This struck a note with me because of the massive remodeling where we ended up going to a hotel and then over to friends for almost a month because we couldnt live in the dust any more.

Fortunately, following Cesars pack introduction guidance, the integration of Foxie and Signal with their two German Shepards went smoothly but poor Foxie became extemely dioriented. For the first time every we had some accidents as she couldnt find the doggie door there and in fact actually regressed in her disease before she pulled out.

In spite of my intentions and efforts, I am only now becoming aware of how much of a "handle it" dynamic I send/create to my dogs with so many things. In Cesar's book he talks about the best balanced dogs in the US is actually the dogs of the homeless people. Always got angry at those people for having dogs, thinking how at risk the dogs were but he is right!
It is because of the constant attention, interaction and never ending leadership role they live in every single moment!

When Cesar talks about how the dog will take the energy from you in this blog, I am reminded of the ONLY two dog fights between signal and the other male, was first right when the lady of the house was leaving to go to a heart surgery and we were all pretending everything was fine and joking -- suddenly there was this roaring fight between the dogs. Then when we were ready to move out -again we had enjoyed the experience and we were aprehensive about going back into the unfinished house, the fight broke out again.

Absolutely convinced our dogs will act out for us. Just today, our flagpole was ripped out last night and American Flag cut away/stolen. I took Signal for his bike run but I was enraged at the desicration/violation that had been done to us. (Picture a rottie snarling, growling, slobbering and lookin for a fight and that was my energy on the bike!)

For the first time in 8 months. When he saw a couple walking a dog, he actually charged forward and when I went to break his fixation, started fighting me and pulled me over for the first time ever! Took me five minutes to get him to submit which hasnt happened in over a year. Yet -

I took him around the route again, this time I had total focus on him in my calm state, even though we sailed by that same couple and dog, he didnt slow for a moment or even give them a side glance!

Absolutely clear to me this pattern of pickin up and acting out our (my) energy just like kids do!. Cesar talks about how balanced the American dogs of the homeless are in his book. I can see I have alot to learn from them!

CJ,

I love the name Signal Bear. Is it because chows look like bears? (mine does, before the fur cut).
I experienced a similar situation once, when I had trouble walking my chow mix the right way. She wanted to stop and sniff every few seconds, and she would not walk beside me. Until one day she did something that made me angry (growled meanly at my husky mix, who was sitting calmly by the gate). I took her for a walk with the intentions of really showing her who the boss is. It took less then one minute for her to start walking the way I wanted. My energy was so different than usual.
Also how many times do your dogs know that you are going to take them for a walk, even before you mention anything? It seems my dogs always know, even thought the walks are in different time of the afternoon.

Several years ago, my previous dog suddenly, for no apparent reason, was afraid of linoleum. She didn't want to come into our kitchen, or my mother-in-law's kitchen. She'd stop at the threshold and just stand there. You could tell she wanted to come in, but wouldn't. The only thing we could think of was that maybe she had slipped once and was leery of it from then on. We didn't do anything, and after a couple weeks she finally came around. But it was weird how quickly it came on.

All my dogs kick the grass after going to the bathroom. We are saying that they are flushing the toilet, lol. Is that bad?

Ewa,
Some trainers say it is a sign of cockiness. The trainer who works with service dogs trains all the male dogs to squat instead of lifting their leg to pee and to never kick up the grass. My dogs are just pets so I don't know if the behavior should be corrected or if I should just let Big Luke be studly!

Both my dogs do the grass kicky thing too. I never gave it a second thought. It doesn't bother me and it just takes a second. Why would that behavior be construed as "cocky?"

Kicking the grass is a normal behavior. I've read that it's thought the dogs are leaving more of their scent.

In any case, it's not a sign of dominance, or cockiness. Let your dog kick the grass.

Sarah, what book were you reading? I'd like to pick it up.

Wow Doggone thanks for that last clarification! I want to bring our Yahoo Dog Whisperer email list's attention to that because it really would help to reduce the stress and confusion that being in a city brings with all the distractions.
I have mentioned before that for years, I have had luck with my dogs getting lost (in a multitude of places) by visualizing looking into their eyes, hooking an "energy leash" around their collar and reeling them back like a fishing line. One thing though is that I had to be in the absolute center of my being in calmness - drop all emotionality and fears or it wouldnt work - but it has every time.

Ewa, no kidding you can go to my website to see and read of his rescue. I named him Signal for the Traffic Signal Shop who allowed me the time and space to rescue him (they worked around me (not easy when they were bringing in the heavy equipment at the end of the shift to the yard) and Bear because with all the Cesar technique success, he has turned into the biggest ole teddy cuddly bear that I have had since I was 8!

