#this stunts is so bad for his public image i cannot stress this enough

[seasami]

VOGUE you’re embarrassing yourselves luv x 

[This stunt literally portrays Harry as a home-wrecker who slept with 10 yrs older woman for a role in a film she’s directing. THIS IS WHAT GP IS EATING UP. THIS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING AND HURTFUL IMAGE OF HARRY. How is that good for his career? Like? He’s PR is pure shit atm. And also almost no one believes in it. Why are they pushing this narrative. AND VOGUE? No thank you.] 

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night, Ralph. (I think I covered all my time zone bases there). I have been thinking lot lately about all the rhetoric in the fandom about Harry’s health and well-being, and how loud it has felt this year. To be clear, I am not asking for you to weigh in with your own speculations about how Harry is doing, unless you feel comfortable doing so. (I’m not telling you what to do either way, obviously, seeing as I am only a little grey icon in your inbox and have no right or way to demand anything of you.) I’m more looking for guidance or even just your rambling thoughts about what is respectful and appropriate when we’re wondering about a celebrity’s well being, and how you handle your own thoughts and assumptions about this. I feel like over the course of the last year we’ve just been inundated with all this panic and speculation about how Harry is unhappy or unhealthy or otherwise not himself, going all the way back to the Jingle Bell Ball Golden performance. Every time we get any new content there’s a wave of people saying he looks too thin and overworked like he’s not getting enough food or rest, or overweight and out of shape (pick a lane, people), he looks stressed, he looks sad, he looks angry, his eyes have lost their sparkle, his smile is dim, he’s addicted to drugs, he’d addicted to drugs because Jeff is doping him up to keep him going, he’s going to quit music, he’s going to hurt himself, blah blah blah. And the people making these “observations” hide behind the assertion that they’re just worried for his health when they’re faced with any sort of criticism.

This whole ongoing rhetoric feels really…icky? I suppose? to me. I do kind of think he has looked more drawn and intense (“stressed” and “sad”) in the content we’ve gotten this year, but I also think (1) the content we’ve gotten has largely been pap shots and stunt stuff, (2) this year he had to postpone his tour, and we know he loves performing so that must have really sucked, and (3) this year has just been rather shit for all of us, we’re all stressed and sad and scared and frustrated by the larger political and social goings on, and by the ways our own lives are impacted. In the past, the content we’ve gotten where Harry looks the happiest and most at ease has been performance footage or him with his family and loved ones. We haven’t gotten any of that this year. It makes sense that the pictures we do get would feature him looking less than completely relaxed and jubilant. And then there are all the assumptions that he’s lost weight or gained weight and is therefore unhealthy or on drugs or drinking a lot and that just honestly pisses me off. You cannot tell jack shit about a person’s health from their weight, and especially not in random pictures taken at random intervals in random settings. To pretend you can is harmful, and Harry probably won’t see you making these assumptions about his mental and physical health based on the prominence of his cheekbones in a set of pap pics, but friends and strangers who are already struggling with their weight will. And the assertion that someone is dealing with an addiction of any kind (or, god forbid, and I hate even typing this, being subjected to drug use at the hands of someone with power over them) is an allegation that a) you can’t make from one picture and b) has really deep, life altering, tragic and painful and hard consequences for that person and all their loved ones, and deserves more respect and deference than to be treated as something you can just throw out into the great wild beyond and then forget about.

But beyond the fact that people are making hurtful and invasive allegations and assumptions about a real person’s private life based entirely on a very very limited and posed and edited set of content that was hand chosen to be given to us, I think the thing that bothers me the most is it feels like the people who are driving these conversations are doing so because they want something from Harry. It’s never (or rarely, I suppose) “man Harry looks tired in the pictures we’ve gotten lately, I really hope he’s taking care of himself, things have been so hard for us all.” It’s always “Harry has been so withdrawn and sad and angry he’s not communicative with fans and he’s not willing to engage with them when he sees them in public and I miss him. I miss my Harry. I miss happy Harry. I want him back. Give me Harry back.” Which tells me the concern isn’t Harry or Harry’s health, but rather the feeling that Harry owes us something that he hasn’t been giving, and now he must pay up or give us a valid excuse.

Then I do, occasionally though, find myself thinking “am I doing exactly what I’m complaining about? Am I assuming the worst of people based on a limited set of insights into their lives?” And in the wake of the Britney legal battle that has been unfolding recently, I sometimes wonder if maybe as fans we do have kind of a duty to call out celebrities when they seem to be struggling or acting incredibly out of character. Most of the time I follow this up immediately with the thought that I’m not responsible for anyone else’s health and safety, much less that of a 27 year old man I’ve never met and have no connection to beyond liking his music and his face, and I do truly believe that, but there is some part of me that feels uneasy just turning off all my concern, because I am a person who tends to be greatly concerned about everyone, who just wants everyone to be happy and healthy and safe and loved, and who wants to help people feel that way, where and when I can. So I guess what I’m asking, in the incredibly long winded and winding way I ask anyone anything (my poor husband, he gets a novel from me every time I ask what he thinks we should do for dinner) is do you have any of these same feelings and concerns? How do your navigate them? Where do you draw a line? Do you just withdraw completely from this type of speculation? How do you balance being a kind, engaged, empathetic fan with being a respectful, responsible fan who knows their limits? (And man, isn’t that the ultimate question?). Your blog is one I end up on whenever something big happens or a particular conversation pops up, because I’ve found that I really value the way you break things down and are willing to consider them from many perspectives, so I appreciate you even taking the time to read this.

Thanks for your interesting thoughts about Harry anon. I feel like there's a lot to respond to here and I'm going to start by answering the questions your questions - and then I'm going to get distracted and talk about a post I really hated.

I'm always a little bit worried about Harry, and all 1D members. He might be really struggling, that's always a possibility. Harry has lived a very intensely scheduled high workload life since he was 16. He might have had all sorts of responses to the fact that that schedule was removed, or anything else that is happening in his life. But I feel like I'm generally pretty boundaried about those concerns.

I think part of it is because my base line assumption is that boyband members are pretty fucked up. You don't need to know a lot about the history of touring musicians to know that. I think I've said before that if 1D members are eating every day and not doing needle drugs then they're doing better than we have any right to expect (and if they're not eating and are doing needle drugs, then those are coping mechanisms for intense stress and there's no shame in either of them).

I do think it helps with boundaries to be starting from a point that acknowledges how hard it is to be a popstar. I'm all about fantasies of omnipotence and in my day to day life I think I can fix all sorts of things, but I don't think I can make any difference to any 1D member's life.

