I know. She's a gorgeous girl that they rescued about 2 years ago. They've done brilliantly with her so far, lots of love, exercise and they take her to agility which she loves. I've never seen him to this to her before and going on the look she gave him, it could have disasterous results.

Hip Hip Hooray for common sense not sentimentality. I like him too. Dogs love working and they dont need daft clickers and food rewards, And no, I would never be cruel to my German Shepherd. Healthy well balanced dogs are what we all want.

Ok...well I am happy with my daft clickers and my dogs LOVE their food, which they get throughout the day for fun stuff - not in 1 or 2 boring sessions

Sorry - but he has a lot to undo before he can gain much credibility.

Yes...it's very healthy and well-balanced to choke a dog until it nearly passes out and then force it onto its side while laying on it. It's very healthy to take a dog way past its threshold by bringing it close to another dog and then kicking at it when it looks at the dog and then it's EXTREMELY healthy to force that dog down onto its side after it's redirected all its fear aggression onto you. The puddle of pee is also a sign of a very well-balanced dog.

But it's not healthy at all to reward your dog for doing something you want. It's not based in any sort of science that reinforcement means an action will be repeated. It's just silly and unbalanced to say "gee I'd love my dog to sit so I'll reward her for every time she sits."

Gosh I think I must have the most unbalanced dog ever, what with all the rewards I give her for being good and the lack of punishment.

So sorry didnt mean to be offensive and I do give the odd extras like fish skins and lamb neck bones but find GSD's work for sheer pleasure of using their brains and I like the clear boundaries used by Cesar and other trainers.

Maybe you're not aware of this, since you seem to be a fan of poor trainers like Cesar who don't know a darned thing about training outside of "punish the dog until it is shut down in fear and unable to do anything", but there are many ways to train. Some involve food (which the vast majority of dogs will work for, including GSDs), some involve toys and play, some involve real life rewards (e.g. dog sits and so then gets to go out for a walk). A clicker is just an indication to the dog that he/she got something right and a reward (whatever that reward might be) is coming up next. It's a way to mark EXACTLY what behavior you want in the exact moment it happens. It's a tool of communication so before you get all nasty about it and call it "daft" doing some research besides "CESAR IS GREAT" might do you some good.

Cesar bases his entire "training" on dogs trying to dominate pretty much everything. I find him much more unbalanced than the dogs on his show. In one show he claimed that a dog who had pretty clear OCD and chased lights was trying to be DOMINANT over the lights. What a ridiculous notion. The fact that so few people sat up and said "Wow this guy is a LOON" really floors me.

How utterly ridiculous!!

Every single problem a dog has is down to dominance in Cesar's view. He really is very narrow minded when it comes to dogs' behaviour and the causes!

it really gripes me when people think their dog will work to "please" its humans, dogs do not understand this concept and i challenge ANYONE to train their dog purely on a quick pat and "good boy/girl"
people who have dogs that "please" their owners are very often trained using aversives, of course the dog is happy with the "good boy/girl" cause the alternative is usually fear/pain/discomfort!

Very very true. I would challenge anyone to think of ANY creature, including humans, who would work for just a "good boy/girl." I sure don't work for free! I expect my boss to pay me. And I don't expect my dog to work for no reward. It might not be food as she finds games of tug very rewarding, but she sure isn't going to work for me saying "good girl!"

Didn't actually say to please me! Dogs do love having a job eg working, and the more they do the more delightful they are in character and companionship. Surely that is the point of having a dog? To what level you take it varies with each owner. Having been around horses all my life I find there are some similarities. Feeding rewards and tidbits can produce undesirable behaviour and wrong motives. In an emergency food is not going to stop your dog bolting into a main road.A dog that listens and has boundaries through good training will drop immediately. Neither am I convinced by the use of an e collar but perhaps in a really bad case of chasing animals cars joggers etc.it is permissible. This is the last post on this subject for me. We have to agree to differ and I am not prepared to get into a slanging match about Cesar or anyone else.