Also I have not heard about the kicking the grass either. Signal does not do it but Foxie, my girl with cancer used to in her stronger days (rof) and I would say that I raised her for 12 years, only using/knowing 30 % of the cesar way - boy what a difference in dogs!

"My dog is weight puller. Does he have to walk the full 45 min.?"

What is it about walking for 45 minutes that bothers you?

I just wanted to make a comment about the 3 dogs that were rescued from the New Orleans area. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that they were treated medically and emotionally. I did have a major concern. All three of the dogs had heartworm. This is a disease that could have easily been prevented; it also takes 1.5 years at the minimum to detect after the initial mosquito bite. I rescued an American Fox Hound from a shelter in Green Bay, WI, that was diagnosed (at vet follow-up) with heartworm. Yes, the initial treatment is "only a shot" but the pain and discomfort Jake suffered is inexcusable, not to mention the cost...well over $1000. I will never forget the look of fear and pain in his eyes when he came home. It is one of the only times he ever growled and physically snapped at me. This is something that could have been prevented. In the future, when heartworm is discussed could you give a more detailed description of this disease so that more people are aware of it. If one dog could avoid this awful disease it would be worth it! Thank you!

tarraho,

You brought up a very important subject. Heartworm treatment can also kill the dog, if dead heartworms clog the arteries.
I had no idea that it takes a year and half to detect it. It means that most of the dogs in New Orleans have never been given the preventative. It doesn't speak well of their owners.

K2,

I know what you mean with "only" 45 minutes. If I have time, out walks/runs last up to hour and half. The more the better. There is nothing like early morning walk in the park with your beloved dogs. It's the best part of my day.

Marie - I posted an answer for you in "Treats and Toys"

Ewa, back to post #3 (yours)and post #12 (mine) -- I
started reading Cesar's book tonight. In the book, Cesar talks about how when he was a young boy he would just THINK about having one of the farm dogs follow him in a certain direction and the dog would read his mind and do it. This has happened to me so many times. I swear I have communicated with the dogs telepathically, but I thought I was crazy -- I must have imagined it. I was amazed to see Cesar writing about this! Wow! It's all about the energy we're projecting. I'm going to try to do it deliberately now. Imagine how this can be used in a positive way, instead of by happenstance.

Evan,
If you need to take shorter walks try putting a back pack on the dog with some weight in it. My big dog carries about 8 pounds right now and that helps keep him settled into position during our walks. Also, because I have only 30 minutes to walk, putting some weight on him and walking fast (power walking) gives him more exercise in a shorter amount of time. He is young and very strong so for about 4 weeks I used a pinch collar. The pinch collar will not hurt the dog unless YOU MISUSE it.

Hi Ya All!
Well thank goodness for today's blog. We are moving in a few weeks and now I know the best way to bring the dogs to our new place. Right now I'm spending a great deal of time packing, painting, cleaning etc... and they are looking at me like I'm crazy. We have access to the new place now, so I'm going to take them on more walks in the area and quick visits to the new place, (a few hours at a time). And then bring them back home. I've already started to walk them around our new property! I'm so glad I was doing the right thing! :) I think too, that if I introduce them to the new place for longer periods of time, then they won't be stressed the first night we all stay there because they will already be used to it and all the new smells will have already been examined.
And to change the subject:
I've had dogs that "Scratch" the ground after they go potty. And one of my dogs only does it when he hears another dog or is at the park or somewhere like that.
Some of my dogs never have done it. I've always known it to be a part of marking. And I've seen scratching used to throw dirt in the face of another dog that is not allowing privacy during a potty break. My yonger one has gotten a face full of dirt and then left my big boy alone when he relives himself. I've never felt that it was a behavior that needs to be corrected. Who wants a wet, cold nose shoved into your butt when your trying to pee or poo?
I've seen female dogs lift their leg also and male dogs that squat. So to me, it's a "dog" thing that I've never worried about.
And Thank you SJS! Pinch collars will not hurt unless you don't know how to use it correctly! As with any type of correction tool it really needs to be used properly. I've seen people that have a choke chain on the wrong side or much too small etc... OMG! Choke chains are the ones I see used incorrectly most of the time. If people are unsure of how to use a tool for a powerful breed, they really, really need to ask someone or open a book or just get the right information! And show dogs all have choke chains on them. They are just very thin. But they are chokes.
And like Cesar says...his dogs don't even need a lead! But for the rest of us that haven't been doing this all our lives, or for those of us that don't have 50 problematic dogs, a choke or a pinch can be wonderful tools.
When I have my big boy with his 130lbs of face on a walk, I wouldn't think of having him without his choke chain on.

