Cool!

So glad to hear that. :)

I was going to ask if the chat would be documented
and archived! Hooray!! It will be nice to refer back
to it in the future. Hope I get to ask a question, too
but it will be great just to see Cesar's answers to
others.

I was wondering the same thing. It might be nice to be able to submit questions ahead of time so that Cesar could see where many peoples interests are. Or a poll of somekind. I would not be surprized if the chat crashes from the volume. I plan to get my seat early!!!

For instance, on our Dog Whisperer email list we were talking today about puppies done "the Millan way" and while he kinda touches on it in his book it would be nice to know how to start out right - especially if age is a concern for certain kinds of behavior leadership!

Well I'm going out of town (family emergency) I'll be on the road so I need to ask my question now my dog Chaos is a 9yr old Boston Terrier & Pit Bull loves people, kids and Cats but Hate other dogs what do I do?

Hi, cesar I love your show I think is the greates!!!
please cesar you have to come to south florida (boca raton), when I see your show on tv is amazing the work
you do. PLEASE OPEN YOUR OWN WEB SITE, so we can tell
the DOG WHISPERE HOW GREAT HE IS.........
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR FREE HELP
SUSY J

I have a Great Dane that survived HOD. He now has a temperment problem and is snapping. He is 15 months old and way too big to be a snapper! I feel that the reason why he snaps at people is because he was so sick for the first 9 months of his life and he didn't have enough people interaction...or am I making excuses for him?
My fiance and I have a baby on the way and I'm very worried about how he will be with our new little one.

Susy,

Cesar does have his own web site site at http://cesarmillaninc.com/

I have a 2yo American Bulldog, recently rescued a 7wk old Pittbull pup and I need to know what normal play is between the two. The pup starts to bark, and show teeth when they play (at least what I think is play). He also bites the dog all over, grabbing and holding on. The older dog sometimes pins him down but the pup still manages to bite while being down. Then sometimes the big dog will roll on his back (isnt that a sign of submission) I dont want the new pup thinking he's "big dog of the house"

I am so excited for tonight!

Do you think i should get on at seven? I live in Utah and the new episodes are on at 6:00 here. I will just come on anyways. I wonder how this is all going to work?

I can't wait to see how Cesar answers the questions.

~Chantel

Chantel,
Me TOO! I'm SO Excited!!!!!lol :D KathyB

my husband and i both watch your show every friday night. we love it. we have four dogs. our oldest is a mix, jasmine is a yorkshire terrior, charmen is a 5lb poodle, and carbie is a lhsao apso.he is the youngest. our 2 daughters are grown and have their own families now so we were blessed to have our 4 dogs that we love so much.hope to see you continue your shows forever.

I don't even know where to start! Cesar please bring your training nationally. I am on the East Cost. My dog is a food eating, trash-picking, gate-pushing-over, bed-peeing-when she is pissed dog who ignores me. I have some dominance over her but not much. She is two and still chewing! She is even in the habit of sneaking into my bed while I am sleep!

Chow,female, almost 5 years olds, VERY submissive to EVERYONE. Then comes Layney. Now 14 months. Female. Neither is mean or anything. My problem is that....it seems that Layney is Princess's dog. I will go out to get them from the yard and Layney will sit there waiting and then Princess will start messing with her to get her away from the gate so i cant grab her . IT'S ANNOYING lol.
Also..Layney has done killed a wild rabbit that used to run through my yard. And birds that are flying over her head. How do you train a dog not to chase?
Sincerly, Jeans, Princess and the huge Pup Layney

i need help with 2 dogs dingo mix, i have dad and today i got his son . Dad is very Alfa
and son is very mellow dad wants to fight what do i do? i have to keep son in a bedroom dad wants to really hurt him

Hello
I have two female shar pei puppies 6 months old and both are being trained to walk on a leash separately, and with pincher collars because they drag me down the street(looks like I am waterskiing). I think that they are getting better with the pulling, but only because they are now being trained individually. Will I ever be able to walk with the two girls or will it continue to be a pulling match because of the competition between the two, even after the individual training?
Thanks

I need advise! my dog goes nuts and barks like crazy while in the car and seeing people outside or in another car, also when we stop at a drive-in fast food place, she goes wild and nasty and barks to the teller, how can I stop this?

Carrie,
YES! ugh!

It's Not working!!!!!! :(

I am going to cry. I have been looking forward to this for 3 weeks!! Aah!

It's not working here either. :-(

I can't log on either. I don't think it is working.

In the meantime...
Sophia, maybe you should crate your dog when he/she is in the car.
If you're already crating, you might practice putting the dog in the car, but not go anywhere. She needs to get comfortable in the car so that she's not easily distracted.

Michelle Haskins says:

I have 2 pitbulls who will not quit licking! They will lick the very skin off you.

Michelle- Their licking is their sign of affection to you. You need to teach them the command kiss and then have them kiss on command.

I am on the phone with Nation Georgraphoc now, they are working on it!

Welp I had 5 Questions! (1 of them was for a few of us on the blog!):

Hi Cesar!!!
1. I have a 12 month old, 100lb., male German Rottweiler named Roman and he is STUBBORN!lol Playful, happy, people & dog friendly but stubborn!lol How can I show him I AM the pack leader? He tests me constantly! We have the walk pretty much down and today was our 2nd day at the dog park, but before I “allow” him in the park, I walk him for about 30+ minutes first, so he knows I am the boss and he is calm/submissive.

2. The two times I have taken my dog to the park I watch for any sign’s of trouble makers and if I see a dog acting strange (crouched down and looks like he’s about to pounce on a rabbit while looking at my dog) or tries to be dominant and mount my dog, I will immediately come in and stop it…I am actually correcting another person’s dog as I do NOT want my dog to do what I KNOW he will do and that is have no part of it & a fight will break out. Am I doing the right thing by stepping in?

3. A few of us on your blog have the same thing happening and we have NO IDEA what it means….as we are walking, our dogs will sometimes come very close to me/us and touch my/our hand with his/their face (not mouth) and I (personally) will gently touch/rub the area in front and to the side of his nose for about a second or two…we don’t know what it means, but there are a few of us on the blog, who’s dogs do it. What does it mean? It’s the sweetest thing & I would LOVE to stop and just hug him, but I know that would be bad!lol We are ALL hoping it means something good!lololol

4. You are going to be in Bradenton Florida on May 27th….I live in Tampa Florida (aprox. 1 hour N. of Bradenton) are you willing to have a consult or meet with anyone & their dog while you are here? You, your family and your entire entourage (Even any of your pack!) can stay at my house FREE!!!!! :D

5. You worked with a Rott named Bearz on one of your episodes that pushes or says hi to people in a dominant fashion…mine kind of does that also (I will not allow him to and have to work with him CONSTANTLY the whole time company is here). How do I make him STOP doing it?

I hope Cesar knows we all love him and we are trying to get on!

Thank You Carrie!!!!! XO :)

Remember that corn, onionc, grapes and raisens are all bad foods for dogs.

Marsha,
I cried when Scrappy saw his owner!!! :)

Carrie,
I'm checkin constantly! KathyB

hahahhahaaaaaa.....makes me feel like some weird groupie! :D

O!lol I thought you meant about checking the chat!lololol

I am going to be going to school to be a dog trainer. I can see it now- DOG WHISPERER: Philadelphia!

Yeah. I know. Can't afford it. Too poor am I. It's like $2000 for a weekend and $10000 for a month.

Dawn,
yeah...it was so nice to see that we know at least 1 dog made it home!

KathyB,

I would love to learn from Cesar. I would not have known if you hadn't posted the info. Thanks. I will need to check into that. I think it would be very helpful with the pits I rescue.

I'm going to keep checking Carrie!

Yes Dawn it would be AWESOME for what you do!!!!

lol.!

I'm kind of surprised that NG did not do a test run on the chat and make sure it was up and running.

KathyB,
I have had so many people open up to the idea of adopting some of our dogs because of Cesar. I would like to personally thank Cesar and let him know because of what he does I have placed many of my dogs. I think that would make him happy, it certainly made those dogs happy in a round about way.

