rocknhorse: blog 
rocknhorse's blog
dog whisperer: part 1-a
Published May. 12, 2008
If you saw my blog earlier today, you already know that I've been reading Cesar Millan's book "Cesar's Way." I've also been watching the show "The Dog Whisperer" on tv. I decided to try some things with my dog, Abby.
http://www.wral.com/golo/blogpost/2868230/
Abby is a GOOD dog, but she has some 'issues' which really annoy me. I have never doubted that her issues were directly related to how we treat her, but I didn't know exactly how to fix the situation. It really should come as no surprise to me that dogs need to be treated like ... dogs. Afterall, I train horses and my number one motto is to let the horse be a horse and work with them based on how horses interact in the wild.
Anyway, I ramble. To the point, for about a week, I've been practicing and experimenting in the house on my 'energy' with Abby. I've been practicing "calm-assertive" with her and I've seen some changes. Today I decided to pull myself away from GOLO and take her for a walk. The walk started out a challenge b/c she wanted to lead - a no-no according to Cesar b/c that demonstrates she is being dominant. So we worked until she was following at a nice pace. I had to remind her a few times that I was the leader. She did great in my opinion.
When I got home from picking my kids up from school, I had already filled them in on our day. I told them that they needed to be calm-assertive with her and be the pack leader. As usual, when Abby saw us in the house, she wanted in, so she started jumping at the door. I told my son to ignore her. She kept jumping at the door, so I walked up, stared past her and tried to convey with my body language (energy) that her actions were not acceptable. She immediately sat down and softened her face (ears back, relaxed). Once she showed me calm-submissive, I let her in the house. She entered more calmly and didn't get rambunctious.
I'm truly amazed!
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May 13, 2008 11:48 a.m.
May 13, 2008 10:27 a.m.
GOLO member since December 9, 2007
May 12, 2008 6:41 p.m.
GOLO member since July 19, 2007
May 12, 2008 5:21 p.m.
GOLO member since July 3, 2007
May 12, 2008 5:16 p.m.
GOLO member since October 16, 2007
May 12, 2008 5:11 p.m.
One problem that has been escalating is the fact that Abby is almost obsessed with getting out of the fence. This became a problem when we started getting visits from a little yorkie named Shorty (anyone remember him?). Since then, we have had the devil of a time keeping her in the fence. This is a big concern to me on many levels.
GOLO member since July 18, 2007
May 12, 2008 5:11 p.m.
GOLO member since July 7, 2007
May 12, 2008 5:10 p.m.
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