Questions for Cesar Millan

[Ualei]

Hi Cesar~
Thank you for all that you are doing to make this world a better place for animals and humans. We have a beautiful, 19 month old female, yellow lab (Buster). She is very high energy, and has worn other dogs out playing with them. Since she had spent so much of her life with mostly human company, we decided several months ago to take her to a doggie resort for weekly daytime visits. We also have left her there for several extended visits: one for an overnight, one for two nights -- and the longest was for ten days a couple of months ago. My husband accompanied me to our second home on that trip, returned to pick up Buster in ten days and I have remained away on business. She had her own room with her personal blanket during the overnight stays, and we packed all of her food. We were told she 'did well.' She has always approached the door to the 'doggie resort' eagerly when she was dropped off, but she also was anxious when we left. However, we are now concerned, because she was reluctant to approach the front door on the most 'day' trip, a couple of weeks ago, and did not seem to want to stay. We have not taken her back since then. On the visit previous to this last one,a much larger dog growled at her when she arrived. The doggie resort owner removed the large dog from the area until he/she could learn to be nice to our dog. Now, my husband has noticed that when she rides in the back seat of our car when accompanying my husband to the grocery store - in the same direction as the doggie resort, she lies down in the back seat and curls up as the car nears the resort area, and does not want to look out the window. Do you have any advice/thoughts? Thank you.

[MBH]

I have a 4 year old male pug that I have had since he was 12 weeks old. Our biggest problem is his spraying inside the house. He marks furniture, and sometimes other objects such as grocery bags or laundry baskets. He never does this when we are watching. He was neutered at 5 months, but it did little to slow this behavior. He becomes very anxious when someone visits or something new is brought into the house. (He will bark at a grocery bag on the counter.)I have recently had some success by confining him to a couple of rooms in the house that don't have upholstered furniture (his favorite target)and keeping him tethered to me with a leash when he ventures out of those rooms to watch tv or sleep. I feel like I can never trust him in the house unsupervised and have not seen this issue addressed in any episodes of your show or your books, or by any other books, for that matter. I should mention that his mother died when he was born & he was hand raised by the breeder. He is timid around other dogs, but can be aggressive if backed into a corner. He will also nip at humans if he feels threatened.

[mmater]

My Corgi barks before he'll eat his dinner wanting permisson to eat, then barks every few bites - we have to tell him to eat the dogfood or he won't. If we leave the room he
won't eat it at all until we come back - sometimes hrs later.

However, if we leave people food - where he can reach it - he'll go for it.

What's up with this behavior?

[Wildflower]

Hi Cesar,

I love your show and my family and I watch it all the time and try to incorporate your strategies into our dog rearing.

We have a 10 month old black lab/golden retriever mix. I have had dogs all my life and my last few dogs have been this same mix, but I have never had a dog that pushed me past my limits like this one. I am at wit's end. For starters, she has the WORST seperation anxiety that I have EVER experienced. If either my husband or I leave the house or the car she goes crazy scratching at windows and running in circles the ENTIRE time we are gone 0 whether it is 5 minutes or 2 hours, even if the other one of us is still there with her. It's like she has a desperation to be with both of us at all times. Anytime I sit down or lie down she has to press all 60 pounds of herself into my chest, neck and head as tight as she can the entire time. I've had large lap dogs before, but never a chest dog She never relaxes. We can be home with her all day (morning to night) and she never lays down. She is in constant motion of play with me, walk me, pet me, PAY ATTENTION TO ME. With no end. I've never had a dog, puppy or adult, that did not lay down and rest - ever. SHe is also the most destructive dog I have ever seen. Believe me, I know labs chew - if I did not want a dog who chewed, I would not get labs. But she sees something - anything and goes into destruction mode. Toys, carpet, shoes etc. She can shred anything in minutes. And this includes the huge red rubber kongs! No joke - you give her one and she sets to destroying it immediately. I have little red rubber pieces all over my house. We walk her and play fetch with her and run her around our large fenced in yard constantly, but this still does not tire her out. She has been going to training for months, and is very smart, but very very high strung. I would love to start taking her to agility training to try and work off some more energy, but she refuses to stay on command when there are other people around for her to jump on and kiss. She knows sit and stay, but when we take her to the vet or to the pet store she refuses to do any of them she just pulls and ends up jumping around and swimming on her belly while trying to pull herself to any person that she sees. We've tried gentle leaders, choke collars, prong collars and shock collars and none of them have curbed this behavior. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to get her to relax?

