I have been waiting for this one Cesar. Thank you. I watched last weeks show and was left wanting more. I have a Corgi and am waiting for a German Pincher. I really want to introduce her into our family the right way. I will be at your seminar this weekend. I cannot wait. I tell everyone about your show. I have learned so much from you. I must admitt I was guilty of being a poor dog parent. So many of us are. Keep up the good work and thank you again. Oh by the way, my friend and I walk our dogs everyday for at least 45 mins. We love it as much as they do.

Like Linda I wish I knew about it a few years ago. That is a great advice, and when I'll bring a new rescued dog home (I will as many as I can) in the future, things should go much better than they are now.

Cesar,
I appreciate the path you have taken for the benefit of the animal world. As a new owner of a Coton de Tulear, I can not get enough of your advice and techniques. I wish you would bring a seminar to the state of Washington! Would you ever consider taking a couple minutes of even one show to speak about the harmful effects of puppy mills and how purchasing pets from pet stores can fuel these puppy mills? Keep up the good work.

Buenas a Cesar el milagroso con los animalitos and to the rest of you, his faithful followers. I reside in Kansas City. In my home I have 2 female beagles and a male chihuahua. And in my boyfriends home, we have a lab/shepard mix named OSO whom is the most obedient, submissive and playful dog. The 45 minute walks are taking us a bit longer since he just cannot fully snap out of pulling. Its rather hard controlling a 100 pound fella when I myself weigh right around there. But it is not him I am concerned to much about. Two days ago we returned from Sunday brunch to find a loose pitbull running around our fenced yard as though it was her home all along. Since Oso is my boyfriend's first dog, and all I am used to is raising medium dogs, I havent the first clue as to how to approach her. Based on the bad repor that the media has given that breed I have become a bit leary but regardless she is still an animal and deserves her fair chance at life.
We contacted the owners and they denied ever owning a dog only after they confirmed the info on the tags!! It turns out someone dumped her in our lawn. Some of our neighbors know that we are huge advocates for Sheltered animals and vlunteer to socialized sheltered animals as well as fundraise for them!
My largest concern is that she tends to "snap" in to this very aggressive behavior towards Oso and Oso is becoming leary of even walking near her in fear of bothering her. With us, she is a sweet then a bowl full of suger. She even let us bath her and immediatly give her her anti flea drops and etc. The Kennel club has asked us to foster parents since they are over filled at the current time but I am worried she will do something bad while we are both at work. Today I had the day off to observe her and for her to get to know me and understand that I am the Alpha, and she responded well but she continues to bully our dog and my neighbors husky whom is used to being the alpha dog in the pair. Please anyone, I would like you advice for this poor little pitbull named DD. I just want to help prepare her so her future owners dont get discouraged and return her to us or possibly get rid of her in another way.
Help Help Help! You can reach me at casasm@umkc.edu

I have two miniature dachshunds, one is a short-haired, and one long-haired. I live in the cold state of Michigan and I find it difficult to take these two small dogs outside in the freezing cold (especially the short-haired one)everyone morning before work. When I have taken them out on occassion the short-haired one just tries to jump up on me wanting to be held and he's shivering so badly. I've put sweaters on him before but it doesn't help that much. He is paper trained, but I would still like to have him go outside. And the long-haired isn't paper trained so that makes it worse because he just goes where ever he wants inside the house. Does anyone have any suggestions?

My wife and I adopted a rescue dog just last Saturday. After one week with no incidents she has taken CONTROL of our futon, and she has snapped at me when I try to take her off the couch. My wife is now frightened of the dog, and is not comfortable around her. After reading this post I realized that I did just about everything wrong, and that my ignorance caused this problem. I am depressed and embarassed about how things happened, and I really hope it is not too late to remedy the situation.

I love the show...I wish I heard about it sooner.

