Sometimes I have found these signs can be so subtle!
Like when Signal came into the house, the first thing he did was to take over the pillows at the top of the bed!!!

Now I am seeing a direct cause/effect between my ruthless "pack leader" interaction with Signal and Steve's "Best friend" interaction.

When Steve calls Signal over on the bed to pet him, then rolls over, Signal immediately goes over to MY pillows and plogs down next to Steve's side. Then he mostly will do this cute roll over on his back with pethedic look at mom things that is so darn hard to resist.

It is so cute, that if I break MY disapline and smile or laugh - then I have to tell him to move to the foot of the bed (dogs have a safe spot they can go to on the foot of the bed). If I can just hold the space - clear energy of pack protocol, is how I am coming to think/feel it - then he will simply get up and move to the bootom of the bed without a word or action from me.

So for me, what Cesar says about "project energy" is very literal and physical to feel. I am using it in a tense work situation right now that is extrodinarily effective. Also interesting, because as a contractor dealing with this client who literally has the all the power, including to fire or blacklist me is stressful for me too which cannot be allowed, - but I am having to keep him calm and balanced from the stress he is under right now.

The client is literally re-writing a class that is supposed to be presented tomorrow, and the student's materials arent even done. (My piece was done three weeks ago). I can see that this is his pattern that needs to be redirected into the calmness because it will all blow out if I let the energy explode that is in him, just like what used to be in Signal Bear.

I was thinking about this "calm assertive energy" Cesar speaks of and for the life of me I just couldn't understand what he was talking about. Until, I remembered when raising my kids (3) all one year apart that keeping them under "control" could get fairly difficult.
Times I would say no, for instance, but deep down didn't mean it...they knew, why wasn't the word enough? My engergy wasn't backing it up.
Other times when I said no and meant it with every fiber..they never said another word, but rather accepted my no right away.
Now, after having looked back at those situations when raising my kids, I get what Cesar is talking about and boy does it work!

Amber,
My dogs both are squirrel-lungers, as well as cat and
strange-dog lungers. I inadvertently trained them to do
that, I think, because I would tense up whenever I saw
a squirrel, cat or dog (or ducks, geese, etc.). A couple
years ago, I stopped tensing up when I saw squirrels, but
I still tense up (now) when I see a cat or dog. Today it
was ducks. I immediately catch MYSELF tensing up, and
tell myself to calm down, and I am telling you this
translates right down the leash to the dogs. Today I
made incredible progress on our two one-hour walks (hooray! I did it!) and we had lots of challenges. No
cats, but several dogs, most of them loose. I simply no
longer look at the other animal. I look straight ahead,
and I keep my shoulders down "military style" and take
a deep breath and just keep moving, deliberatly and in
an un-stressed manner. I find that if I do not fixate on
the other animal, then neither do they. I also do the
quick "snap" of the leash if their heads move to look at
the other animal (whether it's just one of them, or both
of them). The other night, I was walking them in the dark,
and they saw something (cat, skunk???) and lunged before
I even saw it (actually, they probably smelled before saw).
I got dragged down on the ground. At that moment, I
realized that I cannot ever be "off duty" and caught by
surprise when walking them outdoors. I have to always be
on the lookout, one step ahead of them. It is a LOT of
work re-training myself LOL! They don't lunge after
squirrels anymore, in fact, they barely even "perk up" if
a squirrel is nearby. Same with small birds. And I think
this is because I am ignoring the squirrel or small bird,
so I'm tranferring that energy to the dogs.

K2,

Yes, I completely agree that the more focused I am on the walk, the better she does. Sometimes I just don't see it coming or I see the squirrel the same time she does and I'm sure I tense up then correct her or maybe brace myself (same difference). We are doing better with dogs and cats though. If she lunges at a barking dog behind a fence I make her walk by until she does it right and cats are safe as long as they don't run.

