Do any of you watch this program on NatGeoWild?

i was watching yesterday and i loved what he said about trainging - he rehabilitates dogs and TRAINS humans! and always tells you to be calm and asssertive to train your dog and form the bond you need.

I love that man! sometimes it's the people that need the training NOT the dog

I've also heard great things about Cesar. I've watches his shows, but I still want to read his books.

But, I don't like the fact that he still uses dominance theory to train his dogs - the pinching on the back of the dog's neck to correct a behaviour. I believe in positive reinforcement, not negative reinforcement or negative punishment.

That being said, I think he really understands dog behaviour and body language which makes him a great trainer!

I never knew he had books, i would like to read them.

I agree he doesnt use the treat and reward thing but he gets the reaction and behaviour he wants so easily. I suppose everyone has a different view. i like a combination of the 2 methods...i never grab my dogs or force them down but i am firm and try to be assertive with them.

I just like his belief in the human's state of mind being important and i think it can be used in any training method. if your state of mind is right and you are calm the dog definitel picks up on that and reacts. same with horses, if you are nervous they know that and react badly and will not work the way you want them too. whereas if you are calm and collected and have a clear vision in your mind of what you want the horse (or dog) to do, i believe you will get the right reaction from them.

I LOVE THAT SHOW!!!! He gets a reaction from the dogs almost immediately! I haven't seen him pinch the dog in the back of the neck yet, but he touches them next to the back leg. That helps a lot! I've done it with my dogs as well. It immediately breaks their concentration on whatever they were focusing. He believes in reward such as giving a dog affection or allowing him to fetch a toy or whatever but not food treats. And it helps quite a lot! I think the guy is a genius!

I have also tried one of his methods with my lot as they go absolutely mad when I get home and he said "No eye contact, no talk, no touch" and boy is that working. They still bark sometimes but are much better than they were. Also the touch on the side to distract them or prevent them from rushing out the door in front of you works..........LOL!! Except for Schatz he bites my foot and think it is playtime..............waiting for an episode to explain to Schatz that I am not playing he should stay behind me.

He always tells them "SHHH" to stop them and get their concentration back - my problem came in when i tried it and Taylor went crazy and ran outisde to bark! it has become one of her "attack" words! to her it doesnt mean behave, it means something outside needs chasing! lol!

You have to learn to ignore them so they look at you as their pack leader. my fiance always makes a joke out of it but in the long run they respect me more than they do him.

my parents made the fatal mistake with their Jack Russells of letting them jump up and the female is so overpowering when people arrive. my dad thought it was cool to teach her to jump into his arms when he gets home and she does it to everyone now. she has chipped my front tooth doing it to me unexpectedly and i have bitten my tongue so many times. they just dont realise how little respect the dog actually has for them. i always say they see them as equals not as leaders.

Thats true Kristin!

This is very good advise, I know it will be difficult for me to ignore them but I will defenitly try doing it from now on. I tend to make a fuss when I get home.

I completely agree! You have to be able to stand up and take the leadership if you want to own a happy dog. The no eye contact, no touch, no talk thing works for us too. Cesar didn't come up with it though . Cash used to have terrible separation anxiety if I left him home alone and the same thing worked for that. He still freaks out when I get home and they run up and down and make a lot of noise. But I just ignore them and once they are calm, I greet them. It really works.

I completely believe that you have to be the alpha if you want a dog in your pack! You have to control the resources, like food and the best place to sit or sleep, etc. to establish yourself as the leader. Dogs love having a leader because it takes all the pressure off them. But you have to be a good leader too! A good leader doesn't hit or hurt, he gently guides. Anything negative just breaks down your relationship with your dog anyway.

I'd really love to understand dogs like Cesar does - I think he knows dogs incredibly well.

It is hard Karen, but if you want well disciplined puppies, it has to be done.

Its more difficult for me to ignore Mika because he makes such a noise, but I think he is learning as his tantrums are getting shorter now and also he sees that the other dogs are not going on and geting attention!!!

Misty is also very noizy when I get home, but I am going to follow your advice and see what happens.

They will be noisy - you have to be strong and pretend they aren't making a sound. You don't want them to still do this when they are grown up.

Good luck!

I agree, we tend to treat them as our babies when they are small and then expect them to behave when they are big. I just think it is a lot of responsibility for a little dog to be in charge of a big house full of other little doggies. So being the pack leader takes the responsibility of them and they can just be doggies and relax.

I have a friend that thinks its funny if her little Doberman Pincher bites everybody that comes near her, what if it is child. NOT FUNNY AT ALL.

When i get home I always let the dogs in before I have even put my bag down. yesterday we got home and my fiance said leave them for a few minutes. so i did and they were like fire crackers going off when i opened the door. I dont get excited and i dont let my voice go high pitched because it hypes them up. Mine dash on and off the couch which i have now put a stop too because my house is not a race track.

i cant tell you how often i nearly fall because they come running around the corner like Greyhounds after each other and cant stop in time. they know now that they get their moment of excitement and then they calm down or they go out or get ignored.

how to you teach other people to ignore your dog? because they get so excited when people arrive but only because theywill bend down and ooooh and aaaah over them and baby talk them into hysteria. i liked cesars episode this weekend teaching the kids to ignore the dog! training the people is still the hardest thing to do!

Training the people is definitely harder than training the dog and still it is so important for the training of the dog...

When you know a friend is coming over, warn them beforehand that they will have to ignore the dogs. Instruct them to ignore the dogs until you say it is okay.

Otherwise, get some friends to help you by coming in the door and ignoring them. Practice this on numerous occasions with different friends and different doors.

Consistency! That's what they need for training. Sadly, humans are the least consistent of all animals We don't even use the same words or tones when saying the same thing.

Hope that helps!

I never thought of getting someone to help me! perhaps i should put a sign on the door saying "Please Ignore The Dogs"!!!!!!

Great advice Marilize. I have my groomer that comes to my home and my daughters help me with this and they are still not complete there but it is getting much better.

Imagine my pack of 7 attacking everyone that puts a foot in the door! I also started to ignore them now until they are calm. I've seen it on one of Cesar's shows. But the new one, the Biewer baby, barks at everyone that he sees! It is so cute! But I'll need to teach him to stop so he doesn't become a yapper!