Hi, my name is Kelly and I live in Natick, MA with my boyfriend and his 4 year old Chinese Shar-pei, Gilligan. Inside the house and in the presence of my boyfriend and I, Gilligan is a very sweet and loving dog. However, when a family member or friend whom Gilligan is not familiar with tries to enter the house he immediately begins growling and lunges toward the "intruder." Recently, while taking Gilligan for a walk we came across a woman walking towards her car. He began growing at her and again lunged toward her. After this incident I have found myself afraid to take him out for walks. Gilligan is my boyfriend's "baby" and he doesn't believe his behavior is a problem. We cannot have anyone over the house whom Gilligan "doesn't approve of." Having never had a dog myself, let alone an aggressive dog, this is making my life difficult. Please help!

Cesar's show is helping our whole family become pack leaders and I feel back in control of my home for the first time in a long time. My husband and I have 5 children, the youngest a senior in high school and over the past 8 years our house in Gallup, NM has had a revolving door with kids moving in and out. In the last two years they've moved in with a couple of puppies giving our home a lot of memorable moments.
Our 13 year old golden retriever is pretty mellow and the puppies have renewed her interest in playing. My son has an 18 month old lab mix and takes wonderful care of her. My oldest daughter got a puppy that was supposed to be a beagle but it turns out she is more coonhound than beagle, very high energy and not a dog she can spend time on while she's in school. So she has become my new best friend.
My son and I walk the dogs together when we can and he rollerblades with them separately. Baylee, the coonhound, has a different idea of The Walk so I often walk her by herself. Because she is a scent hound she goes where her nose goes. I've tried all sorts of collars, settling with a soft choke collar while awaiting the arrival of her new Illusion collar. She's very strong but if she picks up a rabbit scent she becomes a beast. I work in Search and Rescue and have hopes of training her as a trailing dog but I know I have to get control of her first.
One of the first areas I worked on was meal time. I was fascinated with the way your pack eats so I tried it and it works! I have been doing this for almost 9 months without any problems until now. Baylee has become too calm. As soon as I start getting the food out she goes into the backyard and walks the fence line. The other dogs start eating and she won't come inside until I close the door. I can't leave her bowl for her because the other dogs will eat it and she won't eat unless I'm in the room with her. I have no idea if she had an encounter with one of the other dogs when I wasn't around and she's afraid to eat unless I'm there to watch her back or if she is trying to control me. Any ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for teaching us your knowledge on how to be a pack leader.

Hello, my name is Lindsey and I live in Dallas, GA. I have a 1yr old Beagle/Hound mix and a 4 month Chocolate Lab. My oldest dog is the problem child. We got the Lab for him for a companion and it's mad things worse. My beagle Mix has chewed the hose in the bathroom causing it to the room. He took the cap of the sprinkle system in yard and chewed the wires up. He also chewed the wires to the AC unit in the backyard. Since i have gotten him i have had to put hardwood floors in the house because he torn the carpet up, replace blinds and dining room cushions, and the list goes on. He's a very hiper and destructive dog. His favorite chew our my walls. He eats the platers and dig holes in the walls with his paws. He does not listen to commands and constantly jumps on people. I am unable to control him on a leash. He runs away from the house if a door is open and does not come when called. My husband and i just found out were pregnant and i don't think i can handle this type of dog being pregnant or when the baby comes. Can you please help us!!!!

Hello, My husband and I live in Sequim, WA and adopted a neutered 4 yr old 'terrier mix' (Shih Tsu) a week ago. He's a very sweet dog and gets along well with our year old Springer Spaniel and visitors.He's a smaller terrier at 25# but is fast. Everytime the door is opened and he is in the vicinity, he's gone. If one of us tries to chase after him, of course it becomes a game so we don't even try. He comes back normally in 15-20 minutes. We don't always remember to shut the door fast enough. We feel like we're trapped as we now have to be on the look out for the escape artist. We walk both dogs at least 2 miles every morning and often 1/2 to 1 miles in the afternoon. We're hoping that he will soon tire of 'the game' and just wait for his walk like our other dog that we've had since 6 weeks old & knows our routine. He appears devoted to me already and follows me around and waits for my return but won't come when called. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello, I live outside Philadelphia PA and was hoping that Philly would be included in Cesar's upcoming road trip. I need his help. I own a 9-year-old male beagle and in October I rescued what we are guessing is an approximately 1-2-year-old female beagle/corgi mix. When taking in this dog, never in my wildest dreams did I expect the aggression problems we have faced. There is not enough space here to describe but suffice it to say she has possession aggression and handling aggression issues. She's bitten me twice, once to the bone and the second time she didn't break the skin. Most days I feel good about our progress but other days I completely lose my resolve, and then I think about what the alternative would be...... I've been watching Cesar's DVDs and have read his book but I need to get completely over my fear of her to make this work and give her a good life. Cesar, please come to Philadelphia!

I bought a male, collie pup 9 years ago. Our family worked very hard to train him well. We read books and watched training videos, and the result was a wonderful family pet. Two months ago, we adopted another collie that was exactly 2 years old. He is very submissive and loving to people, but he is aggressive toward our other collie. The new collie, Charlie, bites Leo whenever he runs and plays. Charlie also killed our cat. I have put him on tranquilizers, but I know he needs to be trained somehow to not be aggressive to other animals. Any suggestions?

Just one more thing I live in CT and go to pounds to train with the hopes that more dogs can find good homes. Jen

My husband and I live in a suburb of Milwaukee WI. We have two American Staffordshire’s, one male and one female (Rocco and Zoey). We also have one American Pit Bull Samson. We have two major issues with our dogs. First the two males fight. It got so bad that we now "crate and rotate" because the fights turn so violent so quickly that they both end up needing medical attention. If our female is in the room she adds fuel to the fire!
The other major problem is that we find it almost impossible to take the pit on a walk. If he see's or even hears another dog he goes crazy. He pulls, growls and becomes unruly. He also has a habit of "digging in" if the terrain changes. For example if we are walking over a grate on the sidewalk. Any change makes him stop and we have to pull him over it. He gets startled by lawn flags or will dig in and stare if someone has a statue or lawn ornament out. I think part of this has to do with fear.

I am an assistant dog trainer. I take training very seriously. Besides our two issues they really respond to commands and are great with people. Our pit has gotten worse. When he was about 8 months he actually got his good canine award but it has been down hill since.

We would appreciate any help Caesar could give. I also think we would be great on your show!!
Thanks,
Lisa Mills

Okay, I gotta try because it would be awesome to have the opportunity to meet Cesar and his crew! Our dog (lab) is a good dog - she'll be 2 yrs. in June. We live in Omaha, NE, There are only a few mos. during the year in NE when weather temps are nice enough for our dog to be left outside in a fenced yard while we are at work. When we are home we can leave the gate open and she stays in the yard - content. When we leave, however, she's over the fence, and we usually find her at the childrens' park a blk away, having a great time! So, she doesn't exactly "take off" and roam..she stays close to home but obviously it's not safe for her to be out of the yard. My husband refuses to install a kennel run in the yd (which I think would be better than keeping her in the house all day) and says we can "claim the gate and the sidewalk outside the gate" to train Maggie to stay in the yard. So we're now at a stand-off! Maggie's well behaved...we can walk her off-leash (or on) without problems. She just wants to be with us at ALL times! So, if the "Dog Whisperer" crew decides to visit Omaha again, we'd certainly appreciate a bit of advice on how to keep Maggie safe at home in her yard!??
Thanks for listening....

Dear Cesar:
We (Rosemary & I) own a beautiful Rott named Brock. We waited 3 years after Honey, my old Australian Shepard died before we thought it was time to get another dog...and we discovered (and rescued) Brock from a family that we talked to on CraigsList. From the start we had a very real potential of Brock being too aggressive...we were warned that he had a thing about old people and kids. We discovered that it was overcoats/raincoats (worn by older folks) and small kids on bikes that prompted him to aggression...but...in the year that we have had him, and taking great pains to watch the Dog Whisperer and attempt to train Brock...in that first year we thought we were making great strides in creating a loving, calm and disciplined pack. We looked at most instances of his being aggressive as protecting his home and turf...and we were highly optimistic that he was turning into a valued member of our pack/family.

All that changed today. We had been warned that Rotts were unreadable and give no warning before they attack...but we seemed in firm control and he seemed amenable enough...until today!

So today my Rosemary was sharing our beautiful Brock with a female friend from her work. The girl was cooing over Brock. Rosemary was proud of her Brock and the way he has been so thoroughly pleasant to be around...and all of the sudden, as the girl was petting him, he lunged at her and bit her face (two teeth-puncture wounds) and Rosemary has been a wreck ever since.

I came home from my job to find Rosemary crying on the couch and Brock leashed in the hallway.

So I don't know what to do. My first thought was "OK...he's outta here....he's gone! You want me to take him to the Pound right now?"

To be blunt...I can't see us harboring an animal we can't trust. I've thought to write to Cesar before...but this latest incident crystallized my conviction that if we can't trust him to not bite people...we can't continue to keep him as part of our pack.

Over the year we have had him we thought we were making great strides forward. We watched The Dog Whisperer religiously and derived truly empowering insights from Cesar and his show...but this unprovoked Dark Side that Brock has show has put us in a position where we need either dog psychological help or we will have to surrender him to the pound (and that would KILL ME!)

I offer that I own the Domain where I receive my email. It is/are my HomePages and you can see a photo of Brock, myself and Rosemary on the opening page. As of this moment our family/pack is in limbo. Brock is so very loving to us. I have no fear that he might turn against us...but how do we deal with unprovoked aggression? Who is going to parade their kids before him so we can correct his Kid-fetish. How can we learn to read the signs that he doesn't seem to share? He doesn't KNOW that he has committed an unpardonable offense. He looks up at me with those trusting, imploring eyes of his (one is blue) and I'm crushed, thinking I'll be the one to take him to the pound.

Rosemary is crushed...and I'm more than bummed at the prospects before us.

We live in Northern California, in the most beautiful small town in the world: Petaluma...a dog paradise. A human heaven and all would be right with us if we had a loving, manageable dog as our friend and fellow pack-member. If someone here can help us...they would be saving a beautiful dogs' life!

Thanks for your time and insight...

Rosemary, Michael & Brock...

PLEASE HELP!!!!
I am coming here in a crying desperation from Springfield, Ohio for my dog Pepper, he is a 6yr old lab/Boxer mix. I am at my last rope and do Not want to have to put him to sleep but I am at a lose of what to do. He has always been very obedient and loyal member of our human family he growled at the kids and I quickly let him know that was not okay. It's our other animal family that we have been having problems with. Ever since he was two years old he has had issues with lashing out in deadly aggression towards our other dogs and cats. Up until now we thought it was food related. And most of the time it seems that way up until now I think it's getting worse. We have tried very hard to make sure that when we were eating or he was eating that we watch him like a hawk. He will not lash out if I am around watching over him. The minute I let my guard is down is when it happens. He always seems to be very anxious dog as well. He has jumped through glass windows and screens and destroyed our bathroom when he was accidently locked in there to the point where he cut himself pretty bad. He destroyed many things during thunderstorms when we were not home. We tried to put him in a crate when we leave and he destroyed it and escaped. I am so afraid that he is going to really hurt himself with his separation anxiety. But most of my fear is that he is getting worse around our other pets. I want to have a happy pack again. I love Pepper with all my heart and I want him to be happy too. Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong so that Pepper's life can be saved? Thank you so much!

