Skip to main content

I love Cesar!

Captain's Log, Stardate 02.06.2008

The Wasabi Wednesday winner of
Awaken My Heart
by
DiAnn Mills
is
Angela
Congratulations!








I’ve now finished both books by Cesar Millan and the first two seasons of The Dog Whisperer on DVD. I love Cesar!

Captain Caffeine and I have noticed a change in Snickers since we started watching the DVDs and reading the books. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say that we’ve changed how we act as dog owners, and so she’s become more calm and submissive.

There’s still some food aggression and dog aggression, but we’ve been slowly and consistently dealing with it. For those two things, we needed both the books and the DVDs to learn how to handle her.

The books talk about his general philosophy for dog psychology, and the DVDs show it in practice (the TV show kind of glosses over his philosophy, while the books go into greater detail so we understand his point on the TV show).

For example, just the other night we realized that we were letting her enter our space between the coffee table and the couch in the living room. She was walking in and lying down under the table—where we put our legs—as if she owned it, not us. When we tried to move her, sometimes she’d growl and not move.

She’s better at listening to verbal commands these days (I think because I started walking her more regularly and establishing myself as a pack leader), so I told her to move from under the coffee table. She moved, probably expecting me to get up.

I didn’t. I stayed, and kept watching Cesar on TV. When she tried to move back, I firmly told her no. Every time she tried to move back under the table, I told her no. Eventually she went to lie down on her dog bed.

Later in the evening, she again tried to move under the table and I told her no. A few minutes later, I invited her next to me to pet her, and then told her to move again. Now she understands that the space between the coffee table and couch is my space and not hers.

In watching the DVDs the other night, I realized that I might need to move into her when correcting her for her dog aggression on our walks (she tries to rush the other dog and sometimes growls). She has stopped growling in past weeks, but she still pulls at the leash, and that’s not good.

Snickers can’t be more stubborn than Jordan the bulldog from the TV show, so we have hope!

Comments

Geekwif said…
I may have to pick up those books. My dog isn't particularly aggressive, but she's a 85 pound spaz who thinks she's a lap dog. Probably our fault since she's so darn cute we have trouble denying her anything.
Delia said…
I love Cesar, too! I'm in the middle of one of his books right now and our whole family loves his show.

My whole way of thinking when it comes to dogs and the way we're supposed to be with dogs has changed with Cesar.

I'm glad his method is working for ya'll and Snickers.
Karen said…
I've not watched or read Cesar, but he sounds very much like the trainer that we are using with our dogs right now. Dave Baron has trainers in several parts of the country (including the Bay Area). Some of that stuff (like showing the dogs whose area it really is) was something I'd never really thought about. We have seen so much change in our dogs since we began the training. It only took one dinnertime to teach our Great Dane puppy (whose head is over the table) to stay in the other room while we ate rather than walk all around the table.

I'm glad Cesar's ideas are working for you.
Myra Johnson said…
Yea, another Cesar convert! I got hooked on him during a Sunday afternoon Dog Whisperer marathon last year while my hubby was away on business and there was nothing else on TV. Now we DVR every new show. Our little black border collie mix actually watches with us--I think he recognizes the sounds of other dogs. Or maybe he's just trying to get a heads-up on what techniques we'll be trying next.

One of the biggest helps Cesar has bee is clipping toenails. Now, instead of fighting with the dogs, we just "be the pack leader," and it's over quickly.
Anonymous said…
Cesar Millan's philosophy has become a way of life in my two terrier dog household. Life has become a lot easier since my husband and I have adopted the leader of the pack mentality. One main thing to remember it isn't something that you do one time and your dog's unwanted behavior is corrected. It is a daily occurrence for the life of your dog. After all if you are truly a dog lover you want what is best for your best friend. Having them be balanced and happy is all they really need from us.

http://netwebmarketer.com/audie/wordpress/

Popular Posts

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

Lavender hand lotion

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.05.2009 I have to tell you, I LOVE Etsy.com ! Etsy is dedicated to providing a marketplace for people who like to make handmade products and people who appreciate them (and buy them). It has everything from handmade gifts (like my mom’s Bucilla Christmas stockings and ornaments and tree skirts and wall hangings and … well, just click here to see what she has! ) to soaps and lotions and jewelry and knitted items and hand-painted yarn and ... I could surf that website for DAYS. Anyway, lately I’ve been concerned about the lead content in my lotions, especially since I’m using them more now that it’s turned colder and drier here in California. I have to use lotion on my hands everytime after I wash them. So I went onto Etsy and searched for organic hand lotions, and bought this lavender lotion from Lue Cosmetics . What was really nice is that the owner, Jane, sent me a direct message via Etsy right after I made the purchase to ask if I’d received it yet and ...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...