Not to mention the fact that DK wants me to make video copies of that episode and hand it out to all the dog park oweners, with a poster of Ceaser and times of his show posted on the gate. Now all we have to do is remeber we were there once and be patient with all the other dog oweners. We love you Ceaser, thanks for educating us.

I love the idea behind dog parks so much, but cannot help but also have mixed feelings about them. I started bringing Jester (my now, 3-yr-old aussie) to a dog park in the area when he was around 7 months old. I did this for a few reasons: (1) socialization with other dogs, (2) to be able to do something with him outside of my own house and yard, and YES, (3) to burn off his energy - I am guilty as charged!

Jester loved going to the dog park. He even had his clique of dog-friends that he played with. They would chase each other, wrestle around, and have a grand ole time. Fun was had by all. But then there were the people who did not actively participate in their dog's activities.

For example, one guy infamously would show up with his unruly brown lab, and his thermos of whatever cocktail he was thirsty for on that day. He would talk on his cell phone and pay no attention to his dog who was constantly antagonizing other dogs.

He was an extreme example. There were lots of other people, who would spend their time talking on the phone or with other people. The majority of us would talk to each other, but I also kept a very close eye on where our dogs were at all times. It was funny because we only knew each other by our dog's name; hence, my name was Jester's mama.

I quickly got the reputation as being the first person breaking up a dog fight when one occurred. Most people would just stand there screaming. Then after a while, I think Jester started modelling his behavior at the park after me. One day, out of nowhere, he simply decided he was not going to allow one dog to be picked on by another. (This is when he was still a pup, I might add.) There was one dominant, large black dog (who picked on Jes the first time they met), that liked to hump everyone he could wrap his legs around. While he never attacked him, Jester would charge at him, barking like crazy and the dog (shocked, I imagine) let go of the other dog and would back away from Jes. He never bit anyone and would walk away once he felt there was an acceptable distance between the bully and the victim. From then on, he would always keep a watchful eye on the trouble-makers, and would step in when someone else was being picked on. He was quickly assigned the nickname as being "Park Police".

I should add, that I was always up and in the immediate vicinity when this occurred and was ready to intervene if I felt the need. Whether I was right or wrong, I'm not sure what some of you may think, but as long as no fights broke out, I thought it was good that the dogs were settling their issues the way dogs do with their body language and vocal communication.

I finally stopped bringing Jester there because of a young couple who had adopted this beuatiful Pitt bull named Diamond from a shelter. Diamond attacked everyone's dogs and Jes was one of her favorite targets. She attacked him all the time and no matter what I said to the couple, they would never discipline her the way they needed to. (They would never even hustle to the situation when I was pulling her away from another dog that she was attacking.) Apparently, they brought her to the park immediately after adopting her, thinking that she would somehow learn to socialize nicely with other dogs. What they failed to do was establish any kind of leadership within their immediate pack prior to doing so.

Then one day, I went to park (not realizing Diamond was there) and she charged the second entry gate when I was unhooking him in the first section. One of the Diamond's owners came up and said, "Don't worry, she's been fine the whole time we've been here." (Mind you, as they were saying this, she's digging and biting at the fence trying to get at Jes.) I said, "Fine, but can you at least control her long enough so we can enter."

This is where it was my mistake - I should have just left the dog park before entering. I did not follow my gut instinct.

They pulled her back and let go of her before Jes and I were even all the way through the gate. In a fraction of a second, she was on top of him so fast with his throat in her mouth and I was on top of her with my arm around her throat in a headlock! She let go and I took her by the collar and returned her to her owners, who of course, were full of apologies.

Jester is a very strong boy, in both mind and spirit, and I am greatful that the times he's been attacked have not scarred him psychologically. I do think that those incidents (while I wish they NEVER happened) strengthened our bond to one another. Maybe I'm completely nuts, but I just think it helped him to see me as his PROTECTOR, not just the one he plays with, cuddles with and gets fed by.

I should add that that was the last time we went to the dog park. I have since then bought a house and fenced in my yard with chainlink. I also fenced in a much smaller, entryway into the back yard for people to come in with their dogs and safely unhook them before leeting them into the larger area. The joke is that I have my own dog park.

A number of different dogs have run away from their homes and COME to my house. So, I like to think of my set-up as a VIP dog park,... I've had several dogs in my yard at once, but only if I know they are even-tempered and controllable.

Sorry, if this was too long... I just feel that people truly need to be prepared for any situation before taking their dogs to a dog park. Not everyone takes providing their dog's a balanced life to heart as much as we do.

Sadly I do not frequent dog parks for the reasons Cesar and everyone else posted here. My dogs(3) are well behaved, controllable, and know who is the leader. I have a pitbull, rottie/sheppard mix, and chow mix, I trust that none of them would ever start a fight but I doubt they would back down unless I intervened if they felt challenged. My pit is in training to be a therapy dog and I will not jeopardize that secondary to lazy, irresponsible dog owners. Some owners are open to suggestions others become downright rude. For now we will continue our walks, and socialize in more controlled environments. My dogs are proud and I am proud of them, I want them to be ambassadors of their breed not blamed for negative events that result in bad press.

I can honestly say I never noticed a change in Jester's behavior when we stopped going to the dog park. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think he could care less.

I've never had any desire to go to a dog park with my dogs. Seeing Friday's episode nailed it for me that we never will. The whole experience looked awful. We'll stick with Visiting with friends that have dogs in their home or ours, which is always fun for all.

Jim B.
Perhaps your mom's weimaraner doesn't really know who the pack leader is. If he/she knows you are the leader, make sure he/she knows the lures are yours and he/she is not allowed to have them. In an episode I saw recently, Cesar had the dog down then placed several things around the dog that he was used to chewing. Cesar then would not allow the dog to have the thing, it was Cesar's.
After writing this, I'm thinking you've probably already done this.

I have three German Shepherds who are pretty stable dogs, and have recently inhereted a Chihuaua from my parents who passed away (she is very spoiled and not as stable). The dog park thing is something I would like to try with my three guys. One is very outgoing, social, likes other dogs and people (can tell if you are afraid and can key in on that, finds it amusing). The next is a gentle giant, over 100lbs., timid, stays by me off leash, a big lap dog. And the third would be confused as he was adopted from an abusive family three years ago (he got regular beatings with a belt). It is a case where I either take one or all, can't take two and leave one home. We don't have one for my city yet, I hope they do...but at the end of summer when they get ready to clean the city pool, they have dog swim day and that gets packed. We may try it this year, last year a Great Dane was dressed in a string bikini and it was a hoot! Always a roaring success.

But I agree with a lot of you, it took me a lot of work to get everyone on the same page and don't want to ruin it by some vacant owner and put me behind in their training. It is an everyday process. My husband babies them and I am the one who means business. He knows he should not do the things he does, but he thinks they won't like him if he is assertive. Sort of like with our kid...he wants to be her pal. I say she has pals...she needs parents! That is what needs to happen here. Now the two of them need to stop babying Tiki (Chihuaua) and let her work it out with her place in the pack by herself. No matter how mean a person thinks they are to their dog (if it is legitimate training) the dog doesn't think the person is mean. Look at my poor Marley. He came to me malnourished, looked awful, separation anxiety, so much baggage a separate truck had to bring it all, so to speak. He has calmed down significantly and listens pretty well, but I suspect he has a learning disability due to poor nutrition and bad upbringing. We replaced his right hip at Mich State (Very Excellent Vet College) and he is being cared for much better now. Learned to play, trust people, got his own ortho bed, chew toys, very happy.

Tiki needs to find her place to fit in and without all the fanfare that yappy little dog got. She will be alright.

I have a question about feeding the dogs. I live in a Detroit suburb (not that it matters) And have just stared feeding my dogs the BARF (bones and raw food) diet. It is difficult to get chicken necks here, people look at me like it is for some sort of weird ritual or something. I was able to find some backs at a sort of expensive store. I used the Cuisinart to mix all the veggies and fruit together with flax seed and also mixed raw chicken livers in too. It smells gross, but they go nuts for it. Now they are getting the wings and backs. If anyone else does this or has some recipes or changes please let me know. We have only been using the raw food for a week so far at our Vet's urging, so I hope to see good results.