This is my first time owning a Rottweiler...I have always owned pitts as an adult...they are the BEST most loving dogs I've ever had!!!!

Thank God for people like you & Cesar!

Quite a few of my rescues were used as bait dogs. It would break your heart. All the open wounds. I don't understand how people can be so cruel to man's best friend. Pits are so intelligent, sometimes I have to check myself and say hey, there are dogs. Heck, some are smarter that a few people I know. LOL

Dawn,
It would and does make me sick to my stomach what people do to pitts....shoot them up with steroids, feed them gun powder, you name it...all to make them mean. Makes me wanna smack people!

KK,
Nobody can.....NG is working on it.

I dunno Jared...hope so, but I'm sure he has a pretty tight schedule or may wanna spend time with his family...who knows, but I bet it is driving him crazy as he seems to have a heart as big as the moon and knows we all want to talk to him so bad!lol

Dawn,
Where are you located on the East coast...or are you even located on the east coast? Somebody said they were...I think it was Carrie.

We have a seven year old Maltese who was taken from his mother at five weeks. Shortly after we purchased him he swallowed a long needle and needed stomach surgery. The vet tells us that he had an umbilical hernia which was repaired by the breeder. Seems like a hard beginning for this little guy.He is a love and very attached to us but fearful of black vehicles, long black coats and all dogs. He does have a dog friend who it took a long time to warm up to but now is comfortable in her presence. When other dogs are approaching he flails at the end of the leash in a threatening fashion and becomes so upset that he turns on us and grabs our trousers and ankles! At times he has ripped the cloth and actually broken the skin on my leg. When the perceived danger is out of sight he returns to normal walking and sniffing. I've tried the loose leash and giving lots of praise for good behavior, but usually find myself pulling him along or hanging on tightly so he doesn't get himself eaten up. When allowed to approach the other dog he gets within two feet and then runs behind me. A trainer we hired says that avoidance is best now, but hard to do when walking away from the house. Any suggestions?

North East, New York State

Dawn,
Bummer!lol I would LOVE to have another Pitt! They just have a very special place in my heart!

I have relatives in St. Pete.

Boo... The chat ends at 10 p.m. EST

Jared,
how can they end a chat that didn't even start yet?lol

I help moderate a plastic surgery website and we do "get togethers" where people who get to know each other on the board meet up....we should all do that with our dogs sometimes!lol
Especially if any of you are in the st. pete, tampa area!!!

I had not heard about the training seminar(s) for $$$$. Can anyone tell me where it will be? I live in Charleston,S.C. and have wondered if there were ever an opportunity to go to a school teaching the right psychology for dogs and their humans. I would be very interested since I'm a "dogaholic". Remember, you get what you pay for and something like this could be priceless. Just think of what you could learn and how you could help dogs have a better life as well as their humans.You will be richer for the experience.Sign me up!!!

I have just been taking mine to the dog park (2nd time today) and I wear him out by walking him outside the area first, before I allow him inside where the dogs are...I also make him sit in a calm/submissive point right outside the park to watch the other dogs first.

You should try something like that maybe???....I am definetly not a dog expert though!lol

FYI to all who couldn't get into the chat--
You didn't miss a thing. Everything he responded too was already covered on an episode. I asked about 5 questions none of which was responded too. He was obivously being bombarded with questions. Maybe he'll have another soon.

Dawn,
The name of the dog on the little rascals (can't remember his name!)...PITBULL!!!!! :)

K2, I tried to do the same around the same time and wasn't able to ask a question. I don't mind not having my question answered because there are probably thousands who posted, but NG should have posted something indicating what was happening.
In any case, it was still informative.

Wasn't the dog on the Little Rascals a bull terrier?

k2,
NOPE...he was a pittbull. I LOVE that!lol

:(
I'm going to cry! I was been trying to get in since it says chat now and it never came up.

Hi KathyB,
Yes, it worked, but you didn't miss much. There were
about 10 questions answered, and the first few were
about the show & how Cesar got his start -- stuff like
that. Wish I could help w/your questions!

I cried during tonight's show too! I saw people on here
saying that. I got SO MUCH out of the begining segment
with the German Shepherd Dog and the woman named Marlo
or Marla. It was excellent. I DVR it every week and I'm
going to watch it again at 11:00 too.

Don't cry Kathy. If any of us were able to get to the chat site, it would have been a longshot that our question would be answered. I'm sure NG will read these blogs and do a better job next time when Cesar is available to chat live.

k2,
I dvr every episode too! I think the Shepard episode will help me too!!!!

I so wish someone could help me with a few of the questions I had. 1 of them is for a few of us on the blog as our dogs are doing the same thing and we have NO IDEA why!lol

Dawn,
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....makes me wanna get another dog!lol
you would NOT believe what I had to go through to get renters insurance to just have my DOG! The homeowner couldn't get insurance because I had a rott, so I had to track down an insurance comapny that would include my dog....what nonsense!!! btw....State Farm & Farmers Insurance insure the 5 "bad breeds" as the world calls them...rediculous!

By the way Kathy, let me answer your second question about dog parks. I don't think there's anything wrong with stepping in sometimes when another dog misbehaves towards your dog. The problem with dog parks is some owners don't pay attention to what they're dog is doing. When I still lived in Southern California and could get to a dog park, I had to watch my dog like a hawk because if another dog mistreated her, she would start a fight. If the other dog only wanted to play, she was fine. Bottom line is always keep an eye out for your dog so that you can react if something isn't right.

k2,
I also learned quite a bit from tonights episode. The segment with Marlo and the Shepherd. I walk all day long with 17 dogs. It never ends. I have to go walk dogs in a few minutes. I also use a few treadmills becuse I have to rest sometimes.

Thank you Jared!
You wouldn't believe it but all the owners come close when MY dog is around and its THEIR dog thats starts the trouble!LOLOLOL

I just wanted to make sure it was okay as I would get the bad rap AND I want the dog park to be a FUN place for him and do NOT want a fight because someone else doesn't train their dog or excersise them enough.

I know all situations are different, and Katrina presented an unusual and unprecedented circumstance -- but I'm just going to say it -- Come on! I would have never, never left my dog to fend for itself, even if I knew I'd be away for 24 hours.
I'm glad it all worked out in the end, but I shook my head when that woman said she just left the dog. IMO the except would be a very large dog and many family members trying to squeeze into a car.

Okay.. I'm off my soap box.

Hi KathyB
I would never be concerned about how I would appear to other owners at the dog park. I watch to make sure my dog is safe and having fun. Twice I had to pull a pit bull off her throat. The owner had never had a dog before and didn't know it wasn't ok for my dog to be screaming. Oh I stepped in and didn't give a hooey about anybody else.

Doggone/GA

:( I couldn't even get in....I'm totally bummed as I had some very specific questions (post #49 in this blog) I really wanted to know!lol

K2, not that I wasn't patient before, but watching Cesar has helped me even more. I like walking with both dogs and I know they enjoy each other's company.

Jared,

Hey, most of the people that evacuated New Orleans didn't even know how to get themselves out of harms way. I agree. I would never, ever abandon an animal like that. I know, I went there and rescued. It was disgusting. I don't feel those people should have gotten their pets back because they were not responsible owners in the first place.

Hi all
I was lucky to get on. I think they had a limit because my list showed only 25 people.

Well, it was nice chatting with all of you. It's getting late, so I'm off to read another book called "The Dog Whisperer" -- not Cesar's book. I'm hoping to get his new book this weekend.

Be safe and go hug your dogs. :-)

Jared,

I googled him too. Months ago. I find Cesar fascinating. He has a gift. It would seem that dogs were always following him even as a child.

Well I'm on East Coast and at 11:00 I need to walk 17 dogs. It's been nice chatting with everyone here. We should start a forum to discuss our dogs and the techniques we use. If I get any spare time I think I will. Goodnight all!

KathyB-
Yup. Go with your gut! When my Wendy is playing with Stanley, she'll try to mount him and I tell her to get off. It's the same for him if he tries it with her.
I watch the body language VERY closely. If the ears are flat and to the side...watch out. That's the quickest way for me to spot a trouble maker. I watch more at the same time, but that is one very good way to see it immediatly.
Your welcome!

