National Geographic is known for its animal-based programming. Whether it’s lions in the Serengeti or pets in our own homes, NatGeo will help educate viewers on animals and their potential relationships with humans. That’s exactly what the new series Dog: Impossible is here for.
If you’re a dog owner struggling with disobedience in your pet, dog behavior specialist Matt Beisner will help show you just what needs to be done to get your dog back on the right path to building a strong and healthy relationship.
Let me first start off by saying, I love dogs. I’ll watch just about anything that puts a dog on my screen for an extended period of time. With that being said, the entertainment value of this new series is not exactly something to write home about.
As you might expect, Beisner meets with people who are struggling with the behaviour of their dogs and walks them through a rehabilitation process. It’s interesting for a moment, but once you remember this isn’t your dog he’s helping, your stake in the result kind of dwindles for the duration of the episode.
But of course entertainment needs to be manufactured in some way to keep you watching. That’s where the over dramatization comes in. When dealing with anxious and somewhat aggressive Australian Shepherd, Beisner uses the word “dangerous” at lest five times and even says it’s the “most dangerous dog” he’s ever dealt with. Meanwhile, the footage being shown features what appears to be an overly-excited dog who barks at his owners and doesn’t do very well on walks. At one point Beisner’s whole team attends to the dog after it shakes loose from a muzzle, as if they were handling a 12-foot alligator.
With all of that aside though, if you are a dog owner who is looking for some tips on how to better train your pet, Dog: Impossible seems as though it could be a very useful tool. Beinser clearly has a great understanding of how these dogs think, even if the studio is making it seem as though he’s getting ready to wrestle a bear. He shows his skills off on several occasions by essentially predicting exactly what the dog is going to do just seconds before they do it.
Even if you’re not a dog owner but maybe just someone who loves dogs and could potentially be getting one in the future (sooner rather than later if my wife gets her way), this can certainly be a helpful new series to walk you through the training process. And if nothing else, at least you’re watching an adorable Australian Shepherd and a whole bunch of other dogs for about an hour. You could certainly find worse things to put on your TV than that.
Dog: Impossible airs Sundays at 10/9c on Nat Geo WILD.