Does anyone know how to keep a neutered male dog from marking? He is the rescue and was neutered rather late. Again, hope someone knows. Thanks in advance.

Hello,
I was wondering about the measurements for the The Illusion Collar. How to take the proper measurements for it so that it fits properly on my dog?.

Thanks

Sen

When I watched Cesar's episode on dog parks, it made me realize that I have enough problems with people in a regular park, let alone trying to take my dog to a dog park. I take my dog, a Pit Bull, to a regular park & have problems with other people and their dogs; even though they are on leashes! Well, some geniuses think they can take their dogs off their leashes & let them loose in the park! The park has signs prohibiting dogs being off leash! Naturally, if there are any problems, I get blamed because I own the Pit Bull. I guarantee that I would report these people to the park ranger. So far the ranger hasn't been around when I spot these idiots.

There is one dog park in my area but it's located in the middle of a city that has a ban on Pit Bulls. So I couldn't ever take him there anyway. Cesar's show has given me one more reason to never go to one.

Personally, I never thought dog parks were a good idea any way. You never know what your dog is going to pick up from there; fleas, worms or other nasty things. I used to show dogs & for all the care that these dogs receive; I would occasionally come home with a case of worms (or even fleas!) from the show.

Hi,
I have a Yorkie Maltese Shitsu mix :-) and he is just fantastic. I just want to ask about eating. It seems that he just isn't interested in eating every day. He's never been one to jump and pant when it's feeding time. Should I worry? Sometimes, his food will sit the whole day without being eaten.
Thanks for your help.
Helene

I can't say enough about Cesar's teaching. We used to have two Bichons, one of whom was a rescue. We could never understand why Stetson thought he was an attack/guard dog while the breed in general is more about being cuddly and friendly.

Watching all the shows has shown us that Stetson had a lot of fears. If we knew then what we've since learned, I know we could have helped Stetson to be a happier dog.

We had to give the pups up because of health issues I was going through. Now I'm in a position, health wise, to once again bring another Bichie into our lives. Both my husband and I are practicing our power walks so we'll be ready to lead a new member of the pack.

We've learned so much...and thank Cesar for his gentle and wise ways!!!!

Blessings

Hi! I just wanted to say that I love the show and I am not commenting on just this particular episode. I watch it every time it's on and I hold my 2 year old black and silver Miniture Schnauzer in my lap while I watch it. I am just so glad that Delsie, my Miniature Schnauzer(female), is not any where as bad as any one of the dogs on the show. Well, the dogs aren't bad, the people have encouraged the behavior without meaning to.

I loved the episode when you were working with Bandit because whenever someone would go to touch the woman Bandit would go to bark and snap at whoever was reaching towards his mom. Then, the lady would grab him and pull him back into her lap and PET HIM! She didn't realize that doing that was like rewarding him for snapping at whoever.

I love your show! Keep doing it forever!

Love,
Caitlin and Delsie

Ilove the show! I recommend it to all new dog owners and old! I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find the harnesses like Cinnamon and Chocolates? The two dachshunds.

First off, I would like to thank Cesar for all the wonderful work he does! Most dogs end up in shelter situations because of behavior (owner) problems, and I know he has probably saved many more lives than just the ones we see on his show.

I really enjoyed the dog park episode. We take our dog "Moxie", a 13 month old minpin/pomeranian mix, to a dog park fairly often. We've worked hard with Moxie to expose her to all sorts of situations during her formative months. We took her to the beach, parks, festivals... you name it! All of these experiences were good, with the exception of when some inconsiderate dog owner without any control of their dog, would let it race up and behave aggresively, or at the least, hyper intensely. She was becomming fearful of large dogs, and would start barking at any that would approach her, even if they weren't aggressive.

We took her to an outdoor dog show, where we knew the dogs showing would be trained, and (long story short), thanks to three, gentle, great pyrenes, she was able to have a normal large dog/small dog interaction! Sadly, we often still run into large dogs that behave innappropiately. We want Moxie to like big dogs, and do our best to enable that, but it seems that for every good interaction we give her, she meets five agressive dogs when we are in public! Moxie will generally let most dogs (large or small) come up and do the usual sniff ceremony, and she is always submissive, but if she senses the least intensity from a big dog, she barks. We've just found a training facility that offers a puppy play group, that allows small adult dogs as well. They do a wonderful job of supervising the play, to make sure it is appropriate and they work with the owners as well, giving training tips and stratedgies. It was wonderful watching Moxie interacting with the large breed puppies (some of whom, like a shepard and mastiff were huge)! She had a great time!

When we take her to the dog park, we only allow her off leash in the "small dog only" section, as we are worried about "prey drive instinct", kicking in with some of the larger dogs. I see the large and small dogs getting along in situations where the owners are being good pack leaders, but I don't always see that happening in the main section of our dog park, and have even seen blood on the snow on occaision. We've had trouble sometimes just getting into the park, with uncontrolled dogs swarming around (not a friendly swarm mind you... I'm ok with that!) I've even had people tell me that I should let her off lead in this area, that it was her being on lead that made her weak, and once provoked another dog to attack! I would be interested to see what Cesar thinks about "prey drive instinct" in relation to large and small dogs in a future episode.

Thanks again, Cesar, for all the wonderful work you are doing!!

I apologize for getting off the subject here in my earlier post. Back to consistency with family. I live alone with my pack, when my family/friends visit not only are my dogs expected to act appropriately so is my family, ha ha. I have no problem with this, as everyone always states, "I can't believe how well behaved your dogs are" again I am proud of this. My latest addition to my family is a german sheppard/rottie/dobie mix, she's a big girl. I have 3 young grandsons, Bailey growled at the oldest grandson once and I immediately did the "Cesar Bite" and put her in submission, we have had no repeat instance. This doesn't mean that I allow Bailey around the kids without me being present. The kids have to follow my rules.
My oldest sister and her husband have a 12 year old golden retriever "Maggie" who is a nightmare to get in the vehicle, go to the vet etc. Now I know my sister and brother-in-law, screamers to say the least. They needed to take Maggie in to the vet to board her and I "told" them I was coming to get Maggie, of course they said oh you will need help. Now Maggie never has a collar on, goes for walks, etc., they live in the country and she has free run. When I arrived I asked that they just watch, not talk, and have no eye contact with the dog. Maggie is a true sweetheart of a dog but has never had structure, leadership, etc. I walked up to her, put the collar on with the lead, and she was jumping all over. I did the "Cesar" touch and SHHH and Maggie sat, we then walked to the front door, Maggie wanted to bolt and again the touch, she sat, waited for me to go out then she followed.
We walked for a few minutes, I opened my van door and in went Maggie. My sister and brother-in-law stood there with jaws dropped. When we got to the vet I again told them don't say anything let Maggie and I do this. Maggie was awesome, all she ever really wanted was leadership. I hope I can teach my sister and brother-in-law something, the screaming and yelling gets them no where. If others could have seen how happy this dog was they would realize the power of what Cesar says, it's all so simple.

Hi Stephanie- I couldn't agree more with you about being able to break up the dog fights.
I've mentioned this several times in my posts, that my 2 german shepherds have had problems and both my husband and I have gotten hurt trying to break them up-and we have both worked as dog trainers. I think Cesar's show is great but I also would stress the importance of coupling what he does with obedience training.
I don't agree with you about the prong collars though-some dogs are just very tough and stubborn like mine. If they are used properly they are fine, but if people just put them on the dog and let the dogs pull them they can get cut on their necks-I would only reccommend these types of collars for people that have been trained in how to correct the dog properly.

Comment to Chantel: Please make sure you do plenty of research on Aussies before you decide to get one. I now have two in my pack-family, but didn't choose that breed until I did plenty of research on the breed's characteristics and traits. This is a high-energy dog that doesn't just mellow out once he grows out of puppihood. Nor does a mere 45 minute walk cut it with these guys. When people see me with my boys and comment on how beautiful they are and that "maybe they should get an aussie as a pet" and I make a point to let them know eactly how much time I spend with them every day. (People ask me what gym I work out in to stay in shape and I tell them I go home to my boys - they ARE my workout program.) I do not discourage getting an aussie, I love mine dearly and plan to get a third in a couple years, but I do ask that you do alot of reading and educate yourself as much as possible so you make the right choice. Aussies are not for everyone. Best of luck to you!