"I have what most say is the “bad” breed and both times MY dog is the one who I had to step in front of "

I have an amusing story about "bad" breeds...or at least, 1 member of that breed. This story concerns my neighbor's Pit Bull. Now I have Whippets, a breed not exactly known for fierceness.

I was getting the dogs loaded to go to a dog show and since they LOVE to travel they can get very excited. I was walking one of them out of the house to the van and somehow in the getting the door shut, and juggling something I was carring, and the lead...I dropped the lead.

My boy went charging down the porch steps and around to the van door, JUST as I saw the neighbors Pit Bull go around the OTHER end of the van! Now this dog was not normally loose, so I didn't know anything about his temperament.

So I dropped everything and ran around the van, and there was my WHIPPET, with the Pit Bull's EAR in his mouth and the poor Pit looking up at me as if to say "Make him let GO!" I just stood for a second and said back "You're a Pit Bull - BITE him!"

But the sweety just stood there and I had to make my Whippet let go of him. There were no marks, no blood, so I don't think my dog was doing much more than holding the ear.

Anyway, I took the Pit home and found that he had broken his chain. I fixed him up so he couldn't get loose and finished packing up for my trip!

Kathy B and Carrie,

Where did you find the info regarding Cesar's "school"?

Deb

Debbie RBW,
I believe I saw it on his site! http://cesarmillaninc.com/
I believe thats where I read it!!!

The Blog worked for me the entire hour. I have to say I was disappointed in it. Cesar is like my "god" and tivo all his shows but the blog was most disappointing. He only answered a few questions and it was not anything that hasn't been covered in his shows or dvd.

Maybe the blog only worked for certain parts of the US. I live in the deep south and had no problem logging on at the scheduled time and it promptly ended one hour later.

"Cesar is like my “god” and tivo all his shows but the blog was most disappointing"

I knew in advance it would be like that, so I wasn't disappointed at all. There's just no way that he can give detailed answers to quick questions...his show tells you that. They don't show much of it, but he obviously has quite an extensive interview with his clients before he actually starts working with their dogs.

I found it more amusing than anything else...so many of the questions could have been answered - as I said earlier - by referring the asker to one or more particular episodes!

Hey Doggone/GA,
Maybe you could answer this question! I can think of three of us on this blog that our dogs are doing it!:
A few of us on your blog have the same thing happening and we have NO IDEA what it means….as we are walking, our dogs will sometimes come very close to me/us and touch my/our hand with his/their face (not mouth) and I (personally) will gently touch/rub the area in front and to the side of his nose for about a second or two…we don’t know what it means, but there are a few of us on the blog, who’s dogs do it. What does it mean? It’s the sweetest thing & I would LOVE to stop and just hug him, but I know that would be bad!lol We are ALL hoping it means something good!lololol

I have a transcript of the chat. Should I post it?

KathyB,

I'll do my best, but as you know, I am NOT cesar!

"1. I have a 12 month old, 100lb., male German Rottweiler named Roman and he is STUBBORN!lol Playful, happy, people & dog friendly but stubborn!lol How can I show him I AM the pack leader? He tests me constantly! We have the walk pretty much down and today was our 2nd day at the dog park, but before I “allow” him in the park, I walk him for about 30+ minutes first, so he knows I am the boss and he is calm/submissive. "

First of all, your dog is at the age where young males DO test those around them. They have to find, or make, their own way in the pack and this is the age when they start. YOu have to be "on" him pretty much constantly for a while - which could be weeks, or even months.

One thing that might help, is to give him a job. You could try Cesar's trick of using a backpack and let him help you carry in the mail, or carry some laundry into your bedroom, or carry some groceries from the car...stuff like that.

2. The two times I have taken my dog to the park I watch for any sign’s of trouble makers and if I see a dog acting strange (crouched down and looks like he’s about to pounce on a rabbit while looking at my dog) or tries to be dominant and mount my dog, I will immediately come in and stop it…I am actually correcting another person’s dog as I do NOT want my dog to do what I KNOW he will do and that is have no part of it & a fight will break out. Am I doing the right thing by stepping in?

Yes, you most definitely ARE! You are showing YOUR dog that as pack leader you are prepared and able to protect him. And you are showing the other dogs that YOU ARE a pack leader.

3. A few of us on your blog have the same thing happening and we have NO IDEA what it means….as we are walking, our dogs will sometimes come very close to me/us and touch my/our hand with his/their face (not mouth) and I (personally) will gently touch/rub the area in front and to the side of his nose for about a second or two…we don’t know what it means, but there are a few of us on the blog, who’s dogs do it. What does it mean? It’s the sweetest thing & I would LOVE to stop and just hug him, but I know that would be bad!lol We are ALL hoping it means something good!lololol

If you watch tonight's episode again, the part with the older women and the German Shepherd...pay attention to her OTHER dogs, and you will see, a couple of times, where one of them goes up to another and licks him on the mouth. That is the kind of greeting a subordinate dog does to a dominate one. Since your dog can't reach your mouth, he touches your hand - which is, pardon the pun , HANDY!

4. You are going to be in Bradenton Florida on May 27th….I live in Tampa Florida (aprox. 1 hour N. of Bradenton) are you willing to have a consult or meet with anyone & their dog while you are here? You, your family and your entire entourage (Even any of your pack!) can stay at my house FREE!!!!!

THIS one I CAN'T answer! But I would suggest you send it either to Cesar's direct email or by snail mail.

5. You worked with a Rott named Bearz on one of your episodes that pushes or says hi to people in a dominant fashion…mine kind of does that also (I will not allow him to and have to work with him CONSTANTLY the whole time company is here). How do I make him STOP doing it?

Consistency, consistency, consistency...but also, you need to work on obedience trainging with him and make him learn to sit and stay around other people. And be VERY FIRM with the PEOPLE and DO NOT allow them to interact with him as long as he is excited. From you, and from anyone else, he should only be greeted when he is calm and submissive.

"I wish you’d gotten a picture of that! LOL! I’m dying over THAT mental image! It would make a great poster for “Ban the Deed, Not the Breed!”."

I know! It'll forever be one of those "wish I'd had a camera" moments!

I have a 3yr old yorkie. When it rains hard, she hides under the bed. What can I do?

Good Night All!
It's 11:20 here so I'm off to bed! See you tomorrow!!! KathyB

Is it EVER ok to rest/nap with your dog,.... say maybe lying on the floor, not the bed? I NEVER let my dog in bed or on the furniture with me.
Thanks.
k9s4happiness

Cesar, I have a 2 year old rottie/shepard mix that I recued recently from a family of 4 kids huband and wife. The dog has slept with the wife his whole life since age 6 weeks and is not at all willing to spend time out side with our other female dogs and he is not neuderd.He snaps and growls at adult daughter sometimes and other times he wants his affection from her.He gets out of the yard jumping over the fence and distroying whatever he has to get out.He is very attached to me alpha person he's very hyper, and difficult. HELP

Cesar,
I think the commentary you have been doing in the last few episodes is good. I feel like you are addressing the TV viewers as well as your client.
Thanks for all the great work. Because of you my dogs have stopped fighting and I now walk my dogs every day instead of buying them toys.
k9s4happiness

Daria,

Before anything else, you should get your dog neutered. Without your dog being neutered he can act different than if he was neutered. And of course it helps the population and can help diminish some of the dominance in your dog.
I would highly recomend getting your dog neutered before anything else.

~Chantel

Chantel,
Thanks for the advice. I have been reading so much about people who let thier dogs sleep in thier bed or let them on the furniture then they end up getting dog bit because thier dogs don't respect them. I have been watching documentaries about wolves. They all sleep together so I figured if the dogs cannot come up to me I will get down on their level. Sometimes its just nice to cuddle up with your dog and take a nap.

HELP HELP HELP... I have a Blue Pit Bull that is completely out of control. He is 11 months old and has been raised with a mixed terrier and she is 4yrs old. He fights her and is very aggresive to her. He also has trouble walking on a leash when other dogs are around. He does not listen at all. If i take him off the leash he willn not come when u call him. I don't want to get rid of him but if i don't get some control soon i have to find him another home. But someone else might not understand him and mistreat him. Can someone please help me???

