The fact is, all dogs have the potential to bite. Never provoke a dog by sticking your hand in a strange dog’s face or staring them directly in the eyes. Click here for a link on how to avoid being the victim of a dog attack.

Our dog loving culture depicts dogs as loyal and friendly, we know them to be man’s best friend! What happens when the tables turn and movies, media and print showcase the opposite of the friendly pooch we are used to? Here is a list of ten dogs whose fame was due to their anger and ferocity, rather then loyalty and love!

1. Cujo

OK, I know, Cujo is an obvious one. The Stephen King novel turned horror movie featured this friendly St. Bernard who becomes rabid and terrorizes the characters. Clearly, avoiding rabid dogs is a good idea. On a side note - I recently read a great article in The BARK Magazine where the voice actor, Alysia Gray Painter, who did the canine sounds for the movie Cujo explained the difficulty of turning the sweet, lovable St. Bernard actor into a monster. Between the sound effects and makeup - Cujo is still one dog I would not recommend making pals with!

2. Sam - Winner of the World’s Ugliest Dog Competition

The now deceased Chinese Crested, Sam, who won the World’s Ugliest Dog Competition at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in California three consecutive times (2003, 2004 and 2005). The pictures speaks volumes. I love dogs, but I know I’d run screaming if I saw this pooch approaching me! In spite of his appearance, Sam was well loved by his owners and his passing at age 15 was a devastating blow to his family. Rest in Peace, Sam!

3. The Chow Chow

The Chow Chow is so famous for his unpredictable personality that many homeowners insurance policies won’t even include the breed! Anyone who caught the Chow Chow episode of Groomer Has It! on Animal Planet knows what I am talking about! One of the oldest breeds of dogs, DNA tests confirm that the Chow Chow was developed over 4,000 years ago. Chow Chows are cute and fluffy looking, however, when not properly socialized they can be aggressive. A distinguishing physical feature of the Chow-Chow is his purplish-blue tongue. That said, like any breed, a properly socialized Chow Chow can make a great pet and companion as long as the knowledgeable owner takes his charge seriously.

4. Puffy, the terrier from There’s Something About Mary (after he ate the amphetamine spiked treats)

Owned by Mary’s (Cameron Diaz) neighbor, Magda, Puffy had discriminate taste when it came to men. Both Mary and Magda relied on Puffy’s character judgment when dating. After Matt Dillon’s character fed amphetamines to Puffy, in effort to thwart Ben Stiller’s character’s attempt to woo Mary, the Puff-ster attacked and clamped down onto Stiller’s privates. Yikes. Amphetamines and terriers don’t mix!

5. Devil Dog: The Hound From Hell

This 1975 cult classic horror made-for TV movie about a family who adopts a dog - only to later find out their pooch is possessed by demonic forces…chaos ensues!

6. Trouble Helmsley

Trouble, the 8 year old Maltese, was left a $12 million dollar trust when her owner and companion, Leona M. Helmsley “The Queen of Mean” passed away in 2007. Taking after her notoriously nasty mistress, the uber-wealthy dog is the target of a lawsuit by Zamfira Sfara, 48, a former housekeeper for Mrs. Helmsley, who claims that Trouble caused permanent nerve damage after Ms. Sfara sustained multiple bites from Trouble. Trouble had been the target of multiple accusations for her biting ways! Meanwhile, Trouble’s inheritance has been reduced to $2 Million. I wouldn’t want to be in the same room as the dog when she gets news of her trust reduction!

7. A Pack of Angry Chihuahuas

Chihuahuas have become extremely popular in mainstream culture, however, they aren’t famous for their kindness! In an extremely odd news story that took place in Fremont, California in December 2005, a pack of five chihuahuas attacked a police officer. The officer sustained bites to his ankle, however was able to return to duty later that same day. Ouch. Also of note, Chihuahuas tend to be ‘one person’ dogs and not really like children. My apologies to chihuahuas everywhere. I underestimated you.

8. The War Dog of Brittannia

A now extinct breed of dog, the War Dog of Brittannia is one of the progenitors of the modern dog breed known as the English Mastiff. Used in ancient battles, these dogs outmatched all other war dogs in neighboring regions. Immortalized in paintings and other memorials, these war dogs were intensely loyal to their humans. The modern Mastiff is one of the world’s largest dogs in terms of mass and while calm and affectionate with his humans, he will act protective and guard against any harm. In spite of his threatening appearance and guarding instincts, the breed is known to be gentle, calm and good natured with people he knows.

9. Frank, The Alien Dressed as a Pug in Men in Black

Frank, a pug in the 1997 movie, Men in Black, is actually an extra-terrestrial being in disguise. He is an alien dressed as a dog. Freaky! Frank also appeared in the sequel, Men in Black II. Frank was actually played by a well trained dog named Mushu and Tim Blaney provides the voice. Assuming Frank was real, I think its probably wise to avoid aliens dressed as dogs!