In addition, I am profoundly affected by having been a fan throughout 2016. We know what it looks like when Louis was going through a horrendous, devastating, trauma - and it looks pretty normal.

None of this means I don't have opinions, or worries, but I am aware that my opinions or worries aren't facts. It's rare that I think that my worries should matter even to people reading my tumblr, let alone other fans in general, and certainly not Harry. You say 'am I doing the same thing as other people assuming the worst about people...', but I'd argue that that's actually not the problem. There's nothing wrong with assuming the worst of people. What is wrong is when fans think their assumptions about a celebrity should matter to anyone else. You don't have to turn off your concern to think that it's not a priority.

I definitely think it would be a very bad thing if people took the moral as the 'free Britney' movement as 'fans should call out celebrities when they think they're struggling'. That sort of surveillance isn't effective or useful. What has been useful for Britney is solidarity in a well documented power struggle, which is a very different thing.

And I can't emphasise enough how important the 'well documented' aspect of this is. What most fan worrying about Harry amounts to is: 'I don't like what he's doing, and there's no way he'd do things I didn't like and therefore there must be something wrong with him'. That's a really controlling way of thinking about people. I really think it's important not to reproduce that abusers logic.

I am pretty well insulated from that sort of discourse from a very well weeded dash. But I saw a post that was mostly about other fandom stuff, that treated assumptions like: "Harry must hate being with Olivia and he's suffering and it's clear he's not happy with his image and his team" as building blocks that you don't even have to argue for (this is the post - and I'm going to come back to one of the things someone said that was even worse in a second).

Lets stop for a minute and imagine that Harry hasn't got a problem pretending to date Olivia, and his main concerns are about the messiness of life and his career at this point in time. It is really fucked up and agressive, and pretty hateful towards Harry, to say 'oh he couldn't possibly want this. It's clear that he hates it.' etc. (I feel like I've been making this argument for years about people who object to Louis doing such things as smoking and not performing middle-class culture for them). When fans trash talk what Harry is doing at the moment, and suggest that believing he could be choosing what he's doing is some how an act of huge disrespect to him, there is every chance they are trash talking him and the choices he's making.

The final thing I want to draw attention to is how often this sort of fan storytelling is combined with a profound lack of interest in what 1D members are actually going through. The tags screen shotted and added on to the post I reblogged actually described Holivia as Douis 2.0. Apparently assuming that there was absolutely no connection between Douis, and Louis and his family's ultimately successful efforts to privacy as Jay was dying. What the fuck is wrong with people that they ignore that, and erase that? There's far more interest in making up 1D members suffering so that fans can continue to tell the stories they want to tell, than actual acknowledgement of what we know that they went through.

Sorry I got distracted. What I'm trying to say is that there's nothing wrong with having feelings about celebrities or telling stories about them. But it's so important to acknoweldge the limits of your knowledge and power, even when fandom discourse encourages the opposite.

[rethesun]

Is there a name for middle lane larries?

Topic: An opinion on larry

I think there is substantial compelling evidence, but I'm not 100% convinced that there is still something but it’s possible there is we just don’t see.

If someone calls me a larrie, it's not insulting at all, but if someone were to call me an anti i’d be sad, honestly. Below I say many things that make it seem like I negatively judge hardcore larries, but I don't. I find it extraordinary that people can be so brave and sure of themselves, and I wish I could be too. I tend to get along with larries, while I mostly avoid antis unless they manage to be respectful, which is unfortunately quite rare. 

I think it's practically effortless to get toxic when trying to prove or disprove things. I think it's dehumanizing and feels stressful to me as a fan. Therefore I can only imagine the difficulty and what it takes for people in a position of fame to get to a place of inner strength and resilience where the millions of opinions of the world don't affect them as much. It's sometimes hard to judge/differentiate what is and isn't disrespectful, and it hurts terribly to know I'm crossing boundaries. So I'm putting my opinion together in hopes it isn't as counterproductive or pointless as it feels.

I'm not at all trying to convince anyone of a narrative to sway people to believe or not believe. What and how much you know and where you "stand" is down to you. 

Do I believe in larry? 

First and foremost, being a fan of someone means supporting that person without expecting anything from them. It means any fan theory isn't crucial. What’s important is just supporting them as is, as an individual. It means caring about how the person may feel about things more than caring about how I feel about things that aren't my business in the first place. 

That said, here is my not long-awaited opinion.

I think there is substantial compelling evidence, but I'm not 100% convinced that there is still something but it’s possible there is we just don’t see. I will not disregard what Harry and Louis said back in the day and pretend they had nothing when at the very least, Harry said it on video directly twice. Yes, he was a kid, but people will decide Harry is with a skinny blonde woman older than him for much less, so I don't take what he said as a platonic joke. However, I try to be as realistic as possible. As an outsider, it's not easy for my brain to conclude on most things. However, this doesn't mean I disregard how bad the industry can be. One big reason is that I don't know any of these people personally, and I want to believe in the best in others. Even though I understand controlling narratives in the industry happens and happened to 1D. I don't know to what extent. It's hard for me to judge that any or all of Harry's "relationships" are fake, and thus, he's had a few "stunt" songs for those relationships, etc. It’s plausible that he wrote female pronouns on a song or a few and the song refers to a man/men but that's far from saying this is a stunt song which would imply an entire fake relationship which is too far for me to say wasn't real as I am just an outsider. 

Whether people say it's the fans who say it or the boys behavior, the statement, 'larries ruined their friendship,' is sometimes interpreted as centered around homophobia. I do not see it this way.

However, whether there was or is a relationship, it's entirely reasonable to consider, the circumstances as a whole hurt them and likely the rest of the band in multiple ways that made things really hard. I do not think fans ruined the band or their connections with each other. I think being overworked with little freedom or breaks to discover/express independence were just a few reasons why.

Why I think larry appeared to become distanced to the public eye: 1. Understandably, putting blame on the heteronormative gender restrictive times we were in and still are in. 2. How some fans react to Larry's interactions due to reason number one. Otherwise, all the 1D members, their families, and friends have been honest. That would mean there isn't an elaborate conspiracy; they are just tired of people messing with who they care about and want to live without the harassment. Regardless of whether some fan theories are accurate or not, people in the spotlight and their families deserve peace of mind. They don't deserve to be dehumanized. I wish some fans would understand how wrong it is to swarm people or ask strangers to confirm any personal things. Not only because it's rude and invasive but because of mental health. If that's confusing, imagine if it were you in their position.

