Dog Whisperer this past Saturday

[shepgirl]

I agree with BCKRAZY on this one. Ceasar is not my kind of trainer, and the off the scene stuff people don't see would surprise most of the people who think he's so wonderful. I personally do not like him or his methods. I find him unsympathetic and even borders on cruel to animals. I see no respect coming from the dogs, only fear.

[bckrazy]

I knew you would show up with a fantastic post, Sophie.

I definitely agree with you, and shepgirl, that fear-based "training" is NOT going to produce a stable or reliable dog... ever. Any animal acting on fear is going to be unpredictable, erratic, and depending on how far that animal is pushed and where their breaking point is, will often lash out to protect themselves.

What's sad is the untold number of well-meaning owners and their dogs who have suffered because of the gospel that Cesar preaches. On another forum just last week, a woman's hand was bitten and her dog was PUT TO SLEEP, because she physically challenged him while he was guarding food... "like Cesar does"!

Instead of a .1-second, bottom-of-the-screen, miniscule "do not try this at home" warning before The Dog Whisperer... there should be a "DO NOT WATCH THIS CRAP" warning. D:

[lizbud]

I really think people confuse assertivness with dominance. It's not the
same thing at all. The "pack leader" has no need to remind the "pack" who
is in charge.

[Aston]

Cesar have a natural born good thing and this is an important factor in dog training: a calm and fearless approach. Apart from this I don´t appreciate or approve his training methods. Problematic dogs need to be corrected with love and reward based technics and not by fear. If a dog is corrected using the fear factor, he will almost all the times come back to his problematic behaviour.

[Emma<3Beth]

sorry if i cause an up roar but ummm.... I love the dog whisperer .

The things he does with dogs are amazing and i use what he says with my own dogs. I NEVER hit my dogs but i will touch the dog to snap it out of the bad behaviour.
A lot of dogs he works with are agressive and he has to be firm. If a Pit or Rottie want to get something you have to be firm.


I watched a episode a few night back and he did nothing but praise the dog. I dont always see the dominace thing but alot of it makes sense to me.

But every person to there own i guess.

it is correct that tv does distort(sp*) alot of things and it probably does take a lot longer to train a dog than it is shown.

[shepgirl]

He's not my type of trainer. I just don't like the cold look in his eyes and I find he has no empathy for any dog he works with.
He seems to be on some kind of ego trip , he doesn't really assert himself, he dominates and does not do it kindly.
Some like him , some don't.

[Giselle]

I absolutely 110% disagree when people justify utilizing the extreme forms of the "dominance theory" (i.e. alpha rolls and "assertive touches", i.e. forcefully hitting the dog) because the dog is reactive or aggressive.

Cesar is "amazing" because he uses positive punishment. Punishment has instant results because it suppresses behavior. Dog growls. Hit. Dog growls again. Alpha roll. Dog stops growling. Is that amazing? Or is that disturbing? What is amazing to me is that people still believe in this stuff, when modern psychology and decades of research and behavioral modification have taught us that there are far more effective methods of long term rehabilitation of reactive and aggressive dogs.

A lot of dogs he works with are agressive and he has to be firm. If a Pit or Rottie want to get something you have to be firm.

As you can see from my siggie, I have a Doberman girl. She is strong, she is willful, she is energetic, and high drive/high pain tolerance. Surprise, surprise, she is also extremely reactive. I do not and never will "dominate" her in the way that Cesar advocates. The basis of Cesar's attitude towards aggressive dogs is that they're trying to assume the alpha role. In other words, they're trying to assert their dominance over the human by taking control of the environment and resources. Uh huh. Right. So, why does my 100%-positive-reinforcement-trained dog do this by herself?

That, folks, is a completely UNtrained behavior. I have NEVER taught Ivy this behavior; it's completely natural. So, tell me again, why does my dog react? Because she's dominant? Really??? Am I really supposed to believe that?

Bottom line: Not all "bad" behaviors stem from inadequate leadership, as Cesar would like us to believe. THAT is my major gripe with him.

[lizbud]

Well, to each his own I guess, but I admire Cesar's remarkable talent
with all dogs he meets. I certainly do not see cruel or uneven treatment
with any dog he's working with & no fear in any of the dogs.IMO.