10. Son of Sam Dog

David Berkowitz, also known as Son of Sam told police upon his capture that a black Labrador Retriever, ‘told’ Berkowitz to go on a yearlong murder spree - resulting in 6 dead and 7 wounded. Eventually, Berkowitz would shoot the black Lab, whose name was actually Harvey. Harvey was saved from the shooting by a veterinarian.

In an attempt to plead insanity at his trial, Berkowitz tried to convince the court that demons had told him to kill through the dog, Harvey. The insanity plea was dismissed and David Berkowitz continues to serve his 365 year sentence in prison. I guess running into Harvey is only scary if Berkowitz’s claims were true…

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Groomer Has It, Week V Recap

This week’s episode was the best one yet! Eight contestants remained at the start of the episode. Unfortunately, my two favorite contestants, Artist and Malissa were in the bottom two, but the episode was really funny.

The contestants are still shocked over Amber’s departure, and Malissa argues with Jonathan and Kathleen about last week’s challenge. Kathleen took Malissa’s dog away! Is that even legal??

This weeks episode of Groomer Has It opened with Nemo, the Yorkshire Terrier, delivering information regarding this week’s Quick Sniff Challenge in some lifeguard gear. Assigned to show up at the Los Angeles Fire Department, the contestants are unsure what to expect. It turns out, that this week’s Quick Sniff Challenge will be focused on medical emergencies and first aid for pets.

Denise Fleck, an expert in pet first aid and safety reviews treating cuts, stabilizing broken bones and doggie CPR. The Quick Sniff Challenge will involve each contestant administering care to a stunt dog (really, a stuffed animal). The winner is the contestant who properly tends to each emergency the quickest. Jasper won the challenge, ensuring a leg up on the episode’s main challenge. The best part was Malissa explaining that she knew the difference between stuffed dogs and real ones. She cracks me up!

This week’s guest judge was introduced, Donna Eisenberg, introduced as an expert on ‘this week’s breed’. The contestants speculate as to what kind of animal they might encounter. Malissa hopes for a monkey, while Artist speculates that it will be a raccoon or horse.

It turns out, this week’s challenge is to groom a long haired cat. Yikes! I can not imagine having to bathe or brush a feline! They are kinda hissy and scratchy…This is why I write Cup of Dog and not Cup of Cat. Those finicky felines are too much for me! I like a wagging tail and a slobbery tongue.

Jai and the guest judge introduce the contestants to their clients while emphasizing that the key to cat grooming success is keeping the kitty calm. They are also explicitly directed not to scissor the cat’s faces.

Jessica immediately seems to be having trouble. Her cat immensely dislikes being handled, so she keeps taking breaks to try and decrease her cat’s stress. With only two hours to groom, this probably wasn’t the best strategy!

Artist and his cat also had a poor relationship from the start. Dejected after some seriously deep scratches and bites, Artist’s cat gives him the final kiss off by peeing all over himself just as Artist is finishing up. The cat also crapped on his table. Damn cats.

Malissa, poor, poor Malissa, talks about how her “7th sense” with animals is the key to her success. I really feel bad for her. She has been portrayed as a flake on the show and everyone keeps insulting her skills. Its true, she doesn’t help matters by proclaiming that she does indeed know the difference between stuffed dogs and real ones, but I do think there is some real talent in there!

Malissa left her fans re-counting the number of human senses, while she took scissors to her cats face, clipping off the whiskers the contestants were explicitly told not to touch. (A cat’s whiskers are the key to its sense of touch. By removing them, Malissa inadvertently removed one of the cats senses. Whoops.)

At judging, uber-bitchy judge Xavier leads off by criticizing Jorge’s cat for being dirty. Kathleen is hailed by the judges for her abilities to cater to the cat, achieving success by knowing how her cat thinks. Whatever, she isn’t any fun to watch! I say get rid of Kathleen! Its TV, I want entertainment! Will is praised for successfully de-matting the most knotted of the cats with minimal discomfort to the kitty. Bo-ring!

Ultimately, Artist and Malissa are in the bottom two. Artist is criticized for his lack of confidence. Xavier, the judge I really want to see beat up, reiterates the importance of confidence to Artist and he concedes that the cat got the better of him and promises to come back with his usual sassy confidence.

Malissa gets called out for scissoring her cat’s face. She tried to backtrack and say she didn’t do it, unfortunately for my favorite groomer, its all on video. Sent home, Malissa begins to cry and leaves the stage before judging could finish. In her farewell video, she does retract her seventh sense comments, realizing that we, humans, have five senses…so she probably was referring to a sixth sense! She does work with animals, its not like she needs to know how many senses people have to groom a dog! She is clear about the fact that she thinks she didn’t deserve to go home. I agree! Bring back Malissa!

