Dog Whisperer this past Saturday

[newwoman1959]

Everyone seems to have a strong opinion about the Dog Whisperer. I happen to be one who likes him and I actually read his book myself. He states repeatedly in his book that very few dogs are naturally dominant and those are the ones he ends up working with. Most dogs are perfectly happy being submissive and most of us are lucky to own that type of dog.

I recently used some of Caesar's techniques on an agressive dog in my neighborhood. The dog, a Shar Pei mix, was aggressing on an 8-year-old girl. I stood it down with dominant body language (I'm not a particularly large woman) and it backed down. I know I was lucky this worked, but I couldn't let the dog go after a child. Anyhow, I give Caesar and his techniques the credit for the good outcome of this incident. This dog was later put down by animal control because she attacked other people in the neighborhood.

I absolutely DO NOT believe in using shock collars or any other painful methods to train dogs, but I know for a fact that some stronger-willed dogs so need for their owners to show dominance and strength in dealing with them. For me, it's my little 14-pound terrier mix. She's a sweetie and very smart, but likes things her way. Sometimes she has to be corrected, especially when she growls or bears her teeth at a person.

I guess I just thing some people should have a more open mind.

[Giselle]

When Cesar's methods "work", they do so because they are punishments and punishments suppress behaviors. Cesar seeks to mask the offending behavior; true animal behaviorists seek to eliminate the cause of the offending behavior. That pretty much sums up the argument.

There was an excellent summation of the difference between CM and +R people regarding teaching a dog to ignore an object.

Option 1: Give the dog's leash a snap or other aversive everytime it sniffs the inappropriate object.
Option 2: Teach the dog "leave it" using +R methods.

So what it really boils down to is...would you rather teach your dog by setting him up to fail or setting him up to succeed?

[MonicanHonda]

CM's techniques work for my dog. I stand behind him 100%. To each their own I suppose.

[Kewll0ser]

The ONLY method I use is to make sure you are always calm around your dog or when handling a behavior. When I had a food agressive Lhasa Apso that used to jump up on my bed, I would grab him by the collar and simply guide him off. When he was able to sit there for about a minute or two, I would positively reinforce his behavior.

One day, he jumped up on my bed again and I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him off. He bit me right in the hand and the leg. I was scared when I pulled him off because he was already growling and baring teeth. I realized that energy is key, but positive reinforcement is the best.

Same thing when I taught my Butterscotch to sit. Everytime she sat down I gave her a treat and said sit along with it. I also make her sit when shes going to get food or get a new toy. Now I don't even have to tell her to sit, and I owe it to positive reinforcement.

I agree with Giselle 100 %. No dog should be punished for something they know absolutely nothing about. Does a dog know chewing is bad ? Does a dog know that it shouldn't bite if scared? No. But if you slowly remove the fear or other powerful emotion slowly by introducing the item and rewarding any positive behavior, then the dog will learn to associate the item with a treat, or praise etc.

One episode that really pisses me off is when there was this pitty named Emily that was dog agressive and Cesar forced the dog to be submissive . He literally grabbed the dog by her neck, shoved her into the grass and had the dog panting and basically asphyxiated (SP?) the dog. I was horrified that the owners could just stand there and let Cesar choke their dog.