I have two females named Molly and Jada (pit mixes). I need some help with these two! Jada was the first dog in the house and we believe she was mistreated before we got her at 6 months. Molly came 2 years later as a 6 week puppy. I can't walk them, they dig in the yard, there is not a toy they can't destroy in 2 hours and they both think they are lap dogs that can sit on my lap at the same time. I have 3 other issues....Jada licks Molly non-stop, neither will take a bath, and Jada is constantly getting on top of Molly (I assume this is a dominance thing). I am also known in the neighborhood as "the woman with the PIT BULLS" and everyone is afraid of my dogs. I've been threatened with having to dispose of the dogs due to their fears (we have a homeowner's association). I would love to have Cesar help me so I can prove to the neighbors that these are loving dogs and not out to hurt them or their animals. I live in Palmetto Florida about 50 miles south of Tampa. Come on down, Cesar, it's a beautiful place to go to the beach!!!

P.S. After rereading this, it appears I have more than 3 problems with these dogs. HELP!!!!

Can we nominate our neighbors? They have a little terrier (JR) that will charge at my shep-lab-husky mix with no fear and no hesitation. Anyway, if Cesar is anywhere near the Jersey shore, please advocate for allowing dogs to be walked on the beaches year 'round. My old hound needs a therapy walk on a good soft surface and we are barred from the beach from May until Oct 1.

I have a one and a half year old Cocker Spaniel named Gibson. He is the sweetest dog and loves everybody. THe only problem is that he gets into everything. Even when we are at home with him he gets into the garbage, eats magazines, and if he breaks into the bathroom he eats everythng in sight. I dont know what to do. I have tried to get my parents to get another dog, but they, especially my dad, doesnt want one. Does Gibon get into everything because he is bored and wants a friend to play with or is it something different. I live in West Branch Michigan, I dont think you are going to be anywhere close to here because it is a very small town and nothing ever big goes on around here. If you have any suggestions, plz. e-mail me. Thanks! Laura

we have a 13 week german shepherd. she has gotten to the point that if she doesn't feel like it she will not listen and come back to us.she will run away. we are worried about losing her. also we have 2 cats, 16 years and 10 years. they are being harrassed and are afraid to move around the house. we've had three other dogs and they would stay near us and come to us when we call. i try to remain calm but i panic. please help. we love this little girl and somehow we are going to work this out. thank you. pam

Hi. My name is Barbara and I live in Cooper City, FL (Ft. Lauderdale area). I have a 3 year old English Bulldog who I love to pieces, but is quite a challenge. From watching the show, I know how important taking her for a walk is, but once around our lake is about all I can handle. She constantly wants to be in charge and I have to keep a regular collar, a harness, and a choke collar with the leash just to take her for a walk. If she decides she doesn't want to go somewhere, she will stop, firmly plant her legs and pull to try and get out of the leash. She has gotten loose several times (even from the harness and choke collar), and that scare me to death since she won't come when she is called. She also will pull and struggle when another dog is near. Another problem we have is at our meal time. We have never fed her table scraps, but she will sit next to us and either put her head in our lap or start licking the air next to our chairs (picture a huge tongue and a loud smacking sound). It is most annoying. I can get her to stop for a bit, but then she comes back again. In addition to this, she will often go tearing through the house after she has just done her business outside. She runs into walls and goes diving into the couch (which she is not allowed to be on). She is also VERY bad about stealing things from my daughter's room or the laundry basket. One more problem is that Beula likes to decide who will take her out and whether she will go out in the front or the back yard. If I am home, she does not want to go out with anyone else. In the morning (when I am in a rush to leave for work) she won't go out the door to the back, so I have to take her out front. She will tinkle there, then go to the back to poop. I know I should not give in, my time limitations cause me to do what is easiest. I have been trying your techinques but I feel like I have only made baby-steps to correcting problems. I would LOVE the opportunity for a one-on-one consultation to make Beula the best dog ever. P.S., my husband is not much of a dog lover, although he really loves Beula, but some of these things drive him crazy. My daughter was always afraid of dogs until we got Beula, however Beula can still sense some fear and will not easily get off the couch for her.

Hi my name is Maricela from Riverside, CA. I really need help with my 2 year old female pit-bull. I moved into an apartment a few months ago. My sister let me keep my dog at her house until I can either buy a home or find her a home. It does not look like I will be able to buy a home here in CA anytime soon and my time at my sister’s house is running out. I am in desperate need to get her trained so that she does not get defensive and bark and new people. Even more importantly I need help with her dog/cat aggression. She is really very sweet with people and loves children. Please help—I do not want my dog to end up in the pound. Thank you.

I know this is a long shot, as we live in Australia, but here's hoping Ceser feels like doing some international doggy shrinking!
We have a 6yo female Malamute with major dominance issues. We adopted her from a shelter when she was 1 and had been there half her life. She came with alot of issues, but we've worked through most of them. Sassy is still very stubborn and constanly tests us, but I enjoy the challenge she brings. She gets walked minimum 1 hour a day, rain, hail or shine. We have another dog, a beautiful submissive 13yo german shepard. She'd always tolerated him up until 2 years ago when we went on holiday for 2 weeks and had my sister come stay and doggy sit. When we returned home, she would savage the Shepard as soon as we entered the room. They could be out in the yard together along and be fine, but as soon as a human came into view she'd attack. He never fought back, just cried. She wouldn't let go until we pulled her off. Once we even tried leaving them, thinking surely she'll let go after a while, but after 5 minutes we had to intervine.
We had a behaviourist in to help us, which went a long way to inproving the situation. I've also been using alot of the methods in Cesers book. Sassy's behaviour is 10 times better than when we first started addressing these issues.
I feel we've hit a wall though. We live with the dogs seperated at all times. She hasn't attacked him in months and pays no attention to him now, but I just don't trust her with him. The dear old boy has degenerative mylopathy and cannot walk, so any attack by her could be easily deadly. But we've lived with this situation for quite a while now and can be satisfied with the truce that seems to be called between them.
Whenever we walk her and another dog comes along, she goes nuts unless we have her under a strict heel and even then it's 50/50 that she'll still have a go. We correct her, calmly and assertively and can control her quickly, but again we can never trust her. We've been told "that's just the breed, you can't do anything about it" but i refuse to believe that. I'd like for her to be able to be social with other dogs, I just don't know what else I need to do to help her with that.

Hello,
My name is Deanna Deering and I live in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. I JUST LOVE YOUR SHOW!!! I have two beautiful 8 month old pug puppies, one of which is having seperation anxiety and cries for up to 6 hours a day. The reason I purchased two to begin with was so they would keep eachother company while I am away... obviously that didn't work! I had no idea she was doing this until a very kind neighbor came over to let me know. I live in a townhouse so our neighbors are very close. I absolutely adore my girls and it breaks my heart to think she is crying on and off throughout the day! I give each baby a treat and talk to them as I leave each morning, come home for lunch, give another treat then come home again about 4:00... I don't know how to remedy this and I have not actually heard her doing it (but am going to set up a tape recorder today!)... WE NEED YOUR HELP!! My girls are so young and I would love to learn how to break the behavior before they get too old or develop other undesirable habits!
Please consider a visit to meet 2 of the sweetest pug puppies on earth!

Thanks so much and hope to hear from you!!!
Deanna Deering
Rancho Palos Verdes

WOW - I'm really interested in adopting another (2nd) dog for our family -- and would like to give a home to one from a shelter rather than going to a breeder and selecting a pup from a litter....but, after reading all the notes from various owners of adopted dogs, I'm concerned about taking that route!? Are there any pet owners out there who have adopted from a shelter or rescue who actually ended up with dogs without MAJOR issues.. that just basic discipline and exercise couldn't correct??? We've always experienced great success with out dogs and their behavior but we've always selected an 8 wk old pup from a litter ... ???? Any suggestions?

I have a Pomeranian who orignally was my dog (a gift to me from my husband). She has issues. She growls and will snap at me if she feels like it. I have never been cruel to her so I cannot understand why she acts this way towards me. All I have ever done was kiss her. I know she thinks she is my master. She will not come to anyone except my husband. She continues to bark for quite a while when anyone comes to the door, even if she knows the person. We were away on vacation with her and she bit my grandaughter as she was walking past he while she was sitting with my husband and she bit my grandaughter. My husband says if she bites another person, he's getting rid of her. I really love her but I'm starting to pay less attention to her now. I'm the person who feeds her mostly all the time and walk her when I can. My husband is home with her all day, so she is clearly his dog. What can you do to help this situation. I fear she will bite one of the grandchildren again also. I just have to be on guard with her whenever they visit, which is quite often. I'm sure it is quite annoying for the guests when they come to the house. The barking is incessant (around 2-4 minutes) and it seem like forever. We have tried a rolled up newspaper and squirt gun. She sits in the window and will bark at anything that moves or people. Please help me.

Hi Jen, #20: I live near you! I am in Spencer, just west of Worcester in "Fahm" country, near the Brookfields!

I have a 7 year old Belgian Sheepdog, she's has a great temperment and is very intelligent, she has come along way from where she was when I adopted her from a dog rescue league. In the beginning she was very aggressive towards other dogs when we we got to the loca dog park, now after a year of learning to understand her behavior and working with her, she has become so much more social that she will play with other dogs and not dominate them. I've learning alot from your show about dog psyhcology but and she continues to have two issues that I don't know how to address.
1) She barks at every noise she hears when in the house.
2) On our walks together when she is off leash and at the dog park she will run up to an bark at strangers, if they do not have another dog with them. I associate this with her breed as a herding dog of being protective but she scares people that don't know her.

How can I rehab her behavior and teach me how to respond better to her actions?

Thanks in advance Cesar for your caring and wonderful nature you have with man, woman and our best friends.
Robin of Portland, Maine

If Cesar ever comes to IA I have two of the craziest dogs there are. One is a female Saint Bernard who loves everyone but is extemely hyper when we have company. She also is afaid of thunderstorms, fireworks etc. Ever see a full grown Saint Bernard try to hide under a couch or find the smallest area she can squeeze her body into? Her name is Grace as she has absoultely none. But thank good ness for her sweet disposition as my beloved chihuahua would be dead.

My second dog is a 4 pound 21/2 year old female chihuahua.
She makes the little dog that Cesar had on his show as the meanest dog he had ever trained look like a walk in the park. Walk on a leash? No way!!! Trim her nails or clean her ears? Only if she is gassed to sleep by the vet. You cannot walk by me past 9pm. Anyone including my children will get bit. If I am eating or drinking anything she will growl and snarl and she will bite to where she draws blood. Smal children are an absolute no way. She must be caged when strangers are around as she will bite. She is extremely protective of me but will even bite me if I do something she does not like. When I go to leave for work in the morning she hides under the cover on the couch and will snarl from under the blanket and will bite me because she is mad. I have had dogs my whole life and have never owned an aggressive dog until her. I got her when she was only 7 weeks old and had to bottle feed her to make sure she was ok. So I love her like I love one of my children. I was around her from the time she was born and she actually started growling and showing her teeth to people around 5 weeks. She was actually biting people at 7 weeks. Her name is Tudie because she has a terrible attitude. If my husband had his way the dog would be put to sleep. But I will end up divorced before I would let anything happen to her.

I think Cesar is amazing and actually started watching his show when my daughter who is in college called and told me to turn it on. It was the show with the mean little chiuahua on it. I have been watching ever since. I know it is probably my fault but I do seriously try to make it better.

