Martin Clunes : A Man and His Dogs - A Most Excellent Program

Well, I thoroughly enjoyed this two-part program, A Man and His Dogs. Martin Clunes came across as genuine and enthusiastic. His love of dogs shone through. More please! And repeat it soon!
Martin had the same charm and enthusiasm for his subject that you expect from David Attenborough.

The scenes with the wolves , I thought, were excellent. I would consider myself priviledged to have my face licked by a wolf.

I was really taken with the snow hole scene and the rescue dog finding Martin Clunes so soon. When the dog dug down with such determination - well it justs showed the strength of the relationship between mankind and dogs.

The program explored the nature of dogs and what they are in biological terms. It also looked at the relationship between people and dogs.
There were plenty of AAAH! moments - Scrufts, Martin's own beloved dogs (a labrador and two cocker spaniels), as well as more serious matters like overbreeding (see Pedigree Dogs Exposed).

The scenes of the African Wild Dogs was very instuctive. The scene with the old female trying to join the new group were unsettling, but that is the reality of wild animals.
Also, the wild dogs ignored the humans - again a true wild dog and not a domesticated dog.

A wild animal can be tamed, but not domesticated. It may be tame, but it is still a wild animal.
Domestic animals are biologically different from their wild cousins.

A few thousand years ago ( I need to look the more exact figure up - the same thing happened with cats at another time) there was a genetic change in dogs, and they formed a relationship with humans. They became domestic animals. This was the key moment, and pet dogs came about!

Martin Clunes : A Man and His Dogs was a most enjoyable and truly excellent, informative program. More programs like this please!

An aside - you can go walking with wolves. There is an organisation doing this in the South of England, I think. I will look into it!