Excellent. Worth Book marking!

[Sarah'sSita]

Is it really dominance? Excellent website on common misunderstanding on these issues.

http://www.drsophiayin.com/dominance.php

[Lauri & The Gang]

I especially liked the two videos in the section titled: Example 2: Counterconditioning a Dog That’s Fear Aggressive to Other Dogs

The one showing Cesar's method (IMHO - abusive) and the one showing Dr. Yin's method (GREAT!!).

[LHunter82FXRS]

Thanks for the site, very interesting.

[big_dog7777]

Should be a stickey. Outstanding article.

[Kurys Mom]

Thank you for posting the link. Excellent article!

[Parsifal]

Definitely worth bookmarking. Thanks.

[Ucdcrush]

I'm not poo pooing the entire article, but those short video clips that the author is using to make a point don't really show the entire situation in context. Akin to the types of sound bytes we hear in political ads.

And what Cesar says may not be interpreted right by the author, e.g. in the dominant to light video, the video is called "Dominant to light?" and the author says "No. The dog cannot exert a higher rank over an inanimate object." Well no duh. But Cesar didn't say the dog was dominating the light, he said that the dog became dominant once the people started using the light.

Like if we bring a squeaky toy home, and once the the dog sees it and falls in love with it, he bullies us, barks, invades our space, etc. in order to get to that squeaky toy. We would never say that the dog wanted to dominate the toy, so why would the author interpret it that way? Hurts the credibility of the article IMO.

[big_dog7777]

Originally Posted By: UcdcrushI'm not poo pooing the entire article, but those short video clips that the author is using to make a point don't really show the entire situation in context. Akin to the types of sound bytes we hear in political ads.

The length of the clips may not show the entire situation, but the dogs body language in them absolutely does. These are "band aid" techniques that only work on certain dogs, and even then it's just forcing them to either shut down or submit. It does not remove the stress of the situation for the dog, and when you try to force the wrong dog to submit bad things happen.

The main reason that people give so much pushback to these methods is that there are other *much more effective* ways to change behavior. Methods that actually change how the dog FEELS about the situation resulting in positive results - not just submission. It may not matter to people when the dog in question is the "flavor of the week/poo" (translation - MUTT) that weighs 15 pounds and may send you to the bathroom for a band-aid when things go wrong. But when you are dealing with an 80 pound powerful animal that is capable of sending you to the ER for hundreds of stitches - how the dog FEELS and WHATS ACTUALLY GOING ON IN HIS HEAD MATTERS!!!

[Colorado]

Originally Posted By: ZeusGSDThe length of the clips may not show the entire situation, but the dogs body language in them absolutely does. These are "band aid" techniques that only work on certain dogs, and even then it's just forcing them to either shut down or submit. It does not remove the stress of the situation for the dog, and when you try to force the wrong dog to submit bad things happen.

I agree with you here, but I also agree with Ucdcrush. The article reads like a hit piece on Cesar Milan and not a dispassionate, scientific article on dog psychology.

If you watch the Dog Whisperer, you can see that getting into a dog's head is exactly what he tries to do most shows. And if you watch enough you'll see that 95% of the time on his show the problem stems from dog owners that seem to have not one ounce of knowledge about dog behavior. What you (and the Cesar haters around the world) are objecting to are some of his techniques he uses to change behavior once he has figured out what the dog is feeling. I understand your objections. But the article focuses so strongly on those and ignores examples of any other techniques deployed by Cesar that it reads like an emotional-based attack in the guise of something more scientific.

One of the common problems shown on the show (so common it has gotten boring) is the situation of a family with a working dog that give the dog absolutely no outlet for its energy and drive. So the dog might have found a new game like ripping down wallpaper. Cesar doesn't pin the dog down because it is "dominating the wall paper". He will quite simple state something along the lines of "You have a GSD and a GSD needs something to do. If you don't give him a job, he will find his own job and you probably aren't going to like what he chooses." The solution to the problem is exercise and structured activities. He's taken dogs to agility classes. Given them packs and taken them hiking. Gone swimming with them. Done beginner level tracking. And of course the infamous roller blades.

I get why people don't like his show--especially 100% positive trainers. But when an article reads like the one posted, I immediately get suspicious. For example, the embedded clip with the researcher talking about "there are no such things as alpha males and females" was interesting. My first reaction, however, because of the tone of the article was to go research the topic more to see if it was accurate or propaganda. When someone only tells one side of the story and does so with short clips artfully picked to make a point, I instinctively don't trust them.

(I will admit this is a personality trait of mine. I cannot watch documentaries like Super Size Me because I want a scientific approach--not hit pieces gunning for an emotional response.)

[big_dog7777]

I am not a "Cesar hater". I'm pretty sure I've watched well over 50% of his shows. They are entertaining to me. Anything that lets me watch canine behavior is very interesting to me. I think he is very engaging and charismatic. Much of what he says is true, and a good part of his philosophy is very sound. There is also a good part of it that is just bullying and very old school. The problem is, the part that is bad is quite dangerous and it sends the wrong message to a dog. His response to all things dominant/aggressive is to pin the dog and make him submit. I don't know if you've ever handled a dog that is very capable both mentally and physically of eating you. I currently do. I can either try and fight the dog, or I can truely communicate with him and shape his behavior, build conditioned responses through positive reinforcement and build a bond in which he trusts me to never hurt him and therefore never make him feel as if I'm threatening him (by alpha rolling). That is what I choose, and unfortunately I don't hink that's "Cesar's way".