Thank you Cesar I have tried some of the things and she is actually better. She used to be worse than I discribed.

Sincerely,
Wendy Salas

I live in Parkersburg WV. I foster pit bulls and pit bull mixes from local animal shelters. The one that I am working with now is a beautiful red nose who we call Heely. He knows and follows all commands, and is very obedient and gentle with me and my children. He is aprox 3 years in age, his one and only downfall is his extreme aggression toward other animals. We have a 1 year old pitbull/boxer mix named Czar that we love dearly, Heely wants to eat him up and I must muzzle Heely whenever the two are together. Heely hates this and so do I, but I am afraid that if he were left unmuzzled he would seriously injure Czar. I know alot about the pitbull breed, I understand that this is one of thier "quirks", I understand their lineage and what they were bred for. I just want to know how Cesar gets his pits to get along. If he can do it, why can't I? I enjoy saving these guys, far to often, they are the first to be euthanized only for their breed. I want to help him but without endangering my other pet. Heely becomes quiet and locks onto Czar with his eyes first and then he stalks and if he could would seriously attack him. That hasn't happened because I understand for now the two must be seperated...has anyone been successful in removing dog/small animal aggression from a pitbull? help!

Hi Cesar! My name is Jennifer Spurlock and I live in Fort Worth, Texas, along with my husband and our two 3-year old Standard Poodles (Buddy and Hagrid). I’ve seen your show a handful of times, while visiting my in-laws during the holidays. Neither my husband nor I get the National Geographic channel with our television/Dish provider in where we live in Fort Worth.

A little background history on our two boys – yes, they both are brothers from the same litter. My husband knew that he had wanted to get at least one poodle when he adopted them and decided on the Standards instead of the Toy due to health reasons of the breed and had decided on getting the pair so that they wouldn’t be lonely during the day while we were at work.

I digress, both Hagrid and Buddy are quite the pair, Hagrid has become a “momma’s boy” and Buddy a “daddy’s boy”. On that note, Hagrid bonded to us when he was little, whereas Buddy bonded to Hagrid. We initially decided to not have either one of them neutered, in the off chance that we wanted to breed them to carry on their lines. But as time went on, Buddy had gotten more and more aggressive in nature, first towards me and then to Hagrid and finally my husband. I was always taught that if the dog misbehaved, the behavior should be quickly corrected and dealt with in a dominant manner over the dog, otherwise the dog will learn that he had dominance over the pack leader. Over the past year and half, Buddy has gone from growling to snarling to almost biting my hand during any correction of misbehavior. After each correction my husband, Alan, had me also make Buddy submit to me to teach him that I was still the pack leader. Unfortunately, during each submission, he would still assert his aggressive behavior in a variety of forms, including: low growling or rigid muscles of his body. I would have to say that Buddy is a normal, happy dog about 60% of the time, unless it’s just me and the dogs home alone. Then he’ll retreat to a corner of the house, curl up into a tight little ball, and growl at anyone that comes near him. I can no longer pet him without fearing that he’ll growl at me or bite me, I cannot hover over him and gently caress his body while he’s laying down, I cannot look directly into his eyes when he’s sitting. He acts as though we beat him and sulks moodly around the house. The only time this behavior ever somewhat goes away is during treat time, but after treats are over he’s back to being his moody growling self again.

Alan and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out what in the world we did wrong when he grew from puppy to young adult. We just cannot figure it out. My husband Alan, was making all kinds of excuses before we had finally decided to have Buddy neutered to cut his aggressive behavior down a few notches. We’re thinking that Buddy is confused and wants to assert his dominance over everyone (including Alan) through aggressive behaviors. We’ve read all kinds of things online concerning “dominant-aggressive” behavior, but to be totally honest with you I’m confused on how to address the behavior with Buddy and how to correct it without confusing the heck out of him. Some experts say to firmly correct the behavior after is happens by grabbing the snout and expressing “no” and to have him submit, while other experts say to have all family members completely ignore the behavior and address only his basic needs for a short amount of time and then to start again adding privileges like treats, etc.

Cesar – we’ve done it all and nothing has worked. && to top it all off, our other hound, Hagrid, is starting in on the growling, but he directs it towards Buddy and not anyone else.

In the end, Buddy was recently neutered to cut his aggressive tendencies out. I know that neutering a dog isn’t the answer, but it has helped some, just not a whole lot. Both dogs get into snarling fits on who gets petted first, who gets the most attention from me, over treats, before and during mealtimes, over the water bowl, or who gets taken out first and last for walks, etc. I know that dog ownership is a lot like having kids, but geez whiz, I just don’t understand all the aggressive tendencies over everything. I can no longer take away the food or water bowl from Buddy and don’t even think about taking a bone away from him if you want to keep all your fingers.

I don’t want to lose a pet just because he’s acting out, but I fear him. I don’t trust him at all and I’ll trust him even less when my husband and I start to have kids. I’m not asking for you and your crew to come out to Texas for a visit (though if you do, you’ll be welcome Texas-style with open arms), but I would like a bit of direction on how to help work out Buddy’s issues. My husband and I figured that our plan of action would be to see if the neutering of him would cut his aggression, at least in half. If this doesn’t work and he snaps at my hand again, then he’ll be a permanent outside dog (which he’ll hate, cause he’s a pack animal and wants to be near us, or at least Hagrid), and if that doesn’t work out, then he will be put to sleep. It’s not something that we like to think about, but we are at our wits end in what to do about his aggression issues.

Got any tips on what we can do or what we’ve been doing wrong?? Please help us. I would like for my sweet little cotton-ball head to return to our family.

My name is Karen Laing I live in Phoenix, AZ. I have 2 beautiful and sweet 7 month old schnauzers. Brinkley and Leila are brother and sister. I am concerned about their barking. I am single, I work and I am doing a masters program. I have a doggie door so they can go in and out of the house while I am gone. One day I came home to find 2 letters one from my housing assoc. one from a neighbor saying she had called the police about the barking and a note from the Humane society!!!!!!!! I reluctantly got a bark collar for Brinkley he seems to be the dominant one and Leila just follows suit. That was 4 weeks ago. Brinkley still barks and I am convinced by his behavior to exit the doggie door that he is getting a shock from the door. Hence the accidents inside. I notice that he is getting a woren spot in his fur from the prongs of the collar. I don't want to continue to use this device. I have tried leaving them inside all day and the collar off but apparently he still barks. My next consideration makes me angry. DEBARKING. Otherwise he is a great dog and follows commands except walking on a leash quite well.
Can you please give me some advise so I don't have to do this invasion of my pups dignity plus I fear the surgery. But I will never give up my pups. I recently bought my home, their home.I love them I intend to have them their entire lives.
Consider coming to help me. Please.

Three years ago I took on the two most interesting things in my life, one male and one female Red Heeler. Biologically brother and sister from the same litter I was hoping to get two of kind, instead, I got complete opposites. We have overcome a lot in our three years together. We have sacrificed a lot as well, not just me but the dogs too. Furniture has come and gone. Shoes that have only been worn once are soon thrown in the trash and my brand new leather purse that I received as my college graduation gift was chewed to pieces. Since those days the dogs have really come full circle. They enjoy going hiking, bike riding, running and walking, and every once in a while a dip in the pool or a local lake. I do this as much as possible as we all greatly enjoy these activities and I admit fully I don't find to many things more interesting than spending time, outdoors with my dogs. Within the past two years however I have had to split up my walks and activities to one dog at a time. I usually walk my male dog McKae in the wee hours of the morning or at the dead of night so that we don't encounter any other person, animal or car. McKae has taken to aggressively barking, growling and lunging at anything, literally, even just the noise of a car passing. He actually becomes an ideal dog to walk at those times of the day simply because no one will even come near me due to the ruckus he makes. On occasion I buck it up and attempt to walk both dogs together but regretfully come home with my female, Monet, bruised and beaten because McKae will turn and attack her whenever we encounter anything else. Usually, by the time we reach the house McKae is back to being the "sweetest" dog in the world and Mr. Hyde is gone at least until the next time we leave the house.

McKae most certainly has insecurity issues outside of my house. I have tried absolutely everything, including all of the mental and physical tools to correct his unstable mental way of thinking. I have been bitten several times, hopefully accidentally, while he is distracted by his "current object of prey" and he has recently taken to turning on me with aggression if I try and correct him. I have been pulled over the handle bars while riding my bike, been the object of community gossip and banned from dog parks and public places within my neighborhood while walking McKae and Monet. Because of this we usually choose to drive 20minutes to secluded desert or off into the hills to take our walks and bike rides. Needless to say this is very inconvenient.

Recently McKae has become a huge fan of Frisbees. He rocks with a Frisbee, so good he could be a star. Back flips, twirls and jumps he looks like a pro and he loves it. I love to see my dogs smile and during this, his shining moment, his smile is bigger than ever. My yard is not very big and I would love to have the trust to get him outside in a park playing Frisbee and be able to let him off the leash not worrying about kids on a bicycle, skateboards, joggers or even a car distracting his attention and ultimately becoming the object of his attention.

Cesar, my dogs have so much potential that I know they can be two of the best dogs ever and I would like your help in finding my exact moment of disconnection. I do watch your show and can hear the words now "And this is the only problem you're having?" My answer to this is unfortunately No. Just to name a few we have the occasional dog fight, the inability to go to the vet without having a muzzle in hand and our own private entrance into the clinic so as not to attack anyone on the way in. I also have been given the inability to allow my dogs in our own backyard because their barking has become such a nuisance to the neighborhood. One of the most terrifying situations for me is allowing others into my house. While there have not been any casualties as of yet it very possibly could escalate to that. McKae does not like to be touched by other people so allowing others into my home makes me leery around McKae while Monet seems to love people. On the opposite side of that coin McKae loves to meet other dogs, off leash that is, while Monet will attack other dogs.

Cesar, here is a small glimpse through the window of my life. In reading through all of this I have come to the realization that what has become "normal" for me is in fact abnormal and I would like to address this early on. I would love to meet you and hear your diagnosis. You are welcome to come for a visit but please "don’t look McKae in the eyes".
Ashley Martin
Phoenix, AZ

I am from IL and I have 2 1/2 year old jack russell, Bart. I have been wanting to find out how you could pssibly come to our home. Bart has numerous issues. First, he is dog agressive (mostly with dogs his size or smaller)and sometimes people aggressive. Second, he has seperation anxiety something terrible! He barks at my husband as soon as he shows the first sign that he is leaving. It is a constant bark and sometimes might even nip at him when he's putting his coat on. Trying to get out of the apartment is another battle and requires 2 people. One to hold off the dog and the other to open the door. We tried numerous techniques with a trainer and nothing worked. He is also obsessive over the ball and his toys. He constantly wants to be played with and if you don't, the barking happens. And he is loud! Toys and balls are put out only when we are able to throw the ball or toy over and over. It's horrible when people come over. He pushes the toy at them and barks. He expects us to play with him 24-7. So the toys are put away after we play with him. The last thing is something I have never seen on your show. Bart has been "diagnosed" as having an obsessive behavior. When there is ANY change in environment (people come over, we come home, etc) he licks and bites his legs. When he first started doing this we spent over $1,000 thinking something was medically wrong with him. After many tests, one vet told us he was "crazy." Bart takes Clomicalm to help him with this obsessive behavior, but it doesn't help that much. We also tried clicker training with him and that didn't work. His situation has numerous things going on and I would love to send you a video as some of it is hard to put in words.
Thank you for your time.

