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What a lot of people don't accept is that the dogs they love and train are well grounded and easy going and that means that even though they have issues that should be corrected, it doesn't matter if they don't! Nobody is going to get hurt! Cesar takes extreme cases of dogs that are in extremely sensitive and often dangerous states of mind and using the common sense approach that mother nature takes, he puts the dogs quickly back into order with the minimum of stress. Normally he does this by just his energy and body language and that is as natural as you can get, one creature telling another that their behaviour is unnacceptable by natural means. Does the bitch not nip her off spring if they are being naughty? Do dogs not try to pin other dogs down to dominate them? Do dogs in the park not fight with each other on a regular basis in some cases. Answer is yes! They do this because they understand the use of force is a means to get what they want and they will escalate this up to serious violence to get what they want! By using energy and body language he tells the dog to stop and then changes the dogs state to one of compliance which leads to relaxation and the reward of being calm and happy together in a balanced state!
Your dog shouldn't fear you, but it damn well should respect you and from that basis you can have the trusting relationship you need to control unwanted behaviour. I have seen examples of harsh correction and it is a horrible sight and does not work at all! I disagree that a tap on the side with a hand or a foot is harsh. I disagree that when as I had recently, a Chihuahua is trying to bite me repeatedly, that I shouldn't hold him down until he calms down and then let him go when he sees that I mean no harm but will not tolerate his aggression! This dog was created by a female dog lover who treated him as a baby and I see this time and time again in my dog boarding business that the dogs that are treated as children have many issues that can be serious!
The use of electronic shock training tools is a difficult one because as a rule I would agree that they are a bad idea, however as I saw demonstrated on the dog whisperer show, a cattle dog in America was blinded by constantly being run over by the tractor as it chased it and nothing would stop him. Two uses of an e-collar stopped him and he never did it again and it saved his life so I understand why this makes people uncomfortable but if the end justified it perhaps it should be considered in expert hands?
Just as dangerous as this though is being a weak dog lover Here is the bad news for the weak dog lover, your dog doesn't love you! They do not have that capability! They trust you, respect you and are happy to be with you yes, but if someone else comes along and offers them safety and security they will go with them! As a home dog boarder I have customers stress all the time about what their dog will do without them and do you know what? The dogs don't miss them at all. I have boarded 65 dogs in my own home over the last two years and not one of the dogs has ever pinned or been ill without their owners. If they loved them so much wouldn't that be the case? I take them a walk and within an hour I've got them and they could be mine. I can recall them and deal with them as my own!
What these people don't realise is that they are being cruel to their dogs because the dogs are stressed out! I have seen so many dogs that have been handed the leadership role by weak dog owners who then watch their dog becoming more and more anxious, ripping up the house, whining, barking, slobbering, shaking and being completely stressed as they are forced into making poor decisions to protect the weak human creature they feel they have to defend! Why do you think dogs pull on the lead and bark and go nuts at other dogs? They are pack animals, they are programmed to be together they would only attack for serious reasons not just because they are passing by!
Loving dogs should mean that you are respectful of their DNA and the predator side of them and that you lead them with trust, respect and compassion. They are what they say on the tin! DOGS! not human babies and you don't dress them up, you don't let them lie on your bed and you certainly don't let them bite your other half or children because they are guarding their property!
So, please be good to dogs and treat them with respect and love in the right place, but don't be the weak and pathetic type of dog lover that thinks that what Cesar does is cruel, because if you do then you obviously haven't watched the show or understood the message that he is giving! If you followed his philosophy without a stereotyped idea of the "Barbara Woodhouse" type of trainer, then we wouldn't have millions of dogs worldwide with the issues that we have!
Sorry rant over but I am sick of listening to people put Cesar down as if they know better! I'd like to see Beverley Cuddy deal with some of these dogs with her reward based methods. I have been training dogs for over 20 years, I have been bitten on many occasions by many different dogs and i can assure you it is painful and it is frightening. If Beverley would like to stand in front of a GSD, Boxer, Staffie or Rottie and use her clicker to stop it ripping into her arm or leg feel free, Yes the clicker could stop any of this happening if used from puppy-hood, but once its happened it needs a real dog trainer / behaviourist to step in and not be afraid to challenge that dogs behaviour and that person is Cesar not Beverley or Victoria or any other non participants that watch and make comment from afar!
Cheers Steve