If my dogs could reach the bed (it's too high) I would
allow them to sleep with us. My boyfriend wouldn't, though. LOL! So, just as well that they can't reach the
bed. I don't "invite" them onto the couch or chair, they
just go there when they want. But there's never a problem
and half the time they prefer to lie on the floor anyhow.

Amber, another thing I've been trying that I've seen
Cesar do (but don't try this if you're not comfortable)
is try to make the dogs sit or lie down and get completely
calm before moving forward if there is an animal in their
sights (scents) that they want to fixate on or chase.
It's really difficult, so I think the old "don't try this
at home" advice does apply! In last week's DW episode
Cesar stopped at the foot of a stairway where a dog was
lying at the top, and he had the aggressive dog lie down
at the foot of the stairs with his back turned to the dog
at the top. Once he had that accomplished, he walked up
the stairs and approached the dog. The two dogs got along
just fine, whereas with the owners before that they were going crazy and the owners couldn't control them at all.

I saw Cesar's shows for the first time last night (April 17 2006). The pack leader issue interests me and does anyone know if there can be two (adult owner) pack leaders? Pancho, our long haired Chihuahua, is in control of everything: the house,the walks by my husband, not so much in control of the walks with me though. Pancho is aggressive, a barker, and unfortunately a biter. He is eight years old and has been a member of our family since he was four months old. We also have an established indoor cat who was five when Pancho joined us. Pancho has respect for the cat and has learned some cat grooming behavior from her! Anyway, Cesar's show was a revelation, I plan to watch the show (and order the DVD)every Friday night from now on. Any thoughts regarding two pack leaders? Both my husband and myself as pack leaders would be ideal. Thank you.

Holly,

Every "human" in the house is/should be the pack leader. There was an episode on DW where a couple were expecting a baby. Each person had their own dog prior to their getting married so they had to solve that problem first, then Cesar showed them how the dynamics would change once the baby was born. The dogs were taught their boundries before and after the baby arrived. Once the baby girl was born, she became the "youngest" pack leader. Cesar taught the couple how to walk the dogs BEHIND the baby carriage. It was very enlightening.

I've got to start checking the TV schedule at the top of this page everyday...The Dog Whisperer is one FIVE times today! Yay! :)

It's the ONLY show where re-runs make sense and I'm happy to watch them!

Keep it up National Geographic...we can't get enough of the Dog Whisperer!!

Holly,
It took me about two weeks, but I've finally gotten
my Lab/Coonhound to wait while I walk out first, and
also wait at the stairs while I walk down first. My
Lab/Shepherd has always waited, even though I have always
considered him "the boss" of the household until I took
over as pack leader ha ha ha.

K2,
Last night on our walk we walked by a fence with a dog behind it with a lot of excited energy. My dog attempted to lunge at the fence and wouldn't walk by calmly even when I started her over. I ended up sitting her up against the fence not facing the dog and correcting her with her halti (basically just making her look at me) each time she tried to look at the dog. I didn't feel like she was ever in a "calm-submissive" state but she did get to the point that she wasn't trying to look at the dog and sat still. It's funny because while I was doing that the disclaimer about not trying these techniques without a professional was going through my head but I could tell the other dog wasn't aggressive and just wanted to sniff her and I also feel confident that I can control my dog without her being aggressive towards me. It definitely is a hard psychological exercise for the dog but I feel like its safe to do if you have confidence that your dog wont be aggressive towards you and that the other dog isn't being aggressive.

I have finished reading Cesars book as well and really enjoyed it. I found the chapter on "red-zone" aggression a little hard to read because of the examples of dog abuse he discusses. I guess ignorance is bliss.

I enjoyed reading about his background. I thought the stories about Cesar coming to the states initially and how he got to where he is was pretty fascinating. I didn't read anything I didn't know already from his show but I thought it was very poignant how he stressed the walk over and over when dealing with any problem with your dog. I've always walked my dogs daily as long as I possibly could but after reading the book I've decided the walk has to be first thing in the morning and then food and then another walk right when I get home and food again (my dog needs to gain some weight).

