[K9-Lovers]

I've watched many of Cesar's early episodes, but not the most recent. So, I checked out Season 8, Episode 9 with Bella, the aggressive bulldog who had been through some rough treatment and had become aggressive. While I agree with most of Cesar's techniques, there are some things he does with Bella that I would have handled differently, considering her background.

There was one instance when he hit her in the head AFTER she finished sniffing around a dog pen, he said she was giving bad vibes. She gave no indication to me that she had negative intentions. Another time he was trying to break her from resource guarding, or food aggression. He was using a wand in place of a hand to desensitize her reaction. AFTER she was desensitized, he gave her a foot kick, which startled her and she reacted of course. He also used an electric collar, commonly called a shock collar, to reinforce his dominance. He said it only vibrates, not shocks, but Bella cowered with tail tucked as if shocked. We will have to take his word on this one. Shock collars are never warranted, in my opinion.

There are many opinions about training dogs. Mine is that more is accomplished using rewards for good behavior, rather than punishment for bad behavior. However, in cases where dogs have become viciously aggressive, it would take years before the attitude change would come about. So while I disagree with his methods, due to time constraints he resorts to more forceful techniques.

The problem that I witnessed with Bella, is the length of time after an action before he makes a correction. Another problem is the jabbing, hitting, or kicking. Those actions are not performed by one dog on another -- it is just not in their "vocabulary". So Bella would see these actions not as corrections, but as further abuse from humans. Bella learns that if she does not submit to the dominant human, she will be abused.

Rather than use human actions such as hitting or kicking, dogs react and learn more if you use actions that dogs themselves use when correcting each other. Actions I have used successfully include using my fingers on the back of the neck, similar to another dog applying pressure with teeth to the back of the neck. Another is (don't laugh) growling with teeth showing, which is a very effective warning. Another is turning the dog onto its back, exposing its underbelly to me, which is another action dogs use with each other. These are techniques I've used with aggressive dogs. With dogs that just need to learn to mind their manners, usually walking the dog daily in the correct way, gently teaching that the human is the pack leader, solves most misbehavior problems.

Certainly, I'm no dog whisperer, but I have had great success with many dogs. I'm afraid that some people watching Cesar on TV will think his methods will work for them at home with their dogs. With good intentions, people will imitate his techniques and end up creating more aggression, caused by fear. Dogs with fear aggression are the most dangerous.

Okay, so that's my 2 cents worth. Basically, I'm with you, Duffysmom. Cesar seems to be focusing on domination and control, without empathy.