Hey K2
Good Luck!
I took my Wendy girl to our new place alone first. She is the youngest out of my two.
My big boy gets used to places way, way faster than her, so I know I'm going to need less time for him.
I kept the lead on, I just drop it to the floor, and let her explore her heart out. She was very relaxed and back to being herself after about only 1/2 hour. Then, after she seemed to have used her nose as much as she needed, we came back home. She was actually rather tired because this was all so new to her, which took quite a bit of energy! BONUS!
And I never go anywhere without the choke chain on, even if it's for a quick pit stop outside of the house in the yard. I don't have adequate fencing, so better safe than sorry!

Hi,
I have a very fun jack Russel terrier Harry, who is very well behaved most of the time, except when he is chasing rabbits or digging up mice. He walks nicely, he is calm when i put his collar on for walks and when i let him run off leash he comes except when he found something smelly to track. Should I just leave him on his leash all the time or just when he doesn't come back when i call on these "tracking" adventures?
I appreciate your help
Trish

HI Trish,
Are you planing to train him to track and go to ground? I've seen the competitions and they look like so much fun! You can get a retracktable 25 foot leash at the pet store. Using this type of leash you can train your dog to come when you call. Also you can be more aware of what your Jack Russel is up to. They have been know to bite off more than they can chew.

When I brought home a dog recently, he would not go upstairs. I think they were strange to him. I went to work the second day that he was here. My husband said that he went upstairs but would not come down. He was scared of falling down them or something. He said that he tried to pull him down and carry him down but he is a 100 pound dog.

I went upstairs and told him to sit and made sure that I was charge. I put a leash on him and sat on the top step and pulled him over to me and told him to sit. Ok so far.

I went down one step at a time taking him with me. After he was about half way down he went by himself. I did not baby him but told him that we were going down stairs.

My hubby was amazed. Apparently the poor thing was up there for about 4 hours and would not come down. I had him down in 3 minutes. He has no trouble since.

Your dog has to trust you. You show him how by taking charge. I learned this from Cesar. Thank you.

PLEASE HELP.....3 YEAR OLD FAMILY PET NEVER BEEN OUTSIDE SINCE 5 WEEKS OLD RAN AWAY FROM MY HUSBAND IN WOODS NOT NEAR OUR HOME...PUT OUT SIGNS IN COUNTRY...SHE IS HIDING IN WOODS NOW FOR OVER 4 WEEKS..WE SIGHTED HER LAST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY GOT TO WITHIN 40 YDS CAN NOT GET HER TO COME TO US...THIS DOG IS OUR BABY...IS SOME HOW STILL ALIVE... WE HAVE PEOPLE ALLL OVER THE COUNTRY COMMUNITY TRYING TO FIND HER...MANY HAVE SEEN HER BUT SHE WILL NOT LET THEM CARCH HER.....HELP US PLEASE

Diane,
I have a 6 mo. old spayed pit bull who trys to "play bite"with me. I can usually redirect her to a chew toy and if not, the things you mentioned did not work for her, seemed to make her more aggressive. She usually does this if I am sitting on the couch so I have been standing up and looking her directly in the eye and saying no, if she jumps up and tries to bite I block her with my raised knee, not pushing her down, but just blocking and not saying anything. She stopped very quickly. Does anyone know if this is an OK thing to do and have any more suggestions.

Nina,
Several days ago, I shared about a local story where I
live -- I tried to find where it is on this blog page
for the past 15 minutes, but I can't find it anywhere.
Briefly, the dog lived in the woods for 2 years after
having run away from home. It lived in the woods right
near its home, but no one could catch it. A lot of
families were feeding it. It was finally caught using a
very elaborate netting system that all the people chipped
in for. Hopefully you will not have that problem! Do
you have an animal control department in your police
station? I'd start there, if you do. And otherwise keep
leaving food out and maybe the dog will come back to
you. If I'm reading your post correctly, it sounds like
the dog is someplace where you don't live (like maybe
you were on vacation or something?) if you know people
there and can elist their help -- or again the animal
control dept of that community. They really are our "babies!" aren't they? My heart goes out to you.

