Dog Whisperer

pinkpuppy360 · 11-23-2006, 12:00 AM

Hey I was just wondering, does anyone watch that show the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channal?

ilovemychihuahua · 11-23-2006, 12:03 AM

You got me!!!! I LOVE That show!!!

opokki · 11-23-2006, 12:41 AM

Now that I finally have NGC I've been watching it too.

skelaki · 11-23-2006, 01:28 AM

I have and have read his book but we don't get the NGC.

blackgavotte · 11-23-2006, 05:10 AM

I don't get NGC either, so I can't watch him. I've been impressed with him the few times I've seen clips or Oprah. I'm picking up his book this weekend.

tirluc · 11-23-2006, 09:13 AM

i've watched him a few times but i will say i'm not all that impressed w/ him....yeah, he's good and all but i don't agree w/ alot of his techniques....like the 2 hrs on a treadmill to tire the dog out b/4 working w/ it....ok, this teaches the dog what? and what do you do when you have someone come over, that the dog has problems w/....."Uh, can you wait for an hr or so so i can take my dog out and run him so that we can sit and talk?" yeah, right.....and there are a few more things....

Booga · 11-23-2006, 09:39 AM

I've watched a couple times. If he actually does do that, then I am impressed, but TV edits a lot out so I'm skeptical. I don't believe he's the miracle worker everyone says he is.
I've heard he's being sued by someone because he allegedly pulled the choke collar too hard.
Funny thing is, when I tire my dog out, he listens better.
Nevertheless, the show is entertaining.

pinkpuppy360 · 11-23-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackgavotte

I don't get NGC either, so I can't watch him. I've been impressed with him the few times I've seen clips or Oprah. I'm picking up his book this weekend.

I love dog whisperer. Its a great show to watch just to see the dogs he can change. Its not so much his technic but how he can change a biting out of control rottwhiler to a nice calm dog.

But it the end like his quote is, he doesnt train dogs...

"I train people, I am the dog whisperer"

foxywench · 11-23-2006, 11:31 AM

im not as impressed with him as many are for the pure reasoning that 90% of the actual training process is cut form the show, and people just see clips...all too often people with no experience will attempt his methods only to end up in more trouble than before...
More than once ive sen him alpha roll and corner agressive dogs, if a regular everyday person was to attempt that theyd get bitten or easily otherwise hurt...
i think the show would be much better if they took once case per episode and showed more of the training process...rather than just "magically" solve 3-4 cases per episode.

lovemypugs · 11-23-2006, 12:15 PM

I have only seen it a few times He makes it look easy but, I also not sure how true it is. The show is how long 30min - hr. so t. v. edits out how much to make it look like it took him a short time to train them when it really took ??????????????

pinkpuppy360 · 11-23-2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lovemypugs

I have only seen it a few times He makes it look easy but, I also not sure how true it is. The show is how long 30min - hr. so t. v. edits out how much to make it look like it took him a short time to train them when it really took ??????????????

Thats why theres a tv show, because hes amazing

tirluc · 11-23-2006, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Booga

I've heard he's being sued by someone because he allegedly pulled the choke collar too hard.
Funny thing is, when I tire my dog out, he listens better.
Nevertheless, the show is entertaining.

i heard he actually has been sued a few times...once or twice for leaving a dog unattended on the walker and the dog hung itself....but you do hear these things about any celebrity (and to me that's all he is)

and my dogs listen MUCH better after just enuff exercise to take the edge off but not enuff to be even remotely tired....

Sod Farmer · 11-26-2006, 12:24 AM

His techniques DO work! It took me less than 5 minutes to teach my 11 year old Vizsla to finally walk on a leash by my side without constantly pulling on the leash. If you saw us going for a walk now, you would think he was the most well mannered dog on a leash you could imagine. I had tried for years without success to get this accomplished - - - - until I watched the Dog Whisperer. He is the real deal!

blackgavotte · 11-26-2006, 11:16 AM

I picked up his book yesterday and will read it during this week sometime, but like I say, I have been impressed with what I saw of him so far in bits and pieces. However, I have to agree that these t.v. shows are edited big time, also the hosts etc, know what dogs they can usually work with without losing face, and those are the segments that get on to the t.v. show, that is absolutely true. Still, there are probably things that he knows that someone else doesn't, I always feel, no one trainer or " expert " knows it all. Tirluc, does he really advocate putting a dog on a treadmill for 2 hours? Hmmmmmm. Yes, I'd be wondering about that too...

