Wow, have we resorted to taking things out of context to prove a point. haha. At the time I wrote that she was only 9 weeks old and I have just taken her for her first round of shots and she had absolutely no training under her belt. We weren't even taking her outside yet. So my relationship isn't damaged with her nor have I ever "dominated" her. Try to know what you are talking about next time, it's more effective.

if all that's true about your dog, and she's only 13 months, then please let me hire you to train me on how to train baxter.

he's not bad, but your dog sounds wonderful.

QUOTE: Cesar Millan crap (snapping or pulling a dog back).

I have done the same thing that Ceasar recommends with my dog wearing a harness. It doesn't hurt him a bit.

Actually - I think Caesar is one of the least "rough" dog trainers I have every seen. And, for heaven's sake ---- look at the animals he's working with - and look at the size of most of them. I have yet to see him work with a little 5-pound Yorkie. I'm sure he would treat it accordingly. I have heard him say that "little dogs" (because they are so little) often don't cause some of the same problems that big dogs do. But - he did say that little dogs are sometimes more aggressive - and definitely often more spoiled.....which can sometimes make them difficult to live with.

Training???? I totally believe that sometimes a little strict training in the beginning for a short period of time -- is worth the effort. After all, some of our training is directed toward keeping our little pups from running away, running out in the street and getting hit by a car, biting people or other dogs, etc. Some training as young and as quickly as possible is necessary.
(and NO - I don't believe in hurting or being mean) --- but pulling back, swiftness, our tone of voice, etc. can sometimes accomplish a lot.

I'd rather be a little strict with my pup - than have him run out in front of a car a month later.

A lot of the amount and types of training we need to do depends on the environment our little guys live in. So - we need to train accordingly.

My little neice ran into the street the other day and almost got hit by a car. This really scared her mother to death. She got the first and only spanking she has ever had (and, of course, it wasn't a bad spanking - but it really made an impression on this little girl - and perhaps it saved her life.)

Carol Jean

Cesar Millan has set dog training back 20 years. None of the experts in the field - Ian Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, Karen Pryor, Pat Miller, Paul Owens or Nicholas Dodman even APPROVE of Cesar Millan, let alone would recommend him. I've done the research. I've been working with a certified positive trainer with a with Loki for over a year. People may be enchanted by Cesar, but his methods are still bogus. And that's not just MY opinion:

Quoting from the Chicago Tribune May 23, 2006

"To call his operation a psychology center is a total paradox," says veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and author of "Dogs Behaving Badly" (Bantam, $14). "I think, like a bullfighter, he understands how to approach and work around a dog, but thereafter he stops. He doesn't understand separation anxiety. I doubt he knows what obsessive-compulsive behavior is. Basically, with a smile, he's going to war with these dogs."

Dodman says Millan relies on two musty tools popularized a half-century ago by heavy-handed military dog trainers and considered out of vogue amid the current emphasis on reward-based training. One is "positive punishment," where an adversive action -- "poking and jabbing and pulling and prodding" -- is applied to get the dog to stop a behavior. The other is "flooding," in which the dog is "basically drowning" in something it doesn't like, sort of "Fear Factor" for Fido.

"Imagine," says Dodman, "if there was a new Dr. Phil for children, and he said, `If your kid is playing too many video games, get a big paddle and whack him on the head.' People would be incensed."

Veterinary concerns

This is the case with his colleagues at the prestigious American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, which shared its concerns in a letter to the cable network. (Among them: Nowhere on the show does Millan suggest that owners first rule out a medical cause for aberrant behavior.) And when news of the Gator lawsuit broke, Dodman says the chatter on the group's e-mail list was about volunteering to be expert witnesses against Millan.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...ck=1&cset=true

Furthermore - the pack mentality that he has is also not based in science. There are many many articles to link to regarding this, but this person from The Bark Magazine sums it up nicely:
http://thebark.typepad.com/barking/2...n_millan_.html

Just to clarify that would be DO NOT approve of him. We really need an edit function in this forum :D

I agree 100,000%, Erin! What amazes me is that people can watch a 20 minute television show and think that what little they have seen has cured an animal. The lawsuit against Milan's training facility came as no surprise to me. Obviously, they do things to wear a dog down behind-the-scenes.


I also agree wholeheartedly with you, SnowWa. I am probably one of the biggest advocates of training there is on this board. (As is Erin, BTW). But what I disagree with is that a dog needs to be trained using intimidation and physical force. There isn't any justification in my mind for leash pops, scruff shakes, or alpha rolls. It just isn't necessary. Positive methods work equally well.

I agree with Erin completely on this one, but I also agree that to each his own. Do I want Georgie to be scared of me absolutely not, do I think that barking at the UPS man is sooo terrible NO he is a DOG. However I do tell him to stop barking and he does. As a matter of fact when the cable people came last week they were amazed at how quickly he stops barking when Momma says "No barking." He is very well trained and not one time have I hit him, pulled on his leash or used any physical techniques. I am by no means an expert but I don't want my dog to learn to respect me out of fear. JMO

Your dog is always more trained than you think. We all think our dogs are insane until we see someone else's. You can go outside and tell your dog to sit and he listens and your neighbor will ask you "wow, how in the heck did you acomplish that."

To the people talking about Cesar Millan I have to ask. What makes him so wrong and your so called experts so right? I watched his show a few times and I seen nothing that says he's going to war or anything of the sort. Funny.