Did anyone see Ice Dogs last night? It looks like a great show! I only caught the last 10 min when they arrived at the petrol reserves outpost and were drinking anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) that contained alcohol. The dogs braved the weather SO well! They looked like they were having more fun pulling the sled than Benedict Allen did riding. It's neat the way he's relating to the dogs too! It it a series? It sounded like there might be another next week.

It's been on for a few weeks now but I'm not sure how many more there are to go. He has really come on working the dogs. He was pretty useless at the start and nearly had a very serious accident when he lost control.

Helen

In his last one he was crossing a desert with a team of camels......he built up quite a rapport with them & it was both sad & funny.

Hmmmm i have very mixed feelings about the show - I didn't enjoy seeing "FRank" being beaten by the other bloke, for chewing the traces...OK its serious stuff out there, but I bet he will stilll chew and still be beaten....that sort of thing really upsets me, the other bloke reallly laid into him with his fists(twice on film, but i bet a lot more behind camera). None of the dogs seem eager to get into harness, and dogsoften, we are told, regularly disappear into holes in the ice and drown....yes men too, but they do have a choice Then we are told the dog should have chains wrapped round his muzzle so he learns not to chew. Maybe the dog is pig sick of the company and wants out - i know i would be!!

I saw him in the desert too - all of them desperate for water including the camels, and he kept hitting one camel to keep it away while the other was watered.i believe he did what he thought was best, and does seem to care for his animals, but I dislike animals suffering just because men/humans want to be heroes. I can't enjoy the programmes for that reason

No offence meant to anyone who does like them, I did watch the first few and they are interesting.....

Lindsay

come on, its a real life out there, camels & dogs included, you cannot have 1 camel bully another out of its drink just because you might upset someone by hitting it!!!!!!!! This isn't a pet dog/camel in leafy suburbia ....its life or death, regardless of whether the camera is there or not, the indiginous people have to live in these conditions 24 hours a day for the whole of their lives. I think they ought to know what they are doing!

Agreed it is life or death, but in the camel scenario, both camels were desperately thirsty; and i mean desperately!! They were in this position because their owner had put them there.

As for the dog being beaten, the dogs out there just work until they are no good, for work, then shot. i dont believe they ever get any free time out or running, just slog and sleep. It's different if they love their work but as i said, these didn't particulalry want to get into harness. i suspect Frank had a good reason for chewing his traces; anyway the beating took place well after he had chewed the traces, so what on earth will it have achieved? Besides from the way the indiginous peoples were drinking (!) I would question that they know what they were doing.....:D

Surely no-one could condone a dog being beaten with a heavy man laying into him with his fists, could they? I call that bullying, not knowing what he was doing!!!! Or I could be kind and call it desperation but ..... hmmmm......

I've never seen a camel in leafy suburbia LOL :D :D :D

Lindsay

I couldnt agree more Lyndsay,its a great pity the dog didnt bite him and bite him hard.Life or death it may be,but the idiot allen should have known what he was doing before he set off.I cannot abide cruelty to animals of any description and would step over a dying human to pick up an injured dog.They are far more deserving.

You may think animals are more deserving, Angela, but I doubt the feelings mutual, if you were lying dying and a cream cake lay the other side of you my spaniel, I am afraid, would hop right over you :D

I was about to say similiarIsabel . :d mine was if anyone were laying there dying my alice would be searching for any food that may be present on the body . so if anyone saw her they may think she was concerned :d