Curbside Prophet · 11-26-2006, 12:04 PM

I think Cesar is great for one big reason...he tells people to walk their dogs! Nothing about his techniques are revolutionary or unique...in fact many of the techniques he uses have been around for decades. But what he does do well for the average viewer is detail the areas you need to focus on with your dog...his exercise, rules and limitations, affection spiel. I've also read his book, and without giving anything away, it definately sets the tone with how we should interact with our dogs. However, I've found his references of better utility than his book. But this could be a function of my personality, as I'm sure others will find his book more useful. Regardless, I still recommend his book.

atldoglover · 11-27-2006, 11:45 AM

I think that he reminds humans to communicate with our dogs. He's got some good techniques- reality t.v. is still t.v.. Take it with a grain of salt.

eley · 11-27-2006, 04:23 PM

one of the controversial topics on dog forums all around....

This guy has done an excellent job at creating awareness of the dogs' needs in a household setting. His disspelling of a lot of myths around Pitts, rotties and similar breed has been more that what any breed organization has been able to get thru to the general public.

His methods though, I dunno, I think that for the sakes of fast results he resorts to compulsion a bit too quickly for my taste, of course, I guess someone trying to desensitize a dog using the methods in "click to calm" o "scaredy dog" would make for boring tv to say the least. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that sometimes leash corrections, prong collars and other tools are in order, but I also think it's best to start with the mildest approach possible.

The one thing that DOES get to me is the growing number of people that try to immitate him, the "as seen on tv" crowd. I imagine that most of these people are the kind that would otherwise have no interest in dog behaviour, but..since the guy on TV made it look easy....

A common trait of these followers is their closedmindedness to learn or further research methods beyond what The Dog Whisperer shows on TV.
So aside from the number of people that believe that watching his show and/or reading his book (which is not at all bad) qualifies them to give advice on dog behavioural problems I think the guy does good work.

eley · 11-27-2006, 04:25 PM

BTW... just as an example, I was reading another forum and someone posted a question about...something.... one of these geniuses I mentioned replied "have you tried being calm assertive around the dog?"........

mcate · 11-27-2006, 07:47 PM

We don't get NGC but I'd love to watch his show. I've looked at his book but I can tell you with certainty that his alpha rolls absolutely did NOT work with my 7 month-old puppy, who has had episodes of aggression (to say the least) since infancy. They only served to make the episodes worse & I stopped using them. He's now on Prozac & I'm looking for a behaviorist/trainer that uses positive methods to help me -- Jean Donaldson's "Mine!" is due on my doorstep any day this week & I am so looking forward to it!

One of my favorite sites to order from, SitStay.com, agrees that they like Cesar's book in that lots of exercise is great for dogs -- but they would refer you to books by authors that don't use physical force methods.

I think Cesar was sued for an animal choking while being held aloft by his choke chain -- Cesar, as I understand it, was not there at the time. I've leafed through his book, I'm sure there is some really good advice, it's probably interesting, but his way isn't the way for every dog. It seems lots of good reviews I read on it came from people who simply adopted his "me-human-you-DOG tactics in putting Phideau in his place!

eley · 11-28-2006, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcate

I think Cesar was sued for an animal choking while being held aloft by his choke chain -- Cesar, as I understand it, was not there at the time. I've leafed through his book, I'm sure there is some really good advice, it's probably interesting, but his way isn't the way for every dog. It seems lots of good reviews I read on it came from people who simply adopted his "me-human-you-DOG tactics in putting Phideau in his place!

Yeah, he was sued for $25K, this was earlier this year. I think what happened was that the dog was left unattended on a treadmill or something along those lines. I'm guessing someone lost their job over that, I don't know if he settled or what though.