[TheBDD]

Anybody watched "The Dog Whisperer"? It's pretty amazing, but some of the stuff just seems out there. Does it all really come down to establishing that the humans are the alpha dog?

[OC_Spirit]

Anybody that believes his crap and thinks highly of him does not understand dog behaviour and should not be training any dogs - ever!

[CrzyBritNAmerica]

Cesar is not a trainer. He does not train dogs. He rehabilitates them and evaluates their behaviour. I think a lot of what he says is very true. If you read about or talk to most dog behaviousists they will say a lot of the same things as Cesar does. You have to keep in mind that it is a tv show, but Cesar has done a lot of great things for a lot of dogs. Some of his stuff might not be 100% accurate, but he understands dogs and he has a lot of useful information.

[TheBDD]

Originally Posted by OC_Spirit

Anybody that believes his crap and thinks highly of him does not understand dog behaviour and should not be training any dogs - ever!

Well you seem pretty opinionated in the matter... care to elaborate. Is everything he talks about "crap" or just some of it. Walking the dog with control seems pretty legitimate to me.
But what would I know, I'm not a dog trainer... just a civilian who has a daschund.

[Lorina]

I think of him as Dr. Phil for dogs. I'm sure Dr. Phil has helped a lot of people, but it doesn't mean his techniques will help everyone, and watching the show doesn't make one a psychiatrist.

[TheBDD]

Originally Posted by CrzyBritNAmerica

Cesar is not a trainer. He does not train dogs. He rehabilitates them and evaluates their behaviour. I think a lot of what he says is very true. If you read about or talk to most dog behaviousists they will say a lot of the same things as Cesar does. You have to keep in mind that it is a tv show, but Cesar has done a lot of great things for a lot of dogs. Some of his stuff might not be 100% accurate, but he understands dogs and he has a lot of useful information.

I'm almost embarrassed to say this, but we started using the "shhh" technique on our daschund and it has had an amazing effect on him not going nuts when the mailman comes around, people come over, etc.

[Curbside Prophet]

His techniques aren't new or original, in fact the aversives are outdated, but they make for good TV, and that's all that matters to the network.

[TheBDD]

Originally Posted by Lorina

I think of him as Dr. Phil for dogs. I'm sure Dr. Phil has helped a lot of people, but it doesn't mean his techniques will help everyone, and watching the show doesn't make one a psychiatrist.

That's a great way of putting it. Thanks for the comment.

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

His techniques aren't new or original, in fact the aversives are outdated, but they make for good TV, and that's all that matters to the network.

I checked your You Tube link, I thought it was going to be a vid of your dog...
BUT I did find this hilarious Cesar Millan spoof on You Tube - CESAR MILLAN DOES MARRIAGE COUNSELING... hilarious!
Here's the link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hShB6MhdqJE

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by OC_Spirit

Anybody that believes his crap and thinks highly of him does not understand dog behaviour and should not be training any dogs - ever!

And your training background to justify your negative remarks is what? I hear people bashing Cesar all the time, but everyone I have met that doesn't like him, has had zero experience in any kind of complex dog training, so I am skeptical of his critics.

[Labloverma]

I met him when he walked into one of the restaurants I hang out at. He is so real! Awesome, wonderful man. Wanted to help everyone in there. I can NOT say anything bad about him!

[OC_Spirit]

Originally Posted by Captbob

And your training background to justify your negative remarks is what? I hear people bashing Cesar all the time, but everyone I have met that doesn't like him, has had zero experience in any kind of complex dog training, so I am skeptical of his critics.

Studying dogs and dog behaviour for 9years
Training Golden Retrievers for a breeding kennel
Training and racing Siberian Huskies for myself and others
Training and rehabilitating abandoned dogs
Fixing behavioural issues in pet dogs and training them
Sitting in on training and behaviour confrences hosted by people agree with and dont
Daily discussions with dog breeders, fellow enthusiasts, dog trainers, vets, and any other dog-oriented person I come across
And though it may not hold up much, also giving advice via the internet whether it be publicly on forums or my more common route, private messages and e-mail and telephone

I still dont consider myself any ""expert"" but I do know what I am talking about when it comes to dogs. Cesar is able to get dogs to do things by instilling fear in them. Great way to ""rehabilitate"" He forces dogs until they are so stressed out they break and give in. He does the ""quick fix"". Dogs do NOT ""alpha role"" eachother.

