I believe this was the show where a little Yorkie chases the ironing board. I was appalled at the technique of using a collar and pulling on this toy dogs neck...he responded with a coughing and choking sound that Caesar said was his was of controlling the owner. This is absurd! Toy dogs should not have a collar only as they can suffer from trauma to the trachea and some are prone to a collapsing trachea that can result in severe hypoxia.

Luckily the owner had more sense than Caesar and insisted on a harness, but this was still pulled to excess and the little dog again choked.

I find some on Caesar's techniques harmful.

Love Caesar's show, watch it every chance I get.
Have always had dogs, large dogs such as german shepherds, akita, husky and a huge loveable Tosa. Never had a problem with any until I adopted from the local humane society (a 2 year old large black Lab) for my son after he had to put his beloved Tosa down.

Joker is extremely agressive, and have tried shock collar, (he bites the remote) after having tried everything else. My last resort is going to be the collar that is advertised on the show, if that fails, then I am lost. My son can handle him he's 6'4", I am 5'4" and only weigh only a little over 120, same weight as the dog and believe me he's put me flat on my back a couple of times. I keep him on a chained run, and in the house because he wants to wander. When in the house, he's calm most of the time and quite enjoyable to be around. Let someone knock on the door and all hell breaks loose. Scared to introduce him to people as he does threaten to bite. Any help from anyone would be appreciated as I can't afford a trainer at this time.

I am concerned about the yorkie named Fosse.

His gagging sounds while panting and excitement sounds like a yorkie I owned that had a collapsing trachea. The condition is not uncommon in the breed and using a choke collar is a no no. One time I had to rush mine to emergency as he was completely collapsed. He could not get enough oxygen when he had become excited and his trachea would collapse preventing getting a good breath of air.

The owner of Fosse should have this checked out.

Hey Cesar!!! The reason why I'm leaving a response is because I have a pitbull and dalmation mix named Diamond, that has a problem of jumping my fence to attack another dog, people walking by, or just to be out of the fence with another dog that lives down the street named Beuty. And I would like your help to train her to stay in my yard and not attack other dogs and people. She's been doing it for about a year and a half. and if you could please send me a number that i can call to get ahold of you before the dog catchers get her and take her away. I love her more than anything. Thank you!

I love your show and have been watching it for quit some time. I have learned a lot about what to do and not to do with my dog(s). I love the working breeds and myboder collie is definately a jester. I never thought it a big deal. I guess I have a long way to go. :)

While it's true that some small dogs have problems with their trachea it's by NO means universal. I used to have a friend with a biggish Pomeranian (about 12 lbs) that made exactly the same gagging, choking sounds you hear. My friend would "soothe" and "comfort" her dog to get her to stop...right up until the day I told her she was being manipulated by one of the best. And this was with no collar on the dog...just walking around in the yard. If she thought she wasn't getting enough attention on would go the gagging and coughing.

My friend didn't believe me until I demonstrated it to her. We put her dog in my back yard, and walked out the door to the car like we were leaving her behind. Sure enough, right on cue, came the coughing and choking. I spun around, pointed my finger at her and said "Muffin, SHUT UP!" and she turned it off immediately.

There's no doubt, if you're not sure, that you should get your dog checked. But if your dog is normal, and most are, then properly used a training collar is a perfectly good tool. Personally, I would use a prong collar...but that's just my preference. I feel you can use a prong collar more "delicately" and still get a good effect, which seems to work really well on tiny dogs.

i have a pack of 4 pappillions and 3 humans. i have never thought of my wife and son as part of the pack but since reading the blog i know understand why my dogs look to me as the alpha leader. i use to have the problem of my dogs breaking into uncontroll mode when someone answered the door. it took a while but i started kenneling my dogs when someone knocked on the door or rang the bell. the puppies quickly learned to go to the kennel and wait. the older dogs took alittle longer but eventually came to realize that was my desired response.

Hey Alice
I hurt my back and could not walk my dog due to the pulling. I bought him a "gentle leader" (kind of a head collar I suppose) and it was and instant transformation. He has been great ever since.

