Comments on: Take me to Barking, driver

Take me to Barking, driver

MuffinMan — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:00:28 -0800

Meet Monty, your designated driver. Don't be alarmed, GOOD BOY! he's trained.

You've probably heard of police dogs, guard dogs, drug and bomb detection dogs, dogs for the blind and hearing dogs. But an initiative by the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to show even unruly dogs can be trained by teaching them to drive has gone viral. They have their own YouTube channel. Can you teach a dog to drive? - Finding the drivers. - Mini dogification. - Basic training. - Training on the rig. Meet the chauwooffeurs. - Ginny. Can she drive? - Monty. Can he drive? - Porter. Can he drive?

By: rmd1023

rmd1023 — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:10:29 -0800

Clever puppies! Man, that's great. And, yeah, most "bad dogs" just have "bad owners".

By: fight or flight

fight or flight — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:10:37 -0800

2 Fast 2 Furry.

By: Forktine

Forktine — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:12:25 -0800

The one upside is that they won't be texting while driving. Downside: squirrels and cats.

By: orme

orme — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:17:15 -0800

PetSmart just started installing larger bollards in front of their stores.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:18:04 -0800

A friend of mine has a couple of beagles that we always joked would like to steal the car and drive through White Castle. This is making me a little bit nervous. Although this also means that they could be designated drivers, which would be convenient. Well, one of them could. The other one is sort of a heavy drinker.

By: Mooseli

Mooseli — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:19:27 -0800

Wow, that's awesome... Even as a huge proponent of Koehler training I must say I'm impressed that they're doing this using the clicker method, which seems totally ineffective in more "pedestrian" circumstances (yuk yuk yuk).

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:25:14 -0800

I must admit, this makes a lot more sense than training a cat to drive.

By: stormpooper

stormpooper — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:39:19 -0800

Well...we have a 15 year old mix who is nearly blind. Seven year old border collie. Yea, we're fucked.

By: Malice

Malice — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:40:51 -0800

Mooseli, I've found clicker training to be the most effective. It works well, as shown here. It works on most mammals, including rats, cats, horses and dolphins.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:41:31 -0800

There are so many racial jokes I could crack here, but I haven't had my coffee and don't want to freak anyone out.

By: achrise

achrise — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 06:43:09 -0800

I must admit, this makes a lot more sense than training a Plasticine-faced felt-helmet-haired actor to fly.

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 07:06:27 -0800

Well...we have a 15 year old mix who is nearly blind. To be fair, I think this is for helper dogs, so you could get a helper dog for your blind dog in a sort of canine recursion. Things actually go well enough until someone lets their dog off the leash while the car is in gear. Then it all goes south quickly.

By: maryr

maryr — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 08:31:38 -0800

Damn, beaten to the first Toonces reference.

By: MangyCarface

MangyCarface — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:13:51 -0800

God Tier of training montages

By: pravit

pravit — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:14:09 -0800

There are so many racial jokes I could crack here, but I haven't had my coffee and don't want to freak anyone out. posted by phaedon at 9:41 AM on December 6 [+] [!] Yeah let's not.

By: Galaxor Nebulon

Galaxor Nebulon — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:05:06 -0800

I sent this to my friend who is a dog-trainer, thinking she'd agree with me that cyoot. But instead, she said: I think this is an unethical use of our human ability to train a dog for specific purposes. Unless this is for use as a service to people, it's a disservice to all dogs. Just because you can train something doesn't mean you should. Thoughts?

By: achrise

achrise — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:09:35 -0800

Is "my amusement" a service?

By: jamesonandwater

jamesonandwater — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:11:50 -0800

Well I hope the exposure raises them a ton of cash. I was at a fundraiser for a wonderful rescue this weekend that volunteers put a ton of effort into, but raised them heartbreakingly little money. But yeah, you'd kind of wonder if the time and effort would be better spent making sure all the dogs in the shelter are incredibly good little citizens so they have less chance of coming back.

By: axiom

axiom — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:17:47 -0800

Unless this is for use as a service to people, it's a disservice to all dogs Except for the part where the purpose is to get more rescue dogs adopted (rather than, presumably, euthanized). Did she not watch through to the end?

By: Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:48:01 -0800

Daugffeurs ... what a time to be alive.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:46:36 -0800

Better a dog than a cat.

By: ergomatic

ergomatic — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:25:30 -0800

Galaxor, I disagree with your friend. I see this as accelerating the integration of non-human species into our culture. Anything that potentially expands the definition of human will benefit us all. Plus, I would totally let my dog drive, except I know she has a lead paw....

By: kensch

kensch — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:34:43 -0800

Requisite: http://dogsdriving.blogspot.com/

By: vibratory manner of working

vibratory manner of working — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:41:09 -0800

Yeah, I'm not feeling the unethical. Even putting the publicity benefits aside, I don't really see how training your dog to do a stupid trick, even a complicated stupid trick, is something harmful, something to be avoided without a benefit to offset it.

By: arzakh

arzakh — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 01:05:03 -0800

The video has been on Letterman, and an invite from Ellen. Oprah might even come out of retirement. And on Monday, they go solo!