The best advice i have ever seen him give is that people need to excercise their dogs more. That is fantastic. But when it comes to actual behaviour modification and training, Cesar is a disgrace to me and my colleagues. He has even admitted publicly that he is not a trainer, only a dog rehabilitator. He has also publicly admitted that he can not train a dog to do something as simple as ""sit"" ""down"" and ""roll over"". When a crew of firemen wished to teach their Dalmation this cute routine for taking to schools, Cesar had to call in someone else. Sad.

[TheBDD]

Originally Posted by OC_Spirit

Dogs do NOT ""alpha role"" eachother.

See, that's what made the most sense to me. If dogs don't establish pecking order, what do they do?

I lost my bull mastiff mix (100 lbs) to cancer a couple years ago and he was clearly the dominant dog to our hound/retriever mix (90 lbs). I thought maybe it had something to do with size. But when I brought home a daschund puppy, he immediately established himself as the leader to my hound/retriever mix (even though he was 80 lbs. lighter). Aside from being pretty odd, I thought it very interesting and it kind of supported the whole "alpha" dog theory.

Thoughts?

[workingdog]

I have only seen him once on some talk show but he seemed to me, to be pretty rough on the dogs but like i said i only seen him one time.

[CrzyBritNAmerica]

Originally Posted by OC_Spirit

Studying dogs and dog behaviour for 9years
Training Golden Retrievers for a breeding kennel
Training and racing Siberian Huskies for myself and others
Training and rehabilitating abandoned dogs
Fixing behavioural issues in pet dogs and training them
Sitting in on training and behaviour confrences hosted by people agree with and dont
Daily discussions with dog breeders, fellow enthusiasts, dog trainers, vets, and any other dog-oriented person I come across
And though it may not hold up much, also giving advice via the internet whether it be publicly on forums or my more common route, private messages and e-mail and telephone

I still dont consider myself any ""expert"" but I do know what I am talking about when it comes to dogs. Cesar is able to get dogs to do things by instilling fear in them. Great way to ""rehabilitate"" He forces dogs until they are so stressed out they break and give in. He does the ""quick fix"". Dogs do NOT ""alpha role"" eachother.

The best advice i have ever seen him give is that people need to excercise their dogs more. That is fantastic. But when it comes to actual behaviour modification and training, Cesar is a disgrace to me and my colleagues. He has even admitted publicly that he is not a trainer, only a dog rehabilitator. He has also publicly admitted that he can not train a dog to do something as simple as ""sit"" ""down"" and ""roll over"". When a crew of firemen wished to teach their Dalmation this cute routine for taking to schools, Cesar had to call in someone else. Sad.

Okay I am not trying to pick an argument here, or even to discredit you as CLEARLY you have a lot of experience, but you just contradicted yourself. As you said Cesar is NOT a trainer, he doesn't and has never claimed to train dogs...therefore why would he have helped the firemen with that Dalmation? The point he was making on that episode is that he DOESN"T train dogs, he trains people how to handle their animals.

No, I do not believe his techniques work in every case, which by the way, he has also claimed. There have been 3 dogs that I've heard about that he could not help. I also saw an episode where a family had their Min Pin PTS because the techniques ended up not working. I am SURE that not all of Cesar's techniques are valid, but I am also sure that some of them do.

I think that Cesar's goal is to help people who own dogs and know nothing about dogs. I mean seriously watch the show and you can see that most of the things he teaches people are common sense to us dog-lovers. He does push exercise and discipline and some dogs don't get either one. I think his goal is to stop people from over-spoiling their dogs with affection. The majority of the episodes I've seen (which is a lot) have been just people who clearly don't know much about dogs and who allow their dogs to do whatever they want and to take over the household, which is awful. I think that all Cesar is trying to do is help these people take some kind of control over their dogs. I don't think he's a hero or anything like that and I CERTAINLY don't think he has all the answers, but I also don't think he's full of crap.

That's just my opinion anyway. There are a lot of ways to do things and I really think Cesar's main point is to teach people that you cannot let your dog take absolute control of your life w/o and rules.

[carolann]

I read Ceasar's book. Some things I use some I don't. But he has always been upfront about his specialty is in rehabilating problem dogs. In the book he states that he uses the alpha roll in extreme cases and does not recommend a dog owner using this technique without consulting a behaviorist first. I think the alpha roll is used by him only sparingly. Of all the shows I've seen, he has used it twice and both times the dogs were completely out of control.