I used Zayn's interview because he shared it eloquently while the other mentions that ‘Larry isn't real’ were mostly screen captures of constituents replying impatiently to larry comments on social media saying the Larry thing is delusion and not what real fans do.  Zayn in this 2015 fader interview. "There's no secret relationships going on with any of the band members," he explains. "It's not funny, and it still continues to be quite hard for them. They won't naturally go put their arm around each other because they're conscious of this thing that's going on, which is not even true. They won't do the natural behavior." He goes on to add to the statement, "But it's just the way the fans are. They're so passionate, and once they get their head around an idea, that's the way it is regardless of anything. If it wasn't for the passionate, like almost obsession, then we wouldn't have the success that we have." Before the subject changes, Zayn said that fans would find a way to water down what he said and make any excuses, e.g., that he couldn't speak the truth.

I can't speak for anyone but myself. (I’m a queer cis female) I don't think I would want to 'get dragged through a round of 'coming out' press. Why should sexuality be treated as an oddity by the median, and why should queer people have to subject themselves to that treatment?' The amount of coming out stories and things that could follow a person, or the people around, in the aftermath, would be atrocious. People, personally and professionally, may treat you differently after. The queer stereotypes would be exhausting. Also, it's not always as safe sometimes to be out. Whether there was/is a relationship at all between 1D members. “Being open to everyone isn't easy. Now imagine yourself no less human than right now, but add millions of eyes on you. It's insensitive to assume about someone when they could be doing their best/what is comfortable—please let's stop invalidating what we don't understand.”

Zayn's career connects to Hollywood, and he’s in the spotlight so it's not easy to suddenly believe everything I hear and see is the truth just because someone like him said it. However, at the same time, it's rather discomforting for me to disregard and look into everything people like Zayn or his constituents say. I want to believe the best in people and sympathize and “back him up” in a sense. It's also way to hard to believe all things other fans say because we are passionate and obsessed, so there is confirmation bias. 

Do I concretely believe anything? 

Yes, but those things don't directly confirm or deny anything especially Larry.

I believe the boys were responsible for RBB & SBB.

I have some reason to believe the song Carolina could be about experimentation with drugs since Johnny Cash's Cocaine-Carolina song is plausibly similar. Also, it's not uncommon if you're wealthy or famous to experiment with drugs, including harmful drugs; the environment can make it more accessible and normalized. I don't condone drug abuse; I hope Harry is wise enough not to make it a reoccurring thing. I want him naturally happy and healthy, but it's not my life, and I don't know him to have any right in making that call. I trust from Harry's character and what he said in his Zane Lowe interview that he knows better. However, the song Carolina might be about Townes or maybe it's both, I have no clue. 

I believe SOTT is about "fundamentals" like Harry said it is, not just from the perspective of 'a mother telling the child to go forth and conquer.' I notice some people readily look over the childbirth story, saying 'it makes no sense,' but it can easily coincide with fundamentals, "Equal rights for everyone, all races sexes, everything." Check out this in depth lyric analysis?

I think most of us know and support that Harry is a proud member of the community. If he wasn’t he’d just say that. 

I think maybe COAC and SOTT may have been collaborative. There are multiple writers on both songs and if it’s possible to have a ghost writer then I say it's plausible they chose to write them similarly. 

I think Louis possibly queer codes. Straight people don’t queer code so you might think it’s queer baiting but I don’t think someone sick of gay rumors would go that route. Either that, or he's a passionate and sympathetic ally.

However, Louis is still "with" E. From a perspective of committed fans, it doesn't look like a sincere relationship. As an outsider, again, it feels far too presumptuous for me to have a B&W opinion.

It seems that adults with somewhat official platforms let rumors run rampant, and not many grown adults of the time seemed to correct or silence it. I should have said this early and cannot stress this enough, ANYONE who is not the Louis Tomlinson or in his family tree is in no way an official source. If they're acting like they know things (not just reporting on what's happening), they were/are either trolling or want people to freak out for clout. Being led astray by people looking to capitalize on fans is always a danger. It's insensitive, inappropriate, and unprofessional, but it happened. I am surprised by that and that 1D's management didn't try to protect Louis and his image more. I’m not an insider able to judge him negatively or to overanalyze the situation. So I won't assume he's not a dad, and I hope he's doing well.

(About the above paragraph about Louis this is an update after the original post I made to say I don't have a further developed opinion because I never looked into it and don't know if I will so don't hold that against me please I just personally don't feel like it’s a thing I need to do and I know larries don’t appreciate when non-larries make comments on things without thoroughly looking into things so you won’t see a further opinion from me or judgment unless I do actual research)

In conclusion, and to reiterate, I feel like there is some truth to some things. Again, it feels disrespectful or too presumptuous for me to have many opinions, especially of the negative kind, as an outsider. I don't know any of these people personally, and I want to believe in the best in others. I am not harshly judging things because I don't have a complete story or the right to. However, this doesn't mean I disregard how bad the industry can be to people in multiple ways.

As fans, we can do much better. It's not unreasonable to wish people didn't constantly objectify/sexualize people with fame and didn't harass them/their families about fan theories. Also, always wanting something from these people and expecting them to fulfill god-like expectations as if they don't go through the same human experience and aren't completely flawed like the rest of us, or stalking them—something sick and a behavior that's saddening and disgusting. Real fans just leave them be to live their lives. Please call out stalking and discourage it if you notice it. Overall, I think we can all be a bit more respectful and understanding or try to make an effort. I'm not a superfan, but I'd like to be genuine and not a reason why these people dislike being in the spotlight. I feel like that means being as grounded, realistic, and sensitive about how these people may feel about things more than caring about how I feel about things that aren't my business in the first place. It ultimately means any fan theory isn't crucial. What’s important is just supporting them as is, as individual.

[#’s are for exposure and may not correlate]

[daddyslittlejuliet]

Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene

I’m simply not satisfied with or convinced by Gavin Polone’s or W. Bruce Cameron’s statement about what happened to Hercules the German Shepherd during the filming of A Dog’s Purpose.

I don’t know about you, but when I watched that poor dog struggling to get free, clawing his way up the sides of the pool, my heart dropped and I covered my mouth, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity. When I saw him go under, I started to cry, fearing he would drown. This was the reaction felt by many who watched this video. It was heart wrenching.

What happened next is the kind of shitstorm that serves only to divide people and keep them from thinking critically for themselves. That said, this piece is not about PETA or TMZ. It IS about getting to the truth of what happened during shooting that day, when a terrified Hercules was forced into a pool of raging water.

We can learn from this incident, and we can work harder to protect animal actors in film and TV production. Let’s focus on what the world saw so we can move forward to better hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.

