Need dog training tips.

[HollyHamster]

Not that I am arguing with anyone, but I prefer the whole positive reinforcement training method. I love watching Victoria Stilwell. She is a dog training genius. Her method, which is positive reinforcement, is also what is recommended by our fostering organization. Caesar is good in his own right, and I have nothing against him, just prefer Victoria's methods over his.

Josie was a stray in a neighborhood, probably born into the life of having to fight with other dogs to get the smallest of scraps to eat. She was found by someone living in that neighborhood who called the adoption organization to help find her a forever home. She is still young, around 3-4 months old, so I think with the right training, she can be adoptable.

[Lougarry]

I have a few issues with Cesar Milan. I think the way he likes a collar to be high on the dog's neck, for example, could be painful. I would rather, like Tab, teach the dog to heel without a lead so you can keep the lead slack when it's on and rely on the dog to stay with you.

I think it's like anything - you have to find a style you will be happy and confident applying, especially when the dog might already be damaged.

Josie sounds a little like Prentiss in some ways. Prentiss was on a puppy farm where it's believed she had to scavenge for food and it's tricky now to get her not to inhale her meals (a special bowl has helped) and empty the bin every time we are out for 5 mins. But she is very very loving and we are sure we can work through it.

[mangoandmimi]

I find cesar milan's methods work best with more aggressive dogs. Mac our shepherd came as a nasty thing who would bite at any possible possibility, would growl at other dogs and try and attack little ones :/ We tried everything, and nothing worked in the slightest. Then we became hooked on the cesar millan series and now he's the most docile dog.
I don't actually believe he hurts the dog, see it might look harsh, but with Mac he doesn't even feel a pincer collar, let alone a choke chain. You may aswell let him free range if you got him a normal one

[Vicki S]

With my dog when wee first got her everytime she bit we pushed are hand to the back of her mouth however this did not work so we started grabbing her muzzle everytime she did it then she got crafty and pretended we had caught her tongue then before you even grabbed her muzzle she yelped and even move her own tongue into her teeth so we then ignored that and held her muzzle anyway she doesn't bite anyone now at all


And the food i would put the bowl down let the dog take some then move the bowl with your foot and if the dog goes to bite or growl look at the dog and firmly say NO! if it bites i would take the food off it and get it to do something like sit and then give it back (make sure when you do this your wearing boots or something protective on your feet)

I like the training with praise too but i feel you need to do both with a dominant dog as they can be very stubborn with training

And i have been brought up with boxers and have a staffordshire bull terrier now

Vicki

[racinghamster]

I like Victoria Stilwell too and she knows her stuff, but she and Cesar are two different approaches to dogs. Victoria is a dog `trainer`, Cesar is a dog `rehabilitator`. Both very different. Cesar doesn`t `train` dogs to behave, he changes their whole phycology by not using voice commands or hand-fed treats. He uses body language and energy. Dogs don`t speak human, they speak dog, which is why asking them vocally to do something goes in one ear and out the other in most cases. If you watch Cesar`s television episodes, each case is different. Some dogs are easily turned around quickly, while others are a bit more head on. I love watching how he doesn`t just rehabilitate the dog, but in many cases, the owner aswell. They can become quite emotional and Cesar is a good tonic for their emotions aswell as their dog. It`s wonderful to see him give the owner the power to move on and understand why their dog is behaving the way it is.

Cesar often comes in for criticism from the dog `training` people because his whole approach is not what they do or like to do. Cesar grew up in Mexico where he witnessed great suffering of dogs and he has now built such a following because of his whole compassion for dogs and their wellbeing. I totally admire what the man achieves and good on him. He`s a listener to dogs and their owners and some of his shows moved me to tears just watching how he turns around the emotions of people who have had great loss in their lives and then find the strength to do something they never thought they would do. Be able to handle a dog that was in such a mess mentally that they were at their wits end.

Wish his new series would come back onto Freeview again as I miss watching his shows.