Love the show, watch it every chance i get. I have a problem and need some guidance. I have a 3yo Female german shepherd, queenie, she is a great dog, loves kids and her mom very much. My 17 yo daughter wanted a Newfoundland pup, so we decided to extend the pack and get a 2 month old newfie puppy 8 months ago. We decided on a male, since we were told 2 females will fight. Now 8 months later, we have the issues of Sonny peeing on queenie, trying to dominate herm by mounting her, queen does not like at all and she turns to growl and snap at him. Queen being a 80lb female, is much faster than Mr. Sonny who is 115lbs, and much larger than her. Queenie tries to put him in his place, we help by discipling sonny, but nothing is working, my queenie smells like pee all the time, and i can tell she is getting frustrated, but then she loves her brother and wants to play with him as well. We are torn, and do not want to get rid of the newfie. Hoping Ceasar can shed some light on this situation, i have seen many show's but none covering these issues. Please help us, the pee stench is bad....thanks

Alice, is your crate to big? If a pup has a crate to big they will go in the other end of it. I would also throw some food in it because a dog usually won't go where it eats. Terri also had a great idea using the Halti but you will also have to remember that when you get it on the pup they will do anything to get it off but it doesn't take long for them to get use to it. Just dont pull it when it is rudding its face, doing anything to get it off you should just stand there, wait till she stops and if you have to do short trainings with the dog till she gets use to it that may be needed. I would also have lots of treats while doing this because she will relate the Halti as being a great thing, Jen,

I like Cesar's pointing out in this blog about how we react to a dog's behavior by laughing and how he looks at it from a different perspective.

I find "Funniest Animals" type shows (which are designed to amuse us) rather difficult to watch sometimes because many of the behaviors go beyond funny and into what looks more to me like frustration, instability, or manipulation. Sometimes even the aggression is supposed to be "funny".

"Cute" behaviors are often manipulative behaviors. Sometimes a more "naturally" dominant by nature dog will use a lot of what appear to be submissive behaviors to initiate a reaction from us, even rolling onto their backs. It might even cause us to get up and run get a cookie for the dog. But who is initiating the behavior sequence?...the dog, not the human.

In basic day-to-day social interactions between human and dog, I think leadership also means you are the being of action, decision, and direction. A follower reacts to the actions, decisions, and directions of the leader.

This also applies to when you are out in public with your dog. Are you the being of action with the dog reacting and paying attention to you? Or is it the other way around?

I do think there are special circumstances when the dog is directed by their leader to move out into a performance, thinking, and/or working mode in order to focus a task or job to do, but there is usually still some sort of connection and direction from the leader in most of these activities involved as well. We still say when the activity begins and ends.

Interesting stuff!

Dog Whisperer meets Ghost Whisperer

Check your local listings Friday, March 30th, when Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan makes a guest appearance on CBS's "Ghost Whisperer" starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. The show airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Since "Dog Whisperer" airs the same night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, on the National Geographic Channel, this could be a tough choice for Dog Whisperer Fans who can't "Tivo" or "DVR" the show. Not to worry, "Dog Whisperer" airs again, in its entirety at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, and again on Saturday afternoon!

Hail Cesar!!!!

I have read most of the comments from dog owners on this site and Nanny 911 comes to mind. I think that protential dog owners need to go through training and can only get a premit to own a dog after they have shown that they can handle a dog and provide for its needs. Owning a dog that is a threat to other dogs as well as humans and children and not being able to control those dogs is criminal. Because of people like this, there are more anti dog laws showing up across the US. If people are held criminally responsible for the acts of their dogs and exsisting dog/leash laws are followed, it would be a much safer place for humans and dogs as well as other animals.

Cesar Millan is a breath of fresh air. He understands the dogs fears and needs. I have been training dogs since the sixties and have dogs I can take the leash of in any situation and have control.

So onward Cesar, may you have many sucesses getting your point across to the many out there that need you!!

Doggone GA, you wrote
"My friend would “soothe” and “comfort” her dog to get her to stop…right up until the day I told her she was being manipulated by one of the best. And this was with no collar on the dog…just walking around in the yard. If she thought she wasn’t getting enough attention on would go the gagging and coughing."
With all due respect, I find it very hard to believe a dog would *fake* gagging and coughing for attention. I would have gotten the dog to the vet just to be sure nothing was wrong before deciding the dog was trying to *manipulate* me. A dog gagging and coughing could be for various reasons - allergies, or a fox tail? The dog's timing of the cough and your perception could be purely coincidental. How sad for the dog if you were wrong... If we are constanly looking to make dogs our adversaries and imagine they always want to dominate or manipulate us, this is what we will see, but we might miss other things. We create our own reality.