Hi. My name is Candice and I live in Ipswich SD. We could really use Ceaser's help!! We recently adopted a 8 month old Italian greyhound, who less than 24 hours with us, jumped from my lap and broke his leg. He is an extreme fearful case. He is afraid of everything, and will do anything regardless of bodily injury to himself or us to get away.

The other day my husband used the drill, our IG and I were in the living room with him. Our IG freaked out tried to run around the room, then tried to jump on the furniture with his broken leg. I touched his back and he turned around growled and tried to bite me, then he still jumped on the couch and tried to cower under a huge hanging mirror above the sofa. (that if it had fallen would have hurt him tremendiously). He also gets into the corner of door to the room his kennel is located in and will ram himself into the corner trying to get back into the room. He doesn't seem to want much human attention and prefers to stay right next to our other IG or in his kennel.

He barely knows how to traverse a single step, and I am afraid that he will end up killing himself to stay away from us or whatever happened to scare him at the time. I just don't know what kind of quality of life he will have being so scared and I'm afraid he won't live to see his 1st year birthday.

Thanks for listening.

Hello, I'm Laurie and I live with my 1 year old male poodle Reese in Binghamton, NY. Reese is always after toilet paper, tissues, napkins, paper towels and eating them. Plus he is always after my personal stuff (underwear, gloves, slippers, coats) and chewing them up and destroying them. Recently when I've tried to take an item away from him, he's been curling his lip and showing his teeth/growling and he has actually bitten my hand. What is making this behavior? It scares me when he does this and I feel totally out of control and do not know what to do to correct the situation. Can you help?
Reese has been to dog obedience training for 12 weeks and he did very well. He sits, downs, waits, stays and comes on command. So he is not a stranger to obedience. That's what makes it so puzzeling that he won't "leave it" when I tell him too.
Sometimes I think I love him too much and he knows it. Other than that issue he is a good boy.

Hello Cesar,

I am Kari from Cottage Grove, Minnesota. I am sharing my comments about the newest member of our pack, a 6mos old female black & tan coonhound named Rascal. What a wonderful breed the coonhound is, loveable, loyal & stubborn. Rascal has an superior sense of smell. Rascal's issue is she is so driven by food. She acts like she is starving. Constantly on the prowl for something to eat. She is in excellent health per her latest vet check up this week so this doesn't seem to be a physical problem. When Rascal is fed, we do make her sit calmly before placing her dish down. I have never seen a dog eat so fast. A couple of minutes & her bowl is clean & she is on the prowl to steal her pack mates meals. After that she is up checking out the tables & counters. She is even stealing food from her human pack mates. Rascal doesn't hesitate to steal the food right from our hands. We cannot seem to find the correct way to handle this issue. It almost seems like when we push her away & tell her to "leave it" that makes her even more determined to get at the food. Rascal is getting quite good at distracting the youngest member of our pack, our 10 yr old daughter. Rascal will see the moment, daughter is taking a drink & she goes in for the steal & it's off with the prize, a peanut butter sandwich. Rascal is only 40 lbs right now but she will grow to about 60 -70 lbs & her strength is unimaginable. I worry if we don't get our pack in balance that this issue could become dangerous. Our other pack members, 7yr old female walker coonhound & 1yr old female basset hound seem well balanced. We need your advice!
Best Regards,
Kari

I have a two month old female pit bull. I would like some advice on keeping her from marking her territory in the house, and also if I let her down, how to keep her from using the bathroom on the carpet or inside period, since she already has gone inside multiple times and now thinks the inside of the house is her toilet.

Love the show, Cesar! I watch it all the time. (just ask my husband) :)
We have a 7yr old lab mix named Tipper. She's 85 lbs and is generally a big baby, but she does have a few behavioral issues.
She scares easily and isn't good around strangers when they come in our house. She usually does better when we put her out, bring the person in, and then bring her in after that. It seems to be a territorial thing since she isn't this way when she's at someone else's house. She's also pretty clingy and always likes to be where we're at. If we tried to put her in the basement or leave her outside she'd just bark non-stop.

She also has a strong chase instinct and will chase after anything that runs on or off her tie-out (cats, birds, the neighbor's dog, etc.)Our neighbors have children and I worry she will chase and maybe jump on them. Today for example she broke her tie-out and ran to the neighbors to sniff around (I think she saw their dog outside and that's why she went over there.) By the time I saw her and got over there, the two dogs were pretty close together. She ended up jumping on top of the neighbors little (elderly), white dog who started squealing and Tipper started barking/growling. She didn't hurt the other dog, but scared him and me. She's a big dog and hard to walk on leash and I'm really not much bigger then her, so it was a struggle to get her home without my husband around. We've taken her out to the softball park a couple times, but each time she got spooked and nipped/tried to nip at little kids that run up to see her. We had to stop taking her out with us. She's cute so I guess she looks inviting to play with. I know it's our fault that she gets nervous because we never exposed her much to kids, little animals, etc. The interesting thing is that we do have 4 cats (indoor) that she gets along with (now that's she older) and calmer. (We had the cats first and then got Tipper when she was 3 months old) Two of the cats even "put the smack down" on her from time to time and she never really retaliates. Rather she runs to either my husband or myself and tries to hide behind us.
We do try to walk her outside on a leash, but generally she's put out on a tie-out. The leash we use is a retractable leash, which probably isn't the best since it gives her too much freedom to go and do what she pleases.
I think we can do better about exercising her, but I don't know what to do about her tendency to scare easily.

We'd love for you to pay us a visit in the beautiful BUCKEYE state! GO BUCKS! :)

Rachel
(Baltimore, OH)

Dear Cesar,
My husband and I have a 4 year old pit bull named Solo. She is great with people but when it comes to other dogs she is very aggressive. Our neighbors have a dog and when they are out at the same time Solo gets very aggressive. She will run to the fence and start to bite it and try to get at the other dog. When we take her for a walk we put a choke chain and her and if she see's another dog she will try to at to it until the chain almost passes out. We are about to get orders to a new base and we fear if they are for overseas we won;t be able to take her with us. Please help us!

I am Stephanie and live in Alexandria, Virginia. I have a 5 year old Airedale Terrier I got from the Airedale Rescue. She has a sad story as many Rescues do, in that she was left outside on a short chain for much of the 5 years of her life. A son gave her (as a pup) to his mother when she was old enough to leave the litter. The mother did not want her, and the family simply left her unattended and neglected on the chain with not even a yard to keep her safe. Oftentimes, she went hungry and thirsty as well. If not for the kindness of an elderly neighbor who felt sorry for her and fed her when she could, this dog may not be here today. Finally, and when the dog was in really bad shape, Animal Control, who had visited the owner multiple times, finally picked her up. And from there, was turned over to Rescue. As mentioned, she had no yard to keep her safe. As a result, she was tormented by children in the neighborhood. Now, I have a dog that is agressive toward small children. My neighborhood is full of them, too. I have seen the way she has reacted to one little girl, who wants badly to pet my dog, as she's very pretty and looks to be sweet. She's tried twice, now. I hold my dog, tell her it's okay, and the little girl slowly approaches. But both times, when she gets too close, my dog, Skya, turns "psycho." By the way she is reacting, I know that if she could get at the little girl, it would be a bad scene. Needless to say, the little girl ran away scared, I was mbarrassed, and the father, who was around for the second attempt, gave me some real dirty looks!

She's also so high-strung and mannerless that she overwhelms everyone with her constant "in-your-face" needy behavior. Airedales are very high-energy, but her energy is really extreme. I want to help her, but I don't think simple obediance training is all that is necessary here. I'm really lost for what to do, as I'm scared to have any of my young nieces or nephews in my home for fear she may attack them! Cesar, or anybody who has been through something similar, please help!

Hello! My name is Dena I live in Syracuse NY. I recently just got my first puppy! She's a mini Dachshund just about 6 months old. Her name is Sadie, Very fun and playful. My concern is she doesn't tell me when she needs to go out and potty. She know's what outside is and likes being out. But I have to watch her 24/7 or else she goes in the dinning room. I've tried saying speak amillon times before we go out the door but she just looks at me like I'm crazy! We also had a thunderstorm for the first time that we've had her and she barked everytime she heard the thunder. We also have alot of wood furniture and she seems to like to chew on it! We need help to understand Saide and for her to understand us. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Dena & Saide

Cesar,

My husband and I have 14 rescued dogs, acquired over a period of the last 9 years: 1 ex-racing greyhound; 3 Italian greyhounds; 1 golden retriever; 1 Lab; 3 Jack Russell terriers; 1 JRT mix; 1 poodle mix; 2 Llasa-Poos(?); and a Chow-hauhau. They all have a story to tell.

Our problem is that we have 14 dogs! My husband says we have reached critical mass. Some of them are quite old; one has cancer; one is blind; one is deaf; one pees on everything including us if our backs are turned; one killed our cat; one is psycho and guards pieces of paper with her life; 2 have bitten us (yes, one was the psyco); and they all need more attention than we seem to be able to give.

We are not good pack leaders. Duh, you say! They have been treated as our adopted children. They have lived in the house, and many/most have slept in our bed. Our house has been destroyed by them; our fault, not theirs. We ripped out carpet years ago and have painted subfloors. Several sofas and chairs have come and gone due to odor and tears. Many wooden pieces of furniture have been chewed. We can't have visitors. In fact, there are times when it is difficult for us to find a place to sit and relax.

Cesar, have you ever done a show about dog hoarders? I'm not sure if we fit that category, yet. At least, we are not in the extreme stages. We don't have dead bodies accumulating in the house; and all of our pets are well vetted ($$$$$), spayed/neutered, healthy, well fed, and well groomed for the most part.

We have made a pact not to rescue any more. But now we have to deal with the ones that we have. There has recently been dissention among two of the males: the golden retriever and the JRT/mix. They had been best friends for 3 years until a few months ago when they got into their first fight during a game of tug-of-war that I was involved in. Their last fight, a week ago, was horrible and left the golden retriever in bad shape. We have no idea what to do about this other than keeping them separated, which makes life more difficult for all concerned.

Any help would be appreciated. We live in East Tennessee near the Great Smokey Mountains and Dollywood. A wonderful vacation spot in case you're interested ;-)

We love your program (books, DVDs, website, etc.) and appreciate all that you do for the good of dogs. Also, for what you do for the good of us poor dumb animals, the humans.

Hi, I have a true case your show. I have a five yrs old chocolate lab and she is truely a "ritalin dog"! When anyone comes over to our home, she will jump on everyone and she gets so excited. Once they are there 10 mins or so she will settle down but she is so wild and very difficult to control at that time. She also has an issue with socks. She likes to eat them whole and then she will either vomit them up or we find them in the yard. I have a black lab that is 3 yrs old and she just has a hearing problem (selective). Please help me Cesar!

Less than a year after my mother and step-father bought a female Norfolk Terrier and a male Norwich Terrier, my mother was widowed and now finds herself trying to train two high energy, furry tornados. Bonnie is the biggest problem to her. When Mom walks Bonnie & Clyde on leashes, if they pass another dog, Bonnie barks ferociously and strains to get at the passing dog. Unable to, she then turns on Clyde. Mom is left to untangle leashes, teeth and claws. The rest is the basic yada-yada. Sweet dogs, usually lovely to be around. Mom has previously trained dogs that were disciplined, happy and beautifully behaved. She said she would love your help regaining her pack-leader position.