Two weeks ago, I took in a 6 month old male Dobie pup who was in need of rehoming. He was "mishandled" by a man who also "mishandled" his mistress. He is very active, as a 6 month pup should be, respectful, loves his people and is smart. He stays kenneled during the day while I am at work. We have a good walk and he gets yard play time before spending time in the house with us. He has learned to "wait" to go outside of the house, sit when told sit when stopping from a heel, to wait to have a treat given to him, only takes it when I say he can, wait to have his leash put on and taken off.
I really would like for him to have the full run of my fenced in yard with my three other dogs, so he could have some companionship, but am concerned as to how to introduce them. All rescues: One is a 4 YR F/lab/Saint mix (harmless)and very well mannered, one a 7 YR M/Aussie/Chow? Mix (avoids confrontation, but will back himself up if need be, likes his space) one 12 year old aussie (who would like to rule the roost). The lab/Saint is really the one in charge. All spay/neutered. The Dobie is set to be neutered before I place him in a new home. Any suggestion as how to make this work? I don't have a Ceasar pack.

Hi, I'm in desperate need of advice. My puppy (possibly a Rotty from the pound, 12 wks old) is biting, trying to dominate, and seems to get in aggressive behaviour at night. This idea of trying to make a dog submit, does it apply to a puppy? I wish someone would tell me or make a distinction. She bites and I try to make her go on her back, which she does momentarily then she throws a fit and gets even more angry. I need to stop it and learn a new technique. Is there a show or article on puppy biting and aggressiveness? It must be something I'm doing wrong.

Puppy father,
We have a 4 mo. old female Am. Staffordshire Terrier puppy
who also gets in an agressive, biting mode late in the afternoon, she will not listen to "no" as she usually does and trying to stop her only seems to make her more angry. It seems she does this when she is overly tired and if I can get her to "settle down" and take a nap, she wakes up very calm. I would be interested in any other techniques in stopping this biting, jumping behavior.

I'm a huge fan of Cesar's, love his shows and refer all dog lovers to him. That said, I really can't stand this "blog" and don't know why you folks are calling it that. Blogs are Web Logs written by a person, that allows others to respond to the writer's comments. And the originator of the Blog DOES answer back. What you have here is a sort of poor amalgamation of forum and blog. Why not put up a forum and let people use it the way a forum should be used (an exhange of information absent of a "host")? Get yourself some good forum software! Don't use the term "Blog" if Cesar isn't hosting one. Just put up a forum.

I have a household of 5 cats that were originally raised with a dog. Unfortunately my beloved dog Honus has passed on. I would like to get another dog and would like to know if I should raise him/her from a pup or if a rescue canine could/can successfully join my pack of felines. We have been without Honus for 2+ years. My fur family loved playing with Honus and he loved chasing and playing with them as well. Thanks for any assist anyone can offer. AJ

how do u get your dog to listen to you without a leash outside.

Beaubian:
PS: Regardless of how well my pets behave off leash, I do prefer them onleash at all times. You never know what new situation you will run into that will cause them to react differently. For your pets safety, I say "stay leashed".

My boyfriend and I just adopted a dog from the shelter. He was in the shelter for 6-7 months, and was the favorite of the staff. Per the trainer or employees at the shelter he never demonstrated any aggression. When we brought him home, I now see I made the mistake of coddling him, but it didn't seem to affect him negatively. We started him in a group obedience class in which he did great the first few sessions. Then all of a sudden he started showing aggression towards people, growling and lunging. We could get him to stop with a strong verbal correction, but our trainer feels that he should have never been adopted out, that he is dangerous and unpredictable. We really love him, and want to give him a chance, but there are many vunerable people in our lives. What do we do? Does anyone have any suggestions for training, or been through this before? He is a pitbull mix, so he is already negatively viewed by people. He is an amazing dog with us, and my boyfriend is definately the Alpha dog, but how do we get him over his fear, and subsequent aggression?

