There is no one in the current marketplace that possesses Cesars innate skills and a television series that presents those skills on a regular basis. Cesars experience and understanding of dog behavior gives CMI the unique ability to develop products and services specific to his unique philosophies and methods.
As you know, I believe that all humans should be seen as pack leaders in order for our dogs to be able to instinctively follow. Dogs only have a problem with this when they are confused as to which pack position is theirs. If we don’t demonstrate to them where they belong, they will naturally try and take the leadership role, even if they are not temperamentally suited Remember, nature tells them that someone’s got to take the wheel!
As hard as it is for us to admit sometimes, often we choose to own a dog for our own emotional fulfillment and forget about fulfilling the needs of the dog. So when people defines themselves as an emotional figure, for example, a “dog lover,” without playing the role of the dog’s leader first, that dog will automatically compensate for the lack of leadership and become the pack leader. It’s impossible for a dog to ever be happy living this way because there’s a constant question as to who the true leader is.
In my experience, dogs with fear issues often take the longest time to rehabilitate because it takes time to build their lost self-esteem. These dogs often have owners who mean well, but feed the fearful behavior by feeling sorry for them and comforting them. However, in nature, the weakest pup in the litter would be pushed away by its mother and probably not even survive to adulthood. I believe that almost all of these dogs can become balanced, but it takes time, patience, and an open mind on the part of the owner to succeed.
Treat, toys as Training Rewards:
There is a school of dog behavior that suggests that treats as positive reinforcement should be used to entice our animals to do what we want them to do. However, in my opinion, while that type of training may work best with “happy, go-lucky”-type dogs, there are definitely instances of hard-to-handle, aggressive, or anxious-obsessive dogs that would benefit more from a firm pack leader than a treat
With some dogs, treats and toy rewards condition them to rely on the reward and not on the pack leader. When a dog is imbalanced, the practice of allowing treats for behavior often teaches that dog how to manipulate the situation – and you. He’ll learn what to do for the initial reward, but after that he’ll go right back to the bad behavior. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in rewarding dogs, but only once they’ve learned to follow standard rules, boundaries, and limitations though my pack leadership.
Animal, Dog, Breed:
It’s important to remember that all dogs are “animal” first, “dog” second, and “breed” third. Even though the breed in them has certain needs and tendencies, if you fulfill the animal and dog first, through exercise, then discipline, and then affection, you can avoid a frustrated dog’s genetic tendencies from going over the top and driving you crazy.
Pack Leadership is Never Done:
When people come home from a long day at work, they tend to want to be done being the authority figures. They have spent the day using their physical and psychological energy to the fullest and are usually exhausted. All they want is to relax and fulfilling their own emotional and spiritual needs. And who better to share the soft side of themselves with than the animals who unconditionally loves them?
There lies the problem I remind my clients, there’s no time clock to punch at the end of the day when it comes to being your dog’s pack leader. Despite your own mental state, your dog still has his needs – exercise first, discipline second, and lastly, affection. No matter how tired we are at the end of the day, we can’t put our own needs ahead of our dog’s time and time again.