Jaemie,

Feed both dogs at once, and make them sit and wait for permission to eat. If one doesn't eat immediately, then pick up the food and put it away until tomorrow. If either one goes after the other's food, correct that dog, remove its food, and remove it from the feeding area. If you don't feel that you can safely do that with your dog without risking a bite, then you need professional help.

Which dog thinks it is dominant is not your problem. You notice that when Cesar goes into a house, he never tries to cater to a dog that is dominant. Rather, he dominates the dog that is dominant. That, you see, is the point. YOU are supposed to be dominant, and YOU are supposed to set the rules. By giving the chow preference, you are catering to her belief that she is dominant in your pack and she "owns" the food. This is NOT the message you want to send.

If you watch Cesar's video, you notice he walks into his pack with a bunch of bowls, and the bowls go first to those dogs that display the behavior (laying down being calm/submissive) that he wants, without being told. Same thing when he gives affection, he only gives it to those dogs in the group that are being calm and submissive. There's a lesson there... always reward/reinforce what you want from the dog, which is calm submssion, not dominance.

Of course, you're walking the two of them for 45 minutes a day, right? If not, you need to, as that's the minimum they need per Cesar of structured walking with you acting as a calm, assertive pack leader.

CINDY,

That's so cool. It's funny how quick a dog will change when a little leadership is shown by the owner. I've tried leading my friend's dog (I don't have a dog). We went on a walk and my friend let me walk her. She warned me that she pulled alot! but as soon as I got her I used Cesar's technics and she was doing very well by the end of the walk. But it was hard considering they don't walk her that often because it was a pain for them. Well I hope I can teach my friend how to really WALK THE DOG. My comments did not really go along with the blog but I just wanted to share that. :)

~Chantel

Does anyone know what mounting means to a dog? One of my dogs (female, spayed) has been trying to mount my legs for a few months. Every day. At the same time. She would follow me around, and not leave me alone until I let her (which I do sometimes just to have some peace).
I have to admit that her behavior annoys me, but I don't know how to stop it. I tried ignoring her, saying no, taking her for a walk, giving her commands to sit. She would do all that and then follow me again. Why a female would like to mount a female?

Sorry I just have to say one more thing

Rashida,

Well said! I definantly agree with you. I think that Cesar was only using that remark because he wanted her to feel maybe more pasionate about being a leader. Maybe give her an example.I agree that he came about this very well. It is like the episode with the great dane. He told the lady to sort of bring out the Italian in her. There is nothing wrong with that.

BX I see how you could have taken it the wrong way, but I really think you should watch the episode again. If you think that Cesar was so racially insensitive then why doesn't anyone talk about the way he told the lady with the great dane to bring out the Italian in her. I don't see a difference in the way he was talking to the lady with Boo. And I don't think he was referring to the "shenene" attitude and of course not all blacks are that way. Everyone is different. I think he was just referring to bring out the black in her as bring out the power of your heritage considering there whre many African American woman who where very strong. Thanks for reading my comment.

~Chantel

"Why a female would like to mount a female?" Mounting is not always a sexual behavior for dogs. Males will mount males, and females engage in "mounting" behavior as well, as a means of demonstrating dominance.

Obviously, the one being mounted will either allow himself/herself to be dominated, or it won't. Generally, the one refusing to be dominated will respond with some dominant behavior of his/her own...sometimes a bite.

In your case, your female is not acknowledging you as her pack leader...she is asserting her dominance over you, and trying to mount your leg is a means of demonstrting this. You must arrest the behavior positively and actively. Ignoring it is a passive way, and will not assert your dominance over her.

Cesar actually has an episode where he deals with this very behavior, from season 1, I believe. A female with a "humping" problem, trying to mount the kids, no less. You may want to secure that episode for further assistance.

In addition to walking the dog for 45 min a day, I believe he has the family utilize a corrective choke collar that is used whenever the dog began to attempt this behavior. The bottom line: you need to assert yourself as her pack leader; assert calm/assertiveness over her, bringing her into a calm/submissive state.

Thanks, Shari. There is, indeed, some confusion over this behavior, as many automaticallly interpret it as X, when it may be Y; heck, at the dog park, watch how many females mount males. :-) My own puppy, a six month male Pinscher, just "learned" this behavior, and recently was trying to dominate females AND males NO MATTER THEIR SIZE at the park. ;-)

At the park where I take him, there is one dog, a female German Shepherd, who is clearly the dominant one in the park. Care to guess which behavior she engages in to let both males and females know this? Yep. You got it.

Have a nice day...

Hi, Shari. I had two females (an adult and a teenager) who did the same thing. One is seeking to maintain her position as dominant one, while the other is seeking to usurp her. You and your husband are doing the right thing, though. Stop and correct the behavior, reinforcing the fact that both are subordinate to you two, *their* true pack leaders.

HI Babara- I know - you have to wait until Sunday morning @ 11 am, they are showing a repeat of the "Hootie" epsiode.

Ewa: You're so very welcome. It does sound like she's challenging you, but it equally sounds like you have a handle on it, and are eager to correct it. You will do just fine. :-) It's so refreshing to find owners with teachable spirts, which we should all have, willing to rehabilitate their dogs.

"If you think that Cesar was so racially insensitive then why doesn’t anyone talk about the way he told the lady with the great dane to bring out the Italian in her." Very insightful, Chantel. I had the same parallel in mind myself. Regrettably, this issue is pressed into almost every situation. The Dog Whisperer? C'mon.

LC has some good advice for you. In addition to that, read all you can on the the responsibilities of being a good dog owner. Prepare yourself for their needs and challenges. In other words, "train to be a dog owner." Talk it over with your mom; you've got a good head on your shoulders, and are clearly on the right track. :-)

DK

Thanks for the comments. I agree that these racial issues can be found in almost anything. People need to not be so sensitive. Of course there is a line where there are rude and racial remarks, but some shouldn't even have to be discussed.

Also thanks for the advice. I will be getting my dog in the summer so I will be able to train it before I start school again. I will also try an train myself to be a dog owner. Thanks :D

~Chantel

If you know you don't have the time to train a dog to be a good house dog you can happily live with, an alternative is to adopt a dog directly from a foster home that works with your local animal shelter. Many shelters have foster programs where shelter orphans are living with families, other dogs and yes, sometimes even cats. In my opinion, foster dogs are generally "easier" for new adoptive parents as sometimes these dogs have already been crate trained, housetrained and sometimes even obedienced trained! Plus, you know more about how the dog acts in a home environment - foster moms and dads are more than willing to share every detail about Fido's personality and behaviors.

Just another option available that is worth considering for all of you interested in adopting a new companion.

Happy Adopting!

I have a 14 month old Dalmatian that continues to jump up on people that first enter the house. He does not try to bite them, but more to get as close to their face as possible. I discipline him and he stops, but the second another person is to come over he starts again. I have learned a lot of great info from watching the show and reading the blog, so I hoped to get some insight from you all. Thanks.

Not related to this episode, but does anyone know where to buy the "doggie packs" that allow energetic dogs to "have a job" carrying water, etc?

The youngest of my four [I do chow rescue] is a ball of energy. Even with daily walks AND time on the treadmill, she's ready to party. I'd like to get a backpack both for her and her also-energetic, 70# "brother."

None of my local pet stores carries them.

Thanks.

I have seen the dog back packs at Pet Supplies Plus in the metro Detroit suburban area, also the Foster and Smith catalog has a lot of dog stuff. They cost about $40 to $50, depending on the size you need.

My three male neutered dogs will try to mount each other when they are playing, they are very vocal and "talk" as german shepherds do. It gets annoying and I make them stop because it makes me nuts. They also all want the one chew toy. There may be four exactly alike, but they have to have the one that the smalles dog has just because they want to dominate him. He is happy to be third in line but he doesn't want to be fourth. He will jealously guard his position with any new dog he thinks may take his spot. (a male of his size) Females are ok, or a small dog who is neutered and who doesn't challenge him. It really doesn't matter what they do, I am the boss around here anyway. One of the dogs used to try to push me when he was an adolescent. I used the settle type position to put him on the ground to be over him. He outgrew that at about 18 months. The other two dogs don't have that sort of personality. None of them really want to be in charge. That's my job.