My 1-year-old female GSD was rescued from the pound last July. She is a beautiful, dominant GS female who was quite "kennel bound" when I brought her home. First thing I did was let her run, play, jump in her pool, and play with the hose while I observed her stake her claim to the yard and house. Then we put the leash on and started out for a walk...like most young, untrained dogs, she started pulling like a John Deere. I circumvented her pulling by using a Halti head collar, which was a new device for me. It works like a charm, but the idea was to use it only to stop the pulling while she learned her manners.
Now, she walks at "Follow"....she can't walk in front of me and I thank Cesar for this lesson. She is working well in Agility class and is fast and fearless on the obstacles. She really seems to love flying over the jumps and tunnels.
She will still mouth when she's excited...not a good thing at her age, breed, and size. Years ago I watched a mother dog discipline her pups as they grew...when they nipped at her with their puppy teeth, she would snap at them and pin them on their sides...of course, not to hurt them, but to get her point across and that was to back off and stop biting her. I resurrected that idea, which is Cesar's basic premise, and for the last week have done the same when my dog would grab my hand with her teeth (usually occurs when I'm luring her through the weave poles.)After 3 corrections, she 'got it" and now I can actually see her "adjust her thinking" when she's about to grab me with her mouth. The correction was to pull her up short, NO BITE! and put her on her side until she became calm. It works and she's been going through the weave poles on her own the last 2 days and no longer tries to grab my hand with her teeth.
I always walk her for about an hour before we go play on the agility course so she's calmer and ready to listen rather than have all that pent up energy. The times I haven't walked her first have been frustrating for the 2 of us....so her walk is of primary importance. I repeat Cesar's mantra often, Exercise, Discipline, Affection and my dog is displaying the positive effects of this approach. The agility course is actually the Affection part of the equation and earler I thought it was Exercise...she loves the playtime we have together doing it. I have been guilty of humanizing my dogs and allowing them to get away with bad behaviors because it was cute, or because I was too lazy to be consistent with their training. Now, by consistently using Cesar's methods, it is a pleasure to own this dog, and I should tell you that the shelter staff was fearful for her future as her dominance made her a difficult placement.
Cesar's show is a great motivator and I learn something new from every episode. My dog and I are better for it! Keep 'em coming, Cesar!

hey cesar what happen to the one show with the dog and the cat. The dog didnt get along with the cat also the dog went hiding under the chair you never showed that one yet. I saw it advertise on tv. just wondering when you gonna show it? Hi Michelle friday night show was also on the friday before lol. So cutie pie needs to get busy and make new ones up hehehe. I hope cesar can help out my friend too michelle with his dog. cya Danessa

Hi, I have a problem and just wondering if you could help me out. I have had rylie (my beagle) for almost 4 years now, but he needed a little buddy. So i got this golden retreiver x border collie x bernese as a puppy (libby). She's almost 10 m. now. But over the course of time they've created a strong bond, and with libby being a puppy and all made things worse cuz she got attached to rylie. So today i was coming back from a walk and the dogs got out of the gate. Rylie often runs away but ALWAYS comes back. I think its becuase its the beagle in him, anyway, so they both got out, but libby looked back to see if i was coming, and so i called her. She's great with recall, but lately she hasn't been listening. So in the end she decided to go running off with him. I'm just so mad becuase i've worked with her soo much but the bond is to strong.. what can i do to make her more attached to me? Im really sad! :( :( :( :( :( !!!

Sincerely, Alexis.

We just took in a young adult male dog (Max) that a friend of a friend found on the street. After two weeks, Max is now starting to learn sit-stay and walking "politely" on a leash. He will even sit (with some guidance) before crossing the street. Our biggest problem is that Max freaks out when he sees other dogs or other creatures a block away. Help, please!

Max will pull on the leash and despite our efforts to get him to sit, he will not listen. For the most part, he usually ignores us when we ask him to sit or calm down. He is just so fixated on the other dog. A few days ago, I thought he may have calmed down a bit, so I let him met a neighbor's dog on the street. When he was within three feet of the other dog, he lashed out at it.

We would like to take him to obedience school but it looks like we may have to look to one-on-one training for Max. Is there anything else we can try before resorting to this option? Every piece of advice we have seen online generally assumes 1) the owners have caused this aggression toward other dogs; 2)the owners have established themselves as the leader; 3)the dog likes treats and attention outside.

Is it just a matter of time for Max to get used to us? Do we let him pass other dogs on the street and act nonchalantly when he is barking and instigating the other dogs? Advice would be greatly appreciated!