Oh, yeah, Kathleen won, but I hate her so I have nothing else to say about that!

Stay tuned for next week. Maybe next week someone will finally take the scissors to Xavier! The competition is heating up with seven contestants remaining. I am rooting for Artist now that Malissa is out. Go Artist!

If you missed this or any other episode, catch a repeat or stream it on your computer at Groomer Has It on www.animalplanet.com.

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Victoria Stillwell, British Star of the popular television show, Its Me or the Dog, has won me over. As a serious Cesar Milan fan, I was skeptical at first, but now I am thoroughly an addict.

Victoria is awesome. She is a no nonsense dog trainer who faces each scenario with wit, humor and the utmost seriousness. Best of all she does it with really cute hair.

A misbehaving dog can ruin the lives, relationships, homes and wallets of their humans; she has seen the worst of the worst. Victoria’s goal is to show, through positive reinforcement and a firm grasp on reality, you can have the perfect pet.

She has over ten years of experience under her stylish belt and the seeds of her own little empire have been planted. She has her hit television show, It’s Me or the Dog, her books, Its Me or the Dog and Fat Dog Slim, training CDs and DVDs as well as countless articles and TV appearances. What makes Victoria’s approach different from my beloved Dog Whisperer?

She uses observation, interviews, a secret ‘pet cam’ and various visual aids to help owners simplify communicating with their dogs. Unlike Cesar, I have seen Victoria get very firm with the dog owners. On one recent episode, she took the elderly owner of a pack of six unruly pups down to the pound. As they looked at the sad cages filled with abandoned dogs, Victoria gave a no nonsense visual of where one or more of the owner’s dogs would end up if she didn’t commit to fulfilling her dogs needs. As the owner’s eyes filled with tears, Victoria calmly explained that this owner would need to be committed to the new schedule she had designed if the owner intended to keep her dogs. A few weeks later, the dogs are calm and quiet, their days of disruption gone.

Other instances of these visual aids show Victoria having dog owners lay down on the street or sit without eating tempting chocolate cake to better understand a dog’s perspective.

Unlike Cesar, Victoria knows not all of us have the talent of a dog behaviorist and arms owners with more tools then Cesar’s abstract ‘energy.’ I am not anti-Cesar, but sometimes the whole energy thing is hard for some non-dog trainers actualize. Victoria vocally advocates for use of treats, rewards and praise.

Victoria sends marking males to be neutered, eliminating the distraction of hormones. She is anti training or ‘choke’ collars, prong collars and slip leads, as they can easily be misused, resulting in abuse. Rather, she helps the owner to see the world from a dog’s perspective. She addresses everything from feeding to toys and how we can use all of those things to motivate man’s best friend.

While I am still a huge fan of Cesar, I have made room in my heart for Victoria Stillwell and her fantastic show and book, titled, Its Me or the Dog. Her book is very helpful and I credit a lot of what I have learned about dog training to her manual. Victoria’s methods are simple and easy to use, even if you are working with dogs for the first time.

I have read a number of books on dog training and behavior and this book makes for the easiest reading and understanding on the subject. At the end of the day, Victoria’s combination of straightforward honesty, nurturing kindness and treats won a permanent new fan in me and my (well behaved) dogs!

Images via www.victoriastillwell.com

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Groomer Has It, Week II Recap

Week 2 of Animal Planet’s show Groomer Has It proved to be more amusing then the first!! The eleven groomers left in the Dog House have over 150 years of experience in dog grooming!

This week, Jai Rodriguez, the host’s Yorkshire Terrier pup Nemo arrived at the dog house in a full on cowboy getup offering a clue to the challenge. Nemo delivered the information to the contestants regarding their ‘Quick Snip’ challenge!

This week’s Quick Snip challenge had the contestants pair up to shear a sheep! Shocked by the challenge, professional sheep shearers gave the contestants advice on how to get started. The groomers dove in with their heavy duty shears, attempting to clip their sheep to perfection. The winner of each week’s quick snip challenge recieves an ‘extra’ that will assist them in the main challenge. Even though these smaller challenges are rather silly so far, winning them can mean the difference between being that week’s top dog or ending up with their tail between their legs. Contestants Amber and Jorge won the challenge, making this Amber’s second win in a row for the Quick Snip portion!

The main challenge was for each contestant to groom a Bearded Collie, (The contestant’s first chance to work with a LIVE dog!!) one of the most difficult dogs to groom to show quality. Relating to the Quick Snip challenge, the Bearded Collie, or Beardie, is primarily a herding dog, used by Scottish shepherds to care for their flocks. Today, Beardies can be found herding, but also make lively family pets.

