One of the biggest challenges in my family occurs when they try to "help" but actually end up undoing progress because they are not wanting to invest the time to be patient with the correction.

This impatience is so easy to detect (by other humans and the dogs), so one can easily see cause and effect with the dog actually regressing in the moment. I have found that this actually leads to a pattern of the dog "testing" each new person to see if they will give in or not.

What I find equally astonishing, is the pattern of really how little time one has to be spend being patient! I have never had to spend more then 15 minutes on out waiting my dogs, for toy or food agression and most of the time it is only between 5-10 minutes.

The age of the dog and whether he/she has been fixed also is a great factor in how long I need to be ready to engage in the "contest of wills" in the intial stages. One of the reasons why, on a personal level, I would rather adopt a dog over 6 then under!

As I work with more behavior challenged dogs, I do test them under conditions where they are not exercised or in a mixed message environment, because I cannot know, when they do go to homes, that the new owner will be consistent with the kind of exercise and disapline that the dog most needs to not end up back on doggie death row!

What I have seen out of this, is that it is NOT less about the dog, and more about that complete calmness and clear focus, combined with the willingness to engage as long as it takes! Or as they say in Survivor, "outwit, outplay, and (most importantly)~ outlast" the dog to achieve the posession, claim back the space~ as matter of factly as turning the page of a newspaper!

One thing that I just started this morning after reading this blog entry to add to my efforts, is to "see" my energy, extend out, as I do my hands and working more on using that as a wedge or barrier between the object and the dog. (As Cesar just said - the dog doesnt touch the cattle, just projects the energy!).

i rescue am. pitt bull terriers in VA and myself i have 2 male and female and my mom has one female around me they are great but with my mom they run away and even fight and thats not good. is it impossible to get a person in the right mind frame to subconsiencly comcunicate with that dog i ahve it i guess its not hard for me its natural. but what i am saying do you ever come to VA and if so when

I am new to this blog and would appreciate any comments. I am sure many of you will not like what I have to say, but please hear me out.
I have had a rough two years with dogs. My husbands dog has bitten me severely (multiple hospital trips, each lasting over a week)twice and we finally put him down. It was really hard on both of us, but Stryker had me in rehab for 1 1/2 years and put me through two surgeries. We have since adopted another puppy. I love Guiness, but I am, still afraid. How do I conquer my fear? Is my fear founded? I am so afraid to be bit again.

Dear lcrolley,

As you saw from last nights episode, I was afraid of getting bit too. But Cesar gave me the tools, that gave me confidence in knowing that Butch wants nothing more than to follow ME as his "Pack Leader". It is so awesome how all of Cesar's teaching tools are all common sense, but as simple as they are we don't think of them first. We try to make it harder than it really is. Just think we don't let our kids run over us, but we will allow our family dog to. From our experience with Butch, I would suggest that you start off by standing your ground with Guiness. So that he knows "I'm suppose to do what Mom says."

Being a huge Dog Whisperer fan, I had always had a difficult time completely understanding what (or actually how to exhibit) "calm assertive energy". When Cesar was at our house, I honestly told him that I didn't understand what he meant by that phrase. He helped me to understand it better, by explaining to me. In nature if you watch a Mama Dog with her puppies, when we see a puppy getting on the Mama Dog's nerves she will push them with her nose or gently snap at them, it gets their attention and they know "oh, Mama didn't like me playing like that". Also think back to when you were a child, you'r mother could be across the room from you, and see you doing something she did not approve of. Your mother could give you "that look",without saying a word, and you immediately knew "opps, I'm going to get in trouble if I don't stop". That energy your mother projected to you from across the room was "calm assertive energy".

With Butch, I had to stand in front of him (with Cesar by myside) place my hands on my hips, look at him without saying anything and in my mind repeat "you WILL do what I want you to do". This projected my calm assertive energy to him. And Butch would begin sitting for me as if he was asking for my permission, or he would lay down and submit to me.

One of the key tools Chap, Chapin & I learned was how to make Butch submit to us by rolling him over and holding our thumb in his neck. Honestly, it took Cesar about 30 minutes in the begining to win this battle, and I had to leave the room because of the fight between the two. Cesar said Butch was like a gladiator,and he really was. After "war", Butch accepted the fact that he was not going to win and rule Cesar. But to this day, if Butch begins to revert back to his "selfish ways" or try to test his leadership position with us, we flip him, roll him over and place our thumb in his neck. It is his "attitude adjustment", so that he remembers "they're the pack leader anand I'm the follower". If we have trouble again with the hoses, we do this and while he is down we will put the hose, broom, whatever the item is, next to him, touch him with it while he is submissive so he knows that he can be around it and everything is ok. Once he gets up he doesn't want anything else to do with it. Cesar actually told us,that a dog in the total submissive position is the most relax a dog will ever be in.