Producer Polone’s take

Polone said this in his statement:

“As with the TMZ video that you saw, two things were evident: 1) the dog handler tries to force the dog, for 35 to 40 seconds, into the water when, clearly, he didn’t want to go in; and 2) in a separate take filmed sometime later, the dog did go into the water, on his own, and, at the end, his head is submerged for about 4 seconds. These two things are absolutely INEXCUSABLE and should NEVER have happened. The dog trainer should have stopped trying to get the dog to go in the water as soon as the dog seemed uncomfortable, and the trainers should have had support under the dog as soon as he came to the side of the pool and/or had less turbulence in the water so he never would have gone under.”

Yet, later in the same statement, he said this:

“What is clear from viewing all the footage was that the dog was NEVER forced into the water.”

Really? Does this mean that what we all saw, including Polone, was something we didn’t really see?

Polone admits culpability because he wasn’t there and wasn’t proactive enough during the hiring of the American Humane Association (AHA) representative and the trainers, Birds and Animals Unlimited:

“I also hold myself accountable because, even though I was not present, I knew and had written about how ineffective AHA has been over the years. Its monitors have been present when bad things have happened to animals on sets, not offering enough protection to stop those events and displaying no real protest after they occurred.”

I have a ton of respect for anyone who admits their mistakes, and to do so publicly is admirable. However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that what the world saw is a petrified dog being forced into the water — and that part, that 40 seconds was NOT edited as some say in dismissal of the overall framing of the video TMZ released.

Putting the blame on AHA and questioning the intentions of TMZ and PETA has merit, yet it also serves to distract viewers from the fact of the horror that we saw in that video. AHA has its share of problems, as The Hollywood Reporter reveals.. TMZ is a news outlet with, some might say, a dubious reputation. And PETA is a so-called radical animal rights organization with a reputation that divides animal lovers. However, none of this should minimize the fact that Hercules was forced into the water and that he was petrified during those long 40 seconds. 

This matters because these kinds of traumatic events can have lasting emotional effects that could take years to overcome. “Happy” is how Polone and Cameron describe Hercules after the incident. I beg the question: How is Hercules now in the water? Was he affected by this traumatic event? Without doing a further investigation, we will never know.

Why a veterinary behaviorist or dog body language expert should watch the full footage

I contacted Polone and asked if there was a third-party expert (veterinary behaviorist or dog body language specialist) hired to watch the full video with him? His answer was “No.”

Why is this important? Most people don’t know how to read the subtleties of dog body language — lip licking, whale eye, rounded body, yawning, look away, hiding, over anxious, panting, drooling, etc. — and someone with a trained eye would see things that the lay person would not.

Image couresty Dr. Sophia Yin/illustration by Lili Chin.

For example, I noticed in the footage that everyone was wearing coats, heavy coats. It was cold, but the water was warm with steam rising. You could hear someone saying ‘the water is warm.’ The temperature of the water was to be said to be between 80 to 85 degrees F.

A veterinarian would know that while that temperature is great for rehabilitative water therapy, it would not be for a dog swimming for long periods of time. Swimming in water that warm could lead to heat exhaustion, which could make a dog not want to do another take. Dogs working on sets often endure long, hard grueling days. They are often asked to do take-after-take, unable get the rest required for peak performance.

Hercules could have rehearsed this scene 20 times before we that 40-second clip was filmed. When he was finally forced into the water and made it to the wall where he was unable to get out, he went under. The stress, the water temperature, the rehearsals of this stunt could have exhausted him and just couldn’t swim anymore. A veterinarian watching the full footage would have taken all of this into consideration, but a film producer might not.

And if the expert watched in slow motion, they could point out the subtle body language cues that showed Hercules was stressed. I saw lip licking even in the short, blurry clips. This dog was panicking, hiding, trying to get away, and looking away from the trainer. For this trainer not to stop the minute Hercules showed these signs of discomfort was thoughtless, cruel, and “INEXCUSABLE” as Polone stated. This would be considered abuse by many veterinary behaviorists and trainers.

Questions that still need to be answered

1. Was the trainer investigated? What are his credentials? Does he have a history of abuse? Did they ask how many times Hercules had done this same stunt that day? Did they ask if Hercules seemed off or had not eaten a full meal that morning, or any number of other health-related questions that might add context to why Hercules did not want to go into the water, that time. They said it was because the location change made him “spooky.” How did they come up with that reason having not asked any of these questions?

Amblin Partners released this photo of Hercules at home after the incident. (Photo courtesy Amblin Partners)

2. Was an investigation done with Birds and Animals Unlimited to evaluate the facility where the scene was shot, inviting Animal Control to join them as a third party? If not, why? If so, what was the outcome?

3. Was Hercules evaluated by a veterinarian after he went under water? Was there a veterinarian on set during the dangerous stunt? How often did they monitor dogs for their emotional and physical well-being during a long shoot? Is it a requirement to have a veterinarian on-site?

4. Was there an investigation into representative from AHA? If so, will they inform the public as to the findings?

5. Was there an investigation as to why this footage came out 15 months later?

My final thoughts

Polone said that the video was edited. Yes, it was edited, and I can see exactly where. But the entire 40 seconds or so of Hercules being forced into the water was NOT edited. That cannot be disputed.

So, in my opinion, Polone’s and Cameron’s statements hold little credibility because they both lack the knowledge, expertise, and experience to know Hercules’ emotional and physical states of mind before, during, and after being forced into the water.

The public was promised an investigation, and we didn’t get it. We want answers, and we need them to move forward and better protect our animal actors.

About the author: Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer and dog body language expert. She is a certified Fear Free Professional and Fear Free Professional for Foundation for Puppies and Kittens as well as Certified in Animal Behavior and Welfare. She is the author of the Dog Decoder, a smartphone app about dog body language. Join Jill on her on her Facebook page. 

The post Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene appeared first on Dogster.

[jeffreyrwelch]

Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene

I’m simply not satisfied with or convinced by Gavin Polone’s or W. Bruce Cameron’s statement about what happened to Hercules the German Shepherd during the filming of A Dog’s Purpose.

I don’t know about you, but when I watched that poor dog struggling to get free, clawing his way up the sides of the pool, my heart dropped and I covered my mouth, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity. When I saw him go under, I started to cry, fearing he would drown. This was the reaction felt by many who watched this video. It was heart wrenching.

What happened next is the kind of shitstorm that serves only to divide people and keep them from thinking critically for themselves. That said, this piece is not about PETA or TMZ. It IS about getting to the truth of what happened during shooting that day, when a terrified Hercules was forced into a pool of raging water.