My opinion, for what ever it may be worth, is that each individual should decide for themselves how they want to "live" with their dog. I do not believe one specific training method is the only one that will work 100 % of the time with 100% of dogs. Types of behavior modification or training has to be adjusted to fit the individual animal. Just like with kids, time out only works on some. (never worked on mine! Not trying to say I'm an expert, just stating an opinion.

I give Ceaser a thumbs up. And a thumbs up to the guys and gals on barking mad and on good dog U and on...............................well, you get what I mean. Anyone who spends time making peoples pets better are okay in my book, as long as there is no pain involved. Never agreed with that particular method.

[Captbob]

Well, I have noticed in watching the show, that many of the owners have tried conventional dog trainers with zero success. Not only that, it is often mentioned that the dog trainer that had tried to help the problematic dogs. would finally tell the owner that the dog was hopeless. Somehow, in an hour or two, Cesar manages to change the hopeless dog's behavior for the better. If he is so wrong, and all the other trainers are so right, why don't they all get TV shows and show how they can do it better than Cesar? It is pretty easy to knock someone else, but if you really have a better way of doing it , you should be able to prove it.

[Chloef_2799]

I think that Cesar is a good trainer for certain types of dogs. He can help out dogs who are aggressive, jealous, hyper, destructive. Some times his methods seem to be extreme but he hasn't ever hurt a dog so I think it depends on peoples opinions and what they feel comfortable with. Personally....I like him. I would LOVE to have him come to my place and show me different ways to help Chloe over-come her issues with dogs and strangers.

[TheBDD]

Originally Posted by CrzyBritNAmerica

I also saw an episode where a family had their Min Pin PTS because the techniques ended up not working.

I saw that episode and I think the woman was just crazy and no matter what, she was intent on putting her dog to sleep and I'm ashamed at her husband for not having a spine to keep her from doing it. Very sad.

[lurcherloopy]

Originally Posted by OC_Spirit

Studying dogs and dog behaviour for 9years
Training Golden Retrievers for a breeding kennel
Training and racing Siberian Huskies for myself and others
Training and rehabilitating abandoned dogs
Fixing behavioural issues in pet dogs and training them
Sitting in on training and behaviour confrences hosted by people agree with and dont
Daily discussions with dog breeders, fellow enthusiasts, dog trainers, vets, and any other dog-oriented person I come across
And though it may not hold up much, also giving advice via the internet whether it be publicly on forums or my more common route, private messages and e-mail and telephone

I still dont consider myself any ""expert"" but I do know what I am talking about when it comes to dogs. Cesar is able to get dogs to do things by instilling fear in them. Great way to ""rehabilitate"" He forces dogs until they are so stressed out they break and give in. He does the ""quick fix"". Dogs do NOT ""alpha role"" eachother.

The best advice i have ever seen him give is that people need to excercise their dogs more. That is fantastic. But when it comes to actual behaviour modification and training, Cesar is a disgrace to me and my colleagues. He has even admitted publicly that he is not a trainer, only a dog rehabilitator. He has also publicly admitted that he can not train a dog to do something as simple as ""sit"" ""down"" and ""roll over"". When a crew of firemen wished to teach their Dalmation this cute routine for taking to schools, Cesar had to call in someone else. Sad.

They have started showing some of these shows over here and most respected trainers thought it was some sort of joke or new sitcom!

If I had any problems with my dogs I know who I would rather go to to get them sorted and its the person Ive quoted not CM!

[chucky]

i had dogs almost all my life(i.m 32), trained them, tought them to do tricks, i find cesar to be a good teacher for ppl. the owners in almost all cases responsible for dogs missbehavior, even after the show is on for a few years, ppl still treat dogs like kids, and dogs, dominate their owners, most ppl have no idea how dogs mind works, cesar teches ppl, gives them idea how dogs think, that is why, his shows are very helpfull, in most cases, it's the owner, who is doing things wrong, those who looking to find info on traning dogs, in cesar show, will not find it there, but before one trains the dog has a problem, he sould make sure that he isn't the one with a wrong approach.

i see many ppl how think they know how to train a dog, but can't even have two dogs sit still, and not jump on each other. and they call themselves dog trainers, these guys everyone should stay away from.