My boyfriend and I are huge fans of your show. In fact, we DVR all your shows, including all the re-runs, in hopes we will record the episode when you helped a dog who had an obsession with light reflections. When our Jack Russell, Norman, was about 6 months old he was shown a red laser pointer. And his life has never been the same since. You can not use a flash light around him or he will attack it. When you open the door for him to go outside, he runs to catch the reflected light in the living room and won't go out. He chases headlights of moving cars (dangerous!) and has dug many holes in the carpet trying to "catch" a light relection.

So, we got him a sister, a blue heeler. We thought she would help him forget about the lights that control his life. But, she was the runt of her litter and was abused by the others in the pack. She is now scared and timid and we can't seem to get her to trust us (or Norman). I am so happy I found this blog and read about tonight's episode. I will make sure we watch and learn from you and Banjo!

I think we will eventually get her to trust us, but if you can help us with Norman's obsession, we would be forever grateful.

I would love to see the whole episode about Banjo. But... Since I don't have access to cable television, I can't watch your show.

I have a 6 year old Great Pyrenees that is very fearful of people. When friends visit... I have them not look at her, not touch her and actually completely ignore her, but she never seems to warm up to them. It took her 2 years to feel completely comfortable around my new husband! And even today, after 3 years of living with him... if he moves to fast or talks too loud, she freaks out and runs into another room.

Please be sure to put this episode online so I can see what we have been doing wrong!

to nathalie
I hope you hang in there with her. I think you should continue to walk her, no matter what, on the leash, next to your side the way Ceasar shows us. It is ok for her to stay in the crate. She sounds like a young dog that hasn't had much contact, discipline and especially love. I would read Ceasars books and watch his show as much as possible. I now have 8 dogs, all rescue with assorted problems. I could never help them without Ceasar. :D

Hi folks, Please note that Cesar does not respond to the posts here. But there are a lot of us who will be willing to share our own experiences and advice with you. We are all huge fans of Cesar, and have used his techniques to help our own dogs behave better.

Hi,
I have a dog named Cody, he's an Australain Blue Heeler or Cattle Dog. His problem is quite the opposite at least at the vets office. He attacks the vets while there even for approaching him. You cannot even get a muzzle on him before or during the visit, he's very cunning and smart and will wait for your hand and then will try to bite. Even at home, checking his teeth, his heart rate he does not like. He has to be sedated in quite a cruel way just to get anything done at the vet office. I don't know what else to do. Every visit he gets worse. I'm worried for the safety of the vets. He has been trained to attack and I think that is why he has become aggressive towards the vets. Hes very protective, mostly of women when approached by a guy. Though he goes to the horse farm with me all the time and is use to people, other dogs, children, and horses and is not a threat in the least bit except at the vets or if he is told to attack. I think he would be quite a challenge for you to correct, I love my dog and I need some help with this problem. He has been diagnosed with Limes and very early kidney disease and may have to have more vet visits soon. I don't want to have to sedate him every time and I feel the aggression with the vets office might lead into his everyday routine. Any suggestions would be great or even if you attempted to correct this situation might save his life too. Thanks for your time.

This worked well for a dog that one of my housemates has. It is a chihuahua, and it's name is Mr. Beans. At first, I thought that I should be "dominant" with the dog, but his owner told me "No eye contact, otherwise, he thinks you are challenging him". I figured the dog was being too dominant because it barks at everyone (I still think the dog it too dominant) but the "no eye contact / no touching" worked well. After about 50 minutes of this, Mr. Beans started to begin to trust me. Our relationship has increased ever since.

Hi everyone,
lea caseda, what I learned from watching Cesar & doing it myself is to walk your dog with the collar up high behind the ears, be calm, no tension on the leash except to correct. When you see a person coming, make sure your dog has your full attention, if he gives notice to the person yank up or to the side with quick, short yanks till he pays attention to you, keep his attention as you walk by, the whole time walking straight with your shoulders back/chest out like to own the place & your arms hanging calmly at your side, walk with confidence like you're a queen. I found this to work over a period of time, keep doing this, don't give up & I believe your dog will respect you. hope this helps, it helped me

Hello,

Bootsmut, thank you for the advise. I will definitely give it a try. I've also contacted a few trainers for a consultation. Molly is a great dog and we all love her very much. At home she is sweet as can be. I would hate to have to keep her at home all the time. She has always gone with me everywhere. I just can't figure out what caused the change in her. This agression is very recent, probably for the last three months. Thanks again. Lea

I'm not quite sure if this is the blog I should post in, but here goes...