Hi,

My name is Riley and I’m a 3 year-old Wheaten Terrier with an attitude. Sometimes I just give mom fits and when she’s at her wits end she sends me off to boot camp hoping that will help. So far I’ve had two three week all expense paid trips for lounging around in the sun and making someone else’s life miserable. Mom keeps threatening she is going to find me another home and this time I think she is sincere. Just the other day after retuning from my daily walk I notice this “other dog” roaming my turf, mom was taking me in the house but like most dogs we have a mind of our own. I started going in the direction of the intruder when I felt a tug against my neck, all of a sudden it was gone, low and behold I was a free dog, the prong collar broke. Well it didn’t take me long to find the “trespasser” who was in “my space”. Mom ran over and pulled me off the gatecrasher but it was a little too late as I had already done some damage. I’ve even had the opportunity to barge through the back door and scare a little kid. Not that I feel sorry for mom or anything, just because she has sent me to boot camp twice and had one of those psycho therapy ladies come to the house, then there were those weekend sessions we attended, none of them had much impact on how I handle myself. You can say I have a mind of my own but sometimes I let her think she’s the boss then I reel her in and set her straight. Sure I can do all the basic stuff but protecting my turf is the name of the game. My mom contacted the rescue organization and they said bad things. I know mom won’t go to that extreme but I’m afraid this time I may be packing my bags. Can you please help us have a better understanding of one another’s behavior and help me get mom under control.

Thanks,
Vickie

Dear Cesar,
I Know that at no time should any one try your advice with dogs at home but I can not help my self. I am just like every dog lover u have come across. Think of the dog as a person not a dog! Untill I watched your show and rememberd oh thats right they are dogs and very happy to be that. I also remember from when I was a kid never treat a dog like a kid something I forgot as I got older. But just wanted to let u know that I dont care what dog it is or how big it is I can walk anywhere near a dog and that dog seams to know I am boss I started testing it out around my neighborhood after it got dark when other people mainly owners of the dogs where in for the night. I have not been bit yet and things are great with me and the dogs at night as long as their owners are not around but look out if the oweners are there then I know better and will not try the dogs because I have learn that people will not listen to me unless I was named cesar. Thank u for reminding me that a dog is a dog and is happy to be one. I hope other people who love dogs will also remmber to let dogs be dogs and to act like people. Thank You, Nora

Cesar,

My family and I recently moved to Nashville to get a new start! My husband, 8 month daughter Brooklyn, and I wanted to complete our family with a dog! The first dog we got was a pit/lab mix, very sweet dog unfortunately we learned she was abused and very sick. So unexpectedly we had to put her down. After a while we decided to try again! We got Rebel his name was at the humane society. He is a 4 year old shepherd mix. I'm telling you he is the perfect dog around us! He's wonderful with the baby, playful but not overly, really relaxed, andjust an all around sweetheart.

What we've been having struggles with is when we leave...He HATES to be alone! We tried leaving him out in the open, he tore up the carpet and piddled everywhere. His grand finale was jumping through the screen window. (He's almost too cute to get too mad at because he was waiting patiently in front of the door!) We tried putting him in a room with a baby gate, too small! Tried two, too small! Unfortunately we don't have a yard otherwise I think that would be perfect. So we had to try putting him out on the patio. He managed to climb that/ or jump. We had to chase him around after that, which usually he'll come right to us. So lastly we tried a cage for up to a 70lb dog which he's 40. We came back and he managed to move the bottom of it and tear it to pieces. He also destoyed any paper or towels we put in to be on. I don't want to lose this dog and I can tell my husbands coming to a point with him. We just don't know what to do! Monday my husband starts working full time and we'll be gone for at least 6 hours m-f. I love this dog, please help us understand him so we can stay a family!!!!

Hello... I don't actually own a dog. Istead.. my concern is with others dogs!

The company I work for does several Farmers Markets throughout MD, DC, and NoVA. Farmers Markets are a fantastic way for communities to get together and buy fresh local produce and goods. The families who buy, many which live nearby are really wonderful people who bring their kids, their friends, their families, and of course, their dogs.

The problem is that many of these families treat their dogs like their children. With "No Dog" rules, this means they tie their dogs (I've seen just about every breed possible) to nearby fences, trees, signs, posts, telephone poles.. whatever is close. They then spend 20 minutes shopping the market, all the while their dog is whining, crying, howling, barking, whimpering, and choking themselves to death to get to their owner! Often times these dogs are sitting in the full sun (in hot temps), with no source of water, thus panting to death. Often at least a few vendors stands are within just a few feet of these poor dogs. Many of us vendors are driven up the wall by this!

I was hoping perhaps Cesar could come one weekend day and do a demonstration with some of these owners on basic pack leadership. There are so many dogs and owners at these markets.. the constant and sometimes over powering dog sitting a few yards from you crying at the top of it's lungs makes it so hard to hear the customer. All of us would sincerly appreciate it, and hopefully a few of the owners will too!

HELP!!!

I have a 5 year old male Chihuhua and he is going #1 on my white couch, floor, and curtains. I have tried to stop him but he growls and turns around and bites. Please HELP ME!!!!!!!!!! I DON'T WANT TO PUT HIM TO SLEEP.

I am very confident that with your help he will change.

Warm Regards,

Martha Garcia Simmons

I just adopted (from a rescue foundation) a 7 month old black lab named Ellie who will only grow to be about 55 pounds; a small lab. Her mom was a yellow lab and her dad a border collie/shepherd mix. From what I understand, she has been on a farm with 6 of her 10 siblings for the past 4 months or so. I believe she has been adopted out once or twice but been returned to the foundation. I WILL NOT RETURN HER, but she is making things difficult. She has grown very attached to me and any human contact that she has. Therefore, when I leave the house, her separation anxiety kicks into full gear. She has escaped 3 cages in only the 2 weeks that I have had her, but has shown improvement on what she gets into and where she chooses to "relieve" herself. I am afraid that she will hurt herself in escaping the cages. On one occasion, she ripped a hole in the second story window screen and jumped out while we were out. Luckily she was not hurt. We have two other dogs (8 year old male and female beagles) who keep her company while she is in the cage when we are gone, but I think their freedom is more of a tease to Ellie. This is my first dog that I am training myself and while she has shown improvement, I need help working on her separation anxiety and the harm it may cause herself. I have the entire summer to train her, but will be traveling in a few weeks for 10 days and am afraid what she will do without me around for that long.

Thanks for your help!

Arlington, VA (Washington DC metro area)

Please help me,
I have a 2 year old Deberman that goes crazy barking when people are leaving my house. Especially myself even when my husband is staying home with him. This is very stressful!
Please help!!!
Thank-you

Hi there! I live near West Palm Beach and just adopted a lovely male beagle from a rescue group. He's adorable in every way, but he goes nuts whenever I try to leave him alone. This is the first time I own a dog. Apparently this is a common problem. I don't want to give him up, but I think my fiance is considering it. I love this dog, Kennedy, with all my heart. Please let me know if you can help.

I am having to write because I have a Pit Bull, Hank, that I took in as a stray puppy. My husband and I love Hank and although he has given me ease of mind on the nights that my husband is at work, Hank has caused a lot of headaches. To start, when I let my horses out to graze in the yard,or when we ride the ATV Hank goes nuts. He will chew on the wooden pieces that seperate the glass panels on the window, paw at them and just go crazy. He has broken my window more times than I can count. All this get my 3 Jack Russells going as well. When I put him outside on his tie out, I now have to chain up my Black Lab as well. I have to do this because my Lab would run up out of no where and attack Hank. As you know, this is a very dangerous situation, especially when you have 2 dogs, one who is a pit, who are both over 70lbs and my Jacks want to get in on the action, but to make it worse it happens when my 16 month old daughter is outside with us. I have been able to work with my Lab and I was able to let him off the chain when I took Hank out and not worry about him wanting to fight with Hank. But now I have to but my Lab back on the chain because now Hank is starting the fights. He just comes lunging at my Lab. I have noticed too that in the house Hank has started to snap at the Jacks and I am afraid that my baby is going to be bitten either my accident or on purpose. I don't want to have to get rid of Hank, I know how many dogs are out there that need homes and I don't want to have to add one more to that list. But if Hank can't change, he'll have to go to someone with no other male dogs or young kids or be put down because he could be dangerous dog. Any help would be greatly appreaciated, even if you could suggest someone to help. Thank you for your time.

I have a 1 year old German Sheppard named Max and a 6 year old Staffordshire Terrier named Tipper. Max has a problem with jumping on people and when they come in the door, he gets so excited he is completly uncontrolable. He also has a problem with barking back at you nonstop when you tell him no or you do not give him attention when he wants it. Other than those two things he is a really great dog. We have tried ignoring him, gently holding his mouth close and saying no and sonic handheld devises to no effect. Please help any reccomendations would be apprciated.

My husband and I have a 4 year old Pointer/Dalmatian mix, Sherman. Our biggest challenge with him is his aggression and dominance. We used to take him to the dog park but he'd play extremely rough with some of the other dogs. When we try to break it up or prevent the fight, the other dog owners would want the rough play to continue in order to "toughen up" their dogs. We stopped bringing Sherman to dog parks because we were afraid he or another dog would get hurt. We only take him to parks where there are no other dogs in order to play fetch. When we take him for walks, we always try to avoid other dogs and people. Sherman can also intimidate people who come into our house (lounging, barking, growling, etc) so we are reluctant to have any friends or families over. Sherman also seems to have separation anxiety - we can't leave him home alone without damage being done at the end of the day so he's in his crate when we are not home. We've taken multiple training courses and hired trainers to help at home. Sherman almost always behaves beautifully when trainers are around so often times the trainers do not understand why we're having difficulties with him.

Overall he's a great dog - affectionate and loving to us. If we work on these challenges effectively, his quality of life (and ours) can improve tremendously! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you.

I need help before it is too late. I have a male Akita that I have had since he was a puppy. He is now 7 years old. He is the best dog I have ever had in many ways but also the worst. He loves his family but that is it. He does not like other people or other animals. We have two other dogs, a female Akita that he loves very much and a male mixed breed that he would kill if he got close to him. Whiskey is a wonderful, loyal, playful, cuddly 150 lb very large Akita. When he sees his family he gets so excited. Before we moved here we lived in a very isolated area. I worked the late shift and would get home about midnight. Whiskey was always waiting for me and when I got out of the car he would take my hand in his mouth and walk me to the door. Then he would lay outside the door and guard it until he would see me in the morning. He is my very best friend and would give his life for me. The problem is that Whiskey is extremely animal and people agressive especially towards children. I think he believes children are two legged animals. We have found many wild animals that have gotten in to the yard that we have had to bury. We recently found a very large, full grown raccoon that had the misfortune of coming into the yard. We have found turtles, snakes, and just about everything you can think of. We have done everything we can to keep him under control. We sent Whiskey to doggie boot camp for three months. Now he is very well behaved on a leash if we are there but that does not help when he is outside without us. We live just outside of Washington DC on three acres that we have had fenced and electrified. Whiskey is fine unless it thunders then he will go through anything to get out. Once he is out I am so afraid that he will attack someone. My neighbor just had an issue with him yesterday. His grandson was riding his bike and Whiskey saw him and jumped on the fence and started snarling and snapping and growling at him. He scared the little boy to death and now he is afraid to visit. I am so afraid that Whiskey will actually hurt someone. We have seriously started to consider putting him down. I love him so much but I just could not stand to be responsible for him attacking a child. We have done everything we can to control his behaviour and I just don't know what to do. He is very much a member of our family and this is such a difficult thing to deal with. I do not want to be responsible for him hurting someone and I am afraid the only way out is one that will break my heart.