As far as the stereotyping thing...I am sure Cesar would be horrified to think anyone would consider what he said to be racial. A girl I work with is from Mexico and she considers herself a minority, not really white, not really black, nothing in common with anyone else in the office, but we still love her for who she is and what she brings to us. Maybe Cesar sees himself as she does. Let's face it...there is good and bad of every color, and a dog forum isn't supposed to be an inflammatory web page to hurt anyone's feelings. My own personal policy, there are enough reasons to dislike people on an individual basis, not by what they look like, for Pete's sake.

Help! my shelter dog has lived semi peacefully with my 3 cats for two months now. my cats are not afraid of dogs because they have lived around different foster dogs. He is young and playful with other dogs big or small. He is a german shepherd mix. He has playfully chased them before, but then he pushes them out of the way or steps on them. sometimes he snaps at them if they are near him or his crate, or anything that is his. He has lunged at them through his crate and showed his teeth like he was warning them. If my cats are playing, Inuki (dog) will immedeatley get the urge to chase and snap. He knows that I do not want him to hurt them, so he will tolerate their presence until he thinks that i am not paying attention, and then he will jump and snap out at them. He gets alot of time with me out and about on a daily basis, he comes with me to work and plays with other dogs, meets different people and gets long walks daily, and plenty of games of frisbee. I suppose that freindship amongst them is out of the question, but I do not want him trying to dominate them. Please, again I will ask for someone, anyones opinion, suggestion, help??? I am confused about his intentions.

Help! my dog Hershe wass just fine when we got her as a puppy, but then a reletive spooked her & now she doesn't trust anyone except us. She's bitten someone already, but didn't break the skin.
Please Help Us,
Hernandez Family

Hi Debbie,

Thank you for the very good advice! Honestly, I have used Cesars teqnuiques since the day that I brought Inuki home, and I will admit that he has come a very long way from being a cowardly stray to a dog that people have commented on about his wonderful manners and balanced attitude wherever I take him. I have practiced the 'shh' method while I snap my fingers and point at him whenever I see that prey drive in his eyes directed at my cats. When I do this, he will immedeatley look at me and then submit by looking away and placing his head down, but as soon as my eyes are off of him, he is in prey mode again and intensley looking at them. I crate him when I am sleeping, or not around. I feed my cats first, then I have him sit and stay then I feed him. So I guess that in short, I am trying to say that he knows that he has boundaries, and he knows that cats are off limits, (he gets long walks daily, and comes with me to work and gets all kinds of excersize and play) yet, he continues to act jealous of them and/or dominant because he knows that they will not fight back (they just run or ignore him). He does submit to any cat who turns around and smacks him up, then he will never mess with them again. Sorry to talk for so long, I really appreciate the advice in which I will be even more consistent with on Inuki. I think that he hears me telling him I am in charge and cats are a no, yet, my cats really are not fighters when it comes to Inuki trying to establish dominance over them, and therefore he views them as lesser than him, or weak.so, he respects my demands around them, but he does not respect them. what should i think? How could I act to help change this behavior? I wish that he knew that they are all equal and should be freinds.....sigh. I will be keeping an eye out for that episode with cat issues. Again, thank you Deb for your pricless advice.

=^_^=
tianna

This is where I struggle the most when it comes to the pack mentality. As a single mom I'm seeing the benefits of using this whole pack thing in child rearing, too. Elements of it work really well, especially when my 9-year-olds son thinks he runs the show. And that is where I have problems with the dogs. My son loves to get down on all fours to play with my two collies. I watch and I see them treating child like a dog. The younger dog grabs at his clothes, often ripping brand new shirts. I explain, over and over, to child why this is not a good thing, but I can't get him to stop playing with the dogs this way.

Jeffer's Pet Supply sells the identical back packs Cesar uses. The most recent catalog I have shows them for $15.95 each (plus shipping of course). At one time they had a sale on them for only $9.99 each and I was lucky enough to get two of different sizes for our two youngest dogs. I buy all of my dog and cat supplies and used to buy all my livestock supplies from Jeffer's. They've always been great to deal with. You can find them online easily.

I am looking forward to seeing this Friday's "How the Family Can Affect...." episode. In our household I often feel like I'm battling my husband regarding the dogs or trying to 'undo' the bad results from things my husband does around them. They only respond to him for fun things like playing tug of war or ball/frisbee toss and for affection. He is never consistent with his actions or verbal commands so the dogs not only get confused but also get anxious and over excited. I am home with the dogs all day and although I sometimes screw up when I get lazy with keeping structure or don't remain calm, in general things go quite well. There's still lots of work to do on my part. But once my husband comes home from work he can often undo everything within minutes. The dogs will be barking excitedly and running around like lunatics because he eggs them on to behave like that. Then my husband leaves the room while they are still in that state and I have to calm them down again, but by that point I'm so angry at my husband that I want to put a choke collar on him! :) All he wants is to play or cuddle the dogs when he's in the mood. Otherwise he pays the dogs minimal attention. There is a definite difference in how the dogs behave with me versus with my husband. The dogs will pester him while he's trying to eat because he'll hand out tidbits. Of course, if he's not in the mood for that he gets annoyed at the dogs at which point I just laugh and say 'YOU caused that behavior. Don't you notice that they don't do that with me?'. Our outside kennels are set up in our barn which is about 200 feet from the front door of the house. Often at least one dog will refuse to follow my husband out to the barn, they'll turn around and come back to wherever I am. My husband gets angry that they won't follow him but then he just gives up and I wind up having to walk the dogs out to the barn. My husband is a smart guy and he is aware of what is needed, but he just won't do anything to make things different. He'll try something once or twice perhaps but then just gives up trying at all. And oh yes, he's watched many of Cesar's shows and thinks Cesar is awesome. But that just isn't enough motivation for him to actually follow through. As you can surmise, there's not a lot of balance in our family so it makes for a daily struggle. But it's definitely not all my husband's fault (no matter how much I wish I could blame it all on him!! I am not a calm person by nature. I often get loud, frustrated and aggressive. And we all know, that doesn't work well for our relationship with our dogs. So I have to work ten times as hard on myself in order to have any progress with our dogs. I just don't have the mental and emotional strength to also try to train another human being. It's exhaustng. Wish me luck.

Hi Shari! Thanks for the encouragement and for sharing your situation too. I wish my husband and I could blend our personalities....he's wonderfully calm and I envy that many times. But he's got little and often no assertiveness (with dogs or in life in general). Whereas I'm overly assertive and definitely get frustrated and lose my cool easily. So I'm hoping that while we work with our doggies, we can better ourselves as humans.

I know exactly what you mean about your doggie situation. We have three Aussies, one is 13 1/2, the second is 5 and the youngest is about 1 1/2 years old. I tend to like dogs who have headstrong personalities and have always managed to form great bonds with them. When we got the youngest one (at 6 weeks of age) we were specifically looking for a pup who was not going to torment our old boy with typical puppy behavior. That has worked out wonderfully from day one, she has always respected and been gentle around the oldest, and is best buddies with the 5 year old dog. BUT, on the flip side we are paying the price because we have a shy fearful young dog to deal with. We live very isolated, so not much human traffic here. She is absolutely wonderful with us, our dogs, cat, and chickens. And she enjoys the company of two of our closest friends. But she's afraid of other people and other dogs. Depending on whether the encounter is here at home or on leash somewhere else, her responses are different as to how she shows her fear. She is not aggressive and would prefer to remove herself from the situation but under certain circumstances will do the false bravado of a fearful dog who is trying to scare away that which she fears. So getting people to work with me to desensitize her is a tough one since most people don't know how to act around a fearful shy dog. I beg visitors to follow the rules I set.... no eye contact, don't talk to her, let her approach you, ignore the incessant barking. Many times well meaning people see her and want to fawn all over 'the poor scared dog' which terrifies her even worse.
So we've made some slow progress in the past 6 months, at least at home. Now she fears strangers in the house when they first arrive, but no longer runs out of the room trying to hide and if they ignore her she'll come up and check them out after about 5 minutes. The main issue with visitors inside the house is that she incessantly barks. Our vet has been here a few times to see her behavior, he says she is not aggressive but she is very unsure. He translates her barking into 'Hey! I'm uncomfortable with this situation. Who's this person? What am I supposed to do? Is it OK this person is here and moving around the kitchen?' So I am working very hard with her on this. The noise level is deafening for about 15 minutes (it used to be that if someone were here for 2 hours, the dog would bark for 2 hours, so at least now she eventually stops) and various tactics to decrease it only made it worse. So now we are trying a recommendation from a local behaviorist of 'ignore and distract'. It will definitely be a long slow process.