"SO….our dogs are touching our hands as a way of affection during the walk…."

That's why mine do it...but if you watch that episode, you will see that the dominant dog does NOT lick back. When your dog nudges you like that it's his way of saying "your my leader and I love you" but if you respond back with a pat or a hug you can turn it into an annoying habit, that can lead to it's being a way of the dog controlling YOU and thereby losing your pack leader status!

Nothing is simple in dogs!

"Thanks for the advice. I have been reading so much about people who let thier dogs sleep in thier bed or let them on the furniture then they end up getting dog bit because thier dogs don’t respect them."

I have been hearing this for years, and like so much other advice about dogs...it ain't necessarily so!

I do not sleep well at any time, and one thing I absolutely CANNOT tolerate is a puppy crying and screaming in a crate at night. So ALL of my puppies, for the last 20 years, have slept in bed with me EVERY night. And I've never had one grow up thinking the bed was his.

What I do is put the puppy in a large pen when I leave home - which has lots of papers on the floor, food and water available, and a small crate inside.

That way if the puppy wants to pitch a fit and scream and holler about being confined, I don't have to listen to it. I become that wonderful person who comes home and lets him OUT!.

I do a fair amount of traveling with my dogs and usually by the time the puppy is 4 months old or so he is used to spending lots of time in the crate from doing those trips. At that point, I begin to transistion him over to sleeping in the "dog room" with the adult dogs. I do this on a weekend, when it won't matter so much if he whines a bit and usually by the end of the weekend he's got the idea that night-time crating is for eating and then sleeping.

Now, mind you, I'm not saying this would work with a grown, or nearly grown, rescue dog that already had dominance issues. In that situation I would treat the dog very differently...I would teach him to be crated and for a while at least I would put the crate in my bedroom so he could feel secure, but be in the subordinate position of being lower than me and in a crate.

But, nevertheless, as with most things with dogs...sleeping on the furniture, or in bed with you, does not AUTOMATICALLY lead to a dog with issues of thinking those things are his. It's all in how you handle it.

Doggone/GA
Thanks for your comment about sleeping with dogs. Mine ARE allowed on couches, and one of them sleeps on my bed. I don't see anything wrong with that. They are good dogs, and don't have dominance issues (well, two of them fight with each other, but that's different story, the one that sleeps on my bed is the one that gets along with everyone).

KathyB

My dogs will touch my hand during walks too, or if they're off the leash, they will run to me (without a command) and check on me, by touching me. I think it's very sweet too.

Ewa,
Makes me wanna stop and just hug him!lololol
But I know I can't so we just keep going...I am also going to stop responding back to it as Doggone suggests as Doggone/GA says a dominant dog does not respond to the submissive one when they do that.
KathyB

One of my dogs eats his poop all the time, what do I do?
How can I stop that?
Please Help and Advice. Thank you.

Re: dogs sleeping in the bed, I've never seen Cesar address this issue. But, my personal experience has not led me to believe it leads to any dominance issues.

Our dogs have always slept with us and have encountered no behavior issues because of it.

Sorry guys,
That "nosing" your hand is not saying I love you. If it makes you feel better go ahead and think that's what it is.......

Before you all start yelling at me, step back a minute and think about WHEN your dog does this behavior. Is it ONLY when you are on a walk? Don't you sometimes get that "cold nose pushed into your hand" when they come up to you and want attention (Hey, here I am, look at me and give me some ear scrunches)..........

Also, remember how tactile dogs are. Remember how scent oriented they are. Remember what herding dogs do to "keep the herd under control"..... Remember it could be looking for that treat that used to come from that hand....It could be you had a PB&J sandwich before you went for a walk and forgot to wash your hand so boy that peanut butter smells good....

Let's perhaps go for this: The "touch" is affirmation by your dog that "I am FOLLOWING the Pack Leader, that Pack Leader is doing the walk the correct way, that Pack Leader is not stressed out worrying about my every move, that Pack Leader is only projecting simple calm, assertive energy----and that is something that calms me and something I INSTINCTIVELY "understand". I really feel good when my Pack Leader "keeps it simple"..........

If it feels good, why don't you just enjoy that simple "feeling"? Why do we humans have to overanalyze everything? It you want to call it "love" and it gives you that "warm, fuzzy feeling"----go ahead...this is a nice "calming" feeling and can override some of the worried/nervous/stressed out/defeatist energy you may be encountering on mastering the walk......Do not second guess yourself, don't overthink, just walk YOUR walk, breathe that (hopefully) fresh air, RELAX , open up your senses, and GO!

Karen Dog W. 2,
I am going to think its the "The “touch” is affirmation by your dog that “I am FOLLOWING the Pack Leader, that Pack Leader is doing the walk the correct way, that Pack Leader is not stressed out worrying about my every move, that Pack Leader is only projecting simple calm, assertive energy—-and that is something that calms me and something I INSTINCTIVELY “understand”. I really feel good when my Pack Leader “keeps it simple”………."

He only does it when I am in the "zone" or just walking and he doesn't always do it....just sometimes. Thank you for your input!!! It's much appreciated!!!! :) I think that when I am just walking (which is how it is most of the time now that I have almost mastered the walk), he is much more relaxed and your right we are just walking!!!
Was just a thing he did that I was curious about, Now if I can figure out why he acts the way he does when we get home and make him stop, that would be GREAT!lol In my gut I KNOW his behavior is inappropriate just don't know how to handle it. Thanks again for your input!!! KathyB

to Doggone/GA

I never intended to say you should'nt call it love: I was attempting to stop the "overinterpretation" of everything. More of an encouragement to "go with your gut" type of thing.......sorry

!!!!KathyB!!!! you "got" 100% what I was hoping for in my post. Feel good about yourself and that unwavering self-confidence automatically will keep those shoulders back and keep you "walking tall"...as well as enjoying the "Zone"! (Ain't it great?) You understood the "touch" usually occurs when you are NOT overthinking or worrying if you are doing the walk right; it happens when you are SIMPLY walking...........

(by the way, what is your dog doing when you get home? Achieving the "Zone" with the walk usually has 'em go flop to the floor and pass out........ Maybe we can help!!!!

to KathyB:
sorry, I scrolled up a bit and found your post on what Roman does after you guys return from your walk. I am a bit unclear on all that is happening but a couple things pop out.

1. Are you making sure when you RETURN from your walk that he sits, waits, for you to go in FIRST. (This is the step a lot of people forget about. They remember to Leave first and then end up confusing the dog by letting the dog go in first or go in with you when returning)

2. He ignores your direction to Sit, or it takes "a leash correction and my having to say it a few times". Make sure you are not anticipating this behavior when you get close to home....you know by now how Roman could be picking up on this "uncertainty" or tension or "change in energy". If you have a "mind picture" about what you think is going to happen once you get in the door (sassing by Roman), believe me it WILL happen because you have "telegraphed" that to him.
or,You may have inadvertantly tightened the leash in anticipation of this happening, he feels the tension and then you know what happens.......

Do Not Forget; If you feel you are not confident Roman will sit immediately, do NOT say sit---simply push down on his rear (a steady firm push, don't be wimpy about it), then matter-of-factly take the collar and leash off. NO praise for sitting!! It is simply what he should do when returning from the walk and if you say "Good Boy" you have just changed the tone of your voice from Pack Leader to Wigglebutt Puppy Person and pushed that "excitement button" and we know how THAT can escalate.......

If he's bucking around or jerking and going nuts while you are trying to take off his collar: If it is a prong collar and a properly fitted prong collar you may (not meaning to ) be pinching when you are unhooking it. With these types of collars great care should be taken in removing them from around the dog's neck---sometimes they can be tough to "unhook" and we get a bit frustrated and pull those ends so tight we forget this collar is still on our dog and it's hurting!

Or, if that's not it---stay calm! Wait him out, let him "buck", don't give him eye contact--act disgusted (big sigh), look up at the ceiling and radiate nothing but calmness......By making eye contact with him you are only going to give him reinforcement to continue the behavior. Thus, you both get stressed out (energy becomes negative, not positive) and you both need another walk already. (ha, ha?)