Amber,

I found the chapters describing Cesar's arrival fascinating too. It shows how you can accomplish whatever you decide to do. I am about half way through the book (wish I had more time to read), and I love it.
During the walk my husky mix behaves really well most of the time. But there are a few dogs that she will not just pass without charging, and barking. It must depend on the other dog's energy. How come she would leave some dogs alone, but the others she just can't?

KathyB,

It's great that Roman is treating you like a pack leader. One very important thing that I got from the book is that you have to be the leader 24/7. It's a hard job, LOL.
I can be a leader during the walk, but at home I am not so sure. The dogs behave really well 99% of the time, so I really don't have a chance to test any rules.

Ewa,

I experience the same thing as well, we can walk by a dog that's barking a growling and lunging at the fence and she'll walk by without much notice and then another dog gets excited and she starts lunging back. One thing I have noticed is that if she is expecting the dog she is more likely to get worked up...If we walk by and the dog kind of surprises us by barking behind a fence, she doesn't always react. When we walk by a fence that normally has a dog behind it or a yard she can see in to she'll start looking and becoming fixated on the yard before she even sees the dog. It may just be a conditioned response. You'd think the dogs she has the most practice walking by would be the easiest but its the exact opposite.

On one episode Cesar talked about how much easier it is for dogs to walk beside each other versus the face off and it is sooo true. I have asked a couple of my neighbors with dogs if I could walk them with us and even though the initial meeting is a little hairy they calm down so quickly just walking next to each other. My neighbors love the fact I want to take their dogs for a walk too.

Loved the segment on Greta and Hoss! They're both great looking dogs! I hope to see more of them in a follow up segment!

I've always wondered what Cesar thinks about the dogs sleeping in the bed with you. I thought that since wolves/dogs sleep together that it would strenghten the pack bond.

I have 3 dogs. The biggest sleeps with us all the time but sometimes we wake up & push him off of us. The other 2 sleep in their own beds. However, the smallest will lay in the bed if my husband or I are by ourselves in the bed.

I "share" the couch with the dogs. They jump off & on as they please. They have 2 rules:
1 - Don't sit behind me when I sit
2 - Move when I want to sit where they are

The only thing that really bugs me is, sometimes they come up to be petted. I don't mind doing that (am I being dominated?) but the one gets really pesky about it. I've learned to make her sit & then reward her for not nosing me.

They also nose me to be petted when I'm on the computer. I've been ignoring them when they do that.

pittbulski, from what I gather, Cesar has nothing against
dogs sleeping in the same bed w/the owner, but the owner
does need to claim the bed and set rules, boundaries and
limitations. If the owner tells the dog to get off the
bed, then the dog has to do it. Same with couch and
chairs. As long as you "own" the couch or bed, then you
should do as you please.

Janer, boy can I relate to you! I've posted many a story
on the blog about my being dragged down on the beach by
my Lab/Shepherd and my Lab/Coonhound. My Lab/Shepherd
is hyper-alert too, and a chaser of squirrels, foxes, and
rabbits. I see what you mean about there being "no end
in sight" as far as the corrections go. My two tend to
feed off of each other's energy and things can get pretty
hairy out there! Especially on the beach where there are
a LOT of new dogs to "snurf"! I have figured out that I
need to be 100% "on duty" -- whereas I had originally
adopted the Lab/Shepherd as a walking companion, once the
two dogs reached maturity, I have had to give up the
relaxation portion of my walk in favor of it becoming a
practice session. I have found that if I can walk for a
LOOONG time before going to the beach (like an hour or
more) then they are much calmer, but still "on alert".
It's nice to know I am not alone with this problem!
BTW: I have noticed a great influx of Lab/Shepherd owners.
Maybe we should advocate it being a breed that might
be AKC recognized! LOL! I think mine is the most
gorgeous creature in the world. Ok, I am biased!