Hi Shari, glad to know there are others out there suffering from an excessive barking dog! Yes, I do obedience at home, and built an agility course which both younger dogs love. The two youngest dogs have daily farm type jobs- they carry buckets and other such items for me, rat hunt in the barn, herd the chickens back into the coop for me, and carry in firewood in winter! They have also learned various 'tricks' which I use more as an obedience training than for fun. One dog knows how to bring me a tissue, the other is my 'spotter' when I'm exercising. Each day they also walk on a treadmill and the youngest one LOVES it. Last year I bought a trampoline and the two dogs join me on it :) Since winters here are very snowy, I bought a sled and the dogs drag it (with or without me on it) all over our two acre field. Every morning we do an intense ball toss and frisbee toss for the two youngest dogs. Our arthritic geriatric dog loves hanging out peacefully during this and joins in their play with them when return to me with their catches. They love to learn new things so I'm always looking for something to teach them to keep their minds stimulated but also to use it in a structured manner for them as a job they do to earn other things.

I've tried the shaking the scruff... that only made her more fearful so we quickly stopped that, I've tried the usual shouting 'Quiet!' or 'Enough', and unfortunately none of my dogs respond to Cesar's 'sshhhhhhhhhhhhhh'. The local behaviorist wants us to try telling her to 'quiet' and then ignore her as this dog is so in-tune to us that even negative reinforcement is encouraging her to bark more. Our 'routine' is to tell her down/stay/quiet on her bed when visitors first arrive...it's within about 10 feet of the door so she can see them. She barks the entire time. Visitors come in are to ignore her. The barking/protesting gets louder when she is first ignored. So we continue to ignore her. Once the barking decreases (it has never completely stopped when a stranger is visiting, no matter how long we wait) we are to release her from her stay by calling her to us. Although she is still barking and glancing at the visitor as she treks her way to us, we are to keep encouraging her focus to be on us. Once she comes to me, I make her sit and make her look at me without barking for at least 5 seconds (ahhh...blissful quiet!) and then she gets a treat. We might have to repeat the sit/focus/treat a couple of times until I feel her calm down. Then we release her in the room. She usually goes over to the visitor, starting barking again on a lower key. If the visitor avoids eye contact she sniffs around (while barking a bit, but with interest in checking out the person). Then often the barking will drastically decrease or stop. We then work with our visitor to begin slight eye contact glances, or they drop their hand down (without looking at her directly) so that she can sniff further. If the dog isn't barking, but curious. We ask our visitor to give a treat (without eye contact). It took several months before she would take a treat from anyone. Now she is starting to look for them. I can hear the tone of the barks change from 'I'm really nervous and scared' to 'I'm still kinda scared but this is overly exciting and may be fun but I'm just not sure how to deal with it yet', then it turns into the 'I'm still scared but I think this might be fun so PAY ATTENTION TO ME'. If she starts barking again more than just one or two in a row, I make her go away, at least about 5 feet distance. She is not allowed to rejoin us until she calms down and gets quieter. Then we repeat releasing her to come to me and ignore the visitor until she's calmer. As I said, it's a very slow process done in baby steps.

Ewa,

I agree! Great post John R! :)

Hello All:

I am the "Guardian" of 3 cocker spaniels, all rescued.

I have watched all of the episodes of "The Dog Whisperer"
thanks to my Tivo. I save the episodes that really apply to my situation.

My problem is my youngest cocker, Carnegie, who is 18 months old (if I let him) is very dominant to me when
we are with my husband at home. He bites me. He has no
bite inhibition. He was nippy at 11 weeks and he is still
agressive. He has gone to puppy classes and is very social
and readily learns any new tricks that I teach him. He responds very well to me in neutral territory.

I practice "the walk" outside with him and he behaves very well but once inside (his territory) it's a different story. My other cockers are older, the female is 12 and
the other male is 6. Harley sticks up for herself and doesn't take any gruff from the pup and Kahlua is totally
submissive.

Carnegie behaves like the dachshund episode, "Chocolate and
Cinnamon". He is very jealous of me when I am with my
husband.

If any other Dog lovers have any suggestions for me, I am
all ears.

I love all of my dogs equally (I love my husband the best)
but I need to find the proper balance so Carnegie and I can
co-exist peacefully.

Many thanks and "Dogs Rule"

Cockers x 3,

I think your situation has to do with the way your "pack" works. For one you should claim his "teritory". He should clearly know that it is your turf. Ways you can show your pup this is: Answering the door with him behind you, YOU going out and in the door first, always being the pack leeder, only give him love food and toys when he is clam and submissive, shooshing him when he starts to growl at you, correct him and don't punish him, and of course stay calm and assertive. It's possible that you are not being a strong enough leeder so he is stepping up to try and help the pack. This only creates an imbalanced and aggresive dog. Now what you need to do is put him back into his rightful position which is under you and your husband. Make sure that you and your husband are both setting the same boundaries and limitations or you will confuse your dog, and that will cause alot of stress for him which he'll take out through aggresion and "try to run the show", as Cesar sais in this blog. And remeber to never show submission or fear to your dog. This will only spike his condition. Always be calm and assertive, they read your emosions like a book.Good luck :D

~Chantel

I've newly discovered Dog Whisperer after having adopted a 3-month-old blue heeler in mid December (Yogi). Or maybe he adopted me, because he just wandered into my yard one day. He immediately became a handful (very active, progressively more and more aggressive). Enrolled him in Puppy Training at PetSmart (very helpful).

Cesar's methods are very helpful. I was a "cat person" and didn't now a thing about being a dog owner. The daily walks are getting better and better. Yogi acts aggressively towards neighborhood dogs that are either running loose or behind fences. He's learning - rather, I'm learning to control him and keep him focused on the walk.

I've enjoyed reading the comments. Would like to add one thing on the house breaking. I leash walked Yogi around the perimeter of the back yard after waking up and after eating and gave him a special treat when he either pee'd or pooped. And gave EXTRA SPECIAL PRAISE if he pooped. He is fed twice a day, but water is always available.

I had struggled with the house breaking for over a month until I tried the leash method. Yogi only had one accident from day one of the leash method, and it was my fault for not taking him outside after a nap.

Happy Dog Rehabbing to all!

To Chantal and John R.

Many thanks for your comments.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me to get to a peaceful household and I think Carnegie will be happier too.

I went to Cesar's seminar in February, in LA and found it really enlighening. I also met Ilusion, Cesar's wife. She is a wonderful partner to Cesar.

With respect to that HBO Documentary "Dealing Dogs", there will be another special when CC Baird goes to trial. I don't know when that will be but I can't wait. He deserves the Max and then some.

Peace!

To Yogi's Boss,

Have you tried to distract him when he has the frisbee?

He might be interested in the other toy/treat in your hand,
then you can get the frisbee back - but don't fight him for it or every single game you play with him will be tug-of-war. That game is on your terms, not his. You must control when to start the game and when to end it.

Good luck!

Thanks, Linda P and CockersX3, for the help. I'll try the distraction method. Hope he will learn to release it eventually. LOL

And I agree 100% with the walking and losing weight. The morning Yogi showed up at my door, I had already planned a trip that afternoon to go to the humane society to adopt a dog. So I think God "chose" Yogi for me. I definitely need the exercise and he's an excellent walking partner :-)

In a recent Dog Whisperer show, Cesar stated that dogs help us have a balance (exercise, discipline, etc). That is so true.

