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by DebiSue on 21 September 2012 - 17:09
I admire Cesar and his methods. He is the first to admit he is not a dog trainer. He has done wonders and he shows his screw ups so that people get the message to not try this at home etc. He doesn't hit dogs, he uses his hand to deliver what is interpreted by the dog as a bite. Watch his hand and the position he holds it in. No closed fist or damaging blow. The kick he uses is done with the side of his shoe to distract the dog. It is not a damaging blow. Cesar works with "damaged" dogs; dogs that are usually a mess because of thier history with abusive people and/or those who "love" them and treat them like babies and screw them up. Cesar loves and respects dogs and he has saved the lives of several dogs by training thier owners to treat the dog like a dog. I have used some of his methods with success. So has my husband. It is amazing how a dog will react if you walk into its home and not make eye contact with it. We even had one couple with a large (125lb), in your face kind of dog ask us what the hell we did to their dog. All we did was ignore him and not make eye contact. He went from standing at our feet raising hell to quietly going over to his bed and lying down. Another woman with a very protective mastiff found out that if she took him out of the truck, let her very petite older friend in the truck, then put the dog back in, he was no longer aggressive towards the old lady. She owned the truck. Up until that point, it was his truck. When she allowed him back in, he respected her position since she was in it first. With my own dogs, I will back them up on occassion just so they know who is boss. The dogs understand and respect that little reminder. I have rolled them over on occassion because I don't accept any behavior that smacks of disrespect. I like that Cesar will take a dog out of a dangerous situation and continue to work with it when he sees that things are going to be bad for all involved if he leaves it there. He is all about the dog. Yes, he got famous and he's made money. Good for him. Wish I could make a living doing the things I love to do and help others while doing it.
by joanro on 21 September 2012 - 19:09
That's why he makes money... some people like him and watch his show. "calm, submissive"....personally I like a dog that is not submissive, but to each his own.
by vomzellmer on 21 September 2012 - 20:09
Picking on Ceasar seems like fear aggression to me.
by Mindhunt on 21 September 2012 - 23:09
This is not a dominant dog and Cesar did not need to provoke the dog except to stroke his own overblown ego. He does not show what he does to the dogs from start to finish and he cherry picks the dogs on his show, he admits he is not a trainer, so what is he doing training dogs??????? He is to dog training what Dr Phil is to Psychology and CSI is to real forensic science.
Here is what he did incorrectly in the video. Those of you who adore Cesar may want to look at the video again and see how NOT to work with a dog. He placed a dish of food down in front of the dog then crouches down and stares challengingly at her, he is face on and rigid bodied all signalling aggression on his part (a truly aggressive dog would may have tried to bite him at this time). The dog blinks and turns her head away, looking nervous (not dominant or aggressive at all). Cesar is still crouched very stiff and tense as the dog begins to eat, he reaches toward the dish and the dog snarls and turns her head toward Cesar. This is the time for Cesar to back away and work with the dog in a non-threatening manner, it can be done without challenging the dog, instead respecting her needs and tailoring training appropriately without letting the dog win. Instead the idiot uses that stupid claw jab he is so fond of and jabs the dog in the neck. She snarls but does not bite him (now a dominant or truly aggressive dog would have chomped on him here as well). Instead she moves her body AWAY from Cesar BACKING UP a couple of steps to create distance from the threat (Cesar). So Cesar advances on her crowding her. He advances again and she tries to BACK AWAY again, finally she retracts the corners of her mouth in a submissive fear grimace but a**hat keeps advancing. She snarls and shows her teeth again but her body weight is shifted AWAY from Cesar. Finally she takes a step toward him and he backs up then immediately advances again in that stupid threatening pose of his. She begins to wrinkle her muzzle and darts her tongue out between her teeth (another signal of a desperate "please back off" gesture on her part, again not what a truly aggessive dog would do). She finally sits and faces him since he isn't getting the message. So Cesar, who is oblivious to the signals, stands still and stares at her, she looks up and blinks with squinted eyes and licks her lips a few more times, looks away and lies down (again trying to deflect and escape the threat) Clearly not an aggressive dog, more like a threatened dog. Cesar reaches over her head bringing his palm down on her muzzle (a dominance move on his part as well as a really stupid idea). Her lips retract and her tongue darts again (conflicted signals indicating the dog is really being pushed at this point). She air snaps in a warning and Cesar pulls his hand away. He immediately crouches down crowding the dog, facing her with one hand raised (duh, the dog may have thought she was going to get struck again) and she finally snaps and bites the hand hard (incidentally the same hand that was raised and had hit her before). Cesar kicks her and she lets go (an aggressive dog would have escalated and it would have been ugly). I wonder what the owners have done to the dog in an attempt to stop the behavior. I am guessing the owners' methods to fix the behavior didn't even factor into Cesar's plan.