Hello Cesar,
I am wondering if you can do a show again in PA. I have a 2 year old Border Collie mix who was training to be a hearing dog. I have a problem that she was bitten a long time ago by a german shepherd mix in the face area. When she grew up, she thinks that she can go after these strange dogs on the leash. I am having a problem controlling her since I cannot hear her growling or start to lunge at these strange dogs. Also my dog has a problem with doors opening up fast and she barks aggressively toward people for coming into my bedroom. I am at total loss and I went to several different trainers and nothing seems to help. I am at loss and I would like to prepare my dog for a new dog coming into my new household in the future. If you can help it will be great. I live in Danville, PA. Thank you for your time and it is greatly appreciated for the help.

My friend Armida , has three,Pomeriana ; four years old, a wetting problem in her home ..they see a rug and the rug is wet that fast ... also have you know they tore there rugs up out of there house because of the dogs and put tile floors so the ARMIDA , could mop up the mess everyday ..easier ..GOOD GOLLy..she needs to know how to learn her dogs not to do this wetting on the floor ..she needs helps ..

dear rachel sounds like ur having alot of problems wit your dog.I also have a german sheppard and she is a very good dog.Only problem i have is she gets agressive toward some dogs like my sisters dog and a few others.I would like to help u with any of ur problems wit either dog.I know im know expert but i do have some advise.my email is MODERATOR'S NOTE: DO NOT POST PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESSES ON THIS BLOG. THEY WILL BE REMOVED. Thanks!

if u would like to email and ask me questions.that goes for anyone.One thing i can tell u try and train ur dog when they are younger its earsier than if they get older.The dog going to the bathroom in the house sounds like u need to take him or her out before bed and if ur worried about the other dog let one inside and the other out and try to switch it around give them both turns or give them more attention play with them and treat them when they do good.If i can help let me know.

Hi I am Alexis and I am 14. I talked my parents into saving a dog. She is a 3 year old 3/4 Rotweiller and 1/4 Doberman. She is a good dog for the most part. Our problem is she is not good with my sisters and myself. She nips at us, although she has not drawn blood yet. We also have two border collies whom we do not trust her around. She acts like she wants to play with them, although we are not sure and do not trust her to take the chance. Also we kids are not allowed around her alone due to her nipping. Could you please help me? I want to keep Molly in the family and make her a part of it. Thank You, Alexis

My Jack Russel attacks the pool skimmer!

I have a 1 year old Broken Hair Jack Russell named Molly that I rescued last fall. Despite all the horror stories I've heard about Jacks, Molly is the most incredible dog I've ever had. She is absolute entertainment. Loving, affectionate, very well behaved...until I try to skim the swimming pool. She goes crazy! Jumps up and down, barks, whines, howls, lunges at the skimmer. I've tried everything. I stop what I'm doing, bring the skimmer down to her level, and she settles down. The moment I start skimming again she goes right back to it. I've tried yelling, touching, you name it. She displays similar behavior when I vacuum the pool, but not nearly as bad. The only other issue she has is fireworks. For the first half of summer she was fine. Now she barks at them, shakes, pants...typical anxious behavior. Anyone have any ideas?

I am very sorry to say Cesar you are very wrong in saying this about rescue dogs.
(They don’t retain the past; they don’t really care about the past.)
I have rescued Westies for many years, they bring all kinds of fear with them.
The fear of being hit, the fear of not having food, the fear of loud sounds, the fear of things being moved or a bag that was not in the room yeaterday.
They DO come with baggage, they do bring the past with them it's up to the rescue person to help them deal with the fears and move on.
I don't expect an answer just that you do some re-thinking about rescued dogs and dogs from the puppy mills.
Eve

Hi Cesar:

My Name is Lorrine and I live in Compton California. Last year my son who was not living with me at the time, asked my husband and I if he could have a dog. Hubby told him it was ok and he brought a 2 month old Female Pit Bull home.

About a month later, he showed up with another Pit Bull, a male about 6 weeks old. This dog was small and I didn't think he would survive. He was sickly when he was smaller and always cold and shivering. Because of this, I would always hold him in my lap and keep him warm with my body heat. Of course he ended up being my baby. He is very tame and mild mannered, he obeys when told NO or SIT and he can be let in the house without having to worry about him running in the rooms and jumping on the furniture.

About 4 months later, he showed up with another Pit Bill given to him by his girlfriend. As I said, he was not living with me at the time. He was living with my sister. My sister eventually moved in with another family member and my son went from one family members house, to friends and has ended up back at home, with his other dog. This dog is a male dog. When he first brought him over here, the other dogs were ok with him and they played and slept together.

Over the past few couple months, the youngest dog has been fighting with the other dogs. They would wrestle and play before, but now they are fighting and trying to hurt eachother. We have to keep them seperate at all times. The girl dog locked on him one day and was trying to hurt him real bad. A couple days later, he Snapped at my dog and he hurt him to the point that he had to be taken to the vet and get antibiotics because the wounds were getting infected.

Last week, I was rushing and the younger dog was in the house by the back door. I opened the garage door to get something from out of the garage, and the girl dog was in there and started to come out of the garage when I opened the door. She has the tendency to run down the street, so I grabbed her real fast and put a leash on her. There wer alot of things in the walkway in the garage, so I didn't want to move everything out of the way to put her back in the back yard. I was bringing her through the house, and the little dog growled at her. She immediately snapped and locked on his neck. I was trying to stop them from fighting and get her to let go if him, and she just kept it up. My son was in the shower and had to run out naked to help me stop them from fighting. She tore a whole in his ear at that time. I don't know what made her stop, she just all of the sudden stopped fighting.
$
The two older dogs do not fight amongst themselves, they still sleep right next to eachother every night, they just fight with him. I don't know how to handle these dogs in this type of situation. They are all very sweet dogs individually, but when they are together or anywhere near the younger dog, they start to fight. I would like help in getting control of this situation. Anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
"Lorrine"

Hemet, CA

I grew up with having doberman pincher's as the family dog. My father decided to train a doberman pincher as a search and rescue dog. Upon the dog's sudden death at a young age, he quickly started training another doberman. Shortly before having the second dog's final certification test, my father died suddenly while recertifying himself as the handler on a hike. Since my father's death Hannah (the dog) has become uncontrollable.

My mother is scarred on Hannah's power. One of the few times she put Hannah on a leash to go into the back yard, Hannah took off causing my mother to fall and bruise her already replaced hip and causing severe pain for 3 weeks.

When you go to visit, the dog runs around my mom's house in circles with something in her mouth. She chases rabbits, groundhogs, and cats. She is aggressive of other dogs and trys to bite them. There is a great ordeal in trying to get the front door open when a guest arrives trying to prevent Hannah from darting out.

My mother is 64 years old and is very active. She travels in her RV alot and will not take the dog as they had before when my father was alive because of her aggressive and unrully behavior, therefore, the dog is at the "dog sitter" often. The dog is controllable, my dad had her trained and manageable so I know she can be again. This would be a huge case for Ceasear to train my mother.

I am from Canada and people would be shocked to see me writing on this blog because I have a very well bahaved dog to all outsiders. My dog Oliver is a flyball/Agility dog who is also a therapy dog, he visits nursing homes, daycares and preschools. He adds and multiplies really well which impresses the children and does many tricks very well. The problem with Oliver is that I have not been able to wein him off his treats. He won't even sit for me if there isn't a reward involved. He also becomes deaf if he is playing ball and there is someone else in the field, he thinks everyone should play ball with him even if they are in the middle of a soccer game. I have not been able to get him to do any commands at a distance which would be very valuable. If anyone has some suggestions, please comment.

Hi, We rescued a pathetic(we thought) dachound from a rescue place in our area. She didn't even bark for over 3 weeks. She was afraid of everything, especially men. Tilly used to hide,and she has many hiding places,but now she charges people when they come to the door. She barks at everything,including my husband or I standing up from a sitting position.If we drop something ..that sets her off,every car door in the neighborhood,and shes off. She is wetting in the house in 3 specific places.Mostly during the night, I have taken to putting papers down by the front door . She is taken out faithfully, and she still does it.We took out most of the rugs and put in wood flooring.She gets almost no excercise.Seems to want to sleep all the time. The vet says shes in perfect health. She hates to go for walks, I take her and she wriggles her head out of her collar and runs back home.She hides under cars or trucks making it hard for me to get her back safely. Sometimes if I carry her out of sight of home ..then she will walk,because she knows we are headed home again.She dosen't enjoy much playtime,almost none, a belly rub now and then. She dosen't snuggle anymore,not even w/me.She used to sleep in my bed w/me. I am the only person she trusts and sometimes she dosen't seem to trust even me. Can you help us? We are very upset, don't want to give up on her, we believe she needs us.Her breath was very bad when we got her so I took her to the vet and she had abcsess teeth,all the upper and lower middle ones, we paid the $400. for her, after all she deserved to be pain free.We are on a very fixed income, still the animal comes 1st, like a child would. I don't connect that timing with her stronger change of attitude tho. Any help, even if only an e-mail w/some idea as to something we can try,to bring out her personality again. Thanks for reading, I appreciate your time, Marcia,George, and Tilly

My name is Micaela and my family and I own an English Mastiff, a Bulldog, a Shi - Tzue, and a terrier. The English Mastiff, Lando, is afraid of almost everything including, people, cones, and anything that moves, makes loud noises or falls. When we are out on walks and something startles him, he would dart off into the middle of the street. When someone comes anywhere near him, he would pee write on the spot. Our family thought that mastiffs were suppose to be lazy and great guard dogs but, Lando doesn't do anything like that. I need your help Ceaser because right now Lando is on a thin line of being given away and I certainly don't want that to happen to him. Thank you for taking your time to read this and hopefully Ceaser will think this case is serious enough to come down here.

Thank you,
Micaela

Hi my name is Tamera and I live in Davenport, IA with my 3 beautiful female dogs. I am a huge fan of the show and I have implemented so many of the techniques I have learned from watching. My problems has to do with the size of my pack. I am finding it difficult to keep them all calm and submissive when I have guests. They are doing really good when I am by myself (I love alone)but when I have people over which is happening more often they are very bad. I try and keep them in the kitchen with a baby gate separating us and one whines the whole time or barks. The other jumps the gate. Then the last one is great but her issues are much more of a problem. She will fight with her sister and they will be a bloody mess because I cannot separate them myself. I am working on the agression and when I see it I make her submit to me. I have rescued all of them and want them to be calm submissive. They get a walk every day and I am mastering the walk them walk beside me at almost all times. Thank you

Hi Cesar:
My name is Chelsie and I live in Indianapolis, IN. with my boyfriend and his 3-1/2 year old Pit Bull, Phoenix. She is very loving and affectionate towards people. She is always trying to be the center of attention and she is the smartest dog I've ever encountered. However, she has major aggression issues towards other dogs. She lived with me in the past for almost a year and my roommate had a male Boxer. Majority of the time they got along really well and played together, but she wouldn't let him in my room and she wouldn't let my boyfriend give him any attention. To us it was a territorial thing for her. Now, she is living with my boyfriend again and she shows aggressive behavior towards dogs ALL THE TIME. She is constantly in the window barking at other dogs. She knows she will get in trouble for it but she continues to do it over and over again. She has torn up blinds and window screens because she can't control herself when she sees another dog. My boyfriend has to put her in her cage whenever he leaves the house because he is scared he won't be there to stop her from breaking through the window if she saw another dog. There has even been one or two incidents where she jumped the fence and attacked another dog walking by. Maybe she is just protecting the house and her territory, but it's very scary to think about what she could do to another dog if she gets loose. We don't understand what changed in her because she wasn't always like this towards other dogs.