We can learn from this incident, and we can work harder to protect animal actors in film and TV production. Let’s focus on what the world saw so we can move forward to better hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.

Producer Polone’s take

Polone said this in his statement:

“As with the TMZ video that you saw, two things were evident: 1) the dog handler tries to force the dog, for 35 to 40 seconds, into the water when, clearly, he didn’t want to go in; and 2) in a separate take filmed sometime later, the dog did go into the water, on his own, and, at the end, his head is submerged for about 4 seconds. These two things are absolutely INEXCUSABLE and should NEVER have happened. The dog trainer should have stopped trying to get the dog to go in the water as soon as the dog seemed uncomfortable, and the trainers should have had support under the dog as soon as he came to the side of the pool and/or had less turbulence in the water so he never would have gone under.”

Yet, later in the same statement, he said this:

“What is clear from viewing all the footage was that the dog was NEVER forced into the water.”

Really? Does this mean that what we all saw, including Polone, was something we didn’t really see?

Polone admits culpability because he wasn’t there and wasn’t proactive enough during the hiring of the American Humane Association (AHA) representative and the trainers, Birds and Animals Unlimited:

“I also hold myself accountable because, even though I was not present, I knew and had written about how ineffective AHA has been over the years. Its monitors have been present when bad things have happened to animals on sets, not offering enough protection to stop those events and displaying no real protest after they occurred.”

I have a ton of respect for anyone who admits their mistakes, and to do so publicly is admirable. However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that what the world saw is a petrified dog being forced into the water — and that part, that 40 seconds was NOT edited as some say in dismissal of the overall framing of the video TMZ released.

Putting the blame on AHA and questioning the intentions of TMZ and PETA has merit, yet it also serves to distract viewers from the fact of the horror that we saw in that video. AHA has its share of problems, as The Hollywood Reporter reveals.. TMZ is a news outlet with, some might say, a dubious reputation. And PETA is a so-called radical animal rights organization with a reputation that divides animal lovers. However, none of this should minimize the fact that Hercules was forced into the water and that he was petrified during those long 40 seconds. 

This matters because these kinds of traumatic events can have lasting emotional effects that could take years to overcome. “Happy” is how Polone and Cameron describe Hercules after the incident. I beg the question: How is Hercules now in the water? Was he affected by this traumatic event? Without doing a further investigation, we will never know.

Why a veterinary behaviorist or dog body language expert should watch the full footage

I contacted Polone and asked if there was a third-party expert (veterinary behaviorist or dog body language specialist) hired to watch the full video with him? His answer was “No.”

Why is this important? Most people don’t know how to read the subtleties of dog body language — lip licking, whale eye, rounded body, yawning, look away, hiding, over anxious, panting, drooling, etc. — and someone with a trained eye would see things that the lay person would not.

Image couresty Dr. Sophia Yin/illustration by Lili Chin.

For example, I noticed in the footage that everyone was wearing coats, heavy coats. It was cold, but the water was warm with steam rising. You could hear someone saying ‘the water is warm.’ The temperature of the water was to be said to be between 80 to 85 degrees F.

A veterinarian would know that while that temperature is great for rehabilitative water therapy, it would not be for a dog swimming for long periods of time. Swimming in water that warm could lead to heat exhaustion, which could make a dog not want to do another take. Dogs working on sets often endure long, hard grueling days. They are often asked to do take-after-take, unable get the rest required for peak performance.

Hercules could have rehearsed this scene 20 times before we that 40-second clip was filmed. When he was finally forced into the water and made it to the wall where he was unable to get out, he went under. The stress, the water temperature, the rehearsals of this stunt could have exhausted him and just couldn’t swim anymore. A veterinarian watching the full footage would have taken all of this into consideration, but a film producer might not.

And if the expert watched in slow motion, they could point out the subtle body language cues that showed Hercules was stressed. I saw lip licking even in the short, blurry clips. This dog was panicking, hiding, trying to get away, and looking away from the trainer. For this trainer not to stop the minute Hercules showed these signs of discomfort was thoughtless, cruel, and “INEXCUSABLE” as Polone stated. This would be considered abuse by many veterinary behaviorists and trainers.

Questions that still need to be answered

1. Was the trainer investigated? What are his credentials? Does he have a history of abuse? Did they ask how many times Hercules had done this same stunt that day? Did they ask if Hercules seemed off or had not eaten a full meal that morning, or any number of other health-related questions that might add context to why Hercules did not want to go into the water, that time. They said it was because the location change made him “spooky.” How did they come up with that reason having not asked any of these questions?

Amblin Partners released this photo of Hercules at home after the incident. (Photo courtesy Amblin Partners)

2. Was an investigation done with Birds and Animals Unlimited to evaluate the facility where the scene was shot, inviting Animal Control to join them as a third party? If not, why? If so, what was the outcome?

3. Was Hercules evaluated by a veterinarian after he went under water? Was there a veterinarian on set during the dangerous stunt? How often did they monitor dogs for their emotional and physical well-being during a long shoot? Is it a requirement to have a veterinarian on-site?

4. Was there an investigation into representative from AHA? If so, will they inform the public as to the findings?

5. Was there an investigation as to why this footage came out 15 months later?

My final thoughts

Polone said that the video was edited. Yes, it was edited, and I can see exactly where. But the entire 40 seconds or so of Hercules being forced into the water was NOT edited. That cannot be disputed.

So, in my opinion, Polone’s and Cameron’s statements hold little credibility because they both lack the knowledge, expertise, and experience to know Hercules’ emotional and physical states of mind before, during, and after being forced into the water.

The public was promised an investigation, and we didn’t get it. We want answers, and we need them to move forward and better protect our animal actors.

About the author: Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer and dog body language expert. She is a certified Fear Free Professional and Fear Free Professional for Foundation for Puppies and Kittens as well as Certified in Animal Behavior and Welfare. She is the author of the Dog Decoder, a smartphone app about dog body language. Join Jill on her on her Facebook page. 

The post Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene appeared first on Dogster.

[stiles-wtf]

Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene

I’m simply not satisfied with or convinced by Gavin Polone’s or W. Bruce Cameron’s statement about what happened to Hercules the German Shepherd during the filming of A Dog’s Purpose.

I don’t know about you, but when I watched that poor dog struggling to get free, clawing his way up the sides of the pool, my heart dropped and I covered my mouth, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity. When I saw him go under, I started to cry, fearing he would drown. This was the reaction felt by many who watched this video. It was heart wrenching.

