• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Martin Clunes.......a man and his dogs

Claire L

Well-known member
UTV tonight at 21.00

The actor concludes his two-part documentary with a look at man's relationship with his best friend. He considers how dogs' abilities have been harnessed for good, in pursuits ranging from tracking and herding to assisting the police and disabled people. Martin also explores how selective breeding has damaged the health of many breeds, and concludes by asking what would happen if dogs simply walked away from the relationship

I didn't see part one but it sounds very interesting.
 
Hi

Its on ITV in the UK ,thank you i would have missed it but for your post

Best Wishes

Brian
 
Specific mention of Cavaliers, SM (40% affected according to the vet, but a rather bizarre description) and MVD. Neither SM nor MVD were mentioned by name, which they probably should have been.

But still...

I was amused(!) to see the bulldog breeder give the exact justification for the modern bulldog's structure that was ridiculed in last week's programme, ie, shape of head, wrinkles on face etc.
 
Yes I was thinking that too about the bulldog! Those stuffed earlier breed examples also showed dogs without that extremely protruding lower jaw and without all the wrinkles.

On the cavalier -- yes, interesting to have the breed amongst a handful singled out as one with some of the most serious health issues due to inbreeding, in an entirely separate production on a different network.

Dr Bruce Fogle wasn't saying the at 40% of cavaliers have SM though, he was saying that about 40% have a prolapsed brain -- eg a herniated cerebellum due to the malformation that can lead to SM. This is where the brain is too large for the skull and is forced down into the opening into the spinal cord. This is a common finding with the malformation. Leo has this. As a result, the spinal cord gets kinked because it has to be squished into less space. You can see the kinked spinal cord very clearly on MRIs as well.

It was a kind of odd focus but most likely he discussed more about SM as well and the piece was edited as they were only briefly touching on this. Generally filmmakers will film a huge amount and take out just snippets. .
 
Great programme, really enjoyed it. The part about the African Wild Dogs was great also, amazing how they inherit alpha dog status, almost like a royal family.

You can tell Martin Clunes really loves his dogs!
 
The African dogs look amazing -- I read about them when I went to South Africa for work a few years ago. They are almost impossible to see in the wild as they are so rare. I love their coat markings!

IT was very interesting that you cannot tame the pups at all too -- very different from wolves. But wolves often do get very wild and not easy to manage as they get older too.
 
On the cavalier -- yes, interesting to have the breed amongst a handful singled out as one with some of the most serious health issues due to inbreeding, in an entirely separate production on a different network.
Absolutely! Noone can possibly claim that there was any sensationalism or "tabliod journalism" in that programme and the veterinary expert was not someone who has been widely quoted in cavalier related publications.
Conclusion:There has to be a recognised problem with CM/SM
I was fascinated by the stuffed King Charles spaniels....
Sins
 
I loved these 2 programmes :).

I was also very pleased that vet at least described the malformation in "layman's terms". I think a lot of people assume the malformation IS SM and vice versa, so I think he was probably making an implication for the general public to understand.

Over the past few days I've noticed a sway of people accusing the recent BBC1 documentary of being sensationalistic etc., and I think the quiet suggestion of problems to do with Cavalier's brains on the Martin Clunes doc. was perfect timing as it turned out.

My friend, Maggie, wants to marry Martin Clunes or the 'wolfman' ;)
 
What I'd hope is that more people will now really talk to breeders and ask for evidence of their health focus in their breeding programmes. The evidence should be there -- age of sire and dam can be confirmed in many online databases, as can age of grandparents, or by seeing the actual KC/IKC/CKCSC.AKC etc papers. Cardiologist certs should be there -- you can view samples of what they look like here. MRI grades for those that also wish to see those are explained here. Do not expect all parents to be A graded dogs. But expect the breedr to be able to explain his/her choice of parent dogs and why they are a good fit, looking at the whole genetic picture. At least one dog should be an A.
 
There was a part on "Planet Earth" (at least I think it was Planet Earth) which showed wild dogs hunting. It was incredible, the co-ordination and tactics. They are very clever animals.
Here is a link to a clip, although I prefer the David Attenborough narration:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/planet-earth-pole-to-pole-hunting-dogs/1476947401

Their vocalizations were incredible also, so different to domestic dogs and wolves. Just shows how much they have evolved differently.
I thought the stuffed King Charles Spaniels looked....odd, to say the least.
 
Last edited:
saw both parts and loved it :)
im not too far away from devon so i wants to visit saun ellis and his wolves one day in the future i know you can pay and he will take you in with them and you can learn all about them so i will do that in a few years for sure. i have been planning too since last year but im not 18 till october so not sure if i could have lol.
anyways back to the programme. i said that to my mum when she was saying about the bull dog.. if ya put a modern bulldog in with a bull it wouldnt stand a chance i wander where she gets her info.
i loved it when he was with the african wild dogs too i find them beautiful their colours and tails are fab :) was mean when they attacked the older female though.
 
was mean when they attacked the older female though.

Yep, but that is nature I suppose. The guy in charge said something along the lines of "I guess we will have to give her a nice retirement home". So he seemed to backtrack a bit from the earlier idea of letting nature taking its course, and it looks like he was going to keep her.
 
I really enjoyed this. Martin Clunes is so obviously into his dogs, it was great to see! I thought apart from the medical side it was quite light hearted & good to see a more positive TV show about dogs, it was more like a celebration of having dogs. They bring so much pleasure to so many people whatever breed (or mutt) you have, I wouldn't be without mine :luv::luv:
 
Yep, but that is nature I suppose. The guy in charge said something along the lines of "I guess we will have to give her a nice retirement home". So he seemed to backtrack a bit from the earlier idea of letting nature taking its course, and it looks like he was going to keep her.
Sorry meant to say that I felt quite sad for the older female, but then pleased to hear the guy say they would take care of her.
 
Back
Top