[tortia6fan]

I watch your show occasionally. I have a 7 year old daschund. She came to live with us about 3 years ago. I have been around her ever since she was a puppy. She belonged to my brother and due to his making frequent moves with his job; it was in the best interest of Rosie that she live with us. She is a sweet little girl and respects me as the pack leader. The problem that I have with her is that she will run and grab up a toy and acts like she wants you to play with her. You go to play with her and she puts both paws on the toy and clamps down on it; she then will growl at me if I go take it away from her and this behavior does not happen all the time. She is also aggressive toward her food. She does not want you touching her or her food bowl while she is eating. She is an outside dog and she will get under the table where her food bowl sets and will growl at me and not want me to touch her. How do I help her?

The only children that is around her is my 6 year old niece, but I have another niece on the way and I don't want her to hurt anyone.

[Pepper-Sugar]

If you read his first book ( Ceasar's Way ) it clearly explains how he got his gift of knowlege with training dogs. Might I suggest you read that book also.

[Pepper-Sugar]

I have heard adding fresh Pineapple to the dog's diet makes the stool tatse horrid to the dog. I would of course before doing this first consult your vet.

[pigwidgeon]

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Pepper-Sugar wrote:
I have heard adding fresh Pineapple to the dog's diet makes the stool tatse horrid to the dog. I would of course before doing this first consult your vet.

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Hi everyone! I'm really enjoying reading all of your posts about your pack, be it small or large. I think this is a great opportunity to have a discussion with Cesar, such a strong positive influence in the lives of so many dogs and people.

Just a note to all: If you are responding to a specific post, please click the "Quote Post" button to allow the rest of us to follow along with the discussion more easily. When you click on "Reply", on the original post, the "Reply to Message" screen appears. Above the "Message Body" block, where you will be able to type your comments in response to the original post, there is the "Quote Post" button. When you click this button, it inserts the original post (which you can edit down to the relevant parts if you like) in the message, like the example at the top of this post. This helps everyone to follow along with the discussion, since replies are posted chronologically and are often quite further along in the discussion than the original comment or question. Thanks!

[parefugee]

Are Service Dogs Passive-Submissive??
I have watched your show on the National Geographic "NG" channel. I am always impressed with your technique and genuine affection for your dogs. The new book about being a packleader has me concerned because many of the dogs in my life form partnerships with their human housemates because they have the important job of removing barriers that keep many people at home.

What I have not seen on the show or in what I have read is your take on working dogs. Dogs that have jobs or perform a service for families play an important role in the dynamic of a family. I have watched dogs assist people with various physical disabilities, the elderly, and even children with autism. Dogs have even been used as part of the rehabilitation of people behind bars (in jail).

My question is about service dogs. Do you ever work with these dogs? My experience with service dogs leads me to conclude that often the dog must be the leader and know the needs of their human partner. Is there room for partnership in your technique? Does the human always have to be the pack leader? How do you explain dogs that appear to be leading; i.e. Leader Dogs for the Blind? Can your techniques improve the life and skill of working dogs?

Thank you

[Grace-C]

It's a pleasure to meet you, Cesar.

What have you learned about people during your work with dogs? Anything you didn't expect to learn, or were surprised by?

