[duffysmom]

Is it me or has the dog whisperer become a little more physical in using his dog psychology. His "touch" has elicited some yelps and his "back kick" appears more vigorous lately. Any opinions?

[petenj]

I don't think that is happening. The intensity of touch and attention getting foot kicks are determined by the amount of excitement in the dog.

[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.

[duffysmom]

K9, the episode with Bella is the one that caught my attention. I've watched Cesar from the very beginning and I was stunned by his actions on that episode. He is very much into energy and I felt that his energy was somewhat impatient with Bella; his jabs and kicks have increased in intensity also. Oh well, he does wonderful work with the large aggressive breeds that have not had a champion so I still admire him; hopefully someone will whisper in his ear that he needs an energy check. Anyone can burn out without some R&R. K9 I admire your training techniques. Do you still practice?

[K9-Lovers]

When assistance is needed, I try to help.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by duffysmom

K9, the episode with Bella is the one that caught my attention. I've watched Cesar from the very beginning and I was stunned by his actions on that episode. He is very much into energy and I felt that his energy was somewhat impatient with Bella; his jabs and kicks have increased in intensity also.

What channel is the Dog Whisperer on? Perhaps I can catch past episodes on my laptop. We have a program in Canada called "End of the Leash" and the dog trainer is sometimes unnecessarily rough with dogs, IMHO. But he achieves results with aggressive dogs which prevent people from taking their dogs to the humane society.

I think Cesar's marriage broke up recently. Perhaps he is feeling more aggressive these days.

[duffysmom]

Bare it is on the Naional Geographic channel. Lots of reruns.

[EdV]

There were a couple of episodes of DW that involved a dog named Bella. But if the one we’re talking about is this one, I don’t know what the fuss is all about:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...tention-3.html

First and foremost Cesar Milan is not a dog trainer, he is a dog rehabilitator and a people trainer and he explains that at the beginning of every episode. Secondly, Bella is no yippy Yorkshire Terrier, it’s an 80 pound canine with a serious attitude problem as a result of neglect over the years from its alcoholic drug dealing owner. It is in fact what Cesar calls a Red Zone case that could inflict a lot of harm on Cesar if it did not respect him as a pack leader.

I’ve seen him kick a dog while trying to get it to behave while walking, but it’s nothing more than a nudge with the side of his foot to the dog’s buttocks intended to surprise the dog when its lunging on the leash and never with a smaller dog. In this case he even removed his soft suede loafer so that it wouldn’t injure the dog but just startle it to get it to snap out of the attack it was about to launch on Cesar. As he explained after the incident, if he had backed away, Bella would have lost respect for him as a pack leader.

As for the electronic collar, I’ve used one. It’s just like the vibrator in a cell phone. No electrical shock, just something to startle and annoy the animal so that it quickly learns to avoid the behavior that triggers it.

I believe this episode is over a year old, so trying to associate his actions with marital problems would be incorrect.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by EdVinMass

I believe this episode is over a year old, so trying to associate his actions with marital problems would be incorrect.

I was speaking in jest.

[ajbrown]

Originally Posted by EdVinMass

There were a couple of episodes of DW that involved a dog named Bella. But if the one we’re talking about is this one, I don’t know what the fuss is all about:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.co...tention-3.html

All the work I do on computers and never thought to look on the web for older episodes .

I watched this entire episode and as always am overwhelmed by Caesar's ability to change the behavior of a dog. What he makes look so easy is so difficult in real time, i.e., his timing, the ability to remain calm, assess state of mind, etc. IMO, if there is a problem with his show it is that people watch it and think they can do it to their dog and they can actually make things worse, as they do not have the skill set.

Anyone who knows me knows how important Caly (dog) is to me and I would allow the DW to "touch " her anytime and love to have him train her owner. The one take away from the Bella show is that I hope Nate really was trainable and I hope Bella is never allowed near their niece. It would be a long time before I would take a chance with that dog around a precious child no matter how good the dog does.

Thanks for sharing this link.

PS. By giving Caesar praise I do not mean to take away anything from other great behaviorists using different techniques.