[RubyPitbull]

Here is a fun short quiz that I found:

Pets: Test your knowledge about cats & dogs: Fine Living IQ Quiz : Fine Living

For those of you who do well, come back and help others with questions. For those who don't do well, hmm, errr, umm, maybe you should think twice about answering questions?:p LOL

[J_9]

You're done!

You answered 10 out of 10 questions correctly.
You're a dog whisperer.

Cesar Millan has nothing on you. You probably have a menagerie of pets you consider part of your family.

Woo Hoo!!

Yes, I have a menagerie, 3 dogs, 1 gecko, a frog, some fish, and 2 young kids.

[RubyPitbull]

LOL J_9. You da wo-man! Why don't you show up on this forum more often?

[J_9]

You all have plenty of good people answering here. Ya don't need little ole me. LOL

[RubyPitbull]

Ahh. Wise woman. ;)

[labman]

OK, even after looking at the hint on the first one, I still missed one. It was on keeping cats off the sofa. You may notice my usual absence in cats plus other pets. The test may be fun, but I though many of their questions lacked good answers. None of their choices on flea control are nearly as effective as modern things such as the Revolution I will be applying to my dogs next week. I thought the whole thing was a good example of the unreliability of much of the dog information on the net.

I might also add that I was run off a dog forum for doubting some of Cesar's advice.

[RubyPitbull]

Oh labman. No one should be attacking anyone for not agreeing with every trainer out there. Sorry someone berrated. Yes, I agree with your analysis of this quiz. There was a wine one from the same website that p.o.'d CurlyBen. :p The questions really are not that good and neither are the answers. I screwed up on the first one because I don't know much about reptiles. Even though I got the fish answer correct, I stay away from that board because I know fish, about as much as I know reptiles. I try not to put my foot in my mouth. Although as we all know, I do it often enough! :p

I know we have talked about Cesar Milan in the past. But, I don't know if you have seen any of his shows. Have you ever watched them at all?

[RubyPitbull]

Here is something I found about the debate on Cesar Milan. The only reason I asked was it is always good to arm yourself with first hand knowledge about anything. I personally have found some of his tips helpful, some not so much, some I downright disagree with. I try to learn and take what I can from whatever resources are available to me. I never just blindly follow anyone. This article mentions, "Don't Shoot the Dog." A book that I do like. You have also recently mentioned The Other End of the Leash, which I read a few years back and really loved. It is one of my personal "best books" on the subject, which I had forgotten about until you mentioned it.

RGJ.com: Mostly Dogs

[labman]

I have to admit the only first hand information I have on Caesar is some of the material that was on his web site for a while. I found it lame. I don't have cable TV. I am not going to buy his book or videos. Caesar wasn't even on my radar until a certain member here started quoting him. I will say, after he discovered Caesar, his advice vastly improved. Before that, he once directed the owner of an 8 week old Great Dane, that wouldn't walk on lead, to a site that suggested you limit dragging a dog around in a slip collar to a half hour if it is a puppy. This is one reason I hate to see inexperienced people Googling up answers they don't know enough to evaluate. Worse yet if they just paste it in like it was their own work.

Getting back to Caesar. Most of the people that like him, don't seem to know that much about dogs. Most of the people that do seem to know much, don't like him. There are a lot of things I avoid that I don't have first hand experience about. In some ways, he may be doing a lot of good educating people to the importance of good leadership and that dogs can be trained to be well behaved. However, while he relies heavily on punishment, most of the dog world, including me, are moving toward more positive methods. I never saw the dog I couldn't make heel nicely in a slip collar. However, now at the first sign of a problem, I put the dog in a Gentle Leader.

You will find Don't Shoot the Dog, The Cultural Clash, as well as The Other End of the Leash on the list of recommended books in my sticky.

[RubyPitbull]

I know, I saw your book list. Exceptional list.

Well, I live in the boonies and satellite TV is my only option. His program is aired on the National Geographic channel. I watched him when people started asking me about him. I don't negate anything until I can form my own opinion and I won't discuss a method if I am not familiar with it. Actually, quite a lot of his methods are positive reinforcement methods. Some are not. His main thrust, if you will, is that you must establish yourself as the pack leader. He talks about the hierarchy in the dog world, explains to people how to understand what their dog is thinking, and how to apply it. Very logical and sound advice on that end. He will use a gentle leader at times. It depends on the situation. His not-so-positive methods are usually applied to the most aggressive of the dogs. Ones that have bitten people. These people state they have tried everything for a dog that was adopted out of a shelter or an abuse situation, and sometimes I have to agree that some of the methods he uses are harsh, but with some of them, these dogs have been so poorly socialized and abused, if those methods can turn around a dog, and the family is willing to work with and keep the dog, sometimes, it is better than the alternative they have been told, which is to euthanize the dog. If you are interested, I could tape a few of his programs for you. Not sure when they air anymore. Haven't watched in a while.

[bobkat13]

You're done!

You answered 10 out of 10 questions correctly.
You're a dog whisperer.

Cesar Millan has nothing on you. You probably have a menagerie of pets you consider part of your family.

However, I truly don't believe you should ride anything once it turns 150 years old!!