Quote Originally Posted by ChrisH View Post
It is not my intention to be rude or confrontational, just curious. Given the fact that the owner was an experience one who couldn't solve it, plus had tried two other trainers who also couldn't, may I ask please how you would have solved the problem?
No offense taken.

I am definitely not a behaviorist, by ANY means... but for starters, "experience" does not always equate to well-informed. The owner described other methods that trainers had used on Jonbee, all of which were based around dominance theory, just like Cesar. He described how Jonbee had been alpha rolled before. I definitely feel that the owners' hearts are in the right place, but sadly, they fed into the out-dated, disproven methods that have been given the shiney, hip new name of "canine psychology". Emphasis on "psycho".

First of all, I would stop forcing the dog inside. They described the dog as one who loved affection when he was outside, and who was perfectly well adjusted outside, and who had been found living on the streets - the dog is clearly completely fearful and unsure about being inside of a house. Common sense suggests that hanging a dog on a choker and pinning him down until he pees all over himself and collapses is doing nothing to make being inside of a house a positive experience for that dog. Personally, I would start incredibly slow, leaving a door open for him to CHOOSE to explore inside, giving him tons of praise and rewards for going anywhere near the house and progressing very slowly. The key is conditioning the dog to make positive associations with the desired behavior/object - in this case, being in the house. House = food. House = praise. House = safe, calm, positive, happy. Maybe he would never feel completely comfortable in a house, being that I'm sure he had never seen the inside of one before he was rescued... but at least he wouldn't be forced, or hung, or pushed to the point of attacking. I would MUCH rather have a happy outside dog who spent short training periods in the house than one who was so afraid and traumatized by being in the house that they lashed out and/or shut down completely.

This is a really good link, that touches on Jonbee... actually, it's written by my Obedience trainer: http://4pawsu.com/cesarfans.htm