We just returned from a 45-minute walk in 80-degree, sunshiny weather. Yogi's resting nicely beside me on the floor. we walked twice today. I hope two walks can equate to one long walk because I'm not up to an hour and a half at one time yet!

We have an 8 year old Jack Russell. Casey was always a very good dog, with us and our daughter. He followed commands well, and played well with all of us. He lost his hearing (the vet thinks it is a genetic defect) a few years ago, and has since become a TERRIBLE dog. He is hostile toward our children, and growls every time we even pet him. He still plays well, but we never leave him alone with our kids, not for a moment. We crate him whenever our kids friends come over. He has never bit anyone, but we don't want to take any chances. Has anyone ever encountered this problem? Thanks!

Re: Scruff Shakes

From what I've learned, there is no need to shake a dog. In a pack, the shaking is used in an attack or when killing prey.

It also may indicate unstable behavior in a leader. You could lose your leadership status or trust on the dog's part, by doing this.

Also the act of doing this, can turn to more of a venting of frustration, rather than a form communication, or to control a dog.

I personally only use my hands on a dogs scruff as a fingertip nip, fingertip hold, or actually holding the scruff to control the dog.

I would never want a dog I was working with, to feel attacked.

This is just my opinion.

Deb :)

First of all, I would like to say "thank you, Cesar", you are truly my hero. I am also from Mexico and I have always been a dog lover, but to be a dog lover is not just to love and kiss the dogs. To understand their psychology, keep the dogs balance and be able to be the pack leader represents to be a dog lover, not just to kiss them and spoil them.
When I firt watch your show, I was shocked because I realized that you come to people that have problematic dogs and the owners think the dogs have the problem and don't realize that the problem is them. So, it was funny to see that you came to their house to train the human and not the animal, pretty funny stuff!!
I have three dogs myself and I it has taken me a while to establish myself as the leader, because of course, I just let them run the show for many years.

I will keep on watching your show and I can't wait to attend one of your seminars soon.

Gracias Cesar!!

HI Yogi's boss-I have s uggestion for you because my german shepherds have done the same thing.

When he brings the object back to you-you can try grabbing and shaking his scruff firmly and telling him no "out"-he should release it-if shaking the scruff does not work you can keep on his leash on while you are working on this and give him the correction if he does not release it. When he does release it give him heavy praise for doing it. Thats how we taught our dogs-they are both attack trained german shepherds, and using the word "Out" strictly means to release whatever is in their mouth.

Make sure you use a word for what you mean-it doesn't have to be "out" it can be "Give"
or "Drop" anything as long he has a word he understands so he is clear on what you want from him.

Does Cesar ever go "on tour" doing siminars or anything?

Thank you Cesar for this blog and the upcomming program. I am left at home all day with our four dogs, 3 pugs and a beagle. Two of the pugs are male. I never have a problem with them until my husband comes home. Then they start fighting.

One male pug is unfixed and he is the pug we have had since a puppy, and is definitely the apple of my husband's eye. I try to tell him you need to treat all the dog's equally, but he doesn't get it. We watch your program every Friday evening along with our grandchildren (we are raising them) but I don't think my husband realizes this favoritism behavior is creating the problem. I am hoping this program will sink in.

Thanks again
Gayle Hedrington

Shari, thanks for the tip about using "drop" to help Yogi let go of the toy. Yesterday I tried the 3 toys tip someone else gave and he ended up biting my hand (broke the skin). He gets so wrapped up in controlling the game. I don't think he knows biting hurts! Other dogs I've had seemed sensitive to "ouch!" and pulling away or stopping the game. But not Yogi. After he bit me, I started saying "leave it" which he understands to mean drop whatever he has or to leave the object alone. Seemed to help a little. If he didn't "leave it", then I'd tug on his collar. It's a process. we're working on it.

Dee wrote about puppy housebreaking. Yogi was housebroken at around 5 months. We got him at 3 months when he was dropped off in front yard. We tried the only technique we knew for about 2 months (rubbing his nose in it) - to no avail. Then, we began leash walked him at around 5 months old - 15 minutes after eating and after sleeping. We gave him heavy praise and a special treat to eat after he used the bathroom. Worked like a charm and was very easy and nonstressful way of housebreaking. As soon as we began the leash walking, he only had an accident once (when I forgot to walk him after a nap). Maybe we just got lucky :-) But I recommend this to everyone. We weaned him from the leash after the first week.

Amanda:

Housetraining your dog is, indeed, a daily exercise...for you and your puppy. Many trees have died in the discussion over what is the best method, or what types of correction are needed in this effort (positive reinforcement or positive correction, a balance of both, etc. and etc).

Some people obtain this success with their dogs rather quickly (it took my friend a few weeks longer than it did me, but we - whew! - both arrived nonetheless), while others require a bit more time. In any case, the key is to be consistent, patient, and above all, even in potty training, calm/assertive.

Do not allow the dog to frustrate you, nor allow youself to buy into the idea that every accident is *your* fault. Allow the dog to assume a bit of responsibility in this process. That is, puppys will have accidents, to be sure. But puppys, especially those coming into the "teen" years, will also get "lazy" and even a bit "defiant" or "rebellious," eliminating where they *know* they are not allowed.

In these cases, these are NOT due to lapses in training (it is not your fault), but due to - dare we say it? - bad behavior "in the moment" from the dog. Correct it! Do *not* ignore it. Bad behavior can occur in any area of the dog's life, including this area. How you correct it is, of course, up to you and your preferred method of correction; but, ignoring it, will allow bad behavior to be nutured, even if passivley.

How do you tell the difference between an "accident" and an act of bad behavior? Know your dog...believe-it-or-not, nine times out of ten, you will know the difference.

My dog has not had an "accident" in several months. My friend's dog, on the other hand, has had two (still a very small number). In one case, the dog simply was being lazy and defiant (she was corrected); in the other case, however, the dog was simply sick, and was cared for accordingly. My friend knew her dog, and hence, knew the difference. :-)

Finally, it is my contention that we are not going against nature by training them to "go outside." Since dogs, by nature, are den creatures, then it is consistent with their nature NOT to eliminate in their den. By crating them, and then setting the bounds and limitations to go outside, we are simply extending the borders of that "den mentality"; requiring them to abide by these rules, set by their pack leader, is to remain consistent with their own psychology. In other words, in our training of them, we are simply utilizing their own instincts to our advantage. :-)

I trust this helpful.

Keep up the good work!!

We, too, tell people with dogs to watch this show. Cesar is amazing!! His advice is as good for kids as it is for pets. Most of our friends have dogs with bad behavior of one sort or another that Cesar could fix in no time...if only more of them will watch the show (we're working on that! I'm mentioning it on my blog, and will put it on my website as well as the holiday newsletter we'll send out this year). :) We don't have a dog yet, but we're learning all the techniques to ensure that we'll be good owners if and when we do get one.

Thank you for a great show!

I have a problem with my female german shepherd that I would love to read any suggestions anyone has about it. She is completely housebroken but when I arrive home from work she gets excited and pees on the floor. It's not just a piddle but she actually squats and leaves a little puddle. She acts real submissive with her ears back and tail down. I've tried just ignoring her and walking past her like its no big deal and also petting her and saying hi first thing but either way she still does it. What do you think Cesar would say about this?

Amber,

If your dog is getting too excited when you come home then you should work on calming her down right when you come through the door. Do not let her be anxious/excited. Also do not try to calm her down by petting her. This only sending the message excitement=praise. This will only escalade her problem. Cesar sais to never give praise to a dog when they are not in a balanced state of mind, for example do not praise your dog when she is excited/anxious/dominant. This is an imbalanced state of mind.

So when you walk through the door and your dog is not in a relaxed/submissive state of mind then you stay calm and "shoosh" her. If she calms down then give her praise, but not excited praise, calm praise. But if she does not calm down then give her another shoosh. Make sure you are in the state of mind as if you are the pack leader or else it won't work. And stay assertive and calm! Do not have the thought in your mind that "oh no she is going to pee I know it". Also make sure you are a strong pack leader in all the other areas like when you walk, do you make sure the dog is in a balanced state all the time, are you setting boundaries and limitations? You need to make sure you are a consistant and overall good pack leader.