Hey Pitbullski, about the dogs nosing you at the computer (mine do too!) and demanding affection: I think a great command is "Go lie down." I taught it to stop my first dog - an adult rescue - from her habit of begging at the table. You just point and say, "Go lie down! then take the dog by the collar about 5 feet away from where you are sitting and physically put him in the down position. Repeat every time he approaches you ad infinitum. It only took me one seriously interrupted meal for my shep mix to get it. If she gets up to go somewhere else away from me I let her be. After all, I don't want her in a down/stay. I just want her to not bug me!

This command has come in quite handy for whenever she is bothering someone or soliciting unwanted attention, for instance bugging a visitor for affection who is allergic to dogs, or follwing a toddler who is walking around with a cookie.

pitbullski,

Ha Ha, I thought I had the only dog chair.

1 - Don’t sit behind me when I sit and to take it a bit further, don't lie down in my spot of the bed. Kahlua is dead weight when I try to move him but he eventually gets it. My dogs like to sleep butt-to-butt on the bed (the 2 older ones) and I don't mind because they are each others pack. The puppy splits up the pack so he sends my little senior citizen Harley, rushing for her bed on the floor. It does get a bit crowded but I don't mind. When my friends stay over, each dog picks out a friend to sleep with then just checks in on me from time to time. Some loyal friend, huh? (LOL). When my brother stays over, they all sleep with him - go figure.

I like the term "hyper-alert." I have trouble describing how my dog acts around other animals and this is perfect. I took her to a trainer for a "temperment consultation" and tried to describe for him what she does. He spent about fifteen minutes with her just observing her with me and my husband, said she was a completely submissive dog and was reacting aggressively to other dogs because she was afraid. I was pretty sure that wasn't the case because she sure doesn't look afraid when her ears a straight up, she does a very shepherd stance, her hackles are up, her tail is straight up and she lunges at the dog barking aggressively (she's never actually bitten a dog but will nip at their legs sometimes). But the "hyper alert" describes her perfectly because sometimes it just seems like any movement and her brain just becomes completely focused on that animal. I know Cesar says to "block" so the mind goes somewhere else but sometimes easier said than done. It has gotten easier, but we still have issues.

It does also make me feel better that other people have this problem. Sometimes I feel like people are very judgemental when she makes a mistake even though I have complete control over her and she has never hurt another dog.

Purrson,
Whenever my dogs perk up about something on the TV, I
say to them: "It's on the TV" in a calm voice. They
catch on right away. I "trained" them on this when they
were really young. What cracks me up is, if a doorbell
rings on TV they go nuts barking -- and NO ONE EVER uses
our doorbell!! Isn't that weird?! I can't watch game
shows like "Wheel of Fortune" because the bells make
them bark ha ha ha. But just teaching them that little
phrase really worked -- sometimes I have to repeat it
twice. But it almost always works the first time.

I have a 4 month old Yorkie who is a quick study, He was paper trained at 2-1/2 months, sits, stays (thanks to Cesar) but I cannot get him to stop barking when he starts. I use the "Sshh" many times and if there is a lull in his bark, I say "thank you" and give him a treat. Ignoring him helps but any other suggestions would be appreciated!...........Love the Show and bought the book but where can I purchase the CD?...........Many thanks!!

" was taught to say “quiet” and then give a quick squirt of water in the face with a plant mister (set on stream not mist) if the dog keeps barking. He will be startled into being quiet, then you tell him he’s a good dog. Repeat as necessary. After a few times all you will have to do is touch the mister and he will be mum! It worked for me. Final step is that he responds to the word alone. "

I would suggest changing this slightly. Given Cesar's mantra "scent, sight, sound" as the order in which to teach things, here's how I would do it: use the mister as described above - except, also point your finger (on the other hand) at the dog, but don't SAY anything. If the dog stops barking, praise the dog and maybe give a treat now & then. When the dog learns that a pointing finger means a squirt and gets quiet, THEN if you want to, you can introduce the word "quiet"

That way the dog will have CORRECTLY obeyed the very first time he hears the word and will have made the connection between the command and the action (or in this case, NONACTION!) much quicker and more reliably.

