By now, the studio, producers, and writers have weighed in and found ways to justify and minimize what we saw in this disturbing video. Unfortunately, it is a series of deflections to justify what happened.
This is What Happened
The reality is the dog was in distress in this scene and to say otherwise is a blatant lie. The Birds and Animals Unlimited trainer forced the dog into the pool, barely hanging on with his two front paws from the side, scared for his life. To say otherwise is a blatant lie. That he happily performed the stunt from the other side of the pool doesn’t make this better; it makes it worse because the handler is trying to force the dog to do something it doesn’t want to do instead of calming it down so it can perform what it supposedly learned. How is this a dog’s purpose? To say the timing of the leaked video is suspicious is a deflection. The statement, “The dog wasn’t harmed,” is a deflection. Saying he was not in danger is a deflection.
This is Not Acceptable
A dog was put in distress for no valid reason. And that is the problem. The part of the video I am talking about is also a continuous shot. It doesn’t matter what happened before or after. In this scene, the dog is in distress, which cannot be justified. This is a matter of principle. What happened in this scene should never have happened. How is this a dog’s purpose? The psychological damage such an incident can cause a dog is far more severe than any physical injury. So, saying the dog wasn’t harmed because there were no physical injuries is ridiculous.
Giving studios money for treating animals this way is a problem. I won’t. I hope you don’t either. The dog was not trained well enough to shoot this scene. They were lazy. The trainer didn’t spend the time training Hercules to be ready. The studio wanted to save money. They took shortcuts. The animal is terrified and scared out of its mind. For what? Our entertainment? How is that a dog’s purpose? I don’t find that acceptable. Just because he wasn’t in any physical danger and survived, it doesn’t mean this was okay.
The dog didn’t know it wasn’t in real danger. From its perspective, it was. Put there by someone it trusted. He was hanging on for his life from its perspective. How is that a dog’s purpose? The only way animals get treated well on movie sets is by making things like this public and making them pay the price. Living in California, I live and work around the movie industry. I assure you, they only understand one language. Losing money for what they did.
This Was Animal Abuse, But I Don’t Agree With P.E.T.A.
To be clear, I don’t agree with PETA that dogs should not work in movies. It is fine if they are trained for the job and treated well. This just crossed a line for me, and the line was when the handler tried to shove the distressed dog into the water with force. This shouldn’t have happened, and I don’t find the deflections put out as excuses acceptable. An animal rights supervisor from the American Humane Association (AHA) was on set. That person failed. The AHA representative should have stopped this.
What you also see in response to the public outrage now is the typical strategy of a public relations firm. Claiming concern and understanding and then finding a justification for why it was fine in the first place so they don’t lose money.
Make no mistake. Not losing money is their only concern. A dog’s purpose, this is not!
Despite what happened and all initial deflections, we should appreciate producer Gavin Polone’s later response. He provided an accurate, fair, and accountable response. Ultimately, people like him are best positioned to improve animal welfare in movies. I encourage everyone to read his article on the Hollywood Reporter website below.
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Happy Dog Training is the pet dog training business of Ralf Weber and Sarah Gill. We are certified professional dog trainers in Southern California. We are specialized in advanced obedience training, all forms or behavioral challenges and service dog training. For behavioral training, we are known for our work with aggressive and fearful dogs. Our service dogs, through Total K9 Focus, have a nationwide reputation for their reliability, longevity and performance.
Ralf Weber, MS, TWC CPDT, IACP CDT, CDTA
Certified Professional Dog Trainer Ralf Weber is lead pet dog trainer of Happy Dog Training. Ralf is a long-time dog owner of German Shepherds. During his career, Ralf has worked with over a 1500 dogs of many different breeds. Moreover, Ralf has a thorough understanding of all aspects of canine training. This includes evolutionary psychology, ethology, and, most importantly, learning science. Ralf is specialized in resolving dog behavior challenges—especially fear and aggression. Apart from this, Ralf trains dogs in basic and advanced obedience, service dog tasks, and GRC Dog Sports. Ralf is further certified in a broad range of other canine training areas. Last but not least, Ralf is the author of the behavioral book If Your Dog Could Talk: Understand Your Dog Like Never Before.
Ralf loves helping people have a better relationship with their dogs. He is a certified professional dog trainer in the Training without Conflict™ methodology by Ivan Balabanov (TWC CPDT). Ralf is also a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals and also holds their basic and advanced dog trainer certifications (IACP CDT, CDTA). In addition, Ralf is an AKC-approved evaluator for the AKC Puppy Star, CGC, and Advanced CGC programs and is also certified in canine first aid by the Red Cross.
Sarah Gill, Certified Professional Master Trainer
Sarah Gill, is a professional service dog trainer and handler. Sarah entered the world of professional service dog training after a car accident. As a result, she had to use a wheelchair for almost two years, trying to maneuver in a house not designed for it. No one expected Sarah would walk again. This opened her eyes and became a driving force behind pushing herself to defy the odds. When she regained some stability, Sarah attended a dog training school and learned how to train service dogs. Sarah completed her Master Trainer Certification and gained further experience by training new trainers. However, the school wasn’t accommodating to those with physical difficulties and PTSD. Hence, Sarah moved home to Dallas. In 2019, Sarah teamed up with Ralf and moved to California.
Sarah started this journey because she had a trained dog to mitigate her disabilities. But Sarah needed additional tasking for a new diagnosis. The only option she could find was getting a second dog for the new diagnosis. She knew there had to be a different way to address this. Sarah's passion is changing the ways of the service dog training industry.
