I haven't watched Cesare in the past three years. Basically most people do not have a clue about how to train a dog. I have found that some new dog owners actually don't realize that dogs don't just learn things on their own. It's sad. It is true that the people need to be trained first.
Cesare has gotten much more aggressive in his approach over the years and that bothers me. Maybe it is just that they started to show the dogs with more serious problems after a few seasons in order to maintain interest. The show that Brit posted is a real heart breaker. You cannot stop aggression with aggression and fear tactics.
Training should be about establishing trust, setting boundaries and being consistent with tons of praise and reward. I never use fear, intimidation, anger or physical punishment when dealing with problem behaviors. If a dog does not trust and respect a person then that person is going to have to obtain the result they want through fear, intimidation and physical punishment. That kind of dog will always be a loose cannon, a danger to other people and animals. A dog controlled by fear is a dangerous dog. That is not the result I want.
There are many ideas about training dogs but a "whisperer" should be someone who knows the animal's body language and can easily pinpoint what is causing the animal's problem. That person should be able to communicate to the animal what is expected of it without fear or physical force. Since Cesare has moved on to other methods I do not think the title of his show fits his training concept.
As for the Yorkies in the OP's post....they did needed training. The owners had always just let them do whatever they wanted to do. That is the kind of thing that gives small dogs such a bad reputation. It is not the size or the breed, it is the lack of knowledge that the owners have about training their dogs. Training should start from the first day a puppy or dog comes into the home. |