, Adam, was so heartbroken because one of his favs was voted off I was crying with him and all his mom had to say was it's gonna get harder next week. No hugs or anything from his brother, sister or mom or dad. In fact he seems to be the only child that would make a great pet parent and he is a child.
Anyway this family, barring Adam, have absolutely no concept of what it entails to have a dog much less any pet. I could go on but I believe you get the idea. On a last note they proclaim that the dog voted off does go to a good home, but that stinks as some of them have already bonded at this house. Just all in all a terrible show to do.
I guess HGTV went this route cause the housing market is on a skid and they got tired of doing alot of rerun shows. Bad idea. Whoever thought up this awful show obviously doesn't have a pet of any kind. ...If you do watch an episode, please keep a box of tissues handy. Hubby has never seen me so upset as he did at the end of (Sunday's) episode."
There was a show on Animal Planet called "Who Gets the Dog" that wasn't much better than this. One dog spent the night with three different families and the families have to perform tasks, recording everything to be critiqued later by a panel including an animal behaviorist, a vet and a comedian (what??)
The panel, with input from the dog, decides where the pooch would eventually live. I thought that was pretty awful for the dog, bonding with people and then getting yanked away. This "Leader of the Pack" show sounds even worse.
Animal Planet is now showing it's second season of "Groomer Has It,"but the only casualities of that reality show are some rather annoying dog groomers. No dogs are ever harmed during that show. Physically or emotionally, that is. Some of them suffer some pretty jacked-up haircuts along the way.
Last summer I blogged for a while about CBS' "Greatest American Dog," until that got to be unbearable.
While the dogs were always with their owner, and no dog ever seemed to mind being voted off, the challenges were clearly stressing some of the pooches and just got to be no fun to watch.
What do you think? Are reality shows like this sending the wrong messages? Are they stressful for the dogs?
We don't have cable and don't watch any television, and reading this makes me happy we don't! This sounds atrocious! I can't believe anyone would want to watch this type of show!
Comment by Emily — May 5, 2009 @ 9:22 am
Sorry...forgot to write this. It sounds as if they are treating this new addition like they would go about buying a new washing machine. It appears that the family believes their family won't be complete without their little "accessory", aka dog. I am sure they will probably ignore it soon, and then get mad when it develops behavioral problems. If they weren't caring at all about kicking one off (with the except of the one child), it makes me think that their fascination with their new accessory will soon wear off like the shine on a brand new washing machine.
Comment by Emily — May 5, 2009 @ 9:25 am
What happens when all the fun and cameras go away and they are left alone with the dog? Surely they'll be responsible pet owners and it sounds like the one child will probably love whatever dog he ends up with. However, a reality show where strangers vote off a dog without even being around it to see if it truly is compatible with a family is bizarre. I have only seen the commercial for it and it did not make me want to watch it. If these "brilliant" producers want to do a reality show they should follow a humane society or other similar organization so people can get a grasp on how many animals need homes and what sort of volunteerism is needed. Maybe that's a better way to help adopt animals.
Comment by Kim — May 5, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
Yikes, I miss a lot by not watching much TV. This is an awful idea, and anytime I hear people talk about a pet like an appliance or new carpet, I cringe. Real pet owners don't take that outlook of a pet being a 'house' accessory. Real pet owners (or the family the pet adopts...I never figured this one out) view them as a family member. We have a nice brood of cats that bring the pitter patter of little feet we so love (not to mention falling lamps, the occasional yowl, and the sounds of them dfoing Matrix-like jumps around the house). THey're as much a part of our family as anyone could be, so seeing something like this makes me wish that some editorial oversight by an animal lover had been done. The housing market may be down, but they could always do shows on vegetable/water/flower gardening, renovations, other improvements, or something other than this. I know they run a lot of those already, but that's just wrong to me.
Comment by Other John — May 5, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
[yawn]
I guess the only thing worse than the fact that someone decided to produce and air the show is that some people will actually watch it.
Comment by Ed S. — May 6, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
I saw the first episode and was appalled. If they really have good homes for the "losers," the dogs should go there and stay there -- not be jerked around for weeks of confusion and uncertainty for TV ratings.
And the idea of putting eight dogs in a family home (they all came rushing in together) is insane. Do they really learn about what the dogs would be like individually? My dog would be unbearable to be around if I had brought him home with seven other dogs. They can't possibly all get the attention and care they need. (Heck, the first night the dogs are in the house, the family doesn't have enough food for all eight bowls.)
Another outrage: Animal Planet's show about jockeys. I wonder if they'll show the horses being injected with steroids or falling during a race with a broken leg? Horse racing (and the many horses who aren't stars that get shipped to Mexican slaughterhouses) is not an industry that should be glamorized by Animal Planet.
Comment by Bobbi H. — May 7, 2009 @ 3:42 pm
I just saw the show. I was channel surfing and it was on. The only word to describe it is cruel. I was crying at the end along with the oldest boy, who was very upset b/c the dog he loved most was voted off. It made me question whether those parents should have even had kids, they definitely shouldn't have a dog. One of the boys said he wished they had just gone out and bought one dog, instead of going through the pain of losing the ones they are bonding with.
I don't know how much money those parents are getting for being on that show, but I kept thinking is that money really worth the pain you're causing your children.
Comment by Debbie — May 10, 2009 @ 6:16 pm