"Was he possibly thrown out of a car? Could someone have abused him so badly that he trusts no one else? What can I do to help him and me get over these fears??????? "

If you haven't read Cesar's book yet...GET IT! He discusses this sort of problem. Basically what your dog needs is strong leadership and most likely what are called "swamping" sessions...but those are NOT something an inexperienced trainer should attempt, especially with such a large dog.

There are slower techniques that might or might not work, but are easier to learn and apply. This is the sort of dog that *I* feel can be greatly helped by TRUE clicker training. Not the sort of "click and treat" training that seems so popular these days.

For the kind of clicker training you need, it would help greatly if you get a good book on the subject. Basically, what you do is get 25 to 30 tiny pieces of something really tasty the dog likes - like hot dogs. Before you feed him, when he's hungry, you give him a treat and the INSTANT he takes it you click. You don't say anything, you don't touch him, you just treat/click.

You do this for 3 or 4 days, or until you are certain he has the association of "click means treat". This is typical "Pavlovian" association training.

Once he has that association down you can use the clicker as a SUBSTITUTE for the treat - since he probably won't eat anyway if he's that fearful.

Now is when you need a LOT, a L*O*T of patience. Put your dog on a leash that is about 10 or 12 feet long. A piece of rope is fine, it doesn't have to be a special leash.

Go open the back doors of your vehicle, both of them, and crawl in and sit on the far side from where your dog is standing, reeling out the leash of course, so you still have control of him.

Then you WATCH HIM and everytime he even LOOKS at you you click. Don't talk to him, don't pull on the lead. Just watch and click. If he takes even a half-step towards you, click. If he lies down and goes to sleep, click! (because he's calm enought to relax)

As long as he is calm and not actively trying to leave he is learning. You click to "reward" ANY sort of movement forward towards the car.

If you can't get him close enough to the car at first to get in it, then just begin by YOU standing as close as he will let you get without him panicing and then proceed to reward, by clicking, any forward movement.

You must be really patient with him, don't try to do this when you are in a hurry. DON'T TALK TO HIM! Basically, you are giving him the opportunity to sort it out on his own terms, but with encouragment for advancing forward.

You do have to keep him "on his toes" about the reward/click association. A couple of times a week, repeat the food/click scenario...but you only need to use maybe 5 to 10 rewards, just to keep the association fresh in his mind.

A good book on PROPER clicker training can explain it much better, but that's the bottom-line basics. This kind of clicker training works especially well for training animals like dolphins & whales, because, essentially, you can't effectivley use a correction on an animal that can weigh several TONS! And it also works well on animals like yours that are so fearful they shut down.

A clicker is a short, sharp sound that "gets through" that sort of shut down when another sound...like your voice...may not. And you can use it to "reward" steps towards the behavior you want.

And for the arm movement avoidance, you use the same technique but you have the dog close to you and an assistant at a distance. A long distance if necessary, but close enough that the dog can seem them.

Have them make a noise, just sound, not a word, that will get your dog's attention. When he is looking at them they wave their arm. YOU watch the dog and if he is calm, you click.

Have the person take a step closer and repeat. Keep doing that until the dog shows signs of being uneasy at which point you, of course, DON'T click...and have the person back up a step or two and repeat the wave. If the dog accepts that calmly, you click and end the session.

Keep repeating the sesssions, but have the person stand closer each time at the beginning. Your goal is to get the dog to accept arm waving from very close. Once you have achieved that you can use the same techniques to get him to accept having a hand reach out.

At home, you need to get other members of your family to NOT REACH FOR HIM, but simply sit down, turn their back on him and let HIM approach them. Same technique...you watch HIM and if he moves towards them you click.

This is NOT fast training technique, though if you are patient and successful, you might find a "cascade" of breakthroughs come his way as his barriers break down.

hey i jenny and i love a boy called Zach he is soooo cut we have a lot in coment ill tell u now!. well........ we bothe have dogs but Zach has 2 snowdogs and i have 1 colli lurcher cross! kk I lOvE dOgS!]
(M)

wow! i consider myself (and my two oldest dogs) lucky! never had this problem (the third is a recently-acquired pom from a nice guy who just didn't have time for the dog...and this li'l guy's a whole 'nother story).

got the first when she was six-eight weeks old (born 1998). got the second exactly six weeks after her birthday (1 january 2000). they've gone from rental to bought-house to alaska to three states when i worked as a travel-nurse to back home. this doesn't count the many motels we stayed in along the way.

maybe because i'd gotten them so young and started right away on the most simple of commands ("sit;" "down;" "leave it"), and treated all this moving about as par for the course, they followed my lead. or maybe they're just "on-the-road" kind of pups!