I brought home a 5 year old american hairless terrier 5 days ago. Here's his background:

Was a stud used by a breeder up until a few weeks ago (had him neutered for me). Was crated during the day and at night. Put out in a fenced yard 2-3 times a day to potty and play. Lots of other dogs in the house. Has some very minor play/bite scrapes and has the tip of his ear missing from previous play/bite. Tried another home previously-remained intact, although I don't understand why - their female was spayed - didn't work out - said he mounted/dominated her all the time. When I picked him up, he was happy, tail wagging, very friendly to me and 2 friends that went with me, climbed in my lap, was affectionate with the husband and wife, I was thrilled!

That night, we stayed in a hotel room and he obviously adored me over my two friends. He played fetch and I walked him, did great, took him out on a leash to potty, no problems. I DID let him sleep in the bed with me and he did not budge untill I woke up at 8:30 the next morning (he was taken out at 5:30 am by the breeder). He rode 7 hours home in a crate and slept most of the way. Let him out to potty when we stopped, no problem.

The first afternoon/evening he pretty much stayed in my lap on the couch. He was a little unsure of my husband and two kids (9 and 11), but not what i'd call scared. Me or my husband and the kids have been home with him mostly every day. He sleeps in his crate, but since he is doing wonderfuly with the potty, I have let him stay in our large utility room if we are gone from the house for more than an hour or so. We are mostly taking turns taking him out to potty, but I do it probably half the time. We do not have a fenced in yard, therefore he has a leash on when we go out. I have not started taking him on offical "walks" yet, which may be the problem, but he gets lots of time outside exploring our yard. He doesn't seem to know any basic commands, but if I lead on the leash, he follows 95% of the time. For the past two days, he prefers laying on an old blanket in the utility room floor, but he doesn't mind me puting him in his crate at night. He no longer wants to sit with me or anyone else on the couch. He sometimes paces back and forth between the utility room door (to the outside) and back into the family room. He now seems nervous and unsettled. He's not the happy, friendly, tail-wagging little dog that I picked up last week. I am hoping it is just him getting aquainted with us and our routines, but if it is something I need to be addressing right now, I want to know. I don't know if this has anything to do with his behavior, but I have taken him to my classroom (i'm a special ed teacher) a couple of times for a few minutes, and i've taken him across the road to my grandparents house to visit about 4 times. Maybe it's just too much for him right now. I need some guidance. How do I act with him when he is nervous and fearful? Do I let him approach me first? When is it ok to pet him? Should I not pet him at all while he is in this state of being? I've been watchin Dog Whisperer since it first came on, and until now thought I new everything about dog behavior, LOL! Now I feel like I don't know anything! Please help!!

Lani

Just wanted to say this episode with Banjo has got to be Cesar's very best, and I've seen them all numerous times. Bravo to Beverly and Bruce for taking a chance on Banjo and a double bravo to Cesar for helping him become a real dog. Wow!

HI EVERYBODY!!!!!!
I have misse all of you so much!!!
It's so good to finally be able to post on the blog again!!!
I rescued my female Oct 2nd and all is going awesome! The same rescue has a 10 month old female Rott (they are all Rotty's) and I have fallen in love with her picture!lol
Everyone on the Rotty forum I go to tell me not to get a nother female....(a lot of fighting they say can happen) so I am really thinking hard before I do it!lol
I think it would be a blast to have little "Chloe", but am unsure now that all the "experts" say I'm asking for trouble.
Good to see all of you!!!!! :) I LOVED the new episode!!!!
And I must say I am horrified that they still do such things to dogs like poor Banjo!!!!!

As a volunteer in an animal shelter I watch your show to get tips on animal behavior. Your story on Banjo touched my heart! I understand how he feels and just cried to see him cringe to touch.I'm glad to see that even in a case like his there is hope.

I am SO glad the blog is BACK! Have to say, this episode was absolutely the best so far...of all three seasons. To see the difference in Banjo's face is like a miracle. In the beginning he looked almost freakish, he was so scared. And to see him look relaxed and normal by the end of the segment just brought tears to my eyes.

MARK - as it says at the top of the blog page, Cesar does not respond to questions here. But there are lots of experienced people who might be able to help.

The main problem is your wife is projecting weak energy and the dog has picked up on it and is treating her as a lower ranking pack member.

You said she "firmly told" him to go outside. That means next to nothing to a dog. Dogs don't TELL each other what to do. If your wife has not read Cesar's book, she needs to do so. And she needs to work on the energy she is projecting.

