Randomosity.
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- RT @oceandreams4u: Blog for you, and blog to make a difference. Don't blog for #followers, blog for #relationships and making a differen ...
- Ok Fine. Going to bed. Cause you all needed to know that.
- Raking flower beds #weekend
- Soo my dear @TexasTheDoxie is only reactive when I'm with him. With my roommate or family members he's fine. Me he's psycho dog. Thoughts?
- HELP!! I'm stuck with talkative parents. (@ Office Max) http://picplz.com/Qn9n
- Went car "looking". Said car was sold, and had been for two weeks. #bummer
- Found recent clips of CM. Whhhy am I doing this to myself? #cringing
- NM I'm doing it so I know what I'm dealing with when people praise him.
- Sooo intimidation without communication is the key to these episodes. #gah
- Need to bring down the blood pressure. #deepbreaths Ice cream anyone?
4 comments:
hey Erin! Have you read CM's book? I didn't like/understand him either until I read Cesar's Way, which changed my entire view on him and on how I conduct myself in everyday life, not just with dogs. I think it's the best "self-help" book I've ever read, though maybe not the best dog-training book (Barnes and Noble should re-file it!). I think some of what he says is completely nuts, but I actually agree and try to practice a lot of his methods (and have personal experiences with them working).
Yeah, perhaps he should become a human psychologist and leave the dogs to the experts. lol.
I have read his book, am at the time I thought it was great. I did used to like CM's methods, and made a valiant attempt to implement them with my dogs. However, over the last four years I've been flooded with so much more information about dogs, how they learn, how they communicate with us as humans, about the dominance myth, working as a Trainer for a service dog group, working with large groups of dogs in doggie daycare's, rescue groups, and of course my own troubled "kids" I've learned, that his one-size-fits-all approach is more detrimental the dogs well being and happiness then helpful.
As I said, I pretty much cringed and held my heart throughout the entire three episodes I made myself watch last night. I don't hate the guy at all, as I honestly think he loves dogs and wants the best for them, I just wish he'd let go of some of the outdated idea and methodologies (which were originally meant for police dogs and "hard" dogs that could take the kind of stress that he's implementing) and really start teaching the dogs instead of intimidating them.
Agreed. I think that for us, it's easy to pick and choose the methods we want to listen to because we "know" dogs and know what's going to work for each individual dog. We know that intimidation and dominance isn't going to work or be good for them all. That being said, I think a lot of the methods he's teaching people (because, for whatever reason, they trust and listen to him), are better than nothing. I had a particularly profound experience with my neighbor's lab, Hudson. Hudson was only about 1 year old when Pauly and I moved into the building. H and P met outside many times and got along really well. One day, I was in the lobby waiting for the elevator, when H and his owner (a woman about my age) came into the lobby. Thinking he'd be his typical self, she dropped the leash and he full on attacked Pauly for being in his building. From that point on, we couldn't walk on the same street and his owner was constantly terrified and feeding the terror back into Hudson. One day, I was at the dog park with Pauly and H arrived. Of course, one of us had to leave. H's owner started to leave with her 80 pound thrashing, growling, barking, snarly dog and she just burst into tears. Hearing Cesar in the back of my mind, I said to myself that I needed to show her that her dog is not mean, nasty, snarling, etc so she sees his potential and stops acting terrified. So, I sent her up to the top of the hill to watch from far away where her energy and fear wouldn't reach H. I took his leash and confidently walked him into the run with Pauly. I walked around Pauly in circles getting closer and closer. H didn't once react and at the slightest ear perk I corrected him. Within less than 5 minutes, I had Pauly and H laying next to each other completely calm and relaxed. It was amazing. His owner came running down the hill in full blown happy tears. As soon as she took the leash, though, he was back to his old self. I had to walk him out of the dog run. She has since moved out of my building and hired a professional trainer (since she saw his potential) and I think they're doing much better. I will say that I never would have been able to do that without CM, probably because I never would have learned or been intrigued enough to seek out other experts. Of course, that was 2 years ago and I've learned a lot since then, but I still go back to the need for confidence and leadership and clarity with all my dogs.
Yes, I failed to mention why I wasn't as hard against CM as some of my compatriots in the +R business. He did help me with Rei, my first wild child. He taught me to how to greet dogs, the importance of exercise, how to be confident and calm when working with my dogs (or pack leader as he calls it), and how (as my old boss used to say) "everything goes down the leash". When Rei went into heat and left me for about three weeks, I spent that time, reading his books and watching his shows...when she came back, she was a new dog and I was a new handler.
I too have had some success like yours, with other people's dogs, just being calm and confident and translating that too the dog...and getting results even when they weren't. (I like to think its natural talent. haha)
I began distancing myself from his ways, inadvertently when I started working with Wilderwood, and was forced to only use +R methods. No leash corrections or anything, and realized that I only believed what I believed, about dog training was because that was what I'd been told. So I started researching, and talking to and staying in contact with trainers in the real world. I think once I realized the dominance theory was just a theory and I really didn't HAVE to be my dogs pack leader..yet still get the results I wanted, was when I really abandoned my fannish devotion to him and his show. lol.
That was a hard thing for me to admit, because (you can ask my area coordinator and fellow trainer co-workers) I was hard against the soft praise, praise, treat, your dog approach. Dogs needed to know WHO was boss, and "my dog betta do stuff cause *I* want him too". BOY have I had to eat humble pie.
I do credit him for getting me started in my dog training journey, because before he came along, i wasn't too interested in learning more about the dog training aspect, or learning about other ways. So for that Cesar, I thank you. :-D I still hold on to the things I mentioned above, but have a hard time placing any trust in the other things...especially when watching the dogs body language on his show.
Erin - The Doggie Life Coach
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