We can't take her on walks, to the veterinarian, or leave her out in the yard because we are fearful of something happening. We know Pit Bulls are known as an "aggressive breed", but towards people she is nothing like that. She'll take naps with us and cuddle right up against us with her head on the pillow like a human. When people walk in the house she gets overwhelmed with excitement and has to greet everybody. All of our friends love her, but at the same time they call her "crazy" because she freaks out around other dogs. Most of the time Phoenix is a good dog and we love her very much, but having an aggressive dog makes things very difficult and stressful for us. We really need your help because it's very painful to think about having to get rid of her. She has been a part of our lives for a long time now and we don't want to give up on her, but we don't know how to take control of the situation.

Thanks for your time and hopefully you would like to take on this challenge. PLEASE HELP US!!!

I have had the pleasure of having a wolf hybrid as a companion for 5 years. I happened upon him when I was delivering pizza...my customer asked me if I knew anyone who wanted a wolf pup. Being native american, I was more than a little concerned about someone not native breeding and selling wolf pups, not only for the unethical facts of it (wolves are Not dogs and require a completely different way of thinking to deal with their needs), but also because of the legal issues surrounding wolf and wolf hybrid ownership, so I asked to see them. When I went into the barn where he kept them, I was horrified at what I saw. He had the breeding pair kept in a draft horse sized stall and I was told they were never let out "for bein' what they are". I was also shown a once beautiful black wolf which he kept in a 6x6 foot tarp covered dog enclosure. I was told that this male was his original breeding male, but that after he had gotten older he had become aggressive and had to be kept away from the other animals and people. This little solution was his idea of how to deal with an animal he really had no business having in the first place.

The litter was 14 pups big and they were kept in the other stall. I entered the pups stall and all of them ran from me and hid...all but one. This little fluff ball with one ear tip flopping over, sat down in front of me and put his paw on my leg. Even someone not native would be awed by this behavior. I told him I would take this one and left. I called a friend of mine who does wildlife rescue and rehabilitation and informed him of the situation. He contacted the department of agriculture and several wolf rescues and the other pups and the adults were confiscated and placed in appropriate facilities built to deal with the special needs of this magnificent but wild animal. You see, once domesticated, even though it may be slight, they can Never be released into the wild.

My family had raised wolves and wolf hybrids in the past, but I personally had little knowledge of them. I had dealt with training dobermans and my personal canine pets over my life, but I knew that dealing with him was going to be completely different. I called my uncle who had raised them most, and also several wolf rescues to get information about how to raise and train an animal that was very definately NOT a dog. Through these priceless resources, I was able to introduce Niishte (pronounced N eye Eesh Tay) to my family. At that time, I ran a cat rescue, so you can imagine my feline friends reaction to a 15 pound rambuncious wolf pup. My life was only just getting interesting...

I had another dog named Ramah then. (She's my moms dog now). Ramah took to this pup like a new mom and had no problem 'training' him as a good momma dog should. This included the 'putting him in his place' nips that Finally taught him manners. My cats, already used to my other dog, really had no problems with Niish with the exception of when he would decide one of them was the perfect squeak toy, or that their food tasted better than his:-)

Part of my training included establishing myself as MOM. So for the first 2 months of his life with me, Every bite of food he ate came directly from my hand. I did this because I knew then about the aggressiveness that this species can develope especially over food. Though it was time consuming and practically impractical, it did the trick and I have never had problems with food aggression. He does still sneak the cats food when he can, (and the occasional crunchy kitty treat...*yuk*) but hey, he is a scavenger!
Here's a funny side story...here is proof that your pets are what you raise them to be! One day I was cooking spaghetti the old fashioned way (stewing the sauce all day). I was out of one thing, so I ran to the store to get it. When I got home, my then 75 pound wolf was ON my stove (yes that's all four paws folks) with two of my cats eating the sauce out of my pot! So ladies and gentlemen, I have a 100 pound cat...

Ok, back to all seriousness now...

When he was about a 7 months old, nature took over and he started to develope the adult male traits in his behavior. It was at this time I decided it was time to have him cut. As part of our 'socializing' routine, I took him to petsmart and their puppy classes as well as walking him around the parks in the area and I even walked him right into Target and no one said a thing! (In my defense, there wasn't a sign that said anything about no pets allowed...)
When he would see people and kids he was fine. But when he would see other dogs, his hackles would raise and he would get into an aggressive stance. Now in a puppy, it can be construed as 'cute'...but I saw disaster written all over every fluffy inch of him. I love lanolium floors cause at least on them, he can't get his footing if he decides to make a run at one of them! So we had a problem. Here I am with a wolf that loves cats but not other dogs.

Also as part of his training, I kennel trained him. Never as a punishment, but as a 'safe cave' sort of thing. His kennel became his cave and it was the most amazing and practically fool proof way to housebreak him! I never had an accident as he was very vocal letting me know it was time to go out. Earning my trust, he then had the run of the house. I learned that cat toys couldn't be left out cause he had a love of eating them. He also developed a taste for socks...all sorts directly out of my drawers and into his kennel! I believe he only did the sock thing when he was teaching me a lesson in why I shouldn't leave him alone in the house with no entertainment:-) But every time I would come home to a kennel full of underwear, he would always have this contrite look on his face and he would go hide in his cave and pout. You guessed it no doubt...I couldn't stay mad for more than a second, I just didn't let him know that.

When he was about a year and a half, I was in a serious auto accident that left me with injuries that would not allow me to walk him. He was a 100 pounds and he would pull like most dogs on his leash. I had a rotator cuff tear in my shoulder and simply could not hold onto him. It was during this time that I discovered another of his favorite games..."How long will it take you to catch me!"
Niish had pulled away from me and taken off. This wasn't the first time, but this was the time it took the longest to get him home. We went into the woods and he always stayed just enough ahead of me to keep me from grabbing him. I went back to the house and tried the hotdog and cheese trick. Not a chance! He would hop over the creek, come just close enough to snag the hotdog and then take off with, I swear, I laugh on his face! I gave up after an hour of this and went home. He apparently didn't like the fact that I wasn't 'playing' anymore, and came to the back door to be let in for dinner! The next day , I went to Petsmart and got the Halti. Let me tell you that whoever invented that little miracle deserves the Nobel Peace Prize! The concept behind it is simple...if the dog can't control his head, he won't pull. Well guess what, it works!
So walking him was easy now, I just had to keep him away from other dogs and make sure he didn't take off again. I am not nieve to the fact that if he were to get out, he could be mistaken as a wild wolf and probably shot. As a native, I can own him without much of a problem. But thanks to Hollywood, most people would view him mistakenly as a viscious killer and panic not knowing the truth behind him.

So in my time with him, I have learned that he is the most intelligent animal I have Ever dealt with. He is amazingly cunning and has an affinity for problem solving that I have never seen in another animal. But he is and will forever be a wolf. So being what he is with the problems he has, makes the reality of my situation much more pressing than it would be if I simply had a domestic animal.

I would like to thank you for your ways as you have a deep and intricate understanding of not only canine nature, but of human nature. With this knowledge, you are helping so many who aren't 'there' yet. A wise man once said that the world would be just fine if it weren't for it's two legged inhabitants. No offense intended:-)
Thank you for taking the time to read my words. If you happen to have a spare moment, and would care to offer some advise, I would greatly appreciate it.
May all your days be beautiful
Seidhe

HOLA
My name is sahara and i have two girls both of them are pittbulls
Nena and muneca(doll)son sus nombres.
Doll is the one that when someone yields at her she pees right where she is,she is the shy and scare one.
Nena by the other hand is the one que nunca esta quieta and is the one that stop doll to do anything she wants, even for playing
but thats not all the problem they always fighting and even hurt themself with big cuts in there bodys,but what i dont understand that they dont fight furiosamente solo jugando .But they are always together. they don't undertand when i said no or stop they are really playful. Nena is the one who bites me when she playing i always try to stop her but she doesn't listen. They are always outside y nunca las he amarrado o puesto en un kennel. Can you help me out i'm worry about them.

Hello our family has just rescued a new dog. He is a three year old english mastiff. we already have a pug/ jack russel terrier mix and she has lived with a newfoundland already. since he came into the house our little dog has been deathly afraid running and crying. The bigger dog likes to play nibble and the little dog then screams and runs away whenever the dog goes near her. We want this to work, but we do not want our little dog to be frightened in her own house, what should we do???? please help we dont want to have to give the big dog back.

We have two male 4 yr old dogs from the same litter and are half dachschund & half chihuahua. We have owned them since they were 9 or 10 weeks old. One of them has more features of a dachschund (Buff) and the other one has more features of a chihuahua (Biff). The one that looks more like the dachschund called Buff is a constant licker.He licks everything.He looks like a dang vacuum cleaner the way he walks and licks the floor.They both actually lick alot but Buff is worse.He licks everything from humans, floor, carpet, concrete, the storm glass door, his feet but only when he is tired not to mention Biff's head, ears, and privates.When we tell him to stop, he will stop and lay his head down until he thinks we aren't paying attention anymore.We love them both so much but the licking is so irritating. What does one do? Is he lacking something in his dog food diet (no people food are given to them)?

I have an american eskimo. Lola is 5 years old. I have always had problems with her and children but I've been working trying to be the Alpha. My problem is that my daughter recently moved back in with me. She gave birth to a baby boy in July. He's been here for 3 months but Lola is still having problems with him here. She seems to be ok with him about 90% of the time but there are times where she has snapped at him. We hired a trainer and he came in and worked with her and trained us to be Alpha. She is better with other children now and we can actually have people in the house without her going crazy. But I'm not sure what is going on with the baby. If I try to play with the baby she gets real still and watches everything the baby does. If I pick the baby up she sometimes will come up and snap at the baby. My question is what should I do at that point? We gate her up sometimes. I put her in a down stay anytime I'm with the baby. She seems ok with everyone else with the baby. Just not me. I work with her the most of anyone but she won't relax when I'm with the baby. What am I doing wrong? I'm constantly puting her in down stays, sit stays, I work with her on the heeling on leash. She walks behind me etc. Maybe I'm not giving it enough time?

Hi Cesar, Como estas! My name is Yuri and I live Clarksville TN. We have a 12 month old American Bull dog. He is muy Grande! He weighs in over 100 lbs. My Husband is deployed in Iraq right now for 15 months and I think my dog knows it to. We also have a 16 month old boy. Dublin gets along great with baby Nevin, its just that when he gets excited he sometimes runs over Nevin which has lead to a trip to the emergency room already. Dublin also likes to play games such as let me out to pee and I will bark at the door when I am ready, and NOT come in until you close the door and I bark again. I think Dublin is a good Dog he just worries me because he is such a big dog and doesn't know it. I love to watch your show. Thank you for everything that you do for all the troubled dogs out there. Judy

hi i was wondering cesar, if you had any books out on raising puppies or info on some good tips on how to bring them up and stop behavior problems right from the start, or tell me what not to do in raising puppies. any info would be great.... i watch all the time your awesome!!!!!! keep up the great work....

