ceaser and victoria stillwell O.o

[AgileGSD]

I'm not a huge fan of either but I think CM's influence on the general public is far worse. VS is ok but way too preachy for my liking. As for the crates, I went to a John Rogerson seminar years ago and he said that crating isn't something most pet owners in England are willing to do, so it generally isn't an option to suggest it for training purposes. That is IMO just a cultural difference.

[Iletthedogout]

I watch both shows. Victoria is more entertaining because of some of the outlandish owners (like the newly weds with three great danes). I find that her methods sometimes skirt the problems to avoid corrective actions. A dog violently guards a bone, so she tells the family to never give the dog a bone again. I suspect the dog will find other toys and items to guard in the same way.
I believe that the best training is what works best for the dog owner. I take more from Cesar, not in that you must dominate the dog, but you must be the "leader". That's a big difference. I'm amazed at how many dog owners "whine" commands at their dogs and expect them to respect them. I don't think that a calm submissive dog means that the animal cowers every time the owner enters the room, but the dog is watching for clues on what the owner wants whether it is play or work.
Cesar treats dogs more like dogs.
What they both do that is important is point out that stupid human behavior leads to unruly out of control dogs. I wish that they would do a show or series of shows where they work with a family from the selection process up to a year to give people a sense of how to do it right rather than correcting over the top dogs after years of no training or leadership.

[VChurch]

I like them both -- but I think they aim to re-train totally different types of dogs. They both recognize it's the owners fault and that the owner needs to be retrained. I think people could learn from watching both shows and reading both persons books.

I don't think either of them is 100% right, 100% of the time. As you know dogs learn in different ways. And there are different stages of the dogs learning that you need to use different techniques to train. I agree that there is a positive reinforcement stage, and a stage where they choose to not listen and need to have a correction.
They both get results, but I must agree (with whoever said it) -- it's TV and there's editing, so there's no telling what kind of long-term results they're actually getting.


There is some entertainment in both shows though.

Has anyone seen the cat trainer show with the lady from Australia??

[ruger]

I've never seen Victoria's show so I can't say whether I like her. I do like Cesar though, if you watch his show he always says it's about rehabilitating dogs and training people. It is not all about dominance or intimidation and his corrections make it very clear to the dog that a behavior is not acceptable. There is nothing wrong with discipline, the lack of which is one reason why so many people have unruly dogs. I've also seen where he has asked a person if he can take their dog permanently because it was such a bad case and she refused but she made some changes in her life that allowed her to be a better leader and the dog behaved better as a result. I know that we don't see the half of it because it's on tv, but I do think he does rehab some dogs that would normally be put down.

[VChurch]

HAHA Whoever mentioned the newlyweds with three great danes show -- it's on right now. Very interesting and ridiculous....definitely the owner's fault, and by owner I mean the wife.

[Bridget]

I like both of them and find good advice in both of their approaches. Victoria Stilwell's style is almost exactly like my trainer. I believe that Cesar's leadership credo works for him, but I think that the alpha thing is something that wouldn't work for everyone, simply because not everyone has it. I think it is more of a natural talent than something that can be learned, at least in part.

[Courtney]

I don't agree with EVERYTHING they say, but I have picked up some good training tips from both. I do prefer Victoria's training style over Ceaser.

[shilorio]

i use all of victorias training tips i love her, i also think CM intimadates and i dissagree with that.

[Syaoransbear]

I've never watched Victoria Stillwell, but I've seen many Dog Whisperer episodes and I've seen him alpha roll, I don't know, once?

Caesar Milan is unique in that he has so much confidence and such a commanding presence that dogs automatically know that and don't mess with him. Not very many people have that much confidence, and not very many people can keep up that confidence. There was an episode where these people got an imported german shepherd from germany as a guard dog that seemed really aggressive to everyone, and Caesar just waltzed right into the dog's kennel. He did the same with two large aggressive great danes with a bite history. That's kind of nuts.

I like his methods. He doesn't take crap from any dog. I think what he's trying to teach is not that you have to dominate the dog all the time, but you should never, ever be dominated by the dog. If a dog starts learning, "Hey, I can get away with being bad and nothing happens to me!" you create a problem dog.

Btw, has anyone here seen the show At The End of My Leash with Brad Pattison? Boy is that guy ever pissed off.

[KZoppa]

i like both equally because i've been able to take some of their methods and apply them to my life with my dogs. Yes, they both have some methods that caused my dogs to look at me like i'd lost it but as said previously by a few people, the best way to train is to take certain things from certain trainers and adjust them to yourself and your dogs. I love the confidence CM continually has and the dogs see this. I agree with VS positive is best but sometimes you have to positive and a little hard at the same time. I like how they both approach the situation as its not the dogs fault but the owners because lets face it.... its not the dogs fault people are challenged and/or ignorant. I've applied methods from both trainers to my dogs and people are constantly amazed at how well behaved they are. Have i had to do the dreaded alpha roll before? yes. Would i do it again if necessary. yes. I know many dont agree with it but its a method that works with some dogs when all other fail. With my pain in the butt dogs, i've been able to apply more from CM than VS but they're equally good because they have different methods that work for them and they've been using those methods long enough they know how to teach others how to apply them as well.