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Post by trisha on Aug 3, 2006 20:38:14 GMT -5
Anyone else watch this show?
A friend recommended it to me when I had trouble acclimating my puppy with my friends dog. My dog was/is not the trouble maker in this instance, so it's been hard to fully rectify the situation without the active and continual participation of my friend, but the dogs can finally not only exist in the same space peacefully, but they actually play together now, and I owe that to Cesar Milan aka The Dog Whisperer.
I highly recommend this show to *anyone* who has dogs, even if your dog is perfect in your eye, you will learn something from this guy!!
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Post by madger on Aug 4, 2006 9:02:26 GMT -5
I've seen it a couple of times. I volunteer at a dog obedience club and can tell you I can train any dog to listen to me, but what I can't do is teach your dog to listen to you, it's hard work, you have to have the patience of a saint, stick-with-itness and understanding that your dog is not a little person, but a little wolf. These people make it look so easy, believe me, it is not.
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Post by filmnoir5 on Aug 4, 2006 17:46:32 GMT -5
A very informative and entertaining show. I discovered it this past spring on National Geographic.
He has also written a book that contains some of the stories.
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Post by NikkiGreen on Aug 4, 2006 18:34:11 GMT -5
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Post by trisha on Aug 5, 2006 16:50:53 GMT -5
Thanks, Nikki It's no surprise to me that other dog experts don't agree with Cesar on some of his methods; he seems to be a very strict behavioralist. I think dogs have more emotions than he gives them credit for, but, his methods work and the animals don't get hurt in the process of the training. To me, that's what counts. Hail, Cesar! ;D
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Post by madger on Aug 6, 2006 16:09:45 GMT -5
I don't claim to be an expert, I don't think such an animal exists when we are dealing with a different species, humans tend to anthropomorphize other creatures, instead of trying to see the world from their perspective. Cesar tries to convey this, in that I agree with his methods completely, my only qualms with him and other TV dog trainers is that they make it seem too easy, they show in a half-hour what takes weeks of hard, consistent work, and a lifetime of follow-up. We get people at our club who get discouraged, because they think we can snap our fingers and turn their dogs into perfect little "Lassies", and then realize they have to work at it, every day, for the rest of the dogs life, we do not train dogs, we show people how to train their own dogs. What really makes me laugh is when people send their dogs away for training and don't understand why they revert right back to their old behavior when they get home. That's what I mean by the statement that I can train any dog to listen to me, but I can't teach your dog to listen to you, only you can do that.
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Post by spaniard on Aug 6, 2006 17:58:56 GMT -5
My dog opens the fridge, knows that the air conditioner is ruled by the remote control and asks us to use it when she is too hot and knows that when we turn the tv off it is time for the last walk of the day. She gives orders to the cats to steal food and opens drawers to bury my socks in the garden (I´m probably the only person without teen daughters that locks her clothes). And over all, she knows the difference between left and right, something I don´t know because I´m ambidextrous. I usually trust her, if I need to go to the left I tell her "on the left" and I follow her. She doesn´t need more training. Oh, and she learned it by herself, just paying attention.
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Post by spaniard on Aug 6, 2006 18:13:27 GMT -5
Come on! you can´t stop laughing when you see your puppy extremely happy after leaving a wonderful pee in your clean laundry basket. You have to teach it to do it outside, of course, but you can´t kill the surprises of living with a playful pet.
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Post by madger on Aug 6, 2006 20:43:30 GMT -5
There is nothing like the joy of a dog being a dog.
We teach our companions what we need to make living with each other easier, if someone doesn't mind their dog jumping up on them, there is no reason to teach them not to, but if you have a 110lb dog and an elderly relative you teach them that sitting is a better option that will get them a reward, attention, a treat, praise...
My pets are what they are, I don't try to quash their nature, just redirect it when it clashes with my lifestyle.
I've tried to teach my dogs things that make them welcome in other peoples houses, since we like to travel with them, but they still are very spoiled and will test the boundaries whenever they can, one of my dogs thinks that any purse or bag is his to snoop through. And he's been known to take possession of other dog's toys from their cars when nobody was looking, OK, OK, he's a clepto.
We have have a great collection of beer cans on our front lawn, he picks them up on our walks. Bud being his favorite, but Coors will do as well, and if nothing better is to be found Heineken, Foster's cans are too fat, but we do have a few of those too. Our neighbors think we're a couple of lushes. We also have about 100 baseballs, 3 baseball mitts, 1 biclycle seat, 1 stirrup from a western saddle, 2 soccer balls and inumerable gardening gloves.... ;D
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Post by spaniard on Aug 6, 2006 21:15:11 GMT -5
Exactly, as long as it doesn't bother me, I don't correct it. I make my pets follow certain rules of hygene, especially about our food, but I haven't gone to the point of toilet-training my cats. I want my house neat but I don't want to go to the bathroom and see that I have to wait for my turn. I have a garden for one reason.
The only moment when I thought that we would need professional help was when the vet discovered that when my dog had problems to walk it wasn't for her ears, she was drunk. She found the way to secretly put her tongue in people's glasses when there was alcohol in them and that was a habit extremely hard to break. And nasty.
I could talk for hours about what my pets do that makes me laugh, that's why I'm so permissive but I can because my dog is a family dog, there are potentially dangerous breeds that really need a good training if they end up with irresponsible owners. In fact, who need more training are the owners more than the dogs.
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