What happened next is the kind of shitstorm that serves only to divide people and keep them from thinking critically for themselves. That said, this piece is not about PETA or TMZ. It IS about getting to the truth of what happened during shooting that day, when a terrified Hercules was forced into a pool of raging water.

We can learn from this incident, and we can work harder to protect animal actors in film and TV production. Let’s focus on what the world saw so we can move forward to better hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.

Producer Polone’s take

Polone said this in his statement:

“As with the TMZ video that you saw, two things were evident: 1) the dog handler tries to force the dog, for 35 to 40 seconds, into the water when, clearly, he didn’t want to go in; and 2) in a separate take filmed sometime later, the dog did go into the water, on his own, and, at the end, his head is submerged for about 4 seconds. These two things are absolutely INEXCUSABLE and should NEVER have happened. The dog trainer should have stopped trying to get the dog to go in the water as soon as the dog seemed uncomfortable, and the trainers should have had support under the dog as soon as he came to the side of the pool and/or had less turbulence in the water so he never would have gone under.”

Yet, later in the same statement, he said this:

“What is clear from viewing all the footage was that the dog was NEVER forced into the water.”

Really? Does this mean that what we all saw, including Polone, was something we didn’t really see?

Polone admits culpability because he wasn’t there and wasn’t proactive enough during the hiring of the American Humane Association (AHA) representative and the trainers, Birds and Animals Unlimited:

“I also hold myself accountable because, even though I was not present, I knew and had written about how ineffective AHA has been over the years. Its monitors have been present when bad things have happened to animals on sets, not offering enough protection to stop those events and displaying no real protest after they occurred.”

I have a ton of respect for anyone who admits their mistakes, and to do so publicly is admirable. However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that what the world saw is a petrified dog being forced into the water — and that part, that 40 seconds was NOT edited as some say in dismissal of the overall framing of the video TMZ released.

Putting the blame on AHA and questioning the intentions of TMZ and PETA has merit, yet it also serves to distract viewers from the fact of the horror that we saw in that video. AHA has its share of problems, as The Hollywood Reporter reveals.. TMZ is a news outlet with, some might say, a dubious reputation. And PETA is a so-called radical animal rights organization with a reputation that divides animal lovers. However, none of this should minimize the fact that Hercules was forced into the water and that he was petrified during those long 40 seconds. 

This matters because these kinds of traumatic events can have lasting emotional effects that could take years to overcome. “Happy” is how Polone and Cameron describe Hercules after the incident. I beg the question: How is Hercules now in the water? Was he affected by this traumatic event? Without doing a further investigation, we will never know.

Why a veterinary behaviorist or dog body language expert should watch the full footage

I contacted Polone and asked if there was a third-party expert (veterinary behaviorist or dog body language specialist) hired to watch the full video with him? His answer was “No.”

Why is this important? Most people don’t know how to read the subtleties of dog body language — lip licking, whale eye, rounded body, yawning, look away, hiding, over anxious, panting, drooling, etc. — and someone with a trained eye would see things that the lay person would not.

Image couresty Dr. Sophia Yin/illustration by Lili Chin.

For example, I noticed in the footage that everyone was wearing coats, heavy coats. It was cold, but the water was warm with steam rising. You could hear someone saying ‘the water is warm.’ The temperature of the water was to be said to be between 80 to 85 degrees F.

A veterinarian would know that while that temperature is great for rehabilitative water therapy, it would not be for a dog swimming for long periods of time. Swimming in water that warm could lead to heat exhaustion, which could make a dog not want to do another take. Dogs working on sets often endure long, hard grueling days. They are often asked to do take-after-take, unable get the rest required for peak performance.

Hercules could have rehearsed this scene 20 times before we that 40-second clip was filmed. When he was finally forced into the water and made it to the wall where he was unable to get out, he went under. The stress, the water temperature, the rehearsals of this stunt could have exhausted him and just couldn’t swim anymore. A veterinarian watching the full footage would have taken all of this into consideration, but a film producer might not.

And if the expert watched in slow motion, they could point out the subtle body language cues that showed Hercules was stressed. I saw lip licking even in the short, blurry clips. This dog was panicking, hiding, trying to get away, and looking away from the trainer. For this trainer not to stop the minute Hercules showed these signs of discomfort was thoughtless, cruel, and “INEXCUSABLE” as Polone stated. This would be considered abuse by many veterinary behaviorists and trainers.

Questions that still need to be answered

1. Was the trainer investigated? What are his credentials? Does he have a history of abuse? Did they ask how many times Hercules had done this same stunt that day? Did they ask if Hercules seemed off or had not eaten a full meal that morning, or any number of other health-related questions that might add context to why Hercules did not want to go into the water, that time. They said it was because the location change made him “spooky.” How did they come up with that reason having not asked any of these questions?

Amblin Partners released this photo of Hercules at home after the incident. (Photo courtesy Amblin Partners)

2. Was an investigation done with Birds and Animals Unlimited to evaluate the facility where the scene was shot, inviting Animal Control to join them as a third party? If not, why? If so, what was the outcome?

3. Was Hercules evaluated by a veterinarian after he went under water? Was there a veterinarian on set during the dangerous stunt? How often did they monitor dogs for their emotional and physical well-being during a long shoot? Is it a requirement to have a veterinarian on-site?

4. Was there an investigation into representative from AHA? If so, will they inform the public as to the findings?

5. Was there an investigation as to why this footage came out 15 months later?

My final thoughts

Polone said that the video was edited. Yes, it was edited, and I can see exactly where. But the entire 40 seconds or so of Hercules being forced into the water was NOT edited. That cannot be disputed.

So, in my opinion, Polone’s and Cameron’s statements hold little credibility because they both lack the knowledge, expertise, and experience to know Hercules’ emotional and physical states of mind before, during, and after being forced into the water.

The public was promised an investigation, and we didn’t get it. We want answers, and we need them to move forward and better protect our animal actors.

About the author: Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer and dog body language expert. She is a certified Fear Free Professional and Fear Free Professional for Foundation for Puppies and Kittens as well as Certified in Animal Behavior and Welfare. She is the author of the Dog Decoder, a smartphone app about dog body language. Join Jill on her on her Facebook page. 

The post Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene appeared first on Dogster.

[buynewsoul]

Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene

I’m simply not satisfied with or convinced by Gavin Polone’s or W. Bruce Cameron’s statement about what happened to Hercules the German Shepherd during the filming of A Dog’s Purpose.

I don’t know about you, but when I watched that poor dog struggling to get free, clawing his way up the sides of the pool, my heart dropped and I covered my mouth, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity. When I saw him go under, I started to cry, fearing he would drown. This was the reaction felt by many who watched this video. It was heart wrenching.

