Should the Dog go?

[BertiWooster]

What ho , What ho , What ho , everyone

I understand that VW have widthdrawn their latest ad , because of some 600 complaints about the poor little shivering dog

Surely these do - gooders should be concerned about all the cruelty being done to animals and mammals
( seals for example ) around the globe - and not complaning about a trained dog in a brilliant advertisement - hey what .

[China Doll]

Darn tooting. I liked that advert and I'm still trying to work out what breed the dog is on my own.

[daffy654]

Its my favourite advert of the moment. The dog is not suffering and the saddos who think it is need to get a life!

[lankeela]

There were two trained Jack Russells used to make the advert, which the manufacturers say has ended its run, they say they have not withdrawn it due to public pressure. They reckon they were trained actors, and no animals were harmed during the making of the advert.

[Velvetee]

Do gooders indeed. The ludicrous nature of some animal lovers. Would they protest as much if they saw a small child quivering in an advert, most probably not.

The two dogs used for the advert were not in distress, but animal actors. It's a shame this highly amusing and innocent advert has been pulled because of complaints by a number of bored busy bodies.

[Ice.Maiden]

i think that what it is, is just seeing an animal with its tail down, shivvering away, is enough to melt hearts. the ad was designed to do that, to draw attention to the product.

[lankeela]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles /showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=557500 &i

[Ice.Maiden]

Ooops!!!!! Spelling mistake - SOReeeeee.

[PaulSabin]

Berti.

I think you will find "these do gooders" (very original phrase) ARE concerned about all cruelty. I donlt know what gives you the impression the compaints were from people who don;lt care about anything else.

I haven't seen the ad. but I'd rather see that potential cruelty was investigated than swept under the carpet by no - dooers.

[Ethel]

It is obvious to a blind man's dog that leading companies would not engage in animal cruelty or any other form of cruelty to make an advert.

The public backlash and adverse publicity would be hugely damaging.

The dogs are trained animals, trained by a leading Hollywood dog trainer.


I wonder if there are any complaints about the 'distressed' young children in the NSPCC ads.

[brionon]

animals and mammals ?

What do you think Mammals are ? They are Animals !

[jno]

so - if you think an animal is being mistreated next door - then rather than report it, you tell yourself you'll wait until you see a seal clubbed before doing something?

Or maybe the 'do-gooders' can do both?

[BertiWooster]

If I think that an animal is being mistreated next door , then I would report it , old man .

However , In this case ( as stated above ) - it should be obvious to anyone with a modicum of common sense that a leading company like VW would not risk their brand image being dented , by being associated , with an advert that perpetrated cruelty on animals , in it's making .

As i've said - common sense - Hey what ?

[dundurn]

What VW (and other firms in similar situations) buy is a finished product. They have little or no idea of, or control over, how the "training" was achieved. I seem to remember a 'leading Hollywood animal trainer' is currently under investigation over cruelty allegations and there have certainly been a couple of cases of 'reputable' show jumpers over the years who attached spikes etc to the top rail of their training jumps to 'educate' their horses into keeping their hooves up. There have been similar (justified) worries over circus animals as well including some of the 'biggest' names in the business..
I have no idea whether the shivering dog was badly treated or not although I worry more than a little that two dogs were required to make the ad. If people were concerned enough to ask the question, I say more power to their elbows and VW and the trainer in question should have no problem with being asked to prove their innocence.

[cheries]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
That's the best advert I've seen in years!! I loved it as much as the Oasis advert with the bison at the watering hole ("What is this? You're telling me I've travelled halfway across Africa for this muck?????")
People complained about that too. I'm a comitted animal rights person and even I don't have a problem with these ads.

[cheries]

incidentally, Dundurn, I'd be interested to hear who that was, the "top showjumper" who used spikes....I'm on that circuit and i've never ever heard of that practice.

[tigerlily11]

I support animal rights and have for many years. It did occur to me 'how did they get him to do that.'
It depends where the ad was made. If it was in Englnd or the US, HUmane societies are involved. I don't know if it is so in European countries as well.
A well trained dog can be taught by a good, patient trainer to do a lot of things. I don't think the dog is under any stress. But I would like to know that for sure because it is such s good ad.
But If it was under stress then sahme on the makers and shame on VW for not checking.

[lankeela]

Look at the link I gave above, it shows the two dogs with their trainer and he explains how it was made.

As for the showjumper, I believe this criticism was once aimed at Harvey Smith, who it was reported nailed hedgehog skins to the poles. Another urban myth I suspect, before anyone even knew what an urban myth was.

[cheries]

Well I never.....
Hdgehog skins aren't very spiky to a horse's hooves though.
I thought you all meant like 6" metal spikes stuck at the top of the Puissance wall.
Back to the singing doggy, I guess he'll become a Youtube legend then.......

[dundurn]

Forgive me if I don't get into a libel suit. The whole point is that horses, God bless them, are thick as two short planks but are intelligent enough to avoid pain and discomfort. It's why whips, spurs, bits and twitches work and continue to be used.
As for examples of what people can get up to -

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/how-ho rses-can-be-pushed-to-the-limit-149451.html

[cheries]

I'm not sure what kind of horses you've surrounded yourself with dundurn but mine are certainly not thick as two short planks. I can think of a few people who could be described as such, but in my experience horses are intelligent creatures who respond best to reasoning.
And if you apply the logic that the practice of twiching is still prevelant by way of explanation of this, then you could argue that the death penatly is still widely used in order to force human beings into subission by way of pain avoidance.