I'd rather see someone nudge a dog with their leg (not kick or giving them a shoeing) than picked up and shaken by their ears being screamed at whilst staring them square in the eyes which i have seen done on more than one occasion!

There many dubious methods of training around and lots of quick fixes and gimmicks too that don't encourage propoer training.

I have always found bribery and corruption works well for me although this doesn't suit everyone.

My jack russell learnt to sit, stay, left and right in about half an hour thanks to some cooked liver and a tennis ball!

interesting articles but I can not help but feel that the theory is a symptom of Today's 'no one should win and no one should lose' culture.

I just do not buy that.

They say that dogs do not naturally show dominance over one another. I have seen puppies and they certainly seem to have dominant ones. When we got our older dog we did not have the benefit of Cesar's work and we chose the most beautiful and most friendly pup. I would say he is naturally dominant and as Cesar says of dominant dogs, he does not make friends. He tries to dominate every dog and then he ignores them. He is now wonderful but he was very challenging. When we chose our second puppy we used Cesar's advice and chose a calm submissive energy pup. He makes friends with every dog he meets because he goes in with a non dominant energy, allows himself to be smelled thoroughly and then invites them to play.

Both dogs are Thai with no selective breeding so maybe they are different from dogs in the UK , but they act differently with people also. If a big white man comes to visit, the dominant dog will go weak at the knees and is so submissive, wants to be petted relentlessly by them. If a shy Thai woman comes in he will welcome them and then go and lie down. The submissive dog, who is the easiest dog in the world, is progressively more afraid the more confident the people are. New Thai woman, no problem. New white man, he barks and will not go near him. Both dogs are aware of a being's energy but react the opposite.

So I am yet to be convinced that a dog does not respect dominance. My uncle has always had Gordon Setters and I had one growing up, crazy dogs. They have always had great temperaments apart from his current one. She will growl if you try to take something from her. She lets my uncle who has a very strong energy, but if his wife or son try, she will bite them. She obviously thinks she can get away with it with them. I bet if they used Cesar's way she would stop biting.

They are not kicked for attention, they are nudged to break their fixation on something. The same way people kick me under the table when I have a big mouth.

I thought the whole point of a forum is discussion? You would not get much discussion if everyone agreed with you. Or is that for another thread, this one being solely for dumping on the man? Maybe you and the dozen other people started the flame war when you repeatedly slammed the man.

Interesting to see on a dog forum people with a pack mentality! I hate Cesar. Me too! Me too! I am sick of newbies not conforming. Me too! Me too!

Keep smiling

Don't forget that "dominance" is also just that - a theory!

If you are seriously interested, take a peek at the book by James O Heare - "Dominance theory and domestic dogs". It's only a small booklet and not expensive.

Once you read that, you will start to see that "dominance" has to even be defined correctly before you can even start to discuss it. Most people just say "dominance" and don't know what they mean, althoug usually they refer to a situation of "rank" or "hierarchy".

The info in the articles linked to is made easy to understand for lay people, but is in fact the most recent "science".

You can agree or disagree, it's up to each individual of course, but ultimately this is what is now happening in the world of dog behaviour today.


I have a friend with several Thai ridgebacks, and she does not follow dominance theory either

...

It's not brilliant to just take things from a dog, as usually they will growl (fear of losing the resource or fear of the owner) - best to train a cue/command and teach the behaviour so that there is no problem for any family member, not just the uncle. If she's biting, then your uncle might be making things worse to be honest. Better to learn about how to help a dog like this, and to make it safe for others. Why continue the stress because one person believes they are big and strong with a powerful energy?

Cesar isn't an animal behaviour expert - he is a celebrity dog trainer (although he doesn't like to call himself that).

He makes big, basic mistakes. One example was his suggesting a paw lift at 45 degrees was "dominance" when it is well known that it is not dominance but appeasement or other things, but never dominance.

He has also said that you can be "dominant" over, I think it was "light" - whereas that is biologically impossible

An "expert" who talks about what is untrue - would you believe all he says? Think about it.

Now you will probably be experiencing some cognitive dissonance - that just means that you will probably find it hard to believe what has just been typed, because it doesn't fit in with your current beliefs ... but do some research, consider that the articles linked to are discussing some of the most important scientific info we've had over the last 15 or so years.


Wys
x

To be honest, BangKaew, it appears that he kicks them to wind them up and make them react.

It is obvious from the way the dogs react that they have previously been conditioned to respond to the kick - hence the big reaction.

There has been talk that he does this with shock collars, but whatever, he certainly does not do it for the first time during the actual filming, sadly a lot does go on behind the scenes....

Wys
x

I put it up on here somewhere, I believe I started a thread about it and gave a link to the video.

I will see if I can find it and report back later today or tomorrow .

Wys
x

Have you actually watched his programmes, the kicks are certainly not confined to break a fixation but in most cases to get a reaction, and in most instances is totally unnecessary!!
Becky

The problem comes that because it is said on the TV, a lot do believe it and hang on every word

I have seen the majority of his shows and he only nudges them to either snap them out of it or to dominate them, never for a reaction! He uses techniques another dog would and therefore does dominate when necessary. IMO You show me a youtube clip where he does it for a reaction and I will happily agree with you.