Anyway, some things to think about....let me know, okay? I'm exhausted and have to go re-energize, the pack is due for their walk---OOOPS! It's time for MY walk and I think I'll invite the pack to come along and follow me............

Karen Dog W. 2
I just tested it!
It is the same behavior as when I am putting it on! I am in a very calm state of mind, so I figured I would see and YUP it's the same head jerking that he does when we get ready to go for a walk.
SO.....I think I have figured out how I may solve the problem! Tell me what you think....His check chain is large enough that when I first put it on he will put it in his mouth all excited while on and walk around like that for a second or two and then pop it back out of his mouth and he will do that on and off until his leash is put on and he calms down to calm/submissive before we walk out the door.
I think I need to put his check chain on when we are going NOWHERE and keep it on him for a while (of course keeping an eye on him since he sticks it in his mouth while wearing it) and then take it off when he calms down....repeating that process over and over??? What do you all think????? KathyB

to Doggone/GA,

Go with your gut partially means "no thought" in the frame of STOP overthinking and getting anxious trying to remember the "series" of commands you feel you have to remember to "get" your dog to do something or to "stop" your dog from doing something. Use your gut also means YOU don't like it when another person is really being annoying, or you need some space and want to be alone and the kids are not respecting that,,,etc,etc, so what works best and is the simplest thing in the world to understand? One of my "Power Phrases" is "Knock it off!" Do I raise my tone of voice? Yes. Is it a yell? NO. It is said in almost a "mother dog growl" voice and there is NO confusion as to what I mean. In saying those words my facial expression changes, my body language changes, my energy is assertive: in other words, however I am being "read", everything about me is crystal clear and consistent------\

So, instead of having Lulu, (who is being really annoying and whining or barking for attention, or is doing "psycho-dog" charge from one end of the house to the other or whatever),go through a series of command hoops: Come, Sit, Go to your rug and lie down, STay----
you know your "gut" is telling you you want her to knock it off, so who says you can't say "Knock it off?" The response from kids, dogs, even husbands is usually immediate and effective--even if not, there certainly is NO confusion about what you mean AND you haven't spent 15 minutes (time amount just to make my point) yapping in a foreign language when at that point you have lost the opportunity to INTERRUPT the behavior as well as having your dog have no idea what point you are trying to make. The MOMENT has passed, dogs live IN the moment, and if they DO the series of "commands" they are usually doing it because of "Pavlov's Response" or what I call "Robot Dog"; they have no clue why you want the behavior, they do it because we have "programmed" them usually through "treats" --------They should do it (and have the genetic make-up) to do it to please Pack Leader. They trust and RESPECT the true Pack Leader and will not want to do anything to displease Pack Leader because that will upset the natural order/balance of the Pack, and will cause anxiety due to loss of clearly defined positions and they become lost without their Leader.

Oh, heck I am making no sense am I? Sorry, I have 'brain fog", time for fresh air and a brisk walk......Later, everyone...

Hi Cesar I nêd your help!!!!!!!!!
My pupppy is a monster and attacks everyone!!
He attacked my 11 year old brother and ny bro had to go to the hospital.
And now he attacked my neighbor's son and I am so scared that he is too voilent. His son is now at the hospital tơo.
PLEASE HELP MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a rottwieler mix. I need some advice please. His name is Sammy. I have had him for 6 years. He is very aggressive toward people. I took him to the vet and he opted for dog training classes. The dog trainer I chose is a retired police K-9trainer. The problem is I and my husband are argueing because of the training techniques. He has been traing canines for 30 years. Sammy went into the garbage and I corrected him with his choker and he went for me and tried to bite me. I need your help I don't know what to do with Sammy inside or outside the house. I don't want him attacking me or my son. They say he is terrified of people. I've had him since he was 4 months old.

Dear Carrie and KathyB:

I logged onto the chat at 6:15pm PST (I live in Los Angeles, where Cesar lives). I was in the main chat room and didn't know it but I posed a question and Cesar actually answered. He says that I am not the pack leader in my home.

Since I have 3 dogs (Cocker Spaniels) I have the problem of my older female being alpha, she's 12 and my puppy who is all of 1 1/2 years old (lol), also alpha. The puppy acts alpha to me be only when my husband is home - then my puppy bites me and draws blood. . Tthe pecking order is my husband, Carnegie then me (at home). Cesar says that I am not the pack leader in my home if I am #2 to my puppy. I am confused because when I walk him 3 times a day @ 40 minutes each and he is totally submissive to me. I guess the outside is "neutral territory". I don't know how to maintain that same pack leadership in the house. I have Cesar's DVD and watch all of the shows and Tivo and keep the ones I relate to.

The live chat was dissapointing because it lasted only about an hour. Most people were saying "love you Cesar", 'Love your Book Cesar" and not asking really tough questions. I hope, in time, he will address his public more and film some other types of problems - deaf dogs, puppy problems, multiple dogs off leash in the neighborhood problems - things we deal with every day.

Stay safe.

KathyB,

I don't know. He has always been like that. I tried to get him a trainer when he was little. But everything was too expensive and I'm on disability. I chose the trainer because of his background, his degree in training police dogs. Also his 30 years of experience.

Cockers x 3,
All I can say id wow.
Maybe you need to start walking the puppy with the other two!...It may be calmer for you...but is it better for the puppy and the other dogs? Start using the claw hand more maybe and start showing your little one who REALLY is the boss????? I have no idea as I feel like I am walking blind half the time myself!lololol KathyB

Doggone/GA
I liked you idea about if NG has another chat with Cesar. I was on there and my question never got answered.
You seem to know what you are talking about when it comes to dogs. I have read a lot of yours and going to try some of them with my dog. The question that I asked was that I know that Cesar says about not acknowlege your dog when you walk in the house, but how can you stop that when she is waiting at the front door and she is jumping all over you. I would appricate your help on this one.

"The question that I asked was that I know that Cesar says about not acknowlege your dog when you walk in the house, but how can you stop that when she is waiting at the front door and she is jumping all over you. I would appricate your help on this one."

You don't look at her, you don't touch her, you don't stop walking. Just keep going as if she wasn't there...until she calms down. Once she does, if you go to pet her and she gets excited again, give her Cesar's "poke" and then ignore her again until she is calm.

When she is finally calm, don't get all excited yourself? Don't talk to her in a high squeaky voice...just pet her quietly and speak to her calmly in your normal voice, or even lower the tone a bit.

You have to teach her that all that jumping around and excitement won't get her the attention she wants, only being calm and submissive will get it.

"Police dogs are trained COMPLETELY different than normal training…I am sure that the trainer is absolutely awesome in training a dog to be a police dog, but is he good at training a dog to be a dog (does that make sense)???? "

Police dogs are trained to DO different things from normal pets, the training METHODS however are not that much different. In fact, quite a few police dogs are traing using mostly positive incentive training along with approprate corrections. As one of the founders of USA police dog training was fond of saying "you can't stop a bullet, you can stop a dog" - police dogs are NOT mean, they are quite friendly and usually live as part of their handlers household, but when they are on duty, they do have to obey commands they are never given at home.

"My dad trained doberman’s in WWII for over seas to protect soldiers against the enemy and I won’t even go into how mean it was on what he did to those dogs…but when he was done they did their “job”…I would NEVER allow my now deceased father to train ANY animal!"

Dog training has come a LONG way since WWII and the training is much more like police dog training. In fact, I find police/military dog competitions to be absolutely fascinating to watch. Talk about well-trained dogs!

The problem with training dogs with issues is that too often you end up with a trained dog with issues - because too many handlers and, especially, too many trainers don't know how to then APPLY that training in the problem situation to help turn the dog around.

Just think how many times Cesar has been called in to help a dog that has already been through a training class, or even had a trainer come into the home. Once the dog is trained, the owner must THEN be imaginative and incorporate the use of what the dog knows to help correct his psychological problems.