You dog wants nothing more than to please you, but if your showing him your afraid then it makes him very confused. My biggest fear was that Butch would bite me and Chap would give him to the Bulldog Rescue and my dreams of having a Bulldog would be over. I know how you feel, and I hope that Butch's story can be an encouragement to you so that you can over come your fear of your dog.

I need help! one of my dogs, Shirley (almost 2, boxer mix) is a excitable dog, lately, she's been barking in the car all the way to the dog park, i have 2 other dogs who i bring.I tried:sqirting her, getting her interested in treats. holding her leash, putting her in the front seat. all these things worked for a few days. she does this when i'm alone, when someone else comes, they talk to her & keep her quiet, but i don't want to give up & leave her at home. any suggestions would be appreciated.

Amy Reed, How nice to hear from you about your experience with Cesar. We are honored to have a real, live Dog Whisperer client right here on the blog! Wow!! You guys did great with Butch and Cesar. What a powerful story, and thank you for sharing it with all of us DW fans.

Bootsmut:
Shirley is way too excited for the dog park. A LONG walk before you get in the car, maybe with a backpack to help her concentrate on a job (carrying water bottles).

i think cesar is wonderful, i have 3 dogs, and i rule, wait, is a big thing, they mind me and i am happy. MODERATOR'S NOTE: E-MAIL ADDRESS DELETED. PLEASE DO NOT POST ADDRESSES OR WEBSITES TO THE BLOG. THANK YOU! makes a lot of sense as does cesar. i have two jack russells and and a bichon, they are so smart and give us a lot of pleasure but i sure would love to meet cesar. i live in florida.

Bootsmutt, I hate to tell ya, but I think you have to walk Shirley FIRST before you put her in the car. Burn off a little of that energy. Just a few minutes up and down your front yard or something. I do this before going to the vet or taking the dogs on errands, and it works great!

l storm -- Flower essences work wonders for dogs w/this kind of anxiety. I get the Rescue Remedy. Four drops on my dog's nose and he is much more calm. If you are home when the thunder happens, then (this sounds contrary to what you would think, but it WORKS!) take the dog OUTSIDE and play in the back yard with a ball or toy that she normally really likes. If she's not into toys, as some dogs aren't, then take a handful of treats and make her do tricks. If it's too dangerous to go outside, then do this inside. The trick is to make sure your own energy is calm and that you're not worried about either the storm or the dog. Just keep thinking "I'm not worried, and you shouldn't be either" -- I have tried this, and it does work! Have that kind of energy, very positive, and then do something fun with the dog to keep her occupied. If you're not home, and you know the thunder may come, give her Rescue Remedy, according to the directions on the bottle. Giving her tranquilizers or anti-depressants isn't going to solve the problem. There are also "anxiety-wraps" that you can get. It's a garment that swaddles the dog and reportedly calms them down.

I watched the episode with the Doberman, Sunshine, who would howl in the tiny apartment whenever her owner left for work. Cesar was able to get Sunshine to walk submissively by the owner's side, but I didn't catch any tips for how he got her to stop howling each morning. Does anyone out there know the trick? We have a Weimaraner who howls when we leave the house. Thanks!

I love reading all of your notes and I have fosterd mostly cats but have starded on dogs latley now that we have moved out to the conuntry. I am partialy disabled and when it cold out and some days are just worse than others I feel bad casue I cant take the foster dog for a wallk. Is there anything else I can do for them I thought of the tread mill but I was wondering if that would be a binaficel as a wallk? we have a large yard and I let the foster dog out with my dog for a run and play and go out and throw a ball some. I feel bad though that they might not being getting the exersise they need we do inside exersie down wait stay ect.. I allso took the adivice about mixing the dog food with my hands for this foster dog. My dog is preety well trained so she sees her geting everything first cause she know what to do. Is it my imagination or she copying her?

Hi Ceasar, we love your show. We have just gotten a new puppy Buddha, he is a sweet little guy but a little more hyper than you would expect from a pug. He is greedy for food or treats and jumps and snaps at hands. I mean he will track your hand movements empty or full and nip like there is no tomorrow. We have been correcting him with strong No, and putting him in his crate for short periods of time, but he just won't quit. We need some advise.

Our 2 1/2 year old male, nuetered, Shiba Inu, Ty has a problem with feeding aggression. We followed the books on training when we brought him home from the pet store at 10 weeks old. Things started fine. He would sit, stay until I put his dish down, waited then said okay. After a few months when I would say okay, he would just sit there. After a while he would eat. About the same time he decided that our 3 year old golden shouldn't be allowed to eat. We started feeding them in separate rooms. That worked for that problem but than he started to protect his food barking and lunging although one of us has to be within eyeshot or he won't eat. We went from 2 feedings a day to 1. Everytime we come up with a new solution, it helps for a while then he starts up again. I think he may have a brain tumor or something, that maybe he came from a puppy mill. I would say his personality is detached. Any ideas?