I would like to attend one of Milan's seminars but I don't think he goes outside of LA. And it seems he gets a lot of (excuse the sterotype) "hollywood" folk on his show. One buxom young lady dressed more like she was trying out for a part in a beach movie than training a dog. And she wouldn't shut up! Yadda, yadda, yadda...and all about herself.
Milan told the camera audience he might be able to help her with the dog....if he could get just get a word in edge wise!

But it was worth watching that program if only to see this trainer/behavorist walking down the sidewalk with a chihuahua wearing a pink jacket (the dog, not Milan...) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Ann, you are absolutely correct. There are the Hollywood types on Cesar's show. I think that is a ratings thing that runs all TV programing. I hate it myself and watch very little TV because it so dumb. However, at Cesar's seminars there is no hype. There is just: you are here to show your dog that you are the boss and if you aren't the boss you missed the point of this seminar. Incidentally, Cesar points out that his macho, alpha, pack leader philosophy doesn't work worth a sh**t with he and his wife. She runs the video and computer part of this show and they are very clearly loving equals.

There's a relatively new show on animal planet called "Who Get's The Dog". An adoptable dog spends one day with three different families and a "panel of experts" (a vet, a comedian, and a behaviorist) choose which home would be the best for the dog. One of the tests that the families have to do to prove they would be good owners is to train the dog a few behaviors. I find it almost unbearable to watch the prospect owners try to teach "roll-over" or "bark"! Poor dogs! Do they just lack common sense or is operant conditioning and basic learning theory something only serious dog trainers/behaviorists learn?

Don't even get me started on the pet psychic! What a nut!

Cesar Milan is wonderful. I am so proud of the owners who actually show improvement and listen to him!

Oh, man! Milan had a gorgeous young Bouvier on his show today! The owners complained that the dog was so hyper...jumping, running, etc, and didn't listen to them. They couldn't even walk him because the dog would pull them all over the place.

Caesar Milan patiently explained they had a really fine specimen of a dog breed that is wired for "doing a job"...and here the dog was just a pet, with no place to put his energy or instincts.
So after the traditional talk/walk about showing leadership and confidence, he took the couple to a sheep herder near LA.; a place where the owner teachs dogs proper sheep herding techniques.

The Bouvier was about to come out of his skin, jumping all fours some 3ft off the ground while watching a BC herd a small group of sheep. Then they turned loose the Bouvier.
Absolutely amazing! After first going crazy into prey drive (he came back with a mouthful of wool), it looked like the dog's instincts kicked in and he actually started doing wide outruns to keep the group together.

It was fun just watching how much fun this dog was having! And he sure wasn't hyper when they finally quit. Just mellow....and tired!

The owners were so impressed they committed to bringing their dog to the training facilty once a week.

Cesar actually has a website that lists his seminars across the country. He had a seminar here in Michigan but I did not find out about it until after it was sold out. IMO, any one who can handle 30+ dogs with just a look, has my respect. Let alone the rehabilitation that had to take place in order for those same dogs to live together without bloodshed. Here is a link to Cesar Millan's site... web page

I caught part of the Who Gets the Dog show and could only watch part of it. One of the cute bonding tricks they had some potential owners do was “give me a hug.” Is it just me, or does putting one’s face into a strange dog’s face while encouraging it to climb up your body seem like a bad idea? Later, I caught the end of another episode and the judges gave the dog to two women because they felt the women were the most excited about the dog. They apparently came to this conclusion because the women screamed the loudest when they saw the dog.

I don't have the stair problem. I'm not sure why since I'm hearing it's a pretty common thing. I don't tell them too, but my dogs usually heel down the stairs.
Check this out too, has anyone experienced this? When I'm out in the field with my dogs, and I say "HEEL" they both heel to me,..but one dog heels to the other dog since the first position is taken. So there is me , one dog to my immediate left, and the other dog on his left!

I think Ceasar Milan is great, I don't care what his title is, he makes sense, he's not telling people to throw treats at the dog, or pet them on a schedule to make them feel better about themselves.

"Behavior" is broad. This is why you can see common threads between dogs and kids. I spent 10 months at the Cleveland Clinic doing clinical work, I worked with kids and adults with the most severe cases of mental illness from around the world. After doing that, those bad rescue dogs didn't seem so bad anymore. "Most" people function on a level much higher than canines, some similarities apply but don't expect to raise kids on dog training wisdom..lol

Ciao.

Hi, I've been working hard to train my two GSDs to take the stairs one at a time while I say "easy" with each step. This is working pretty well and if I can maintain control over both of them at the same time it works really well. They are competitive and that is where I have trouble. I'm going back to the basics and work each of them, alone, in the foundation OB commands and end each session with a "stairway" lesson. They are very, very, different dogs and I think I have made the mistake of expecting a mutual reaction to training in tandem.

Next Sunday is the day that I take them to the Cesar Milan trained people for a one-on-one training class. I'll let you all know my take on how this works for me. I was told that they won't need a pinch collar. Hah! We'll just have to see what happens on that one.

Naida,
I found that puting my dog in a stand-stay on each step really helped to slow him down, make sure that the dog touches each step going up and down doing a stand on each. After doing that for a while do it randomly on fewer and fewer seps. Your dog will slow down if he/she's expecting a stand at any time he's on the stairs.

Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate the help.