[Bethieboop]

Let me start off with introducing myself. My name is Beth and I am the
proud owner of a 13 month old German Shepherd/Great Dane pup. We are
faithful watchers of your show. We have found many of your cases inspiring
both on tv as well as in your books. My husband, daughter and myself first
adopted Shadow 2 months ago. The family that had rescued him from the
shelter were unable to keep him due to the small size of their apartment.
At 13 months old, Shadow is about 65lbs. They had warned us that he does
not like other dogs and is a handful when it come to walking on the leach.
Over all he is a lovable, sweet dog that will do anything for food or the
affection of a human. As we soon realized taking him on walks was
strenuous task. At the sight of another dog, cat or squirrel his will pull
even a strong person across the street or try to go through a glass window
or door to try and get to them. I started to take him for walks early in
the morning when there are less dogs out in the neighborhood. One morning,
a German Shepherd walks right up to us. Shadow, sniffed the other dog and
wagged his tail happily and started to jump and try to play with the other
dog. The other dog wasn't interested and walked back to his yard.
Unfortunately, Shadow become uncontrollable. Barking, jumping and pulling
on the leash so hard I thought my shoulder was about to be dislocated. He
just wanted to desperately play with the other dog. That evening my
husband and I decided to try and take him to the dog park. As soon as we
got out of the car Shadow was pulling, barking and completely out of
control. As soon as we were able to get inside the park and remove his
leash he was in heaven. I have never seen him so happy. He was running
and playing with all the dogs. But once again when we put the leash on to
leave he was out of control. I've enrolled him in the local Pet store
obedience class starting this week. The trainer addressed that she has
concerns with the safety of the other dogs in the class. She as well as
most dog owners that Shadow comes in contact with become alarmed with how
out of control he his. I try to explain to everyone that he isn't trying
to hurt the other dogs but he wants to get to them to sniff and play. But
the fear of this large dog coming at them becomes overwhelming. I'm not
sure what to do.

[rexc26]

I have a 5 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback and she has epilepsy. We have all kinds of issues. A lot of her issues some of them she had because of yes I know of me and some is because of her epilepsy. Her name is Cookie and she does not like other people and other dogs. She is very aggressive with other dogs. We love to go for a walk but her aggressive with other dogs keeps us from walking a lot. Please tell me what to do??????????????????????????????

[CesarMillan]

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parefugee wrote:
Are Service Dogs Passive-Submissive??
I have watched your show on the National Geographic "NG" channel. I am always impressed with your technique and genuine affection for your dogs. The new book about being a packleader has me concerned because many of the dogs in my life form partnerships with their human housemates because they have the important job of removing barriers that keep many people at home.

What I have not seen on the show or in what I have read is your take on working dogs. Dogs that have jobs or perform a service for families play an important role in the dynamic of a family. I have watched dogs assist people with various physical disabilities, the elderly, and even children with autism. Dogs have even been used as part of the rehabilitation of people behind bars (in jail).

My question is about service dogs. Do you ever work with these dogs? My experience with service dogs leads me to conclude that often the dog must be the leader and know the needs of their human partner. Is there room for partnership in your technique? Does the human always have to be the pack leader? How do you explain dogs that appear to be leading; i.e. Leader Dogs for the Blind? Can your techniques improve the life and skill of working dogs?

Thank you

---

Dear Parefugee,

In my experience, working dogs are often the most balanced dogs you'll ever meet. Service dogs that help human beings need to have a certain temperament or energy. They need to be balanced and calm-submissive, but when they are working, they are what I'd call "active submissive." That means they are often out in front of the human, leading the human, but it is because the human pack leader gave them the direction to be.
You may often see a person with a disability with a service dog and hear them say "Working," or some similar command. That is the cue for the dog to be alert and active, but always responsive to the human's needs, whether that means leading the human across the street, or turning on the light for a human, or getting an object, etc. This is why these dogs wear special vests that say "Do not pet me" on them. The dogs are totally focused on their jobs and the job is to take care of that human's particular needs. When the owner says "Relax" or a similar command, you'll see the dog instantly go into just being a dog.

People with disabilities who have service dogs must learn how to be pack leaders, just like any pack leader. Before these dogs are issued, they must be certified, and both the human and the dog must pass tests together before the human takes the dogs home. The human must be calm and assertive to get the dog to follow him. A dog doesn't care if you're blind, or deaf, or have autism - as long as your energy is that of a calm-assertive leader.