Yeah Doggone, good point. Gestures work better than words, and pointing is better still cuz it mimics pointing the sprayer.

Janer! I love it!!! American Schlab!!! Excellent!
So, you mean yours barks, too? ha ha ha... mine is SUCH a barker! I'm going to try that coffee can thing. I'll let you know how it works for me!

May 2-06
I have two dogs, but did a rescue on a year old Chihuahua, in Dec-05
This dog along with 30 other smalls dogs came from a raided puppy mill.
She was hit so hard in the back of the head she almost lost her eye, and does not see very well.
She lived with a Vet. tec for over 3 months.Actually one vet thought she should be put to sleep.she was full of parisite and almost dead. she was found in a gage,skinny, no name, and at deaths door. No human contact.

My problem is, she is scared to death of other people that come into my house.
She sleeps in a crate in the tv room with my other two dogs.
when anyone cames into the house she runs for her crate, or will sit by me, and of course anyone that comes into the house she barks, and now grawls at, when I say no she runs for the tv room and hids in the grate.

She is now eating and has gained alot of weight.
I only feed her dry food as my other dogs.
She loves my dogs and two cats.
Our Granddaughter was here for a week,and vists all the time, she never got use to her, she and my other two grandkids she is scared to death of.
The Grandkids are 16, 17, and 18teen, so there are not babys and have animals of there own, that they are kind too.

Being that she doesn't take to anyone , we can't leave the dog with my Grandkids to take off for a couple of days!
When I would hand her to my Grandkids she pees on them. They have tryed to take her outside to potty with the other dogs, she won't do a thing, and now growls at them if they try to take her out of the crate.
I'm ready to give her back, or find a home were nobody visits !

Anyone have any sugguestions for an abused Chihuahua, that is a year old?

Hi K2,
Thank you for Your great advice, I appriciate it.

Maybe I should explain that the Chihuahua is only in the Crate when we go to sleep at night. She is not in it during the day unless she wants to go in there.
The door is always open, except at night.I just have to say to her, lets go to bed, and she goes right in. I feel she is safe in there , as she can't chew anything she is not suppose to. I keep a mattress cover in there, that gets washed almost everyday.
She is not real house broken. I keep the puddle pads on the carpet in that room, but when she goes out to the rest of the house, she will potty, not too long after she has been outside, and I have priased her for going potty outside.

The problem with my Grandkids is more in the morning when they get up earlier then me, and take my two other dogs out to potty, and she will not go, so they just leave her in her crate with the door opened or closed.
She is very attached to me. She wants to play and bite at my hands, and when I'm walking around the house, she wants to jump, and bite at my pant legs, which becomes very annoying. I say No, but I don't think she gets it, unless I clap my hands together, and unfortunatly that scares her.

If she wants something she whines, and whines..She does that about 12 am, 1am when am at the computer. She wants more food, and will sit near her food bowl or were it should be and cry, and yes I do feed her, which is probably a big mistake. But there is no other way to stop this bad habbit, that I know of?
I never have experiance that before,but I did just start to give her one of her nylon bones to chew on when she whines.
I noticed today when my Son and his Girlfriend stopped by, she just sits by me, and is even afraid to cross the room to sit with my Husband. (its a large great room)...My Son or anyone that comes in the house does not bother with her anymore. She is my clinging vine lol where she feels sucure...If I get up from the chair she will get up and hid or go into the tv room , where nobody is!

I live in a rural area in the mountains of California, and do not let her go outside by her self with out the long retractable leash on. I think if something scared her she would be off and running.
I have been training her to come when she is called, she is doing pretty good and follows my other dogs that are not on leashs. My other dogs stay with me.
This area is not great for her to go for long walks, and its also something that I don't do...( I do pilates lol)
when we walk on our property my other dogs stay with us, but with her sometimes, I have to carry her.