He is NOT a behaviorist, never has been and I am guessing will never take the years of training and testing to become a behaviorist. I have friends who are animal behaviorists, one has her Masters and is working on her PhD in animal behavior and specializes in K9 aggression.
That dog did not deserve the treatment it got at Cesar's hands, the owners may be at wits end, but they need to find a real trainer or behaviorist, not some reality tv created caricature of a trainer.
Here is a good link that helps explain K9 aggression http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/dog-aggression-FAQs
Here is what he did incorrectly in the video. Those of you who adore Cesar may want to look at the video again and see how NOT to work with a dog. He placed a dish of food down in front of the dog then crouches down and stares challengingly at her, he is face on and rigid bodied all signalling aggression on his part (a truly aggressive dog would may have tried to bite him at this time). The dog blinks and turns her head away, looking nervous (not dominant or aggressive at all). Cesar is still crouched very stiff and tense as the dog begins to eat, he reaches toward the dish and the dog snarls and turns her head toward Cesar. This is the time for Cesar to back away and work with the dog in a non-threatening manner, it can be done without challenging the dog, instead respecting her needs and tailoring training appropriately without letting the dog win. Instead the idiot uses that stupid claw jab he is so fond of and jabs the dog in the neck. She snarls but does not bite him (now a dominant or truly aggressive dog would have chomped on him here as well). Instead she moves her body AWAY from Cesar BACKING UP a couple of steps to create distance from the threat (Cesar). So Cesar advances on her crowding her. He advances again and she tries to BACK AWAY again, finally she retracts the corners of her mouth in a submissive fear grimace but a**hat keeps advancing. She snarls and shows her teeth again but her body weight is shifted AWAY from Cesar. Finally she takes a step toward him and he backs up then immediately advances again in that stupid threatening pose of his. She begins to wrinkle her muzzle and darts her tongue out between her teeth (another signal of a desperate "please back off" gesture on her part, again not what a truly aggessive dog would do). She finally sits and faces him since he isn't getting the message. So Cesar, who is oblivious to the signals, stands still and stares at her, she looks up and blinks with squinted eyes and licks her lips a few more times, looks away and lies down (again trying to deflect and escape the threat) Clearly not an aggressive dog, more like a threatened dog. Cesar reaches over her head bringing his palm down on her muzzle (a dominance move on his part as well as a really stupid idea). Her lips retract and her tongue darts again (conflicted signals indicating the dog is really being pushed at this point). She air snaps in a warning and Cesar pulls his hand away. He immediately crouches down crowding the dog, facing her with one hand raised (duh, the dog may have thought she was going to get struck again) and she finally snaps and bites the hand hard (incidentally the same hand that was raised and had hit her before). Cesar kicks her and she lets go (an aggressive dog would have escalated and it would have been ugly). I wonder what the owners have done to the dog in an attempt to stop the behavior. I am guessing the owners' methods to fix the behavior didn't even factor into Cesar's plan.
He is NOT a behaviorist, never has been and I am guessing will never take the years of training and testing to become a behaviorist. I have friends who are animal behaviorists, one has her Masters and is working on her PhD in animal behavior and specializes in K9 aggression.
That dog did not deserve the treatment it got at Cesar's hands, the owners may be at wits end, but they need to find a real trainer or behaviorist, not some reality tv created caricature of a trainer.
Here is a good link that helps explain K9 aggression http://www.apbc.org.uk/articles/dog-aggression-FAQs
by marjorie on 08 October 2012 - 05:10
Personally, I cant stand the guy or his methods. He has zero qualifications to do what he is doing, and despite the warnings on his show not to try it alone, many I know do because they see him do it. A friend of mine took Joss for a walk once, and Joss saw another dog and started posturing. My friend gave Joss Cesar's side kick and at that point, I kicked the friend out of my life, forever! OMG- how dare anyone do that to MY dog! I was livid. Never spoke to the person again and Joss ended up limping for days after that.
by Bhaugh on 08 October 2012 - 15:10
How can someone be a behaviorist and not be a dog trainer? That dumbfounds me.....