Some service dogs get special "playtime" with other service dogs, as a break from their working schedule. This mirrors how dogs are in nature; they work for food, and then they celebrate. That's why I think many service dogs are happier and more balanced than some pet dogs. It's in a dog's nature to work for food, and I believe having a job makes a dog feel very confident and proud of herself. Every animal needs a purpose in life. Also, the bond between a service dog and the human owner is often one of the strongest dog-human bonds you'll ever see. The whole relationship depends on calm-assertive energy in the human and active-submissive energy in the dog, and they often develop that almost telepathic connection that I believe is the goal of every dog owner to have with his dogs.

[skylark40]

Hello, Cesar,

We have a problem with our Labrador Retriever, Cooper. He was a stray we took in, had neutered, and is now about 9 months old.

I know Labs are water dogs, but we have a real problem with Cooper putting his muddy feet into the water bowls. If there's a drop of water outside then he will run to it, stick his feet into it, submerge his toys in it, dig in it, and within seconds the water is muddy. I hate thinking he and the other dogs can't have clean water because he can't keep his feet out of it.

We watch your show, and my daughter often sighs, "I wish Cesar could help us!"

Thank you for the work you do,
Deborah Wood

[Savalacl]

Cesar, have read your book and watch your show. Thank you so much for all the useful information you have provided. I also have purchased two of the Illusion collars which are great for training the my dogs when I am walking them. However I have two questions that I need your help on.

I have four dogs, The mother Bur-De, the Father Ace, The two children, Sandy and Mr. T.
with the exception of Mr. T, They are spayed and neutered. They are american rare breed dogs, (Kyi-Leos) and have been shown. Mr. T is still showing. The problems are,

1. The father and the son do not get along at all. They fight with one another constantly. Most of the time it is the father that starts the fight. I have worked with them by distracting them, picking up Mr. T. by the nap of the neck and forcing him to lay on his side until calmed. I have tried this with Ace (the father) but he will turn an bite if I try to reach for the nap of the neck. How do I get these two males to get along with one another without fighting. When they do fight, the sister takes the brothers side and the mother takes the fathers side so I end up with each of dogs barking at each other. I am sure the two females are nervously reacting to the fight, but the fighting has gotten to the point of extreme frustration for me. Can you give me some more tips on how to make the males stop fighting.

2. The second problem is again with the two males. I have all the dogs blocked so house priveleges are relagated to the kitchen and the family room, both which are tiled. Problem is, the males repeatedly urinate next to the chairs. I take them outside for regular potty breaks and I immediatly mop down the floor when I see what they have done. They always seem to do this when I am not looking, so I can't figure our which of the males is the guilty one so I can take immediate action to correct. Do you you have any tips I can use to break these two males from urinating next to the chair legs?

[Eckwell]

We have a 5 year old beagle that came to us at the age of 12 weeks from a beagle rescue agency. Our primary problem with him is that we are unable to leave him with other families or in our own home if we go away for a few days. We have left him with one family and he does well when they are at home, but when they leave he scratches at the door. In our home, we had a neighbor who he knows well come in three times a day to walk him and play with him. When we returned, we found that he had scratched up two doors in our house and gnawed at another. Recently we boarded him at a very nice facility. When we picked him up he was very hoarse from barking (probably the entire time we were away.)

He does have some other issues which may play into this problem. He is very attached to my husband, so much so that he will refuse to go on a walk with me if my husband is home. He also barks incessantly at every person or animal that passes by our house and he barks crazily if anyone comes to the door.

Do you have any suggestions so that he is more comfortable while we are away and so that we are more comfortable leaving him?

Thank you.

[maryann007]

Hello,
We have a 9 month old female basset hound named Lily. She is a sweet lively dog. However, starting at 7 months, she growls at our 8 year old daughter sometimes. Lily sleeps on the couch while our daughters watch TV. They love to hug her. But if the 8 year old touches her, Lily growls. I tell our daughter to push her off the couch when Lily growls. Then Lily will go sleep in her crate.

I realize its a pack thing. Lily is a powerful dog. Our daughter is a petite girl. they probably weigh around the same. Lily could definitely "take" Lily and she knows it!

Occasionally if Lily sleeps on our bed and I nudge her, she growls at me. I push her off. But I'm not worried about me. I do worry about my daughter. Lily has never snapped or shown her teeth. Its more like she is acting like a grumpy old lady. But obviously, with dogs you never know.