I hope this helps get rid of your dogs behavior. Good luck. :)

~Chantel

Thanks for the suggestions. Chantel, you are probably right I do have that thought "oh no, she's going to pee" but she does do it even if I don't look at her for the first minute or so I am home and ignore her until she settles down. Usually the peeing happens five seconds or so after she sees me walk in the house before I have a chance to get her out the back door. However I did think about coming in around back and letting her outside to greet me and then I could still ignore her until she calms down and like John said, if she did pee it wouldn't matter. Thanks for the input.

Amber

Hi guys,

Outside of the times when dogs pee in excitement or fear, "submissive urination" is a form of communication from the lower ranking animal, usually a puppy, to the more dominant animal.

This seems to say, "Don't hurt me, I'm just a baby!" or "Don't hurt me, I give!" or simply "I recognise, you are the leader". Kind of a compliment, actually.

I have seen people misread this signal and even interpret it as "spite", which is very unfortunate. I have heard the phrase, "I'm gone all day, and my dog gets so angry with me, she runs up and pees in front of me the moment I walk in the door. I discipline her for it, and it only makes it worse!"...

Oh my! The dog is peeing more, because it didn't get the message across.

I'm so glad this blog is here! :)

Yes, I have found altering the homecoming routine or doing an activity where the dog is following you, breaks the pattern, and helps get a pup past this stage.

Deb

I watched the 8 below movie and if you are a dog lover it's a terrible movie to watch. It is like having a knife twisted in you for 2.5 hours. The only reason to watch it is if you are suffering from an excess of happiness. We had to rush home to the doggies just to make sure that they were still all right. It shows the leader dog barking orders at the other dogs to get them to do things. The film is based on a Japanese expedition to Antarctica in 1957/8 and an 80s Japanese movie. Sorry to distract from the focus of the post, but just wanted to save some people from the movie.

Cesar does a great job, hope his book comes out soon. Wonder if they'll feature a dog that Cesar cannot help (there are dogs out there with neurological problems)

Mosilager
mosilager.blogspot.com

Hi Joelle,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having problems with your Vizsla. Cesar had 2 separate episodes on that breed last season. They are very high energy dogs. Do you take her
out for long walks? Cesar claims that most hight energy dogs greatly benefit from 45 min. to 1 hour walks a day.

She might even enjoy a bike ride with you. I see many people in my area on their bikes with their dogs and both are having a ball.

This type of exercise might bring down some of that energy she exhibits at home. A tired Vizsla is a happy Vizsla and very happy owner.

Good Luck!

OK, I need to vent, plain and simple.

I live in the suburbs and have spent thousands of dollars on a chainlink fence for my yard, hours upon hours working to train my boys (2 aussies) to walk appropriately on a leash, among other things. With this in mind, I find it EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING that at least ONCE A WEEK we are getting charged at by someone's unsupervised, unleashed and otherwise uncontained dog.

Thus far, there have not been any incidents which resulted in a fight - thank GOD. But when an off-leash dog charges at us and is barking like crazy and circling us frantically, my boys are, to say the least, a little perturbed, no longer focused on me, and shall we say a little unmanageable.

I cannot blame my boys entirely for this poor behavior. It is an uncontrolled situation in which I am unable to restrain the challenging dog and my boys don't take well to being threatened by a strange dog.

One incident almost resulted in the off-leash dog getting hit by a car. I have gotten to the point now where I am just going to start walking with an extra leash around my neck for anyone else's dog that isn't being taken care of and running free.

What's worse is, I have offered, on countless occasions, for my neighbors to bring their dogs to my house (I'm the only one who felt a need to fence in my large yard) so they can run free, play, explore and be DOGS. Do they take me up on it EVER? No, of course not. Instead, their dogs run away from their homes and come to mine (it has happened on numerous occasions). In case you are wondering, no, I do not feed them in any way - they are only given fresh water.

One time after my neighbor's husky ran away to my house (for a 2nd time), I didn't have the heart to return her immediately and let her stay in my yard and play with my boys, with their toys, in their pool, etc. until my neighbors came to see if I had seen her. The best part of THAT story was, the guy couldn't catch her. She (the husky) would get within inches of him and dart off when he tried to grab her. After watching him try for OVER AN HOUR to catch her and seeing how much fun she was having playing, I finally told him to leave her at my house and when she had enough play-time, I would bring her home.

I'm just frustrated because I feel like everytime we get charged at by an unleashed, unsupervised dog, it take us backwards with the training process because my boys are no longer in a calm state of mind and always on alert for a surprise attack.

OK, I guess I'm done now.

Kimberly,

I agree with Amber regarding the leash law. Animal Control
does enforce it and does fine people who choose to ingnore it. If Animal Control gets too many compliants, they will remove the dog from that owner. Most Animal shelters, believe it or not, want the dogs in responsible homes and do not want to put them down (in my city anyway).

Another problem is your chainlink fence. Dogs can climb chainlink - I have seen this up close and personal and since the dogs from the outside have a visual of your dogs,
that makes it worse.

I would be hard pressed to return any dog that makes a return visit to my house because of lack of responsibility on the part of the owners. They don't deserve them back!

Kimberly,

In my neiborhood there is this one dog who gets out all the time, and it isn't the most friendly dog. This dog, I believe, is a border collie/mix and is extremely unbalanced! He chases cars and plays excitedly with other dogs that were with thier owners. It made me so mad because this dog was not cared for the owners very well and obviously did not have any training so that poor dog is living an imbalanced and dangerous life. I'm afraid that he will get hit by a car one day(if he hasn't already, I haven't seen him around for a while).

The point is that there are dogs running loose pretty much everywhere so what can we do to stop them? I think the best way is to call Animal Control, as mentioned by Amber. But also comes the question that what do you do at the moment when an imbalanced, loose dog comes up to you while you are walking your dog(s)? I think the best thing to do is to keep your own dogs in a balanced state and try to aviod the dog or scare the dog away. You don't want a fight to brake out.

Cockers x 3 is right. Dogs can climb chain link fences, as wierd as that sounds. I have heard of several dogs, big and little, that can climb those kinds of fences. I would suggest getting a wood fence, but if you don't have that kind of money then I also suggest that you put those plastic pannel things through the fencing. It should be pretty cheap, and would hopefully not attract all the dogs, and make your back yard more private. Also I don't think that they can climb it with the plastic pannels in the holes. Well I hope I was of some help to you.

~Chantel

Kimberly,
Some owners are just irresponsible. I don't call animal control in that situation, because I think that many times the owners would not even try to get their dog back, and the dog would end up being put to sleep. Or do they have to come and pick up their dog?
One of my neghbors has three dogs, and two of them, little chihuahuas always escape and are in the frontyard. They are friendly, but each time I pass with my dogs, they all want to play, and it takes me several minutes to drag my dogs away. Sometimes the chihuahuas will follow us, and at that point I know that the walk is going to be difficult.

About the chain link fence, yes some dogs can climb it, but most can't. It is a good way to fence your yard. If the dog wants to escape they will jump over or dig under the wooden fence too.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my little "rant".

In regards to calling Animal Control - well, I guess I look at that as an absolute last resort. It isn't that these dogs aren't loved, or fed or taken care of - clearly they are. However, it is just as evident that the time and energy is not being invested in giving them an active enough life. I don't know,... It's so hard. God forbid, something happened and one or both of my boys got out. I would certainly hope that my neighbors would at least make the effort to try to contact me before having them shipped off to the pound. (Yes, there is a leash law in my area.)

As far as the chainlink fence is certained - I have heard stories about dogs climbing fences, but this is not the case with my boys or with any of the neighbors' dogs. My property has woods on two sides of it. The husky I mentioned (Angel) actually got away from her owner while being brushed outside and ran through the woods until she came up to my yard. Having met her before, I knew she was OK, so I let her in the yard to keep her safe and let her play until I decided to contact her owners (or they came to me). I will say that my older boy (Jes) figured out how to squeeze UNDER the fence when I first had it put up two years ago. That doesn't happen anymore now I piled small boulders all around the outside perimeter of the fence.

