The Dog Whisperer
Lately, Rob and I have gotten into watching a very intersting and informative show on National Geographic Channel Called "The Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan. We purchased special show leads for all three dogs, and today was the first day of formal "rehabilitation" of the girls and training for Rob and I :) We implemented the simple techniques and guides from his people training. We are the pack leaders, and we need to calmly assert ourselves in such a manner that the dogs fall in line in deference and submission. Exercise, Discipline THEN Affection. In that order. And it's a calm assertive pack leader that does not yell, hit or deal with the dogs in an aggressive manner. It's that calm assertion that "I" (the owner) am the pack leader and "you" (the dog/s) will follow me. It's a nice plesant life of "Follow the leader". It's worked miracles already!
So this afternoon, they all walked VERY well by themselves, and Precious and Lani ran well with Rob, Tinkerbelle, however didn't like the idea of not being in control and proceeded to twist herself around in the lead in attempts to chew and bite at it, and managed to give the side of her mouth and gums a bit of friction burn, and a small cut. We brought her back to the house, gave her some water, hosed her down a little and had her be calm. She's fine now, but I am sure a little more practice with her on the lead, so she doesn't pull and make herself uncomfortable, is needed.
Despite the energetic walk and run that both Precious and Lani had, when let out in the back yard, they managed to dig yet ANOTHER hole into Terry's yard where his dog Mandy is. Sweet girl, Mandy. So trying to get the girls back onto our property was fun as Precious took the chance and ran across the street away from us.
Somehow I was able to grab a burst of energy and run straight ahead, cutting both her and Lani off, and herded them back to the front door, where Rob was waiting. Well, it's only day one, so much for the "no digging" theory of exercise. Perhaps we needed to go longer? But they looked so TIRED and were panting HARD. I think because we've never kept them on a consistant walking schedule they are not used to the strenuous exercise (hell, NEITHER are WE!!) But this routine is good for all of us.
Now just to keep up with it daily. So we're going to try again tomorrow and again Sunday, and again Monday and just keep going from there. It'll be good for Rob and I to get the exercise with the girls, as I am sure we are both in need of it, not just for our weight, but moreso for our health and hearts.
We have placed "The Dog Whisperer" on our TiVo record list and are enjoying the people training that Cesar gives and loving the rehabilitation "miracles" that really aren't miracles, but natural reactions to a well balanced pack mentality. I recommend it for ALL dog owners and suggest both his book and his DVD.
Check out these websites:
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/ or http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/ which both link to basically the same page, and http://www.ngcdogwhisperer.com/
There are blogs on the National Geographic site that you can read from as far back as Episode 1. We are ever indebted to Cesar and his training of us into the pack leaders we are meant to be for our dogs.
A Calm Assertive Pack Leader makes for a happy, healthy and content pack :)