I rescued Mollie from the local ADL two years ago. She had been found under a portable school building with seven pups. She was undernourished and showed signs of having been pretty badly abused. I "visited" her over a three week period, both to let her recuperate and to get to know her before I finally decided to take her home. Socializing her went slowly; she still has anxiety around strangers. We have a very large fenced in yard and Mollie loves to be outside so I rationalized that I didn't need to teach her to walk properly when leashed. While I've trained dogs in the past, I've never encountered one whose primary response was peeing on herself. I decided to just love her and give her a good home. Big mistake. Suffice it to say, several trips to the vet showed Mollie to be, shall we say, a bit uncooperative. The vet suggested I watch The Dog Whisperer and since then, I've been hooked. I've also begun trying to teach Mollie some of the finer points of walking. As she is quite large and strong (and I am quite small and not-so-strong), I might seek the aid of a professional trainer in the area. The point of all this rambling? I was one of many (I would guess) who thought I was doing my dog a "favor" by being a softie. Time to shape up, Mollie-girl! Thanks much ...

I had adopted a dog who i had brought home and we were doing fine. Then she got into a fight with my other dog and we wound up getting rid of ner. She was adopted now I just went on the website of the shelter and she's back there. I feel really bad and want to take her home again. Do you think I would be able to get these two girls to get along? HELP ME!

Please help me with a problem with a car chasher...... When we are out on a walk or she has a leash on she is a perfect sheltie. However when she get out of her leash if she get past us at the door she chases cars. I have tried several things and she has come a long way form the abused pup we got 6 months ago. But I can not get her to STOP. Help.. Otherwise I will have to send her away. I could not live with my self if she got out and caused an accedent on the road. I do not want anyone hurt. thanks debbie

My dog is just jumping on everybody knocks them down i need advice.

Mr. F,
If you command you dog like you write no wonder it does not listen....I wouldn't either. My suggestion is for YOU to seek help and control of yourself first before you expect an animal to listen to you. But then again, maybe it IS listening to you and acting just like you!
Ditt ditt duhhhhaaaa.

My boyfriend and I adopted a sweet, very affectionate,
Non-aggressive English pointer/border collie mix from the Shelter about 6 months ago, she is currently one year old.
Our problems however are severe; she absolutely cannot be alone without destroying anything in her site! She has ripped the roof off my car, furniture, escaped out of our backyard by jumping the fence twice within two days of moving in, dug holes. The list goes on and on. We currently have a kennel in our garage that she goes into when we leave. She hates it however, we've tried making it more appealing by playing games but she stills gets upset when we leave.
I really would love to be able for her to be outside in the yard but she just cannot handle it without destruction.
I don't know what to do and I feel like she needs a home with lots of acreage and other dogs!
If anyone has any advice please help!!!

This little and lovable small dog appears in my yard and decided to stay, although I didn't feed him. After contact the SPCA (he has a number, was adopted and run away three months ago. The family doesn't want him)I would like to keep it in my house. The problem is that when I am not around. When leaved inside, he was destructive wanting to get out. When leaved outside, he was destructive wanting to get in. How can I trained this dog to overcome his separation anxiety? I have a crate. Should I put him inside it without causing damage?

hi i feel that with the puppies and dogs you should be as nice as posible thank you.

UGH! I can't take it anymore! Posted questions are obvously not being answered on this site and it breaks my heart to hear about some of these dog owners HUGE problems. My advice is to contact your local animal shelter for referrals to animal behaviorists in your area that can visit your pet and give an evalutation. Posting your problems on this site is a total waste of time. National Geographic - please recatagorize this site as "Comments" not Blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my dog keeps jumping up and scraching the doors and furniture

i need to know how to get a bullmastiff to attack

I want to thank you for this article. You don't know how grateful I am that you made this information available to me.
I just got a new puppy - pit, rott & black lab. "Lucy" is extremely intelligent. I think more with my heart than my head so I was overly cautious about hurting Lucy's feelings. I know I don't have to tell you what a mess THAT created!
She's in obedient classes but the info in your article is so much more helpful! Training is necessary, I know, but I don't think it does much good unless you can also understand WHY a puppy does the things it does.
Understand WHY a puppy does the things it does has opened up a whole new world for me.
Everything has come into focus & I'll forever be grateful for this knowledge. Lucy & I thank you VERY much!

Nice colors. Keep up the good work. thnx!

Our puppy is 11 months old. She will NOT potty train and we are having a lot of problems with her. She is good if we are watching her all the time. She even goes outside to go if we are paying attention, but as soon as we are not paying attention or get busy, she runs off to a room and poops in it. She is crate trained and will not go in her crate but I hate to keep her in that when we are at home. I want a nice house dog that will go out when she needs to using the doggy door. HOW can we accomplish this?