by benzi on 08 October 2012 - 23:10
No matter what your opinion of Cesar is, I watched the whole segment on t.v. from beginning to end. I have not watched the youtube clip, but the show was not pretty. I wondered if anyone else saw the complete segment? In the beginning of the show, while the dog is eating the owner pokes at the dog's bowl with a long stick to show the dog's reaction to going near his food bowl, the dog attacks the stick. All I could think, was why would you do that? and how many other times did he try to slide the bowl away from the dog with the stick. The dog also became very aggressive to the owner when the owner went near the dog in her crate. The owner said they had taken the dog to four of five trainers, none knew how to fix the problem. The owner said the dog became food aggressive at the age of 5 months, (maybe 4.) I had to wonder what caused this reaction. But again, in the end, the dog seems to have ended up in a better place. I'm not a Cesar fan, but, I did have to wonder about the owner's tactics.
by Betta Wolf on 09 October 2012 - 01:10
(cesar) He needs another season $
why else f'k with a dog while it's eating
why else f'k with a dog while it's eating
by EliDog on 09 October 2012 - 15:10
Hey his methods work on Cartman! 
Keith
Keith
by hexe on 09 October 2012 - 17:10
Yeah, they did work with Cartman...perhaps they're better suited to bratty, obnoxious kids than defensive, cornered dogs. The kids' teeth aren't as sharp.
Actually, though, I can see both sides of this situation. Yes, he DID give the dog no choice but to react, given what was already known about the dog, and yes, the dog got him because of it--but by the same token, a trainer can't address a behavior they don't see, because they have no basis of determining exactly what's happening when the dog displays that behavior. Generally, it's enough just to see the dog display the behavior with the owners, under the same conditions it normally occurs. The bite was his own damn fault because he stopped paying attention to what the dog was saying to him, and looked away as he reached for her. Dumbass move, that (or should I say, another dumbass move). I mean, c'mon--he didn't just shift his gaze from the dog, he turned his whole freakin' head away from her, but reached for her at the same time. He SHOULD have seen that coming...I think everyone else who watched it, who has any familiarity with canine behavior and communication signals.
The truth of the matter, though, is that Cesar actually DID accomplish something positive for both the dog and the owners--because as much as the dog needed to be rehabbed, so did the owners, and the latter was unlikely to happen. There's some stuff you just can't erase from the board when it comes to the history between a dog and its owners, and this kind of thing falls into that territory. It's a safe bet that this behavior developed because one or both owners (but most likely just the guy) thought they would teach the dog to tolerate someone reaching for whatever it was eating by repeatedly taking the item away, and probably correcting physically if the dog reacted to it. Probably one of the most common mistakes made by pet owners, especially first-time dog owners.
It's been my experience that sometimes, there comes a point where the only safe solution for all parties involved is to rehome the dog with someone else who's better equipped to work with the dog, where there isn't already a written and fully memorized script between dog and person. In rehoming her with him, that's what Cesar DID accomplish for this dog. Hopefully he got through to the owners as to what NOT to do with the next dog they get (if they ever get another one--not sure the wife will be on board for that again!).
Actually, though, I can see both sides of this situation. Yes, he DID give the dog no choice but to react, given what was already known about the dog, and yes, the dog got him because of it--but by the same token, a trainer can't address a behavior they don't see, because they have no basis of determining exactly what's happening when the dog displays that behavior. Generally, it's enough just to see the dog display the behavior with the owners, under the same conditions it normally occurs. The bite was his own damn fault because he stopped paying attention to what the dog was saying to him, and looked away as he reached for her. Dumbass move, that (or should I say, another dumbass move). I mean, c'mon--he didn't just shift his gaze from the dog, he turned his whole freakin' head away from her, but reached for her at the same time. He SHOULD have seen that coming...I think everyone else who watched it, who has any familiarity with canine behavior and communication signals.
The truth of the matter, though, is that Cesar actually DID accomplish something positive for both the dog and the owners--because as much as the dog needed to be rehabbed, so did the owners, and the latter was unlikely to happen. There's some stuff you just can't erase from the board when it comes to the history between a dog and its owners, and this kind of thing falls into that territory. It's a safe bet that this behavior developed because one or both owners (but most likely just the guy) thought they would teach the dog to tolerate someone reaching for whatever it was eating by repeatedly taking the item away, and probably correcting physically if the dog reacted to it. Probably one of the most common mistakes made by pet owners, especially first-time dog owners.
It's been my experience that sometimes, there comes a point where the only safe solution for all parties involved is to rehome the dog with someone else who's better equipped to work with the dog, where there isn't already a written and fully memorized script between dog and person. In rehoming her with him, that's what Cesar DID accomplish for this dog. Hopefully he got through to the owners as to what NOT to do with the next dog they get (if they ever get another one--not sure the wife will be on board for that again!).
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