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Originally Posted by julieandrea  Haha I realized as soon as I had posted that comment that people might find it shocking. But I mean that's a big dog, what else is he expected to do at this point to train him. He needs to show dominance. Friendly positive encouragement wouldn't work this far in the game I believe. It's not ok for a dog to ever bite a human even if he was threatened. Maybe Cesar should have seen it coming but it doesn't make it ok for the dog to feel like he could bite a human just because a human was standing over him and showing dominance. My friend has a pure breed large dog who wasn't handled with force at first. That quickly got out of hand and my friend really had to show who was dominant to get the dog to stop behaving badly. Cesar has been a trainer for a long time so he probably knows what's needed in teachin a dog who is that aggressive. But I may 100% be wrong. I've never personally owned an aggressive animal so I don't actually know what it's like. Couldn't care less for Cesar or his show but I think the dog was the one in the wrong in this situation. I don't mean to argue with everyone. Prob should have kept my thoughts to myself on this one.. |
First, I do not consider Cesar a dog trainer. He himself claims to train people, not the dogs. He 'rehabilitates' dogs using a method that was debunked by the very people who came up with the theory.
No, sorry, it IS okay for a dog to bite a human that is acting that way towards it. And this dog in particular showed a TON of restraint. She probably could have killed him -- she chose to give a warning bite (after MULTIPLE warning signs to 'back off'). This is how dogs communicate. We as humans have the capability to actually speak to someone and say "look, I'm uncomfortable with this. Let's try another method." Dogs do not have the advantage to do this. If someone approached me in a domineering, intimidating manner and I asked them again and again and again to get out of my face and they ignored me, kept coming at me, and backed me into a corner, would I be explosive if I shoved them away from me? It's not the dog's fault... we as humans can explain through words, and can shove, or hit. For a dog a hit or a shove is a bite. That dog showed incredible patience and gave plenty of warning signs.
Keep in mind, I'm somewhat of a 'crossover' as I used to defend Cesar to no end. I'm so glad I opened my eyes. If anyone EVER touched my dog the way he does to dogs, they'd have their face kicked in by me. Jackson is one of the most well behaved dogs that I know, and yes I'm biased, lol, but it's true, he really is. His biggest issue is he will alert bark when someone new walks in the door. He stops when I tell him 'enough'. If Cesar walked in my door, and started 'cshh'ing and poking him, Jackson would completely have a breakdown and probably never trust people again. All it takes it for the new person to walk in, let them sniff his hand, maybe give him a treat, I let him know it's okay and all is well with the world. It breaks my heart to see how the dogs will cower into 'submission' and it makes me think if MY dog was in that situation.
Cesar torments dogs .... he gets them into defensive behavior, agitates them
on purpose to push them past their limit, and then
hurts them for it (gets them into trouble). The psychological damage he causes dogs is ridiculous. They live in a
constant state of worry, stress and helplessness. Chronic stress, as most know, does a lot of harm to living beings both physiologically and psychologically ... raises blood pressure, respiration rate, and heart rate, increases cortisol levels and adrenalin, among other physically damaging things when they're so high and constant. He literally knows nothing about dog behavior and goes on and on about how 'dominant' a dog is without paying any attention the signs a dog is giving us. I can't believe that at one time I was so blind to not see it while watching his show. REALLY learn about dog behavior - read and study up on canine body language and then watch Cesar's show ... even better... watch it in silence! Watch the dogs body language when interacting with Cesar.
Yes I love that he preaches exercise and being calm. But honestly? That's about it these days. After seeing the Holly video, which is a recent video, I was totally done with him. It's very odd to me because he does truly seem to love dogs, but it's like his pride and ego can't get in the way and say 'I was wrong' and try to listen to the current SCIENCE of dog training. He's got to have this macho domineering image. Just let it go, dude.
Watch this... this dog Holly in slow motion. And then tell me this dog did not give any warning signs and should not have bit.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4655581307021
I'm being very serious. I'd love to know your opinions. Because I used to be on the other side of things. I always came up with a reason or an excuse for his behavior. But even this, I can't fathom ever thinking this was okay to do to a dog.
I've also watched dogs in person become ruined by these methods. I dogsit a Rottweiler from puppyhood (8 weeks old) and watched the owner pull these Cesar Millan dominance crap on him and by 2 years old, he was a broken down dog. He did not trust people, was not trusted around them, and turned somewhat aggressive. But god was he smart. He had so much potential. I taught him so many things without ever using so called 'dominance'.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not all 'oh everything will be happy dandy if all is positive'. I yell at the dogs sometimes when I'm irritated, I tell them 'no', sometimes I make them do things they don't want to do. I do not believe prong collars are all evil, or invisible fences should be banned. But there is no reason to treat a dog like this poor dog in the video was treated. That is
not training. And 95% of the 'training' Cesar does is not. I just feel sad for all the dogs who are suffering because of people trying imitate his methods and failing. Not to mention, the poor dog in the video now lives with Cesar. FWIW, I DO agree that a dog that resource guards such as this should not be living in a home with a child, there were so many better options that could have been looked at.