I have a very dominant dog. I know he's only 4 pounds. But every tendon, every ligament, every hair on his puny little body is all about owning me.
We had a private consultation for the problem child this evening. A private trainer came over and I really learned a lot. I needed someone to see Chachi in action when we're out on a walk and show me what to do. She taught me proper distraction method and leash technique and gave me activities to practice at home with him. She said leash aggression is a very common problem and she has definitely seen dogs get better..but it depends on the dog, and on how dedicated the owner is to practicing. I am ready to dive in, baby!
Flea is the angel and Chachi the demon seed...but I love them both. I worked so hard with Flea (and continue to keep up our training)...so I know I can work hard with him too (the little asshole), now that I know the specifics I need! It's really been an amazing learning experience having 2 distinctly opposite dogs that require entirely opposite training methods.
I know more about dogs than I ever did!!
And I just bought 2 great dog books online - one being Cesar Millan's first book, which I am devouring. Love that guy. Gonna hit the hay and crack it open again.....
7 comments:
I saw Cesar Milan on Oprah. I was tempted to get my hands on his book but some of the reviews were not that good. Is it worth the money? Maybe when I am downtown this week I will have to go check it out since the bookstore near my place didn't have it in stock.
I need to learn how to get my dog to CALM DOWN when guests come over. I swear, you think he will explode if he sits still for more than 30 seconds!
Hey Nat...
I have nothing to say that's related to your post, which defeats the purpose of a comment, but still just wanted to say I love the swanky new blog thing you got going on here. Would it be too cliche to say "I love what you've done with the place" ?
The doggie pictures are cute. The Clay Aiken one is not.
Keep up the awesome work!
Zoey! Thanks for the comment and for continuing to come on by! Glad to have you out there, sister..
ALSO..
Hi Tanja! Actually, I am finding the book to be a really interesting read. It is not so much a training book as it is a book that explains the psychological functioning of dogs. I think Cesar Millan is really fantastic and, so anything he has to say, I soak up like a sponge. I find his approach to dogs very refreshing. So, it depends. If the reviews are bad, maybe it's because they were expecting a training manual instead? I'm not that far in - but I know he targets a few problem issues in dogs..so, if I read anything on the hyper dog with guests, I'll let you know. However, if you want to work on just that one issue, I'm sure you can find some great advice online. Here is one great site that I go to all the time: www.i-dog.com. Again, I think Cesar's book is more of a general approach to understanding the way dogs think...as opposed to your classic - sit, down, heel kinda stuff. So far though, it makes really great sense.
I ordered my books from Amazon.ca, btw..the prices are usually cheaper than your average bookstore AND they deliver fast!!
Ok does this Cesar guy have any books on how to tame small children?? My son is an angel and my daughter on the other hand seems to find something to complain about no matter the situation.
In any case I love them as well.
Thank you :)
The reviews I read pretty much said that he just talks about the people he knows etc.. but maybe it's just snotty trainers that were commenting since they didn't like him spilling "secrets" lol. It would be interesting to figure out what the heck is going on in Phoenix's mind (aside for begging, eating, sleeping, cheawing and humping)!
I also order 90% of my books and Dvds from amazon.ca. However sometimes if you go to indigo.ca they are also a bit cheaper than in the actual store but not always. What I find frustrating is that they list a book for a low price and when you get to the store it's full price. One of the ladies at the store told me they are always cheaper online. In a way that's stupid since if that is the case I rather order from amazon just out of spite than waste my time and go to the store.
Also, since you order from amazon, sign in to yourshops.ca with your airmiles and then you can collect points with every order. They will have a bunch of links to take you to your desired shopping website once you're signed in. It's a pretty good site and I have been doing it for a while now.
Tanja -
Gee, aside from the begging and chewing, I think Phoenix and I might have a lot in common!
;-)
My theory is that Chachi was a 130 pound great dane in another century protecting Marie Antoinette from cake -throwing zealots........grrrrrrr
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