Ewa, That's what I got out of the chat, too. I was
always wondering if I should be walking the two dogs
together (and I always have, but the last two years
problems have occurred during the walk). The two things
I got out of the chat were a confirmation that I should
be walking the dogs together, and I finally figured out
what "MASTER THE WALK" means!! I've heard Cesar and
everyone else say it hundreds of times, but it just
"clicked" that night during the chat. It was an "AHA"
moment. I have a LOT of work to do to become a "master"!
One word of exception: my neighborhood has a LOT of dogs
and cats and children. And we live in a recreational
area of the state so lots of people come here on vacation,
etc. If the 'hood is crowded with lots of activity going
on, I will walk the dogs separately so as to avoid my
being dragged down if they want to chase an animal, and
just for the peace of mind of the other people who don't
see a whole lot of people walking TWO big dogs on leash.
I also do that if I am not feeling well on any given day.
Walking them separately is less stressful on me, and if
I have a headache or whatever, I need to take care of me
first. So, there are definitely exceptions, but for
the most part I walk them together.

Rae, For the past three weeks, I've been just walking
in to the house, ignoring the dogs until they calm down.
It only takes them a couple minutes to figure out that
all the jumping and barking isn't doing them any good.
It's funny, I had this RIGHT with my previous dog, and
if I went over to other peoples' houses who had dogs I
would also just walk in and ignore the dog(s). When my
first dog died, I already had my Lab/Shepherd -- he was
just 6 months old when my Black Lab died of old age (at
home what a blessing not to have to decide to have
her euthanized!) I started treating my Lab/Shepherd like
a little human child, and then when I got my Lab/Coonhound
6 months after that, I treated them BOTH like human
children. Since finding Cesar's show last fall, I realize
that I did everything right with my Black Lab, so I try
to put myself into that mindset from 20 years ago when
she was young, and treat "the boys" the same way. It is
working, and one of the things I do is ignore them when
I get home. It is SOOO hard, because they are SOOOO
happy to see me (or is that just me attaching human
emotions on them LOL??)

KathyB, How on Earth do you get your dog (dogs) to calm
down enough to put the leash on before the walk!?? I just
can't get this one to work!!! If you saw Friday's show,
the woman at the beginning with the German Shepherd Dog --
that is how the younger of my two dogs is -- not QUITE
to the extent that the GSD was, but he jumps around in
a similar manner. Except he is impatient, not afraid.
By the time I get the leashes on them, I am sweating my
butt off and they are panting like crazy. And we
haven't even opened the door yet!!! Going out the door and down the stairs is just as bad. I just can't get it
right. HELP!!!

"but he jumps around in
a similar manner. Except he is impatient, not afraid.
By the time I get the leashes on them, I am sweating my
butt off and they are panting like crazy. And we
haven’t even opened the door yet!!! Going out the door and down the stairs is just as bad. I just can’t get it
right. HELP!!! "

You need to use a combination of techniques. First, remove the association of putting the collar on with going for a walk. Just carry the collar and leash around with you and at odd time just put them on. Wait until the dog is calm, then take them off again and go about what you were doing.

If you find the dog lying down and calm, sit down beside him and put the collar/lead on him. If he jumps up and gets excited, just stay on the floor until he calms down and take it off again.

If you have a "routine" for going out for a walk...change it. If you normally pick up your keys before putting the collar/lead on your dog...put the collar/lead on first, get your dog calm/submissive, THEN pick up the keys.

It's going to take intense work on your part, for a few sessions. If you have to, take going out the door one step at a time. Step forward, if the dog gets unruly, turn around and go back one step and wait until he calms down.

Same with the steps, take them one step at a time. Hold onto the hand rail if you have to, you don't want to be pulled down them! Keep the lead and collar tight, so the dog can't get extra leverage by suddenly taking up any slack.

And always be sure you are standing up tall, and do NOT talk to your dog while all of this is going on!

To EWA,
I'm trying to watch my fighting males as I continue to keep them separated at times, to see when they are most vulnerable to fight. In the morning when I get up, at the doggie door before they go out, at the back door when they one may be coming in, sudden noice which will bring Marlow into living room area quickly. I have bought a basket muzzle for Gustav and keep it on him when Marlow is in house and we are all here together.
When I can next afford it, I'm buying another one for Marlow and then well try working them together. I hope you are well...changed my name from Pamela Gardner to my LJ blog name, dog_inheaven. :) In case I meet up with some old friends here....

k2,
I did EXACTLY what Doggone/GA is telling you to do!lol
I think thats who helped me actuaklly! :) KathyB

Veronica Smith,
I have a full breed German Rottweiler and I would NEVER use that technique personally. He weighs in at 100lbs. and just turned One Years old...his daddy weighed 180lbs at one and a half years.
I PERSONALLY do not believe in using any force that is negative (lack of oxegen) as a form or means to train him. I use as much info as I can get from this site, Cesar, my trainers who believe in the pack mentality and stay calm and in control.
Now if my dog was to EVER bite me....I would react instinctivley and do what I think the pack leader were to do and that is kick his butt!hahhahaaaa

k2,
Also....if you have a large dog like the episode with the German Shepard you may need to walk him/them more??? All I know is, is that Doggone/GA has helped me a TON!

KathyB,

Can they just go and destroy all the dogs without giving them a chance? That is horrible.
That is what I hate so much, people in control, who think only of their safety, and who treat animals as objects that can be easily destroyed. I wish they knew that these animals have feelings.

Ewa,
The owner is in jail and is being prosecuted, and animal control has all the dogs in that county....It breaks my heart!!!!!
I think there were some no kill shelters involved too so there may be more to this than I know.....I have known people who fed their Pitts gun powder and shot them up with steroids to make them mean (yes I know..SICK!!!!), so there may be more to it, but I find it hard to believe a 2 month old PUPPY is too aggresive to adopt out!!!! grrrrrrrr!

KathyB,

I am not sure if we are confindent enough. The problem with my husband is that he doesn't watch Cesar that much, only sometimes, so he doesn't get the whole picture. He thinks his own methods work. His methods which I don't agree with are spanking when a dog misbehave or pretending to hit the dog with a leash. He would raise the leash like he wants to hit the dog, and the dog is afraid, I can tell. I told him many times these are not good ways to treat dogs, but he knows better. I am afraid this treatment may have caused Ruffy, who used to be people friendly, to become not so friendly, as now if she's off the leash, she would charge and bark at some people, usually men. My husband never really accepted Ruffy, because he says he didn't have anything to say when I brought Ruffy home. It's not that he doesn't love her, but I know that Ruffy feels that she is not fully accepted. She is afraid of my husband, and leaves when he comes close, or looks at him for a sign to leave. I talked to him quite a few times, but he is not willing to change anything.

Ewa,
I can SO relate to what your saying about your husband....thats why I haven't had a dog for the last 10 years as my ex fiance has the same phylosophy (sp?) as your hubby and I just couldn't do what your doing!...You Go Girl! I just KNEW we would NOT get along with how we would train the dog, so I would always say no or make a million reasons why not to have one....only because of his phylosophy.
I am so happy Roman came into my life after my ex fiance & I broke up as Roman is being trained the way I think all of us here believe they should be.
Hopefully you can have a heart to heart with hubby and possibly even get the DVD and maybe that will help him to realize he is creating a volitile situation with with one of your dogs. OR (now I don't know your relationship with hubby so this is only what I would do) lets say the situation were reversed and I brought a dog into the house when we were together and my ex did any of the things I know he would have I would have told him to either get with the program or stay AWAY from MY dog unless it was to only give affection or to play, but as far as training hands off for him! BUT....as you can see by what I said previously I haven't had a dog for over 10 years, so we know how well that woulda gone over!hahahahah
Good luck getting hubby to see what is happening and I pray it all works out for you!!!!!! KathyB

Cockers x 3,
I have a feeling your older female will come along soon enough and may be teaching your puppy things that are not obvious to us humans.lol

Good Luck!!!!! :) KathyB

"A man in my State has been arrested for raising Pitts as fight dogs and they are killing/putting to sleep ALL (aprox. 35 dogs & puppies) the dogs EVEN THE PUPPIES!!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!! They say that they are too aggresive to be adopted out…..BS! Makes my heart BREAK!"