What happened next is the kind of shitstorm that serves only to divide people and keep them from thinking critically for themselves. That said, this piece is not about PETA or TMZ. It IS about getting to the truth of what happened during shooting that day, when a terrified Hercules was forced into a pool of raging water.

We can learn from this incident, and we can work harder to protect animal actors in film and TV production. Let’s focus on what the world saw so we can move forward to better hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.

Producer Polone’s take

Polone said this in his statement:

“As with the TMZ video that you saw, two things were evident: 1) the dog handler tries to force the dog, for 35 to 40 seconds, into the water when, clearly, he didn’t want to go in; and 2) in a separate take filmed sometime later, the dog did go into the water, on his own, and, at the end, his head is submerged for about 4 seconds. These two things are absolutely INEXCUSABLE and should NEVER have happened. The dog trainer should have stopped trying to get the dog to go in the water as soon as the dog seemed uncomfortable, and the trainers should have had support under the dog as soon as he came to the side of the pool and/or had less turbulence in the water so he never would have gone under.”

Yet, later in the same statement, he said this:

“What is clear from viewing all the footage was that the dog was NEVER forced into the water.”

Really? Does this mean that what we all saw, including Polone, was something we didn’t really see?

Polone admits culpability because he wasn’t there and wasn’t proactive enough during the hiring of the American Humane Association (AHA) representative and the trainers, Birds and Animals Unlimited:

“I also hold myself accountable because, even though I was not present, I knew and had written about how ineffective AHA has been over the years. Its monitors have been present when bad things have happened to animals on sets, not offering enough protection to stop those events and displaying no real protest after they occurred.”

I have a ton of respect for anyone who admits their mistakes, and to do so publicly is admirable. However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that what the world saw is a petrified dog being forced into the water — and that part, that 40 seconds was NOT edited as some say in dismissal of the overall framing of the video TMZ released.

Putting the blame on AHA and questioning the intentions of TMZ and PETA has merit, yet it also serves to distract viewers from the fact of the horror that we saw in that video. AHA has its share of problems, as The Hollywood Reporter reveals.. TMZ is a news outlet with, some might say, a dubious reputation. And PETA is a so-called radical animal rights organization with a reputation that divides animal lovers. However, none of this should minimize the fact that Hercules was forced into the water and that he was petrified during those long 40 seconds. 

This matters because these kinds of traumatic events can have lasting emotional effects that could take years to overcome. “Happy” is how Polone and Cameron describe Hercules after the incident. I beg the question: How is Hercules now in the water? Was he affected by this traumatic event? Without doing a further investigation, we will never know.

Why a veterinary behaviorist or dog body language expert should watch the full footage

I contacted Polone and asked if there was a third-party expert (veterinary behaviorist or dog body language specialist) hired to watch the full video with him? His answer was “No.”

Why is this important? Most people don’t know how to read the subtleties of dog body language — lip licking, whale eye, rounded body, yawning, look away, hiding, over anxious, panting, drooling, etc. — and someone with a trained eye would see things that the lay person would not.

Image couresty Dr. Sophia Yin/illustration by Lili Chin.

For example, I noticed in the footage that everyone was wearing coats, heavy coats. It was cold, but the water was warm with steam rising. You could hear someone saying ‘the water is warm.’ The temperature of the water was to be said to be between 80 to 85 degrees F.

A veterinarian would know that while that temperature is great for rehabilitative water therapy, it would not be for a dog swimming for long periods of time. Swimming in water that warm could lead to heat exhaustion, which could make a dog not want to do another take. Dogs working on sets often endure long, hard grueling days. They are often asked to do take-after-take, unable get the rest required for peak performance.

Hercules could have rehearsed this scene 20 times before we that 40-second clip was filmed. When he was finally forced into the water and made it to the wall where he was unable to get out, he went under. The stress, the water temperature, the rehearsals of this stunt could have exhausted him and just couldn’t swim anymore. A veterinarian watching the full footage would have taken all of this into consideration, but a film producer might not.

And if the expert watched in slow motion, they could point out the subtle body language cues that showed Hercules was stressed. I saw lip licking even in the short, blurry clips. This dog was panicking, hiding, trying to get away, and looking away from the trainer. For this trainer not to stop the minute Hercules showed these signs of discomfort was thoughtless, cruel, and “INEXCUSABLE” as Polone stated. This would be considered abuse by many veterinary behaviorists and trainers.

Questions that still need to be answered

1. Was the trainer investigated? What are his credentials? Does he have a history of abuse? Did they ask how many times Hercules had done this same stunt that day? Did they ask if Hercules seemed off or had not eaten a full meal that morning, or any number of other health-related questions that might add context to why Hercules did not want to go into the water, that time. They said it was because the location change made him “spooky.” How did they come up with that reason having not asked any of these questions?

Amblin Partners released this photo of Hercules at home after the incident. (Photo courtesy Amblin Partners)

2. Was an investigation done with Birds and Animals Unlimited to evaluate the facility where the scene was shot, inviting Animal Control to join them as a third party? If not, why? If so, what was the outcome?

3. Was Hercules evaluated by a veterinarian after he went under water? Was there a veterinarian on set during the dangerous stunt? How often did they monitor dogs for their emotional and physical well-being during a long shoot? Is it a requirement to have a veterinarian on-site?

4. Was there an investigation into representative from AHA? If so, will they inform the public as to the findings?

5. Was there an investigation as to why this footage came out 15 months later?

My final thoughts

Polone said that the video was edited. Yes, it was edited, and I can see exactly where. But the entire 40 seconds or so of Hercules being forced into the water was NOT edited. That cannot be disputed.

So, in my opinion, Polone’s and Cameron’s statements hold little credibility because they both lack the knowledge, expertise, and experience to know Hercules’ emotional and physical states of mind before, during, and after being forced into the water.

The public was promised an investigation, and we didn’t get it. We want answers, and we need them to move forward and better protect our animal actors.

About the author: Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer and dog body language expert. She is a certified Fear Free Professional and Fear Free Professional for Foundation for Puppies and Kittens as well as Certified in Animal Behavior and Welfare. She is the author of the Dog Decoder, a smartphone app about dog body language. Join Jill on her on her Facebook page. 

The post Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene appeared first on Dogster.

[grublypetcare]

Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene

I’m simply not satisfied with or convinced by Gavin Polone’s or W. Bruce Cameron’s statement about what happened to Hercules the German Shepherd during the filming of A Dog’s Purpose.