I would think after 5 months she would feel secure, like the other dogs I have rescued, but looks like I'm wrong.
From what I hear, Chihuahua's are a different breed so to speak !
They get scared, and bark allot! If I drop something on the kitchen floor (wood) she freaks out and runs for the tv room or her Crate!

When we are here alone, she is pretty much ok except for the whining, and jumping on me, and we cannot leave town for a few days just to go to the coast...We really Love this little Dog...

I also called a trainer,who said she would come to my home for $400.00 ,and the dog would get use to her in about 15 mins. and be trainable..
My vet could not believe that, knowing this dog!!...

Would welcome Anymore Ideas?

Thank You Again,
Anne

Hi Anne,
Have you watched many of the Dog Whisper shows? It sounds to me like the whining and biting you for attention is because your Chi considers herself the pack leader. And by giving her food which is the only way to make her stop, you're reinforcing that behavior. My Lab/Shepherd is a whiner, attention-biter and only would stop until I gave him a treat or did what he wanted (taking him out for a walk, etc.). Once I started using Cesar's methods with him -- he rarely ever whines or does attention-biting (or attention-barking which we're still working on!). If your area is not conducive to walking, and you're not a walker, what about using a treadmill for your Chi to burn off some energy? It sounds like something that would work really well in your case! But if she's whining and jumping on you and biting at your pant legs, she's trying to tell you something -- "I need a pack leader!" ha ha. I agree with Joanna, too, use treats to coax her out of the crate. Cesar doesn't use treats often, so he just sat calmly and invited the dog to join him. You can combine the two -- treats and sitting near the crate waiting for her. Sounds like treats work for you, so why not use them to get what YOU want, just like she does! I really recommend that you watch Cesar's show as much as possible, and get his book. It seems like just a few simple adjustments and she will stop all this attention-grabbing behavior. And you can learn those techniques from watching Dog Whisperer.

I hope the Dog Whisperer will have longer programing. One hour is not enough and we dog owners need to see and understand how to help our animals. I am glued to the tv as is my daughter when Cesar Millan is on the show. Please give him more time to make more of these wonderful instuctive tv programs.

How do you train a dog not to get on the furniture when you aren't home or in the room? My dog is great about when I am around, just not when I'm gone.

06-07-06
Dear Cesar,
I faithfully watch,tape and try to use your methods with my 2 small dogs, Bichon Frise and
a rescue poodle mix. I need help, YOURS I Hope!! The dogs will be 2 years old July, 2006.
The Bichon does not wish to come when called,
they both bark when they hear someone in the hall or the phone rings etc. We live in a condominium on the 4th floor with other neighbors. I am trying you technich of pointing and shhhhh. I never trained them to use the crate, they both sleep with me. I would like to have my bed back. When anyone comes in the house, the friendly dogs dance on their hind legs, jump up and bark. My neighbors probably will lynch me if the dogs do
not stop barking.
I have been trying to contact you, as I saw a
note on the dogwhisperer ngc that people were being invited to be on the program I really need your help and be considered for a visit from you.
.

Your site is on top of my favourites - Great work I like it.

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My new Bichon came from a home where he lived with his 5 siblings AND the mom and dad. All of them slept in the bed with the owners. They weren't put up for homes until they were nearly 9 months old. Since bringing ours home over a week ago, we've had difficulty keeping him out of the bedroom at night...we prefer not to have a dog in our bed. He will sit outside the door and whine and wimper ALL NIGHT THROUGH. I bought a crate and tried to put him in the crate at night (his own "den", supposedly, and he sits in it and cries, wails, wimpers and yips ALL NIGHT THROUGH. What can we do to get a decent night's sleep without the dog yipping ALL NIGHT THROUGH?
Nothing we've done seems to work. Even tried to keep him from napping all day (because he's awake all night) but that is very hard to do, too. Please advise some solution. Thanks.