It does mine too, but I don't disagree with it. Those dogs are WAY beyond "red zone" and while quite a few of them are perfectly safe with people...it is WAY beyond the capability of the average dog owner to stop them from attacking other dogs.

They have been - to be frank - pushed to the point of insanity in order to fight like that, and they are better off being humanely euthanized. There's a side of it a LOT of people either don't know about, or don't want to think about: those dogs give away that they have been fought by the scars on their bodies and they are in GREAT DANGER of being stolen and put back into the ring.

Death is a better fate for them than THAT.

P.S.

When Lila and Scooby start out with what looks like playing, and Lila’s hairs rise up and the play gets rougher, what should I do?

Jackie Beck

"I do not remember Cesar holding the dog up for any length of time where he could not breath"

No he didn't, but just the sheer act of holding the dog up like that makes it harder for him to breathe properly.

" do remember him holding him up for a few seconds while the dog was bucking like a bronko, but it looked to me he was up in the air because the dog was putting himself up there AND Cesar was also pushing him away from himself while it was happening."

Yes, the dog put himself in the air, but Cesar held the lead up and made it difficult for the dog to get his front feet back on the ground for a few minutes at a time.

"but if my trainer was to do that to my dog I would have to fire them….but again I do not have a red zone dog"

That is the essence of it, right there. It is a technique and how it is used depends on the dog, the training situation and the need for it. If a dog is SERIOUSLY attacking you with intent to kill and you hold it off the ground until it passes out...is that cruelty?

But if a dog is just hard to control and bucks around, you could make it harder for the dog to get down from that position, but not force it to dangle with all it's feet off the ground as above, that is just a milder form of the same technique.

Like ALL training tools and techniques it's in how, and when, you use them.

"Do you really think a 2 month old puppy cannot be rehabed? I know that these pups were in very poor health, but it just makes me so sad. "

It depends a LOT on whether they have actually had any sort of fight training or not. It's probably not even possible to get enough training into a 2 month old puppy to make it unsafe, my comments were directed more to the adults. But, and you better know this is true, the fighting dog "community" watches those news reports and those "Animal Cops" type shows and they KNOW when the babies have been rehomed - and sometimes they even know pretty much where.

Those are valuable dogs and if they can be located and stolen, they will be. And there's the issue of liability, you can't sugar coat it, not EVERYONE is suited to owning a gladiator breed and if someone was to adopt one of those dogs, be unable to train and control it properly and it attacks another dog or a person, you can BET they will be right back where they adopted it and claim it was never a safe dog because it came from a fight breeder.

It's not a nice subject, and it raises a lot of emotions, but I'd rather have them put down then abused or stolen and used for fighting. And I don't know where the situation you described happened, but there ARE places where Pit Bulls are illegal to own (like Dade County, Florida) and under the local laws their sometimes just flat isn't any other choice.

"Lila was fixating on the dog and I was frozen"

RIGHT THERE is where you should have intervened! You SAW her fixating and you should have given her the "cesar bite" with your fingers, took hold of her lead, turned her away, and made her focus on YOU! Timing is of the ESSENCE in Cesar's techniques and you need to LEARN that timing.

By the time she had lunged you had missed your opportunity to redirect her attention.

This is going to be very tiring for you...you are going to have to keep focused on your dog every second when she is around other dogs and the INSTANT she even focuses on another dog - interupt her, poke her, give her an obedience command if she know any. Get between her and the object of her attention, stand tall and dominant and get her focus on you and not the other dog.

Teach her, if she doesn't already know, the "down" command and make her down in the presence of other dogs - that will help put her in a submissive position, which will help.

For all of us wondering what to do about dogs afraid of
fireworks or thunder, I tried something today, and it
stopped my dog from freaking out in less than 5 seconds!
You won't believe it -- it's been in front of my face
all this time. It's a version of "the bite" that Cesar
uses! I've been mastering "the bite" for various things
over the past two days. Today, someone across the other
side of the lake lit off cherrybomb fireworks again. I
was on the couch, and as soon as the second "bomb" went
off, my Lab/Shepherd was in my lap, clawing at me.
I stayed completely calm and quietly told him "lie down" and then I said "relax". He was still flipping out and
couldn't get close enough to me. I have seen him, many
many times, "nibble" softly around the neck, ears and face of my younger dog. I've been practicing this with both
of them this weekend whenever I want them to stop an
undesirable behavior, and it has been working every time!
I also remember that many of Cesar's techniques are based
on what the mother dog would do in a natural pack.
I didn't say any more human words, and I stayed completely
calm and I took my fingers into the position Cesar
demonstrates, and I started "nibbling" at my dogs
ears, neck and face. It is hard to describe in words
how to get this tactile-ly correct, but you have to push
into the fur and skin at the same time as wiggling your fingers in that nibbling motion like a mother dog uses.
Sort of like when you see a cartoon character eat an
ear of corn -- go up and down the neck and around the
back of the ears in short, quick motions. Well, like I
said, it worked in FIVE SECONDS or less. My dog
completely calmed down, shut his eyes and went to sleep.
I couldn't wait to get to a computer and make this post!
They are still lighting off the fireworks right now, and
he is outside whining, so I've gotta go, but I'm going to
try it again! This is my opportunity! Gotta run!
Calm and assertive! BTW: I feel like screaming at that jerk across the lake with the fireworks LOL!!! It's APRIL!

k2 ,
YAY! Congrats!
I'll have to try it...not sure for what but I will!lol

KathyB, it didn't work as quickly this time -- I had
left him outside too long, and he was cowering in
the garage. Poor guy!! He's under the desk right now,
almost asleep. It took about 10 minutes this time, but
I just kept doing the nibble thing every few minutes.
The fireworks have stopped -- but they stopped for a while
before so that means nothing! Now he is lying right on top of my foot! LOL! But "the Cesar bite" as
Doggone/GA calls it, works for EVERYTHING!
Wow, I've found my new favorite technique LOL.

k2,
Your posts are sometimes so cute and so funny they just make me giggle!lol

Isn't it funny that its US who make it complicated!!!!lol

Thanks you guys!

I found out that last Friday's episode ran again today
at 11:00 a.m. waaaa. But it is also running again
next Friday afternoon at 4, so I DVR'd it and hopefully
it will work this time.

Also, sometimes when she's playing with my other dog her hairs will rise up....what does that mean? And should I stop it?

I've just read the comments about hair raising in playing dogs. When two of my dogs play (husky mix and pit bull mix, they are the best friends and never fight) their hair stands up sometimes, usually in a run and chase game, when one of the dogs instead of running away, will wait for another to come close, and then they start tugging on their collars. I have to admit that in the beginning this game scared me, as they also make loud noises, and I used to separate them, but now, after over a year together, as best friends I let them play that way. Should I be concerned?

Michelle Haskins says:

I have 2 pitbulls who will not quit licking! They will lick the very skin off you.
Over licking is a sign of insecurity, not affection.

Jared,
I have a huge male yellow lab (97 pounds) that tried the same thing. I walk him with my collie on a tandem leash. I weight him down with a back pack. He carries about 8 pounds of bottled water. He walks very nicely now. If he acts up I put more weight on him to keep him settled. He has a job and it makes him happy. Now the collie wants a job so I got her a back pack, too. She is about 12 years old so I she carries just the pack, no weight.
The tandem leash makes the dogs work as a team. We practiced a lot of turning. At first we did a lot of start/stop, heel...sit/stay before they got the hang of the walk. I also used pinch collars on them for the first 3 weeks. Pinch collars will not hurt the dogs unless you misuse them. They work by mimicking the "bite" making you the Alpha. Always have the collars up high on the dogs neck and use short jerks for correction. If you are unwilling to use a pinch collar, try using a Haltie or a Gentle Leader. Always stop the forward motion if the dogs misbehave. Good Luck!

Thank You, Doggone/GA!

