Patch:

You disgust me. I have PM'd you.

I see my stepdaughter trying CMs training skills, il say to you as I said to her "you need to understand dog's and training method's before you can copy any of what he is trying to instill on the dogs he is training", and bearing in mind it is a tv show and he is there to correct bad behavouir not start from scratch imo thats when you may run into problems.

zoeybeau1: absolutely, you are so right. Which is why they keep having that little warning bubble flashing up on the screen. Personally, my opinion is that this is not enough. I think Cesar himself ought to speak into the camera, particularly when he is about to do something very controversial like the alpha roll, and tell everyone NOT to try this at home themselves without professional help, etc. etc.

You do indeed do need to be experienced with dogs and understand how they think before you can go blasting off tssting right left and centre. Good posting, well said.

I think he advocates neutering because he is so appalled at the numbers of dogs in shelters.
He obviously can't insist his clients dogs are neutered as he doesn't own them, but he strongly believes that unless you intend to breed with the best of intentions then dogs should be neutered.
His own pack contains former "redzoners" who have been rehabilitated and are no longer in the red zone.
If his dogs were not neutered I think the pack would be considerably larger by now.
Neutering is included in the list of commitments he thinks every owner should make to their dog, but it's just one of many commitments in the list.

And we have the same problem in this country of unwanted dogs in rescue centres, caused partly by people with uncastrated dogs and unspayed bitches being allowed to wander. As a responsible owner, IF I get another dog I would like it to be a rescue, and hopefully if he still has his nuts, I will be able to persuade the centre to let me keep him entire.

With a pack of dogs living in the way that they do at Cesar's centre, it would very certainly have increased by a hundredfold were the dogs unneutered and the bitches spayed. But I don't have a large pack of dogs, and even if I had, say, two males ... as incidentally I did when Woody was living with us ... both dogs would remain entire, unless I had problems or there was a medical reason for castration.

For an inexperienced or first time dog owner rescuing a dog from a shelter, it is probably quite right and proper that the dogs and bitches are neutered.

I'm interested in what a few people on here have said with regards to inexperianced owners trying to use CM's methods. What defines an owner as experianced enough to use his (or any other training) method? One owner may think themselves very experianced when in anothers eyes they are very naive in the way a dogs mind works.

(Indeed a "trainer" here in town springs to mind; using qualified with another well known trainers methods; yet only does one on one sessions since, in their own words, they cannot control 6 dogs in the one room. )

I have walked and cared for dogs whilst owners on Hols since I was 12. Lived and worked on different yards with various breeds for several years. I work with Guide dogs this last number of years. I have two dogs of my own. Some other owners think of me as experianced; but I really don't feel I am.

What defines an experianced owner capable of watching/reading CM (or any other trainer) and putting what they see/read into practice?

Hi Evie,
Personally I don't think his methods are only suitable for experienced owners. I think anyone should be capable of using his methods unless we are talking about the "Red Zone" dogs.
I think many people view the t.v program and then misinterpret what they see. Frankly I wish more people would read the books as well as view the program because I really can't see how they can misinterpret his writing as he is at pains to explain again and again how to achieve a balanced dog.
I think the same applies to all the dog programs on t.v not just his, although the others never seem to provoke quite the same level antagonistic arguments.

I guess it's like anything else in life, several people can view an incident and yet they interpret what they see in different ways, each thinking their way is correct.

Gnasher please don't take this personally, but any decent rescue would not let a dog be rehomed entire. It should never happen, accidents do happen, and a dog froma rescue centre should never be bred from, full stop IMO.

I am pro neutering for a number of reasons, and think the amount of dogs being bred in this country without proper care, health tests, full background is disgusting. The more people who neuter the less unwanted dogs end up in rescue. So of course a rescue should neuter,otherwise it would be like shooting themselves in the foot.

Firstly il tell you what defines a novice owner, one who at this moment in time is sitting on a puppy in my siiting room and think they are copying CM.

Secondley I won't be picking up the pieces of this case I had the dog walking to heel, sitting and staying this day last weekend.
and thirdley anyone want to tell them how to do it properly?


Any taker's ?????????????

Now you know what we row about in my house now your turn

What defines a novice owner is one that tried to copy someone without a idea of the methods behind it, CM is training dogs with problems but used on puppies IMO or if you haven't a ballies then you are novice and dont know what you are at and may cause long term problem's, take the dog to training classes.JMO

So CM's methods are only for "problem dogs"?
And what of those owners that believe they know the theories behind what they are copying and inflicting it on their dog? (I know a few of them!) They can parrot mouth the theories etc and why they are doing it; but with no real understanding of what is really going on.

I agree with you about going to training classes with a reputable trainer; I don't think any amount of tv programmes and reading books can substitute hands on training (for owners/handlers) with a decent trainer. (The ones that really worry me is the kinds of trainers that I mention in my previous post - the blind leading the blind!! )