New dog owner

Oh yes, forgive me, I have no idea what the difference between training and behavior is.

Again I ask, what breeds and how many dogs do you work with Maria?

I find it highly insulting that you would come here and insult an Experts knowledge. She has been deemed an expert after proving her self to be VERY knowledgeable.

Oh, whether it's dog behavior or dog training, it's teaching the owner how to act and re act with specific issues and commands. Yes we all know the difference between a behaviorist and a trainer, and had you spent any time reading previous posts and threads or any time on these dog forums, you would already know that.

This is exactly why I decided not to get into dog training, haha. I'll keep with strictly medical knowledge.

I love dog training, I love the obstacles and I love the difference of opinion, I just don't like a 'looking down my nose' attitude.

I've owned 10 dogs in my life. Five of which were pit bulls. I currently own only one dog. A rescue which the pound said was a german shepherd/lab mix, but which physically is identical to a Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog.

Good for Shaz.

You and others keep bringing up Cesar as though I've only and always used Cesar's techniques. It is true today because I have proven the methods at home.

However, I first began using the Koehler Method of Natural Guard dog training. Anyone who has studied Koehler's methods will possibly see the resemblance with what I call the power walk. I was quite satisfied with the results using that method. But I also love Sea World. And I began to wonder how they trained even THEIR CATS to be so obedient.

I began to study positive reinforcement training. Including clicker training which I couldn't grasp at all. Failed totally with the clicker.

But positive reinforcement worked pretty well and although Koehler condemns the idea of training your dog to work for rewards, I combined positive reinforcement with Koehler methods. I felt as though the results were even better.

Then I heard about dog psychology about ten years ago. I read a book by a woman whose name escapes me, but the title of the book was something like, "Become your dog's pack leader". The title intrigued me. So I read as much as I could on the subject. I realized that much of what was being taught was already in the Koehler method and a small amount was already part of the positive reinforcement method. And even though I had no behavioral problems to correct, I began to apply those methods. They seemed to work. But I had no point of reference to compare. As far as I was aware, my dogs had no problems to resolve. But the dog psychology did no harm.

Along came Cesar.

Although I had heard of Cesar's existence many years ago. He was an enigma. I knew there was this child who seemingly could communicate with dogs and who had come to the US to take care of dogs for celebrities, but I had not heard of any of his methods until about three years ago.

A picture is worth a thousand words. The first time I saw Cesar's show I was astounded. Here I could see what I had only been reading about put into action. I learned what I was doing well and what I was doing wrong and I learned to read my dog's body language and attitudes.

I learned that I was giving my dog mixed signals by my behavior. And I considered myself a fairly knowledgeable dog person. In fact, in the years I've had this dog, I had only one issue which I couldn't resolve.

Anxiety and trembling at the sound of thunder.

Thanks to God, Cesar had a show with a dog exhibiting the exact same behaviour. And he said all we need to do is to quit reassuring the dog verbally and physically (stroking) when he is exhibiting this behavior.

That is exactly what we had been doing. Since we felt sorry for the dog, whenever he became anxious and fearful, we coocooed him and stroked him. But if anything, the behaviour seemed to be getting worse.

So, we talked about it and applied Cesar's method. When the next storm came around, the dog came to me trembling and whining, I got up and walked away. My wife and children did the same. So the dog simply laid down and trembled by himself. We don't know when it happened exactly, but soon the dog got up and walked to the living room where we were seated and curled up at our feet. No more trembling or whining.

And that behaviour has not been seen again.

So, Cesar has made a believer out of me.

That's good for you, so can you respect others opinions on this thread please?

I'm assuming you're referring to my post about walking.

The main reason I've taught my dogs to sit and wait for a walk, walk and wait to sniff, is because I have 3 dogs, 2 of which are larger breeds. When we go for walks I usually go alone, with the 3 dogs. If I had three dogs jumping on me to get their leashes on, I'd never get a leash on. If I had three dogs sniffing every tree we come upon, I'd be walking 24/7.

Chewy (the beagle) is a very dominant dog. It's his way or the highway most times, and he's been the hardest to train. He's also still young and beagles as a breed are known for their pigheadedness. He's taken a lot more work, a lot more patience, and a lot more time to train than the other two, but we've stuck by it and now he's a really great family member.

Going for a walk should be enjoyable, but not only for the dog, for you too. I don't like being pulled around like a sled, or stopping every two seconds to sniff a blade of grass. That's why I've trained my dogs to sit calmly at the door before the walk, wait to get their leashes on, and than walk calmly along my side until I say it's time for a break.

Dogs are natural followers, they just have to learn who to follow. In our house it's the humans, not just me. My kids can walk all three dogs and not have a problem. Even my 8 year old can walk the three of them alone (if she was allowed to cross the street by herself).

It wasn't directed at your post, Alty

Shazzy, I've never brushed my dogs teeth. Indy is 15 years old, has never even had a teeth cleaning done at the vet, and he still has all his teeth. In fact, the vet always comments that he has the teeth of a 2 year old.

On the flip side, our poodle Silver had his teeth brushed (by us) every week, went for teeth cleaning at the vet once a year and died with one tooth left in his mouth.

The difference between my dogs and Silver. My dogs get dry dog food. Once in a while I'll mix the wet dog food in as a treat, but for every day diet it's the dry. The vet swears this is why all my dogs have very healthy teeth.

Just an fyi.

I do notice that a lot with dogs teeth by the way. The ones on soft food tend to build up tartar much faster.
And I know a lot of people have the OMFGHORRIBLE mentality on veterinary diets, but since we've started selling a Dental diet by Medi Cal, the clients who put their pets on it... Holy CRAP a difference! Works wonders for those who don't want to/can't brush their pets teeth.