As I watch Cesar's show every week, I always find it interesting how one of his biggest challenges is getting his clients to treat their dogs more like dogs (rather than children) in order to establish the rules, boundaries and limitations... Yet, I cannot help but think if my neighbors treated their dogs more like children, that they would be more devoted to their quality of life and I could have a pleasant walk down my street with my boys without wondering who's going to come charging at us...

Oh yeah, one last footnore, this happens EVERYWHERE to us too. I don't have much of a neighborhood, so lots of times I take my boys to my mother's neighborhood for our walks/runs - only days ago, a cocker spaniel got out of the house and came charging into the street at us.

{Sigh} I just need to get over it, huh?

Chantel, good for you. You sound like a really responsible person, but...
Do you really need to buy a dog? There are so many homeless dogs, you can find almost any breed you want. I rescued all my three mutts, and they are the best dogs in the world. I think that adopting should be first choice. If you can't make yourself going to the pound (I can't, it breaks my heart) there are so many adoption groups that have dogs who deserve good life. Petco and Petsmart here have adoption every weekend, there is pets911 which is promoted by Cesar, please check it.

Ewa,

When I said "buy" a dog, I meant buy a dog from Humane Society. I'm glad you care so much about homeless dogs. I don't think I will ever buy from a breeder because there are so many dogs that already need homes. I went to Humane Society a couple weeks ago with my cousin(my cousin and I love dogs) to see the possiblities for my dog. I saw many that I would be willing to take in. It just amazes me how many dogs need homes in only one shelter of many.

I was reading a magizine I picked up from the library called "Dog World". It really bugged me how all they talked about was breeding dogs and designer breeds. I meen it doesn't seem right for them to be promoting breeding and "the perfect dog" when there are so many homeless. I don't see anything wrong with getting a dog from a shelter. Does it HAVE TO BE a purbred??? I meen I can see how some poeple want purebreds so they know they're percise characteristics but with a little searching you can find a purebred at a shelter. Well I just wanted to tell everyone that I will be adopting a dog from a shelter, and that I really really care about homeless dogs and am somewhat against breeding dogs in general.

~Chantel

I am saddened to hear that many of you have stopped going to dog parks. The area I live in has several dog parks that are monitored by either Forest Preserve Police or the local municipality police. Incidents of aggressive dogs are brought to their attention and dealt with by the authorities. The owners of those dogs are warned to keep their dogs under control. A second complaint results in their park license being confiscated and the owner and dog asked to leave and not return. A biting incident as a result of aggressive/attack behavior once reported is dealth with within a short period of time and that dog and owner are no longer allowed to enter the park. While that all sounds harsh, it is necessary and is a great help for those of us who want to enjoy the parks with our dogs.

Hi Ewa,

I live in Salt Lake City, UT. The dogs at the Humane Society are about 75 dollars I think? Anyways. It makes me angry also that poeple think dogs can be thrown away anytime that they please. If someone is going to get a dog they have to understand that this is a lifetime commitment (for as long as the dog lives anyway). I just think some poeple have it all wrong. They don't see the facts before getting a dog because they get too caught up in the momment. They probably didn't do any research, or didn't at least use some common sence. I hope that poeple will do thier research before even thinking about getting a dog. Believe me, I've done my share of researching. It really helps you see what it's going to be like AFTER you get the dog.

Nice to chat with someone who cares. Thanks Ewa!

~Chantel

Hi! Our family loves "The Dog Whisperer" and are anxious for more trainers to adopt his philosophy on the Treasure Coast in FL. Sam is a 1.5 year old Boxer/Bull Mastiff mix, right about 100lbs. I am the pack leader of our family (3 kids and husband included). After 2 puppy training classes and daily walks, we are making good progress with Sam, but have one big problem I am hoping to get some feedback on: If one of my two smaller (in stature) children leave the door open a crack or don't shut it quickly enough, Sam rushes by them to get out the door and runs (like a throroughbred) across the street and through our neighbor's yards. Sometimes it takes us an hour or more (and many treats) to get him back. By this time, I literally have steam coming out of my ears. I understand we have to address the "rushing" issue first, but the only way to get him back in the house is to leave the door open & ignore him. Any suggestions anyone?

Thank you!

Hello Pack Leaders!
I am hoping maybe someone can give me some encouragement and/or advise. I have a Boston terrier Male fixed, 9 mo. we crate trained him starting at 3mos. My husband and I both work full time jobs so Borris spends a lot of time at home alone. His daily exercise consists of a morning 15min walk almost everyday with my husband and a 30 to 45 min walk in the evening EVERY night with me we are both still in the process of "mastering the walk" but our progress has been promising. Our problem is that I never wanted to have to crate a dog full time. Ultimately I would like to give Borris access to our home on a full time basis without supervision. Currently he spends the day inside our 10X10' bathroom where his crate, food and toys are accessible- besides the occasional shredding of the toilet paper roll and pulling the towels off the racks he seems to do well I say that because its a much achieved improvement from the chewing of our walls and cabinets we used to endure. We have tried expanding his "den" beyond the bathroom using a puppy gate we gave him access to our hall way and then another bedroom. Immediately he began to urinate in the bathroom, and chew up anything he could reach including furniture- he also chews up things while I am home if I don't watch him closely enough. It is almost as if he is saying - my crate is now large enough I can pee in this room and play in this room. I don't really have any idea what I need to do to "claim" these rooms as non-destruction areas, or to progress little Borris into the whole house as a crate without destruction of furniture and chewing of everything in sight combined with destroying his potty training that we worked so hard to establish. Any advise?

idk wat 2 right so umbye! ha ha i bet you airheads have to actually red this! guess waht this is not my reall name or my real e-mail i just made 1 up!(i bet it's some1 and they'll get really pissed)ha ha for u! well go hump some 1 bye!!!!!!!!!!!! this site SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!

Thsi is to Yogi's boss: I agree what you said about taking the puppy out on the leash when it has to go to the bathroom. I tried to wean my ESS off the leash but she keeps on running to the neighbors yard. Do you have a fenced in yard for you dog to go in. I live out in the country and the yard is to big to fence in. If you have any helpfull ideas I sure would appricate them.

Unusual problem: Younger dog lifting his leg on older dogs.

This just started for me where my 2 year old border collie male started lifting his leg and actually urinating on the other three dogs in our household.

Up until the last week, I'd never seen him lift his leg. Now when someone goes outside through the doggie door to go do their business, he high tails it out with them and while they are busy, he lifts his leg and has actually hit the girls a couple of times.

What can we do, this is totally unacceptable behavior.

My little pack is:
Scully, 7 year old Border Collie/Aussie Mix, Female 70 lbs
Mulder, 6.5 year old Male German Shep/Husky Mix. 100lbs.
Maui, 4 year old Akita Mix, Female 100 lbs.
Clunie (problem one) 2 years old, AKC Border Collie, 45lbs.

All ideas would be appreciated.

To Kelly,

Mom to Scully, Mulder, Maui and Clunie. This is a new one for me. I had no idea a dog would urinate on another dog. Could this be a way of trying to show dominance over the girls? Shame on you Clunie! He should be careful, they just might gang up on him someday when he's not looking. "Pee on us"? How dare you, they'll say.

I'm clueless to this one. Hope someone can help you.

GinnyC

I have been breeding Pomeranians for several years now. One thing I have found is that it is VERY IMPORTANT to remember that YOU are the OWNER and the dog is the PET. I have a hard time with people who refer to themselves and the "human" of the pet. That is putting your dog on the same level as yourself and vice versa. I am not my Poms' "Human" I am their owner/handler.
Most people who refer to their pet this way either do not have children, or, as bad as it sounds, treat their pets either as good as or better than their children. In reading the posted comments let me just say, you can teach your pet to live by YOUR rules. A dog is one of the easiest animals to train, if you are consistant with it.
It is best to start as soon as you get your pet.
As for Poms with small children; I have found that some of the best families who have taken my poms, have children.
These little dogs love attention, and NO ONE gives more loving attention than a child. I do not agree with the breeders who say that they PREFER not to place their poms in homes with small children. A large adult can be just as harmful to the dog if not more so.....an adults patience wears thin a lot faster than most children.

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