Dog Talk

For years now, we have been fascinated by “The Dog Whisperer,” Cesar Millan, and his amazing touch with dogs. If you haven’t seen the show, I would suggest checking it out.

Be forewarned, however, that the disclaimer that comes up at the beginning of every show stating that people shouldn’t try his techniques themselves and should seek a professional has great merit. If his methods are applied incorrectly, it can cause your dog to become aggressive, fearful, or even more unstable.

So why do his techniques work for him and not always for the average dog owner? Is it the magic of television? Simple editing tricks that only show what the director wants us to see? Or is it Cesar himself?

Unless you have spent decades studying dog psychology and behavior, working diligently day in and day out with every kind of dog that exists, and unless you are very similar in personality to Cesar himself, please know that most of his techniques probably won’t work for you.

Dogs are essentially human lie detectors. Stay with me here, I’ll get back to Cesar Millan, but first it is important to understand how dogs see the world. In a wild pack of dogs, communication does not take place mostly through words and sound as it does with humans. Dogs read each other perfectly, taking every act of body language into account. They don’t lie. Everything from the nose, mouth, eyes, ears, body stance and tail come together to form a complete emotion, intention, and communication.

Over the hundreds of years that dogs have been integrated into human life, they have become incredibly adept at reading us, often times knowing our true intentions before we do, or despite our efforts to hide it. For instance, when you feel under the weather, how often has your dog cuddled up to you, even though you try to go about cleaning, yard work, and other daily tasks?

This is the secret to gaining your dog’s respect – Always be exactly who you are and act according to how you are feeling.  They can spot a fake a mile away.

Now, this doesn’t mean that if you’re angry with your dog you should yell or physically punish them. We still need to speak to our dogs on their level. The best way to handle being angry with your dog is to turn on the silent treatment for a few minutes. This conveys to your dog that you will not associate with canines who act in the manner that he or she just did.

But, back to the point, the reason that Cesar’s techniques work for him, is because he is being no one but himself. He is a true, charismatic, diplomatic, fair, structured, and well studied in canine behavior, pack leader. That’s why he has his own show and why we tune in every week.

For those without his decades of knowledge, here are some techniques, taken from parts of Cesar’s methods that you can use to become a stronger pack leader while gaining your dog’s respect and keeping your integrity:

• Mean what you say – Don’t want your dog jumping on your furniture? Make sure you give the “Off” command and follow through!
• Be consistent – Don’t want your dog pulling on the leash? Never move forward when he pulls. Ever. Not even once.
• Reward behavior you want – Is your dog calmly laying in her bed while you watch tv? Go to your dog and reward with praise or treats to show her that is a desired behavior.
• Don’t over-correct – Upset with something your dog did, or for not listening? Be careful about yelling. If your dog dives to the floor, tail between his legs, and won’t make any kind of eye contact, your dog is afraid. Nothing can be learned in a state of fear.
• Use body language – Happy about your dog’s actions? Smile and relax. Want more personal space from a clingy, jumping dog? Step with authority towards him. Want to discourage a begging dog at dinner time? Ignore completely.

Luckily, there are many different ways to train and help your dog. You don’t have to be The Dog Whisperer in order to become your dog’s pack leader, or to gain respect, you just have to find a method that works with your personality, and be consistent, fair, and most importantly, yourself.

If you have any questions you would like to ask a Certified Dog Trainer, you can submit them right here at Naptown Buzz. Every week, Elizabeth Wilhelm, Certified Dog Trainer will tackle one of the submitted questions. For more information about Elizabeth, you may visit her website at www.TrainingKarma.com.

I’ve got a 5 year old hound who barks like crazy at other animals. He doesn’t bite or fight with them, but goes nuts with the barking and whining when he sees or hears them. If he is around another dog he calms down after about 30 minutes, but in the meantime he is crazy and not paying attention to anything I say. How can I help him get better so that we can at least walk around the neighborhood?

Great question! Since hounds were bred for hunting, they have an acute awareness of other animals in their general area and can often times smell them before they ever see them. This can lead to barking for several different reasons.

It is important to understand what is causing your dog’s behavior in order to choose an appropriate training method. While there are ways to stop the barking, if you do not tackle the underlying problem, your dog will continue to feel stressed/excited/fearful/anxious or whatever other cause it may be.

It sounds like we can rule out aggression for your dog since he does not bite or fight with the animals. Other possibilities include:

• Excitement – characterized by a sharp, short bark, a wagging tail, and interspersed with whines of frustration
• Fearful – characterized by a wavering bark, often times higher in pitch than a typical bark, and the tendency to back away from the animal if approached by it
• Attention Seeking – characterized by constant, demanding barking if the object of their barking is not performing as they wish
• Alert/Warning – characterized by barking to let the owner know about the “intruder” (other animal) being in the area

When treating the root cause of any kind of barking, it is important to make sure that your dog learns to look to you for behavior cues, and that he has a strong understanding of the meanings of commands. Practicing basic obedience cues (Sit, Down, etc.) in your house may not be enough. Dogs are not good at generalizing and will need to be re-taught commands in areas that they may run across other animals or distractions.

Start working with your dog on basic commands outside, around your neighborhood at “off-hours” when other animals and people are not likely to be outside. This will reinforce that these commands hold, regardless of location.

Be sure to take plenty of treats with you on walks, and if possible, walk your dog before he receives his morning or evening meal. A hungry dog is a lot more likely to listen!

And, finally, try to find your dog’s behavior threshold (the distance between the dog and the animal where he can still reliably listen to your commands) and do not push him closer to the animal than he can reasonably tolerate without getting out of control.

With some time and patience, you should start to see great improvements and will be able to have enjoyable walks with your dog at any time of day!

If you have any questions you would like to ask a Certified Dog Trainer, you can submit them right here at Naptown Buzz. Every week, Elizabeth Wilhelm, Certified Dog Trainer will tackle one of the submitted questions. For more information about Elizabeth, you may visit her website at www.TrainingKarma.com.