My name is Kim and I live in Jacksonville, FL. My roomate has a 2 year old chiuahuah named Jack. She treats this dog like a baby and he has gotten use to being treated as such. He howls like and screams when placed on a leash, so she lets him run wild. He doesn't listen when called. We often have to chase him around the neighborhood to get him to come home. She has to close her bedroom door when she goes to work because he will urinate on her bed. That is how angry he gets when she leaves. If I have a shirt or pair of pants on the floor of my bedroom he will urinate on them or he will climb into my laundry baseket and urinate on the cloths. If you try to clip his nails he will snap and bite you. We have to take him to a vet where they muzzle him. Even then he will urinate all over them when its being done. He has jumped out of moving vehicles simply because he is tired of riding in the car. My roomate has had him since he was 4 or 5 months old. Jack is extremly aggresive with people with darker colored skin. He doesn't like like men period! He will chase children around the neighborhood barking and nipping at their feet. Its extremly embarassing. He doesn't bite them but it appears that he will. The neighbors have often complained that he barks when nobody is home. Although he was neutered at a young age he has recently found it necessary to mark his territory in our home or anybody elses home he enters. Please Help! This behavior is becoming unbearable!

HOW MUCH FOR YOU TO COME TO MY HOUSE., North Hollywood, CA?
my name is Jud Bogard, age 31.. in 2000 moved from Boston to LA.
In 2002 I adopted an Australian Shepperd, female from the pound. I am so proud I adopted her. Getting her best decision ever made.
I have two problems.
If anyone else her to come inside from backyard which fenced in she will come in but NOT when I ask her to. Only if I give her a TREAT that she wil which obviously bad idea to give her a tr treat for that reason.
I have lived in this house since 2001. Every Friday I have the gardener comes here Cut the grass so obviously he uses a lawn mower and this blower machine to pick up excess waste.
My dog barks non stop the whole time here.. from the minute the truck pulls up until he leaves
i will pay almost any amount for you to come fix these problems cause have had these problems for as long as i have had a dog.

jud

Dear Ceaser
my dog is a llllllllllllllllooooooooouuuuuuuuuudddddddd mouth she barcks at all the geusts even though she sees them all the time. I have a pitbull too I now hwo you feel . It's all up to how the owners train there dogs. But the pitbull is not my proublem. It's the Astrailian Sheperd. She also will eat her way through the garbage and we cant leve the house for 5 minutes with out having her in the garbage. i have tryed all your techmeks and with this dog nothing helps pppppppppplllllllllllllllzzzzzzz write back im also not a good speller so bare with me.

Hi Cesar,
My name is tabitha and frist of all i just wanted to say how much i love your show it has helped sooo much. After seeing your show the first time i decided to do my own dog walking business and training.
Well i have a Lhasa Apso terrier mix named lucky, I adopted him from our local humane society he is great he knows all the little tricks and walks great on a leash but he has a problem of running off when we are out side on our property. I run him on my bick every day because i know he has sooo much energy. All i need is a couple of hints on how to prevent that. O and another thing he constantly barks when he is out side in the back yard with our german shepard mix but he wont even bark when we are in the house not even when someone comes in the house. how can i stop him from doing that. i dont want to use the bark collars but if i dont find a way to stop him from barking my mom is going to go crazy.

Thank you,
Tabitha

Hello, I'm a big fan of the show. I have a situation, I'd like you to address on the show by maybe demonstrating with a dog. The other day, I was walking and a pit bulldog (female), which normally just barks and slightly approaches me as I pass by, on this particular day for some reason, aggressively approached me while barking and actually acted like she was going to bite me. I just started to clap my hands and kept reprimanding her to stop, as I kept walking. After about 5-10 minutes, she finally stopped and went back home. Why would she try to attack me when normally she's never went that far?

Hi Cesar,

My name is Natasha Barnum, I live in San Antonio, TX with my daughter and 5 year old male, Shih Tzu name Simba. My situation is very frustrating. Simba constantly sucks and licks his paws and now he is biting at his side, everyday, all day. He is making his skin extremely irritated. He is scheduled to go to the vet once again this week, for another skin issue which has become a sore due to his constant licking and biting of his side (above the right hind leg). It is driving me crazy! I have spoken with the vet on a number of occasions about the paw licking/sucking. Everytime the vet states it is allergies and to give him Benadryl which I have done and does not seemb to be working. I don't know what else to do. He is regularly bathed and groomed, he is on heartworm pills, has a normal diet, lots of toys to play with and family is always home with him, so he is never alone. I have read this could be a form of depression/ self-mutilation. I have found myself having to watch him throughout the day to make sure he is not licking, sucking or biting his paws or side. The habit is annoying, gross (especially due to having a sore) and makes his coat smell. HELP!!!! What can I do? Why is he displaying this behavior? Is this physical and/or psychological?

One other issue, I find at times he attempts to eat his poop. He use to do this alot when he was younger, but after catching him in the act and curbing his behavior he stopped, but once in a while he still attempts to eat his poop. Why? How do you stop this behavior permanently?

I have had other dogs in the past (a Rotweiller and Boxer), but Simba is the only one that drives me crazy with the strange, gross habits. I don't know what else to do. I would be grateful for any advice or assistance. Please help me!

Thanks,
Natasha Barnum

My family adopted Lucy, a 5 month old black lab/blue heeler mix, about 3 weeks ago from a local rescue. We don't know her background (was she ever trained, beaten, exercised, etc.). The only command Lucy knew when she arrived in our home was "crate" and "go to crate." Otherwise, I taught her a few basics the first week (sit, down, stay). When I took her to the vet for a baseline, he told her she was a very "spirited" pup and it would take a lot to keep her occupied.

Here's our challenge: Lucy is a very sweet, VERY smart dog -- most of the time. About once or twice a day, she used to nip at my husband, then it turned more aggressive, but not angry. Last week, she started with me. She's always nipped at the kids, but I'm afraid if we don't stop it now with all of us, it will get totally out of hand. I try to keep my cool, think positive thoughts, think and tell her I'm the boss or alpha here, but she just doesn't care. I can handfeed her during meals, which she will sit for and stay until she's called. However, she seems hungry all the time (she's getting 1 1/3 cups of food 3 times a day). I take her for walks (1/2 hour to 1 hour at least once a day) and we play ball in the house. We haven't gotten the electric fence yet, but we are planning on it in the next month or two.

My husband and I have three kids (9, 7, 4) and no other pets. I know she needs more exercise, but what else can we do to break her of this nasty habit? I have enrolled her in obedience training, which starts next week, which I'm hoping will help, but I don't think it will be enough. Can you help -- PLEASE?

Hi,
My Maltese was attacked on a walk and dragged off by another dog. I was also pinned to my car with her by a neighbor dog. Since then ( 1.5 years ago) it takes 1/2 hour for her to stop barking once she has started. Her triggers are: other dogs, neighbors, or unique sounds. We live in the city so this occurs all day. On walks she barks at every dog but will quiet down if I tell her to sit. Unfortunately I have to do the every 5 minutes for a walk. This also is not getting better. At home, she quiets if we put her in her kennel, but for a year now we have had to do this up to 25 times a day! This is also getting worse. After she calms from her initial barking, she makes quiet "woof" sounds for a long periods of time. It is completely neurotic.
A citronella collar was suggested by a behaviorist as a last resort, but I am allergic to citrus. We have also consulted 3 dog trainers. She will only calm down if we stand up and redirect her every single time! She will not stop on her own and the behavior is increasing. Ignoring her is not an option since we have neighbors. Even with a lot of exercise, and a dog play group, her barking energy was only cut by 10%.
She also has severe separation anxiety. When we are gone, she howls and digs in her kennel so much that she hurts herself (her tummy gets red and scabby) We have video taped her and it stops after an 45 minutes or so.....unless a neighbor comes home and then she goes crazy. She once broke her front tooth when trying to chew through the kennel gate. She was not detoured by the "bitter apple" that we sprayed on the kennel door. Afterward we installed plexi glass. Many times if it is morning or late evening, we simply bring her with us so as not to have complaints from the neighbors. We frequently smuggle her into restaurants, grocery stores and even doctors visits so that we don't have to deal with barking problems. We do this about 4 times a week and we are tired of this. Interestingly, she does not bark when she is in her little dog tote.
Please help with this unique situation.

Hi Ceasar, SORRY I FORGOT MY CITY AND STATE WHICH IS FILLMORE CALIFORNIA! PLEASE READ THIS ONE NOT THE ONE ABOVE THANK YOU!!

My family and I need help controling our 5 month old huge english masstiff puppy. I,m 11 but he just doesn’t listen to anyone, not even my parents! His name is Butters and he weighs about 75 pounds. He attacks my little 3 year old brother by jumping on him and he just bites him for no reason at all! He also likes to bite towels whenever. And like most dogs he likes to pull hard when we take him on walks all the time! Also since he is big it’s much harder to take him on walks and when my mom takes him, since she has a bad hand, he hurts her alot when he pulls. Like I said he’s just too wild and since he will be a huge dog we’re afraid he will be too much to handle if we do not get him under control now!!!!!
PLEASE HELP US WITH OUR HUGE PROBLEM PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

Hi, My Name is Jacob my sister is 16 and has a dog named hunter he is a rotty mix from hurricane Katrina. He gets very scared of thunder. the problem is we have a great paraknees that is very gentle but hunter is very aggressive twords him when he is just trying to play. i would really like a dog but my parents say i cant until hunter is straightened out! so i was wondering if you could help me? my parents would love for you to come and help us but we dont really have the money. do you cost a lot? BUT PLEASE REALLY PLEASE HELP ME MR.MALON!

FOUR YEAR OLD CHIHUAHUA + NEW BORN BABY NOW IN LOS ANGELES, CA. We just moved to Los Angeles, CA (westwood) with my 4 year old chihuahua a few months ago from NYC. I have been struggling with my dog for years now. He is out of control when people or dogs come to the door or walk by the house. He also becomes aggressive towards dogs on the street. I was the organizer of a chihuahua group in NYC to try and socialize him After 3 years of socializing he is still aggressive. I have been tolerant of his behaviors and work on them everyday but he has not made progress. We have tried several different collars but the "controling" collars don't fit him. We now have a choke chain that strangles him when he looses it. I can't snap him out of it. when he gets into the red zone. I am expecting my first child in Oct and can't imagiane handeling both a new baby and a chihuahua. Currently I have to stop what ever I am doing when someone walks by the house to control the situation. I don't know if I will be able to continue to do this with a new born. People are going to be coming and going visiting the baby and the baby will need some peace during the day free from frantic barking. I am asking for your help. I have tried everything within reason (daily walks, doggie daycare, organizing a chihuahua group, sleepovers) and am at a loss. I can't do this alone.

I have a dog i just adopted his name is freddie and he is great inside the house. but when i take him on walks it is a whole other sotry he wants to attack any dog that walks by and has horrible dog agression problems. the SPCA said that when put into play groups he would do fine for a few days then he would just suddenly decide he did not like that dog anymore and would attack it. Me and my boyfriend would eventually like to get another dog but we are to afraid to do it because we do not want freddie to kill it. I know it has to do with the way our dogs place is in the pack i just don't know how to fix it. HELP ME!!