Until you BOTH are able to convey to the dog, in a way HE understands, he will continue to be over her in the pack structure. You both need to work on teaching the dog he is subordinate to you BOTH.

The dog HAS bonded to you both, but in different ways. Your wife needs to be the one who walks him, the one who feeds him and who grooms him. She needs to learn that he only gets affection when he is calm and submissive. He only gets fed when he is calm and submissive. And that when they walk together SHE leads and HE follows.

Cesar's way is not difficult, but it does take work and if your wife will not commit to changing this dog they may never be comfortable together. Unfortunately, if she can't learn to handle THIS dog properly she is setting you both up to have exactly the same problems with ANY dog you get.

As Cesar says, he rehabilitates dogs and TRAINS PEOPLE. Your wife for sure, and maybe you too, to some extent, need training. Your wife needs training to learn how to take leadership from the dog and maybe you need training to not sabotage HER. That I can't say for sure, but it's more common and sometimes more subtle than you realize.

Lea Caceda, another think you probably should try is to place yourself between the dog and the person approaching. In other words, don't use classic dog-training-walking where the dog is always on your left. Step over to the left and get yourself between the dog and the person. "Claim" that side of the street as your territory. My dogs always used to pee on the neighbor's fence (on our left as we leave our house) and I was walking them on my left classic training style. I finally realized that if I put myself between the fence and the dog, and "claim" the fence and surrounding territory as mine, the dog will no longer pee on the fence. The same should be true of your dog jumping at people. Also, assuming your dog is in front of you as well. The dog should be by your side, and if you have to, put yourself in between for a few minutes until you pass by the person. Hope this helps! This seems like an easy problem to fix. Oh, BTW, my dogs are completely different inside the house than they are outside; and completely different if we go on vacation to our weekend retreat than they are at our regular house. This is normal.

Hi Krissanne, I love Anatolian Shepherds -- my dog is a mixed breed and he looks exactly like a (small) Anatolian!

Hi, I must be part dog because I seemed to understand what was needed when one of the collie pups we bred and kept was very timid and afraid of children. I never understood why because she had been with us since birth and we had no small children.

I thought that obedience training would calm her which it did to some extent and walking her with our other collie, a large cal, ale on the left, bothof them with her on the inside seemed to help too. walking and sitting and staying as I walked away from them and then coming at a command of OK was a wonderful game for both of them and she forgot to be scared.

I've had several collies all different and I love them because they are so individual and so beautiful.

I adopted a rescue, a beautiful old girl of eleven and had her for a year and a half before she reached the point of having to be put down. at one oit as I was grooming her she growled atme. I was offended and angry which is not part of Cesars plan but what I did worked. I imediately flippped her over on her bavck and growl.ed back in her face like aother dog. It never happened again. for the moment I was another dog and definitely pack leader. raf arf.

Cesars technique and the name of the show remind me of the way Monty Roberts works with wild horses. I read his book on his experiences as a young child watching the way Mustangs act and realized that their instinct is to JOIN UP. his technique relied on this, lot of running around the corral on a long lead, until finally with Monty turned away and not looking at them they would approach him. It was just like the way The dog in one of the episodes approachyed it's owner when she dropped the leash and moved away. He felt the neeed to Join up although he was a dog and not a horse and not a herd animal but a pack animal can't be too different. They like being together also..

I never miss this show.

I can't walk a dog now because at 78, ,my health won't let me and I miss them so much. I see that it's the answer to many of the problems stated here. that everything is being done except for the walk which is nt only exercie but an opportunity for the dog to feel like it'spart of a pack, a chance to Join up.

I have a german shepard that is very aggressive, and is very protective of the family. He always tries to test his dominance toward everyone in the family. He does not get mean and bite, he just tries to intimidate everyone. He does not like any type of vehicle or bicycle; he goes crazy and tries to attack it by all means. He is a great dog, but the older he gets, the more he tries to be more dominant. I have watched your show for a long time and i've tried things that you have done, but it just doesn't seem to work. Please help me find a way to control him!

