# "Dog" The Bounty Hunter-This Is Entertainment? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774 "2006-06-22T21:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/1 "2006-06-22T21:26:58Z")
I just saw an episode of this garbage-this is just about the worst thing on TV-is this group for real? They ride around in big SUVs, and sport bizarre outfits-I think “Dog’s” wife looks really strange. Anyway, do these bozos make money? How much does a bounty hunter usually pull in? And, with such bizarre get-ups, aren’t this crew immediately recognizable? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/2 "2006-06-22T21:58:20Z")
He also has the god of all mullets. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/3 "2006-06-22T22:15:23Z")
They also seem to chase fairly low-end criminals. That is, criminals with relatively small bonds for small crimes. ---
**Author:** ![sabatobello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@sabatobello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sabatobello)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/4 "2006-06-22T22:18:13Z")
I hate _Dog_, simply because the freakshow aspect- not of the criminals, but of Dog himself -is bad enough to be completely irresistable to me. I have to deliberately avoid seeing it on or else I’ll start watching. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/5 "2006-06-22T22:24:53Z")
The prayer circle before they take someone down was the ultimate turn-off for me. That and his “I’m too sexy for my mullet” appearance. I’d say I’d like to throttle him, but he could so kick my ass. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/6 "2006-06-22T22:24:54Z")
I’ve never seen it, just some ads. I go to great lengths not to. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/7 "2006-06-22T22:25:24Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > He also has the god of all mullets. Naturally… [Mullet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striped_mullet) is very popular in Hawaii. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b782af/32.png) [@Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_And_Candy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/8 "2006-06-22T22:28:38Z")
My Mum was a bit obsessed with the program for a while. I’ve never understood the attraction to it either, but apparently it has something of a following. I’m really not one to judge though, since I used to watch _Family Plots_ when it was still on. :o ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/9 "2006-06-22T22:30:48Z")
Bondsmen typically get ten percent of the bail. In a nutshell, a bondsman has a relationship with the court and makes a pledge to cover bail for anyone they’re responsible for. When someone’s in court, and bail is set for say, $10,000, they either put up $10,000 right then to the court, or they find a bondsman and pay them a non-refundable $1,000, at which point the bondsman is responsible for that $10,000 if they don’t show up again. Naturally, if the criminal in this example doesn’t appear, the bondsman’s out $9,000 and will go looking for the guy. Dog’s both a bondsman and a hunter - all of the fancy SUVs and whatnot are paid for by the probably 90% of their clients who do pay and show up in court. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/10 "2006-06-22T22:38:32Z")
Oh, I’m willing to bet that all of their Oakley sunglasses, “Under Armor” clothes, and the armor itself are supplied by those companies for the airtime. When the show first came on, he and his mullet militia were a relatively ragtag bunch. Just for giggles - [this page](http://people.howstuffworks.com/bounty-hunting.htm) has a sidebar halfway down describing how “Dog” was himself a fugitive who skipped bail in 2003 after nabbing someone in Mexico in violation of a fistful of international laws. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/11 "2006-06-22T23:33:37Z")
Man, I love Dog. I DVR it and my boyfriend and I watch it every time we eat pizza. (So now when I smell pizza I think of Jesus and mullets and scary big breastesses.) I just have such affection for them. I think it’s sweet how sincere they all are. And we love seeing Dog play big man while Tim’s the one who has to jump the fences all the time. They didn’t used to have all that stuff - nice house, but not all name-brand-ish. I’m sure that’s because of the show. (I love how they’re always wearing Dog the Bounty Hunter t-shirts, man.) Also, Tim is my ghetto TV boyfriend. I love how he just lets it all wash over him and doesn’t let it get to him. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/12 "2006-06-22T23:49:09Z")
Jesus? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2006, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/13 "2006-06-22T23:53:09Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Jesus? They have a group prayer before busting some meth addict or whoever they are going after. Then Dog uses some weird schtick to try and convince the neer do well to stick to the straight and narrow. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/14 "2006-06-23T00:11:25Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > Then Dog uses some weird schtick to try and convince the neer do well to stick to the straight and narrow. I cannot help but recall the Charlie Bronson flick where he sticks the pistol in the guy’s mouth and asks him if he knows Jesus. “Well, you’re going to meet him.” ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/15 "2006-06-23T00:16:26Z")
Why is the “world’s greatest bounty hunter” working in Hawaii, a state whose size and isolation makes it tougher to skip bail and hide out than any other state in the nation? Isn’t that sort of like the world’s greatest chef working in a restaurant that only serves rice? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-the-bounty-hunter-this-is-entertainment/361774/16 "2006-06-23T00:19:14Z")
Well, this is apparently a multi-branch operation; there are eps, I believe, taking place in Denver, too. But face it, for ease of work and quality of life, where would YOU rather work most of the year, if given the choice: Denver or Hawaii? 🙂 (Rhetorical question; not meaning to hijack thread with endless argument about which place is better.) Additional PS: I might note that this show is oddly popular on Television Without Pity, which would usually be expected to constantly deride a show like this.