Yikes! All caps is "heard" as shouting.

Ed says on his DVDs that he believes all pet dogs should be neutered and, in order to affect the dog's (temperament/potential for aggression) it should be done between 6-9 months. I am saying this from memory so I could be mistaken slightly but that is the gist of it.

Ed does NOT believe *working dogs* (I assume sport or competition dogs would be included in that heading) should be neutered unless they are a cryptorchid. (have undescended testicles)

Cesar's dogs are not working dogs so, technically, I think they agree on that point.

That is just my interpretation of things.

Yes.

http://www.leerburg.com/neuter.htm

Also on one of his DVDs Ed says he always neuters his retired stud dogs and police dogs, to avoid cancer.

Anyway back on topic...

 Quote: Angela Burrell

Also on one of his DVDs Ed says he always neuters his retired stud dogs and police dogs, to avoid cancer.

Yes. Number 2 on the list linked above.

One thing I have noticed about the CM show is that it is "entertaining" for those that do not understand what is happening. For someone that does, it can be educational. I personally watch every episode I can just to watch the body language, and shifts in behavior. Sometimes I will sit and watch the pack structure behind CM while he is addressing the camera, just to see what is going on. Learning the ropes, learning how to teach commands, absolutely go with Ed's. Learning to watch behaviors in dogs, body language etc - read the body language books then watch CM. You will start to see things that you never saw before - and you will see the postures described in the books in real life. Once you start seeing them in dogs, and hear someone pointing out a particular posture, you will start to recognize it better, which will only help you with training in general.
Also - the dalmation pup episode - for starters, because of the unique situation, tethering is really not very possible. 8 years in EMT, and I used to bring my last SAR dog to work all the time (every shift). Too many things happen and go on to have a pup tethered. Definitely, that would be better and easier, but due to their situation not possible. At that point, it is good that they worked with what they had, and the situation they had to create a more stable environment for the pup. Also, it is not as thought they went out and decided "lets get a dog" they stepped up to the plate to take on a rescue despite their situation in a busy downtown fire station. Sometimes you have to adapt to fit the situation and dog. Remember that CM states "boundaries rules and limitations" at LEAST 5x per episode! Also, there was one screen that showed a crate where there was none prior. I'm sure the pup was much more restricted after he left.
I was also interested how when it was time to teach the "stop drop and roll" to the pup, CM brought in a trainer, saying "I'm not a trainer - so I brought in __________________ for that." I also loved watching how strict attention CM paid to the trainer.
On a side note - An episode shown the same day featured a lab killing chickens, and in the follow up showed the people working with a trainer named Missy. That is one of the trainers that I used to work with when I was a child... It was really nice to see the team effort that went into first rehabilitating the dog, then setting up a job that the dog could DO with all that energy.

In addition to being non-discriminating about breeds, I really like that there is an explanation pre-rehab: This dog is screwed up because...(stupid owner behavior goes here)

I think that Ceasar's show being entertaining and relatively main stream is increasing awareness of how not respecting your dog as a dog can screw him/her up. I also saw him use an e-collar on a show in a way that probably saved a farm dog's life, and touted it as a humane and sometimes necessary training tool. Go Ceasar! And the owners were very pleased with the result, too. Maybe fewer people will try to anthropomorphise dogs to the dogs detriment? I love the emphasis on exercise too. WAY too many dogs don't get enough exercise.

Re: training, I think Ed's DVD's would be tough to top. Great stuff and easy to follow. I have a bunch of them (6, 7?) and haven't regretted spending the money one bit. As I may have mentioned a time or two (or 10), I don't like spending money

I just saw my first CM episode yesterday while visiting my grandmother. It was the one titled "Cesar's worst cases" - wow. The only thing is that the larger dogs that exhibited aggression was toward other animals or objects, not handler aggression. So with a pitbull or bulldog, he just dives in and handles the dogs and they continue to only focus their aggression on their object, they don't redirect. The smaller dogs were handler aggressive and did attack and bite Cesar a number of times. I would like to see Cesar and how he would deal with a large, handler aggressive dog.

I feel like I did learn alot, and his finger poking thing worked for my submissive male who gets REALLY excited when it's time to go outside... he just backed off, sat and looked at me (cool!).

Didn't work on my (dog dominant) male when he went off at the neighbor's little dogs, in fact it got the same reaction from the dog as a prong collar correction (amps him up). So I reverted to my usual method of collar corrections (to get his attention) along with making the dog sit and heel, which cesar does too.

Angella,

CMs methods work great for CM Usually for aggression problems I do not recommend people try his methods because they don't understand the full scope of it without Cesar being right there to guide them. I use the methods he uses for behavior modification where redirection/PR methods don't work such as for aggression.

When using the touch method the biggest thing people don't understand is the correct intensity of the touch. The touch required has to match or exceed the level the dog is at in drive. So the dog is at a level 7, the touch has to be at least a 7. One dog's 7 may not be another dogs 7 and so on and so forth. One intensity of touch does not work for all dogs or all things for one dog. Part of CMs mastery is his automatic instinct that tells him how much to use, the level required etc. as the dogs he works with you don't get a second chance if the first correction was not enough.

For aggression, you must not have any doubts. You need to be assertive, firm, and very fast. For aggression using too high a level is better than too low a level. Too low and the effect will be the same as an illtimed improper prong correction and can easily escalate the situation. The problem with prong collars is the same problem with people trying the touch method without a full understanding of it - too low a level of a correction. Some are not physically capable of giving a prong correction or touch correction to the intensity/level that is required to match or better the dog and for aggression, not getting the right level can cause problems.

CM is great and his methods do work and I think for many things people can do at home by themselves such as practicin assertive and calm behavior, more exercise, and the exercise, discipline, then affection system. For aggression problems it is not a good idea in general for people to try it out themselves, even if the dog is not handler aggressive.

As a note regarding neutering and whatnot, it is often noted that Daddy is not neutered. At least last episode I paid attention he wasn't (he may be, he is 9 or so I believe) but Daddy is not Cesar's dog, he belongs to Redman. Cesar takes care of Daddy when Redman is out of town. I believe Cesar does neuter all of his personal dogs.

Semi-unrelated:

It's somewhat disheartening to hear that CM will be opening his line of dog products, at PETCO, in July.

What a shame he has chosen to do business with such a disreputable store.