The Dog Whisperer

[DARISC]

Cesar Milan IS the dog whisperer on the National Geographic TV series of that name. This man understands canines! His thing is "I rehabilitate dogs. I train people." Great program!

[Moneyguy1]

Tired it a few times. Avoid whenever possible.

It has to be an acquired taste.

[dhoward]

Ghey

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I like the show. The guy is good - damn good.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Moneyguy1

Tired it a few times. Avoid whenever possible.

It has to be an acquired taste.

Originally Posted by dhoward

Ghey

Amplification?

[Rikao4]

He is the reason I'm up at 5 AM walking my 3 kids for an hour, and the same at night. Kind of fun to see others struggling with one dog, as fido is walking the owner..not the other way.
It's great excercise, and Sam has stopped eating walls & furniture.
Rika

[rammstein]

I have watched the show, and I went to a live show he did here in Miami.

Here's the deal with the guy- he doesn't teach any voodoo or magic. Its all pretty common sense, but to a lot of dog owners they need to hear it from him (because they LACK common sense). I actually read his book too, and its pretty insightful as to how he got in tune with dog mentality by being around wild dogs at his farm in Mexico growing up.

The basic summary of his teachings:

- dogs are NOT human. They are PACK animals. This means they want to know their place, and their feeling aren't hurt by you being in control.

- dogs interpret body language very well. If you walk a dog on a leash with confidence, the dog will be more likely to stop pulling and trying to be in control, because you are the leader now.

- dogs need exercise. Lots of it. Some breeds way more than others. An unexercised dog will not be able to learn things, or behave properly.

- Dogs interpret certain things differently than we would. Yelling at a dog is seen as a lack of control. Watch the guy- he never yells- he simply makes a sound and takes an authoritative stance. He said in his book that when he was little, he could see the way the dog pack leader would correct the underlings with confidence and not much aggression.

If you watch enough of the show, its becomes apparent that what he teaches is quite simple. It ALSO becomes apparent that the owners are ALWAYS the problem.

I like the guy. He also saw the humor in the South Park that he was animated into, which makes me like him more.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by rammstein

I have watched the show, and I went to a live show he did here in Miami.

Here's the deal with the guy- he doesn't teach any voodoo or magic. Its all pretty common sense, but to a lot of dog owners they need to hear it from him (because they LACK common sense). I actually read his book too, and its pretty insightful as to how he got in tune with dog mentality by being around wild dogs at his farm in Mexico growing up.

The basic summary of his teachings:

- dogs are NOT human. They are PACK animals. This means they want to know their place, and their feeling aren't hurt by you being in control.

- dogs interpret body language very well. If you walk a dog on a leash with confidence, the dog will be more likely to stop pulling and trying to be in control, because you are the leader now.

- dogs need exercise. Lots of it. Some breeds way more than others. An unexercised dog will not be able to learn things, or behave properly.

- Dogs interpret certain things differently than we would. Yelling at a dog is seen as a lack of control. Watch the guy- he never yells- he simply makes a sound and takes an authoritative stance. He said in his book that when he was little, he could see the way the dog pack leader would correct the underlings with confidence and not much aggression.

If you watch enough of the show, its becomes apparent that what he teaches is quite simple. It ALSO becomes apparent that the owners are ALWAYS the problem.

I like the guy. He also saw the humor in the South Park that he was animated into, which makes me like him more.

That is dead solid perfect.
It works.

[dhoward]

That's it.
Half-hour snippets of common sense and nit-wit pet owners.
Watch it once.

[rammstein]

And for what its worth, I used his recommendations for a new dog when we got Lola the Greyhound. I walked her poor little butt until she was exhausted the first few days. The very first time that I reached in for the rawhide she was chewing on, she growled at me. I corrected with a simple NO and a nip at the neck, and she went on her side. I then did some exercises with her where she got a treat when I went to take something from her, so she would associate my hand with good things. When she ran into her first glass door, or slipped on the stairs, I didn't say "Awww... poor baby" and console her, because I now understood that it would be bad to do that. I have ended up with a phenomenal, well adjusted mushball of a dog, and I credit it to his teachings, along with my keen eye when picking her out and a little bit to her breed too, as Greyhounds are generally pretty easy going and low energy.

[fxeditor]

Originally Posted by dhoward

That's it.
Half-hour snippets of common sense and nit-wit pet owners.
Watch it once.

There are also a lot of nit-wit television viewers out there watching this thinking to themselves "wow, this stallion of a dog trainer can solve all these problems in a half hour!" People, it's a telivision show!!

The truth is it takes time, patience, and consistency to rehabilitate dogs. My wife is a professional dog trainer specializing in positive re-enforcement methods and I've seen her achieve amazing results with dogs in a very short amount of time. The problem is if the dog owner isn't practicing the lessons at home or the entire family isn't training the dog the same way it makes it very difficult for the poor animal to succeed! I think it's really sad when I go to the dog park and see these morons making "ssh-shh" noises and yanking their dogs around on choke chains or pinch collars because it's what Cesar does on his show and "it always works for him".