Dear Mr. Millan
I have two dogs, one is a rat terrier named Kipper and the other is a miniacher pincher named Rex. We used to have five dogs but one died a few years ago and the year before last two of theme died one from cancer. He was a very well trained dog, he was asked to be a dog thet goes into hospitals to help people feel better. One had to be put down because of hip displashia. Her name was Aspen she could not move her back legs anymore so we thought it was best, we knew she had it because she was born with it but we got her anyway.
Rex and kipper both have some problems, Rex whenever sombody is walking in the street and he sees them from a window, he goes nuts, whenever sombody comes to our door he barks and runs at them then he jumps up on ther legs, but he does not bite, he will also get into fights with other dogs a lot if we would let him off of his leash. I want to take him to the dog park and for walks but I don't wan't him to get hurt or hurt another dog, I don't understand it. Kipper his brother is the most scared dog on the face of the Earth he runs away if you try to pet him and ALWAYS walks around with his tail and his head down. I feel bad for him and so does my little sister but we don't know how to help him.
Please Cesar help us with our dogs.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Elly Dirks

Female sheltie we rescued loves me and is extreemly attatched. However, she is terrified of my husband and cowers and runs away from him whenever he tries to befriend her. I'm at my wits end. Every time I watch The Dog Whisperer I hope to see something that would help our situation, but never have. PLease HELP!

Really enjoy your show, when are you going to be in Texas.

I have a 15 year old dog, he is in good health but has a mental problem, unless I walk him he wanders in a circle, the vet has him on medication,but it helps a little.

He is blind and hard of hearing, so it is hard to get his attention, unless I touch him and then he jerks away.

I have friends that say that I need to put him to sleep but he is not ill, it just breaks my heart that I am cut off from him any ideas.

Thanks,oh I tell all my friends to watch your show. It's the best thing on tv

Help I need to stop my dogs from peeing everywhere?

Great show unfortunately I missed this episode myself and hope it will be replayed soon.
I recently adopted a 1.5 year old boxer mix who is just perfect with just one exception- she is petrified of men. My boyfriend and I were told she was timid but it is so sad and I know that my boyfriend is really bummed that she does not show the same affection for him as me. We have had her only for 2 weeks but do you think the trusting process will take years? Has anyone had this same problem and any suggestions???

i lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve this show. i watch everytime and i also love daddy the pit bull he so cute

I have an American Staffordshirer, part Lab She has Displashia.I dont know much about it, and wonderd if any of you could help. I took her on a very long walk today and she seems like she is having a hard time walking now. Do they have pain with it, should I not take her on really long walks? She really loves to walk but I dont want her in pain after.I love her very much and want her to have a long and happy life.

I have not seen this episode but have been reading your books and DVD, unfortunately, I have been unable to find answers to our 2 year old Soft coated wheaten terrier we recently were given to from a breeder. Dodgy is walked primarily by myself twice a day and is so terrified that she constantly tries to remain in her crate. She comes in on her own now from outside, however the only way I can get her out of her crate if by pulling her by the collar which is clearly not ideal for either of us. We now have one of her pups and are beginning training with the pup at "Super Dogs". Should we take the mom "Dodgy" with us for training. I was told that she will never be a "normal" dog and I refuse to give up as she does not run from me if I approach her telling her "stay for Jill" but again, will not come outside or from her crate without being pulled. I have seen her hold her urine and bowel movements for hours if I let her. When she is stressed the most I find her tongue comes half out(a wheaten trait) which to everyone is cute but when I look in her eyes, she is I think, depressed. The breeder drove her up from New Mexico and bred her first litter when she was only 10 months old. Where can I begin Cesar?

Thank you for any advise you can give.

Jill

I hope someone can help us. We have a 8 year old chihuhua who has always been a well-behaved loving dog but up until 3 weeks ago she stopped pooping on the grass and is now pooping all over the cement in our back yard. My Husband has been firm with her and I have tried literally picking her up and taking her to the grass but she still continues. We are frustrated and don't know what to do. Any suggestions?

I have a similar problem with my dog Kelsey (about 16 months) except she's not afraid of people, she's afraid of everything. Especially bicycles. She will bark if a bike is far away, but if it gets close she whimpers and cowers and is just paralyzed with fear. Literally shaking and whimpering until the bike goes away. When my wife and I had our mountain bike in our kitchen, Kelsey wouldn't come downstairs the entire day, not to eat or go out to the bathroom. Same thing with strollers, golf carts, rolling suitcases. Its gotten so bad that if the recycling bin is outside on our front porch she won't even walk past it, she'll make me go out the back door. Any advice for that? I've tried not facing her, and just letting her sniff things but she won't even do that, she will just run away as fast as she can with her tail between her legs, pulling my arm out of the socket. Am I supposed to make her sit and stay? She won't stay in those situations for longer than a few seconds, she just wants to bolt. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all ears! Thanks