And for all of you who are having issues with your dogs, remember the show says "Don't try this at home" for good reason. If you listen to one thing Cesar says it is ask a professional for help and don't try his methods without seeking help. Also realize there are many different ways to train a dog and lots of "people trainers" will not do some of what Cesar does while some will. Ask trainers *how* they train and why they train dogs the way they do. There are certain trainers who would never use prong or choke chains (for instance) and plenty who will. Ask about their methods because there are lots of differences and lots of choices as to *how* you would like to train your dog. Ask perspective trainers what the latest "dog book" they have read is called and when it was written.
I recommend a book called "Dominance Fact or Fiction?" by Barry Eaton for its interesting view... Updated and reprinted in 2005.

"Dominance: Fact or Fiction?"

Depends on who you talk to. There is a certain belief system within the dog "training" world which beleives dogs are not pack animals, dogs do not need leadership (only the controlling of resources), and forget that the term "dominance" has many applications.

There are only two positions a dog can occupy within their social group, pack, family, etc... There are "dominant" (leader) positions, and subordinant (follower) positions, there is no equality in the dog's mind.

"Training" and conditioning methods shape, manipulate, and condition a dog to give us a behavior we find desirable. It focuses on the symtoms, and modifying the resulting behavior.

What is see Cesar doing is focusing on the cause of the symtoms so that there is resolution at the source...usually it's us, not the dog.

"Dominance" is no myth, but those who seek to say that the reconditioning of the symtoms of frustration and instability is all a dog needs, must prove it has no value in order to prove their choice of methods, is the only "correct" choice of methods.

I've found dogs naturally follow a strong leadership "energy". If you are in the leadership position and also fulfilling the dog's needs so that frustration is not appearing in the form of unstable, aggresive, and/or destrutive behaviors...there will be few undesireable behaviors to "condition" in the first place.

Put salve on a rash, or find out what's causing the rash. It's up to us to determine whether an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure just because another being's "itching" is bothering us.

my dog has sust in the last couple of days started coughing or gagging, some times he seems as though he is giong to throw up... this seems to be worse when he is excited, i leave him on a runner out side during the day while im at work and he has plenty of water during that time, do you have any suggestions?

Hello Charlie it sounds like Kennel Chouph you might want to take you puppy to the vet and have him check it for you. have a good day.
Nita

Hi,
I have 2 golden labs (10yrs old) My male is the big baby. He normally whines for his dinner but now has been whinning all day and most of the evenning. I do not notice any signs of pain or discomfort. Does anyone have any suggestions?

thanks
L

I have 5 dogs. Two of them after 2 yrs don't get along..
actually its one... the latest dog I adopted 2 yrs ago become a will go after one of the dogs for no reason...they have never liked each other but have managed to get along for 2 yrs...now we are spending our days and night tearing them apart...any suggestions on what to do...the one dog will fight back but is not the aggressor...and they are both pitbulls...

I have a problem with my little maltese when someone comes to visit as their leaving they give me a hug niki starts growling and when they start to open the door she grabs their pant leg with her teeth and starts growing we love her very much but don't know how to stop this I say very firm to her niki no but it doesn't work can you help me.

Well my uncal has a dog and at first it was okay...But now it wont even let us hug the children.Also if my uncal is near my mom with the dog he just tells us not to look at the dog...But we cant even get near my mom either...Some how the dog always trys to bite every one who gets near to the house or in side but you cant even hug the kids thats how bad the dog is and my brother wants to go speand time with them.for the new year.well they do not live in Del Rio they live in Austin Tx.

My 4 1/2 year old dog is peeing in her bed and I don't know what to do. She was hard to train as a puppy as every time we went outside she would be so distracted by everything peeing was the last thing on her mind. Once trained, however, she was fine. We've moved around a bit but have been settled in one place for about 2 years now. It's here that she started with the bed wetting. She has another female companion who is the same age. They have both grown up together and are used to each other. The new addition to the pack is an older and much smaller male dog who doesn't seem to trust her but has adapted to having these two big dogs around. I have kept her outside alot lately hoping she'll just empty her bladder before coming in but to no avail. She seems to hold it until coming inside, falling asleep and letting it go. We've started standing in the yard and pointing to the place where she is to go but doesn't respond to my requests only the others in the house. We go for walks and she fills up on water and pees everywhere, comes home and drinks some more then just goes on her bed. I've tried cranberry with no positive response. She's healthy so not a problem in that field. It seems to be a behavioral problem but how to correct it I have no idea. I was away for a week in which she didn't go anywhere but outside. The same day I returned it was back to bed wetting. Does she see me as some sort of threat? Please help. No one has any answers and the frustration is killing me...Thanks