The difficulty in grooming these pups is twofold. First, the show brought the groomers a group of matted and dirty dogs. Beardie’s have thick coats that are prone to severe mats and staining. Removing mats, without upsetting the dog or removing the dog’s hair is a major challenge. The goal is to maintain a natural looking coat that lays flat and flowing, with no scissoring. Jorge and Amber, winners of the Quick Snip challenge were rewarded with an extra tool, a fine tooth comb to assist them in the challenge.

After two hours to complete the challenge, the judges reviewed the contestants work. This week, a special guest judge, a Bearded Collie expert, Carol Scott, joined the team of judges.

Jonathan, the celeb groomer who won the first week’s challenge came out as top dog again with his Beardie! Unfortunately Sarah was eliminated in a somewhat controversial decision! The judges called her out on a poor wash and her inability to remove staining around her dogs face and mouth. Even though Will’s Beardie Lily, suffered through her grooming as he yanked at her matted private parts. I think a suffering pooch is worse then a little staining!!

Stay tuned for next week’s show, Ruff Customers! If you have missed the first two episodes, head click here and head on over to Animal Planet where they are streaming the episodes of Groomer Has It!

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Groomer Has It, Week I Recap

Animal Planet’s new show, Groomer Has It, premiered Saturday night (9 PM EST). I prepared myself for a canine version of Project Runway, complete with zany competitors and bizarre chal

lenges. The first episode introduces all of the dog stylists and presents them with their first two challenges. Given that I have started grooming Louis and Ella Bean by myself at home, I am hoping to pick up a few tips to avoid mangling my pet’s fur in the future.

12 groomers move into the ‘Dog House,’ which looks like a house that MTV’s Real World cast would live in, with dog themed décor. Two of the groomers purport themselves to be “celebrity dog stylists” and they namedrop A-list superstars claiming to have ‘done’ these celeb dogs. There are the long shots with no formal training, hobby groomers and those who have been practicing their craft for their whole lives and worked in the high-pressure dog show industry.

True to reality TV competition formula, one of the groomers is eliminated after the challenge each week. They are competing for a $50,000 cash prize, a fully loaded mobile grooming van and the title, Groomer of the Year.

The shows is hosted by former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy host, Jai Rodriguez, who keeps the tone of the show light and funny.

The first challenge is for the groomers to identify, blindfolded, breeds of dog lined up for the stylists to touch, and guess the breed by shape and fur texture. Next, they are asked to style a ‘yarn dog,’ a canine mannequin, used by student groomers to practice before getting hands on with a live, squirmy canine.

The judges are champion dog show handler Xavier Santiago, veterinarian, Dr. Karen Halligan and Joey Villani, identified as a U.S. Grooming expert.

What the first episode lacked in live dogs, it made up for in quirky, enthusiastic competitors who are sure to deliver some humor throughout the season. I loved that the host, Jai, has his Yorkshire Terrier, Nemo, deliver the challenge information to the competitors at the Dog House via a pocket in a cute canine jacket.

While the judges seem less then impressed with most of the finished yarn dogs, the transformation on some was pretty cool and a few of the mannequins had morphed into lifelike little animals! Many of the competitors seriously overdid coloring their faux dog’s hair, leaving the yarn dogs looking more ridiculous then punk doggie chic.

Finally, after the judges deliberated, the winner was deemed to be Jonathan, the high-end, New York City celebrity dog groomer. Jonathan owns his own elite dog grooming business and has been in the industry for over 15 years. His win secures him the ‘pick of the litter’ for next week’s challenge.

One of the bottom two scorers was Jasper, a 42-year-old groomer from Boston, who has owned his own dog salon for the past seven years, encountered the unfortunate when his yarn dog lost a leg. Jasper decided to make the most of it, naming his mannequin Tripod. Unfortunately, the grooming didn’t look as good as Jasper had hoped but he was ultimately allowed to stay.

The first to be sent home from the Dog House was Lisa, the 50-year-old groomer from Phoenix, who owns her own mobile grooming company. In truth, I thought Jasper’s dog looked way more ugly then Lisa’s, but I am not a grooming expert! Click here to see all of the contestant’s before and after pictures.

I can’t wait for next week’s episode, Ruff Customers, and I love that there are enough crazy dog people like me to create such a ridiculous show!

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David S. Holloway, image via The New York Times.

By MELENA RYZIK

Published: February 2, 2008

“Puppy Bowl IV,” a three-hour extravaganza in which a cast of 46 dogs frolics, chases, pants, sniffs, rolls, tail wags and occasionally picks up a ball on a set resembling a football field, will be broadcast at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Click here to read the full article in the New York Times.

More on the Puppy Bowl on animal.discovery.com

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