I was reading Cesar's book today and learned that every dog needs a job and thought maybe I should find a job for both my dogs. Scooby, my 10 year old lab\shephard mix is always laying around the house doing nothing, he thinks he's the boss and is VERY stubborn. And I was thinking that maybe getting him a job that he liked might change his behavior. But what job should I consider for him? He hates playing fetch and can't usually run fast for long periods of time because he has difficulty breathing, it's like a huff type thing, (could he have heartworms?) anyway, my other dog Lila (the crazy aggressive dog)is 16 months old and a lab\dachson mix. She L-O-V-E-S sniffing out her Kong ball filled with peanut butter, is that considered a job? And what kind of activity should I try with Scooby?

Thank You!

Also, (sorry, I have so many questions!) When my dog comes over to me and puts his paw on my lap or hand, should I discourage it?

Many Thanks,
Jackie

Jackie,
Labs can sometimes have a genetic problem with their
larynx. My Black Lab had it, and she huffed all the
time. The sound is similar to if she had on a choke
collar incorrectly and was choking from it. She huffed
for many years, but lived a long, long life, so that's
probably all it is. Sometimes I hear it in my Lab/Shepherd
but not all the time.

"Also, (sorry, I have so many questions!) When my dog comes over to me and puts his paw on my lap or hand, should I discourage it?"

I would say if that's all he is doing, you can decide what you want to do...but what I would suggest you NOT do is respond UNTIL all his feet are on the floor. That way you are not encouraging him by rewarding him for touching you, but you ARE rewarding him for "untouching" you, so to speak!

Hi Jackie,
Yes, that "doggie asthma" is the sound. My Black
Lab had it, and the Black Lab down the street also had
it. It particularly flared up when they got older, and after exercise or if they were excited (when is a Lab NOT excited? LOL). They each lived beyond 15, so it didn't
affect their quality of life in any substantial way.
Next time you have a vet visit, you might want to
have it checked, just to be sure. Labradors, and probably
Lab mixes, are apparently genetically predisposed to this
-- similar to genetic hip dysplasia in Shepherds and other breeds.

"But…..how can she think she was dominant????? both of the dogs eat after my family, are not petting when requested, aren’t allowed on the couches….and that’s all I can think of for now. But, why are they both still pushy, dominant dogs?? "

Because you are not ACTIVELY asserting your dominance. For instance, when your dog fixates on another dog...if you "freeze" and do nothing, your dog will interpret that as weakness and you have, in essence, permitted her to take the dominant position.

"I think Lila is RED ZONE aggression…but how do i know for sure?"

If you are fraid of her, or of what she will do, or of what might happen to another dog...she's either Red Zone, or very close. If she is, and you feel her problems are beyond what you can hope to modify, you might need to pursue professional help. In the meantime, you might think about getting her used to a muzzle. It's not a cure...but if it eases your mind and makes you better able to be calm and assertive...it might be worth it.

" Also, when my Lila goes potty in the backyard, my other dog Scooby will pee over it….should I allow that?"

I wouldn't worry about, Scooby is just claiming her...it's more for any other dogs that might come by and smell than anything else.

" And, you said earlier that i should be givng her the cold shoulder…..what do you mean by that"

"Giving the cold shoulder" means ignoring her...but I think it was someone else that said that, it's not a term I normally use!

"I already have a gentle lead on her and it helps contol her more, but it doesn’t prevent her from biting. So, i was thinking maybe I should put the muzzle and then the Gentle Lead? But then she won’t be able to open her mouth and breathe easy….i just don’t know. =("

I'll be honest...I don't like the "head halter" type of control tools. I just don't feel like they are flexible enough..and there IS a danger of doing damage to the dog's neck with them. Horses do well with halters because they have this enormous tendon in their necks that helps hold up the weight of their head, but dogs don't have that.

I would suggest a regular basket muzzle and a good slip collar (aka: choke chain). Here's at least one place that has them:

http://www.jbpet.com/Shopping/product.asp?catalog_name=JBWholesale&product_id=137-0135&category_name=CollarsMuzzles

I found this just by searching the internet for "basket muzzle dog plastic" and this page came up. They have 2 kinds - for dogs with short muzzles and longer ones. If you want to check it out, you'll probably have to copy/paste it.

I would not suggest getting a wire basket muzzle, a dog can HURT you with those! Shop around though, the page I quoted isn't the only place you can find them. You might even try eBay.

Cesar, I love the show even though I no longer have a dog. I do need HELP though. I live between 2 dogs that are Rescued. One barks whenever and the other comes over and digs up my plants. Would it be worth me buying 2 CD's of the book to give to these 2 neighbors before I go crazy or do you think the neighbors would listen to the CD's. Any suggestions?? Desperate for Help.

About the moth balls. If a dog swallows it, isn't she going to be hurt? I thought they were poisonous.

Ok,

Thank you for your advice!!! So....would you still recomment the basket halter?

Jackie,
As regards the huffing of the Lab mix and exercise,
my Lab always exercised a lot with me, and we never
had any problems. She didn't settle down until she
was 16 years old!! LOL Tons of energy, and there's
no way she'd let me go for a walk without her!! It's
probably fine, but check w/your vet just to be on the safe
side.

"I think your are right about the basket halter, it would definitely help my calm assertive energy……which I am having trouble projecting….how do I know when it’s working?"

When you begin to see that she is not longer fixating on another dog you can try not using it, but I would still keep it with you just in case.

" also, I’ve been reading some books and they say that you shouldn’t pet your dog while he’s sleeping…..is that true?"

I'm not sure I understand why someone would say that...but I guess it depends on the dog, some dogs wake up grumpy...just like people! But other than simply not being a good idea to interrupt their sleep, I don't see why there would be a problem with it.

Doggone,

Ok I'll go out and try to find one tomorrow, do you think they have them at petsmart or petco?

k2,Thanks! I like the name Scooby too! His old name was Doobey when he lived with this surfer guy(Dave) but when Dave couldn't take care of him anymore, I took him to live with my family. Since "Doobey" wasn't a family name, we changed it to Scooby which sounded similar to Doobey =) I lie down and snuggle with my dogs too :p Although I always feel like I'm not being the "Pack Leader"...everytime I give my dogs an extreme amount of attention I feel that way, should I not? I'm so bummed!! I can't take Scooby on my morning runs anymore =( My big guy is getting old ='(

ok, but how do I know what size Lila is? She has an oddly shaped head; it's slender and small but her neck is big and thick, so it's super easy for collars and such to fit and come off. When she gets aggressive she will be so tense and focused on the dog that her neck will do what seems like shrinking and her collar or whatever is on her will come off! Anyway, what would you recommend? and do you think I should try ebay?

"ok, but how do I know what size Lila is?"

Most of the websites I've visited in the past have pretty clear instructions on how to measure for a muzzle, check out a few.

I'm not sure what to say about it coming off...it's always a possibility anyway, but since you will be right there with her when she is wearing it, you should be able to catch if it's starting to get out of place.

* maybe some dogs take to it and others don't ?

Ok, will do.

Thanks Sarah

Jackie,

I'm so glad to hear you're taking your dog to the vet. :)
That's the halmark of a truly responsible dog owner, and I commend
you for it.
Please let us know how it turns out for your dog.

Did you hear Friday of the L.A. woman on crutches attacked by 2 pitt bulls while walking to the store? Why did they attack her? Is there anything she could have done to prevent their attacking her?

Help!! My dog chew his bed every day while I am at work. He has even done some work recently on the curtains. He knows he is bad as he cowars and shakes when I get home. I discipline him and he continues to do it. All of this after he has been in the dog park for a few hours during the day. Any suggestions?

signed...
frustrated

I have a 5 year old akc german shepherd and shes very smart and friendly.The ONLY problem I have with her is her obsession with playing fetch it takes precedence over all else she doesn't really like to socialize as much as play fetch.I've heard that it may be her breed the idea that german shepherds like to please their masters being that she thinks that's what she has to do to please me.I never even taught her to play I just tossed it around when she was a puppy for play and she started bringing it to me.She has no other behavioral problem but this I try to take her on walks and she wants to stay in the yard and play fetch.I've tried to take it away from her for a couple weeks but she becomes very depressed and even goes to the extent of refusing to eat enough I don't want to hurt her physically or emotionally. Is there anything I can do?-THANK YOU-

I am looking for rental insurance with a pit bull can anyone help

Hmm I love the idea behind this website, very unique.