64 replies to this topic

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Just heard a radio interview with John Katz. He was giving "training advice." I had to turn it off, I got so angry. One lady called in that had a nine-month old mixed breed that was nipping her. He told her that her first mistake was getting a rescue. "Rescues have unknown backgrounds, they've been mistreated, mishandled, and abused, and they just DO this stuff." He also said that at this point the dog was too old to train out of this behavior (nine months!).

Another great quote - "Putting your dog down is the single greatest moral responsibility of dog ownership."

[juliepoudrier]

He was on NPR yesterday, but fortunately I was busy and so only half heard it. Sounds like that was a good thing.

J.

[Claire Owen]

Thats awful, MY BC is a rescue dog, he was 3 or 4 when we got him and hadn't been trained at all (either that or he'd forgotten everything), he did nip a little (not hard though) and I managed to train him out of it along with all the other basic commands. The only thing I'm having real trouble with is walking on a lead but we think he was on his own for a very long time and clearly wasnt used to a lead when we got him! Dogs (especially BC's) are never too old to learn! And not ALL rescue dogs have been mistreated. I cant believe he said that!

[Debbie Crowder-BaaramuLuke]

BOy, I'm glad I didn't put my Pearlie down for the submissive peeing and fear issues. She'd been in 5 homes before me. I kind of enjoy her company. She kind of enjoys mine too!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Oh, yeah, another pearl of wisdom from the great trainer. A guy called in with a Border collie that was attacking other dogs when he was on leash. Mr. Katz said, keep him off leash as much as possible. Border collies are "just like that."

[Root Beer]

It's sad to know that this person would rather see my much loved dog dead than loved, trained, and taught to deal with living in the world.

Interestingly, the one dog I have that isn't a rescue is the only one with issues. Go figure.

Hearing about people like this really does strike an emotional cord. UGH!

[sandra s.]

Geez, that chap sounds like a right treat :mad: . And here I was thinking that Sudden Dog Expertise was a German disease. Urgh.

[Stafford]

The guy's an idiot.

He started out by posting on Slashdot.org about techology & society issues, about which he knew nothing.

He then moved into posting about the kind of screwed up kids who took part in the Columbine shootings, about which he knew nothing.

He now writes and gives interviews about dogs...

...about which he knows nothing.

[emmetteabrakai]

What say we all get on the line to NPR and let them know that offence was taken in a big way. Maybe they won't have him on again. Sheesh, dogs, cats and other animals have enough problems with out people like him making it worse. How did he get to be so popular, that he is invited to speak on subjects he seems to know nothing about?
Andrea D.

[sandra s.]

Is he connected to that Starnberg woman? (I think that was her name?)
She came up in some other thread and Eileen posted a few links to articles about her. I didn't sleep too much the night after I'd read them.

This one sounds like he's coming from a similar direction. I just hope these are a few isolated a***holes rather than something bigger !

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

It's the first time I've heard him speak. He's very personable, sympathetic, and smooth talking, and a very good speaker. I will admit I enjoyed the first part of his interview where they were just talking about how people end up with pets that reflect their personalities. I'm sure his books are very nice and funny.

Don't know about other places, but here in the US you only have to be nice and amusing and have a great agent to be considered an expert. Sometimes you don't even have to be nice! I just hope this doesn't have much of an impact on popular dog culture. But the guy really has connections.

He said, "Dog bite incidents are rising in this country. It's because people are getting their dogs in the wrong places. Rescues are nice and make people feel very altruistic to get their dogs from there but . . ." That's when I turned it off. Arrrgggh.

[KelliePup]

That's enough to rub anyone who knows anything about dogs the wrong way! Must be great to be able to make money off of the ignorant. That's who he caters to, people who haven't done any research about 1) owning a dog 2) really training a dog, and 3) know nothing about their breed of dog.

I can't believe he said that about rescues. Both my Kelsey and Kellie, as young as they were, were both picked up and saved from the jaws of death. Kelsey grew up to be a great family dog with no real training, and Kellie...she needs work, but we're on the right path.

Maybe we should flood the network with stories about rescues and their fantastic owners (or at least good owners that are trying really hard ). People need to be educated, then the b@st@rd will be out of buisiness.

[juliepoudrier]

He's popular because he speaks well and apparently writes well (I've not read any of his books), and as we well know, some people will believe anything if it is presented in a particular way. NPR always welcomes letters/e-mail/phone calls from listeners. If you go to npr.org, you can click on "contact us" to find information on how to give NPR your opinions/feedback on any show. If you look on the right-hand side, you can see a list of programs if you want to contact the individual hosts. In fact, the e-mail for Diane Rehm is drshow@npr.org .

J.

[Keegan's Mom]

I posted an article a while back that John Katz wrote stating that he got a rescue border collie from the crazy rescue people...so why does he get rescues if he thinks the people that rescue them are crazy and that they themselves are crazy!!!!

[BigD]

What segment of the show was it on? Morning edition? Who interviewed him? Was it today (Oct. 11th?). I will write to them after I read or hear it for myself. Let me know if you can.

Denise

[juliepoudrier]

The Diane Rehm show on Monday Oct. 10. The show isn't carried on all NPR stations, but you can listen to the audio file on npr.org.

J.

[KelliePup]

Just listened to it. There is a lot of stuff in there I don't agree with, especially the extreme catering to the human needs as far as training is concerned and not the dog. Not the dog's individual personality or breed, but the human's desire.

I have to watch my words here or else something really offensive might come out.

And what is that about dogs not liking hugs?!? Kel loves hugs! Its the only time she's allowed to jump on me. Katz really hasn't a clue does he? There's just enough truth in that to make you think maybe he's right, and then comes the kick and you're smacking yourself on the forehead for being an idiot.

I can think of several polititions and celebrities that do the same thing he does. They actually teach people how to be slimy in public speaking courses...

[Deb Mickey]

Check out this web site
http://www.slate.msn...ContinueArticle

[SoloRiver]

I thought his "rescue" was actually a Barbie Collie from a breeder?

Re: hugs -- I agree that dogs in general don't like hugs. Hugs are a very primate thing to do and not a very dog thing to do (think of what dogs mean when they do similar things to each other). Patricia McConnell has a great series of photos of dogs being hugged in her book The Other End of the Leash to illustrate this point. In every photo, the human looks blissful. The dog expressions range from mildly disgusted to "dear Lord, please let this be over soon."

That said, I hug Solo all the time, but it's a special hug that he solicits -- he'll approach me with his head down, and I'll put my cheek on top of his head and hug his neck. He does not like being hugged in the conventional manner (around the neck/shoulders -- remember what it means when dogs do this to each other), and hugs in general are definitely a learned behavior for him. Dogs may come to like hugs because they gain meaning in certain contexts, but they don't naturally like them and I'd say they even necessarily dislike them.

[KelliePup]

vey true Melanie, Kel's and my hugs are different than the primate sense too. I forget sometimes to differenciate btwn human hugs and dog hugs..