Now I have to indulge you with a couple of pictures of my guys Radar & Kuma. Sorry, It's a moral imperative.

[stomachmonkey]

Our trainer in NY had the same mindset.

Don't repeat commands, it teaches the dog how many times it can ignore you.

If it gets something in its mouth that it should not, don't make a big deal and chase it, dog thinks "hey, whatever I've got is great cause everyone wants it, ain't this fun"

Don't use its name when disciplining so it does not associate its name with bad, tone of voice is enough.

[Buckterrier]

My brother taught is Australian shepard to growl when he said 'Bob Vila'
guess he didn't like Bob

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by dhoward

That's it.
Half-hour snippets of common sense and nit-wit pet owners.
Watch it once.

Right - what makes the program great is seeing the dogs get a better life after the nit-wit owners are given a clue.

[rammstein]

Originally Posted by fxeditor

There are also a lot of nit-wit television viewers out there watching this thinking to themselves "wow, this stallion of a dog trainer can solve all these problems in a half hour!" People, it's a telivision show!!

The truth is it takes time, patience, and consistency to rehabilitate dogs. My wife is a professional dog trainer specializing in positive re-enforcement methods and I've seen her achieve amazing results with dogs in a very short amount of time. The problem is if the dog owner isn't practicing the lessons at home or the entire family isn't training the dog the same way it makes it very difficult for the poor animal to succeed! I think it's really sad when I go to the dog park and see these morons making "ssh-shh" noises and yanking their dogs around on choke chains or pinch collars because it's what Cesar does on his show and "it always works for him".

Now I have to indulge you with a couple of pictures of my guys Radar & Kuma. Sorry, It's a moral imperative.

You're dead on. Cesar never implies that this stuff isn't true. He definitely tries to teach that its consistency, repetition, and a long road. But nit-wits will be nit-wits.

By the way, could your wife teach my dog poop all at once? Right now, she likes to get out a second one at the end of the walk, and its making me buy twice as many poo-bags.

[vash]

he is another person that proves Oprah has the midas touch.

he should name his next child "harpo"

[Rikao4]

I'm with Ramm, it's show that gives you some insight as to how dogs 'think' &
and if you believe they don't..that's how you get bitten, poop on the floor, funiture vented & a dog that trained YOU.
Rika

[fxeditor]

Originally Posted by rammstein

By the way, could your wife teach my dog poop all at once? Right now, she likes to get out a second one at the end of the walk, and its making me buy twice as many poo-bags.

Yeah one of my guys has that problem too! He likes to "spread the wealth" all over the dog park!

[BertBeagle]

Originally Posted by rammstein

I have watched the show, and I went to a live show he did here in Miami.

Here's the deal with the guy- he doesn't teach any voodoo or magic. Its all pretty common sense, but to a lot of dog owners they need to hear it from him (because they LACK common sense). I actually read his book too, and its pretty insightful as to how he got in tune with dog mentality by being around wild dogs at his farm in Mexico growing up.

The basic summary of his teachings:

- dogs are NOT human. They are PACK animals. This means they want to know their place, and their feeling aren't hurt by you being in control.

- dogs interpret body language very well. If you walk a dog on a leash with confidence, the dog will be more likely to stop pulling and trying to be in control, because you are the leader now.

- dogs need exercise. Lots of it. Some breeds way more than others. An unexercised dog will not be able to learn things, or behave properly.

- Dogs interpret certain things differently than we would. Yelling at a dog is seen as a lack of control. Watch the guy- he never yells- he simply makes a sound and takes an authoritative stance. He said in his book that when he was little, he could see the way the dog pack leader would correct the underlings with confidence and not much aggression.

If you watch enough of the show, its becomes apparent that what he teaches is quite simple. It ALSO becomes apparent that the owners are ALWAYS the problem.

I like the guy. He also saw the humor in the South Park that he was animated into, which makes me like him more.

Well said.

We have a dog that my wife found as an abused 6 month puppy. A professional dog trainer showed us how to rehabilitate this puppy who was afraid of everything and especially men. She goes to work with me every day now. A great dog. Every day is dog day at my business.

If you watch his show enough you will eventually see your dog.

Caesar doesn't demonstrate dog training; not even basic obedience. That way he doesn't conflict with all the good trainers and people who make their living with dogs. He simply corrects owner's enabling of their dogs neurotic behavior. He never teaches a dog to do anything.

Our trainer's main business is law enforcement working dogs - bomb dogs, police dogs, search, etc. It is amazing to see these dogs develop and how he trains them.

Some people are not meant to be or cut out to be dog owners and never will be. The shame is when this type person insists on having a dog.

Caesar said in his book, something to the effect, that he had never seen a neurotic dog until he came to the US and that to his amazement most every dog he saw here was neurotic. Of course he came to California and stayed there - and that says something that a lot of us already knew.

[widgeon13]

I like the show and I think he makes more of a contribution to solving societal problems than 99.9% of the other TV shows. He actually shows folks how to solve some of their problems. He really has some control over people as well because he is able to convince these folks that they are the problem without alienating them.

The more people I meet the more I like my dog!!