I don’t know about you, but when I watched that poor dog struggling to get free, clawing his way up the sides of the pool, my heart dropped and I covered my mouth, holding my breath for what felt like an eternity. When I saw him go under, I started to cry, fearing he would drown. This was the reaction felt by many who watched this video. It was heart wrenching.

What happened next is the kind of shitstorm that serves only to divide people and keep them from thinking critically for themselves. That said, this piece is not about PETA or TMZ. It IS about getting to the truth of what happened during shooting that day, when a terrified Hercules was forced into a pool of raging water.

We can learn from this incident, and we can work harder to protect animal actors in film and TV production. Let’s focus on what the world saw so we can move forward to better hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.

Producer Polone’s take

Polone said this in his statement:

“As with the TMZ video that you saw, two things were evident: 1) the dog handler tries to force the dog, for 35 to 40 seconds, into the water when, clearly, he didn’t want to go in; and 2) in a separate take filmed sometime later, the dog did go into the water, on his own, and, at the end, his head is submerged for about 4 seconds. These two things are absolutely INEXCUSABLE and should NEVER have happened. The dog trainer should have stopped trying to get the dog to go in the water as soon as the dog seemed uncomfortable, and the trainers should have had support under the dog as soon as he came to the side of the pool and/or had less turbulence in the water so he never would have gone under.”

Yet, later in the same statement, he said this:

“What is clear from viewing all the footage was that the dog was NEVER forced into the water.”

Really? Does this mean that what we all saw, including Polone, was something we didn’t really see?

Polone admits culpability because he wasn’t there and wasn’t proactive enough during the hiring of the American Humane Association (AHA) representative and the trainers, Birds and Animals Unlimited:

“I also hold myself accountable because, even though I was not present, I knew and had written about how ineffective AHA has been over the years. Its monitors have been present when bad things have happened to animals on sets, not offering enough protection to stop those events and displaying no real protest after they occurred.”

I have a ton of respect for anyone who admits their mistakes, and to do so publicly is admirable. However, it doesn’t take away from the fact that what the world saw is a petrified dog being forced into the water — and that part, that 40 seconds was NOT edited as some say in dismissal of the overall framing of the video TMZ released.

Putting the blame on AHA and questioning the intentions of TMZ and PETA has merit, yet it also serves to distract viewers from the fact of the horror that we saw in that video. AHA has its share of problems, as The Hollywood Reporter reveals.. TMZ is a news outlet with, some might say, a dubious reputation. And PETA is a so-called radical animal rights organization with a reputation that divides animal lovers. However, none of this should minimize the fact that Hercules was forced into the water and that he was petrified during those long 40 seconds. 

This matters because these kinds of traumatic events can have lasting emotional effects that could take years to overcome. “Happy” is how Polone and Cameron describe Hercules after the incident. I beg the question: How is Hercules now in the water? Was he affected by this traumatic event? Without doing a further investigation, we will never know.

Why a veterinary behaviorist or dog body language expert should watch the full footage

I contacted Polone and asked if there was a third-party expert (veterinary behaviorist or dog body language specialist) hired to watch the full video with him? His answer was “No.”

Why is this important? Most people don’t know how to read the subtleties of dog body language — lip licking, whale eye, rounded body, yawning, look away, hiding, over anxious, panting, drooling, etc. — and someone with a trained eye would see things that the lay person would not.

Image couresty Dr. Sophia Yin/illustration by Lili Chin.

For example, I noticed in the footage that everyone was wearing coats, heavy coats. It was cold, but the water was warm with steam rising. You could hear someone saying ‘the water is warm.’ The temperature of the water was to be said to be between 80 to 85 degrees F.

A veterinarian would know that while that temperature is great for rehabilitative water therapy, it would not be for a dog swimming for long periods of time. Swimming in water that warm could lead to heat exhaustion, which could make a dog not want to do another take. Dogs working on sets often endure long, hard grueling days. They are often asked to do take-after-take, unable get the rest required for peak performance.

Hercules could have rehearsed this scene 20 times before we that 40-second clip was filmed. When he was finally forced into the water and made it to the wall where he was unable to get out, he went under. The stress, the water temperature, the rehearsals of this stunt could have exhausted him and just couldn’t swim anymore. A veterinarian watching the full footage would have taken all of this into consideration, but a film producer might not.

And if the expert watched in slow motion, they could point out the subtle body language cues that showed Hercules was stressed. I saw lip licking even in the short, blurry clips. This dog was panicking, hiding, trying to get away, and looking away from the trainer. For this trainer not to stop the minute Hercules showed these signs of discomfort was thoughtless, cruel, and “INEXCUSABLE” as Polone stated. This would be considered abuse by many veterinary behaviorists and trainers.

Questions that still need to be answered

1. Was the trainer investigated? What are his credentials? Does he have a history of abuse? Did they ask how many times Hercules had done this same stunt that day? Did they ask if Hercules seemed off or had not eaten a full meal that morning, or any number of other health-related questions that might add context to why Hercules did not want to go into the water, that time. They said it was because the location change made him “spooky.” How did they come up with that reason having not asked any of these questions?

Amblin Partners released this photo of Hercules at home after the incident. (Photo courtesy Amblin Partners)

2. Was an investigation done with Birds and Animals Unlimited to evaluate the facility where the scene was shot, inviting Animal Control to join them as a third party? If not, why? If so, what was the outcome?

3. Was Hercules evaluated by a veterinarian after he went under water? Was there a veterinarian on set during the dangerous stunt? How often did they monitor dogs for their emotional and physical well-being during a long shoot? Is it a requirement to have a veterinarian on-site?

4. Was there an investigation into representative from AHA? If so, will they inform the public as to the findings?

5. Was there an investigation as to why this footage came out 15 months later?

My final thoughts

Polone said that the video was edited. Yes, it was edited, and I can see exactly where. But the entire 40 seconds or so of Hercules being forced into the water was NOT edited. That cannot be disputed.

So, in my opinion, Polone’s and Cameron’s statements hold little credibility because they both lack the knowledge, expertise, and experience to know Hercules’ emotional and physical states of mind before, during, and after being forced into the water.

The public was promised an investigation, and we didn’t get it. We want answers, and we need them to move forward and better protect our animal actors.

About the author: Jill Breitner is a professional dog trainer and dog body language expert. She is a certified Fear Free Professional and Fear Free Professional for Foundation for Puppies and Kittens as well as Certified in Animal Behavior and Welfare. She is the author of the Dog Decoder, a smartphone app about dog body language. Join Jill on her on her Facebook page. 

The post Why a Dog Body Language Expert Needs to Watch the Full Footage From the “A Dog’s Purpose” Scene appeared first on Dogster.