Did anyone happen to see the Dog Whisperer last night on National Geo. Channel?
This is the first time that I'd seen him work with a young puppy; a 12 week old dalmation who was given to a fire house.
I was under the mistaken impression that his methods were for adult dogs only.
Wrong!
One thing the pup was doing was snatching food off the table and cruising for leftovers. The pup found a box of donuts on the floor and proceeded to root around in it. Cesar did his characteristic pseudo-bite thing w/ his thumb and first couple of fingers (and the psst sound) and within a few minutes the pup gave up and left the box of donuts alone.
He then put a plate of leftover chicken on the floor and did the same thing, and within a minute or two the pup backed off, let out a very soleful moan (which Cesar described as him 'giving up') and laid down and fell asleep about 5 feet from the plate.

The great thing was he got all these firemen on board w/ him and into the pack leader mentality. To keep things consistent between shifts they left big poster sized notes around the firehouse regarding commands to use ('Off' for jumping, etc)

Anyway, it was a good one; hope other saw it too...

(I've been having table surfing problems w/ my pup; I started today trying out the non-verbal method that Cesar uses. seemed to work much better than 'leave it' w/ a leash correction)

Lynn it's funny you mentioning Cesar because I was thinking of getting one of his DVDs and I was wondering what everyone on this board thought of him. I did see that episode and I thought it was great the way he handled the puppy. It was funny seeing big strong fireman not able to control a little puppy.

that one was a rerun. Later they did have a new one on trying to pick the right energy level dog for your lifestyle.

Maisha, my impression is most people on this board like him. There is a Boxer board I seldomly visit anymore and you can't even mention him without people or a mod jumping all over you/closing the thread. They are the same people that love dog parks, don't believe in corrections and have the most unruly dogs. Anyways, sorry to get off course lol.

Yes, I like him and his thoughts on dog behavior. I have both of his DVD seasons and his book called "Cesar's way" which is very good btw (so are the DVDs). Leerburg sells the book.

Edited by Alex Corral (03/16/2008 01:15 AM)
Edit reason: Spelling

The thing that I really like about his technique is that most of what he does (at least, what you see on TV) is non-verbal and the dog 'gets' it immediately.
I am trying to incorporate more of that in pack structure w/ my pup...

I recommend Ed's DVD on Pack Structure (4 hours long), actually over Cesar's DVD (I do not have Cesar's DVD). The reason I would do this is I know the kind of information that Ed puts out in his DVD's, and if you watch the streaming video (over 20 minutes!) that is on the webpage of the Pack Structure DVD, you'll see what I mean. If Cesar's DVD is anything like his show, definitely go with Ed's DVD instead.
Here's the Pack Structure DVD: http://leerburg.com/308.htm Watch the streaming video.

I like Cesar but if I want to truly learn how to deal with my dog, I'd go with Ed Frawley anytime.

 Quote: Sandy Moore

If Cesar's DVD is anything like his show, definitely go with Ed's DVD instead.
Here's the Pack Structure DVD: http://leerburg.com/308.htm Watch the streaming video.

I like Cesar but if I want to truly learn how to deal with my dog, I'd go with Ed Frawley anytime.

Sandy, I couldn't agree more. Ed's info on all of his DVD's that I have ( 3 so far) is very clear, concise, and easy to follow...
I find Cesar's show interesting and entertaining, but NOT a complete picture of how to raise a dog...(and some things that he does I would never attempt to do, even w/my own dog)
That being said, if I take just one thing away from the show to file in the 'tool box', it can only make me a better handler...

I agree with you Sandy. I think Ed's DVDs are some of the best. I thought Maisha was simply asking for educational/entertainment purposes? What I like about Cesar's season episodes is you can also see the mistakes the common pet owners do with their dogs on a daily basis. I think they are actually very good & fun to watch.

Alex you are exactly right. I have Ed's pack structure DVD and I love it. It's great for a beginner like me. I enjoy Cesar's show and I was just wondering if his training DVDs give REAL information that a beginner can use or is it just "cool" to see how he transforms the dogs.

Cesar's show has done more to educate people that THERE IS A PACK FUNCTION to a dogs personality than anything I have seen since owning dogs.

With thats said in this case - we don't allow our pups off leash in the house. Why should we? They are not yet trained - they don't know our rules. Why allow a pup to make a mistake if you can guide him away from a problem.

Then when he is older he can learn that there are consequences to not listening.

It's out opin ion that no pup should be off leash in the home until you can call him to you and away from a distraction - like a box of donuts. Doesn't that make more sense.

I am sure that Ceasar does a lot of things that his editors sit back and say - NOPE - THATS TOO SIMPLE WE CANT PUT THAT ION TV.