My New Hero!

So we have a dog. Her name is Chewie ('cause she looks like a Wookie). Chewie is a very good natured dog and I have never really had a dog although I am a dog lover (love cats more, but that's another story). So when we got Chewie I wanted to make sure I tried to do things right. So I took her to obedience training and while it helps, it didn't take too long to realize that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make a dog sit, stay or heel.

What I wanted to know was why do dogs do what they do? What does it mean when they do ? I really had no idea and the dog classes weren't much help there. So I went looking. I started by reading two books about German Shepherds that weren't all that useful.

Part of the reason that I really wanted to know what was going on inside her head was that we were having one main problem with Chewie. Whenever she would see another dog she would go haywire nuts. She would never growl, snarl, or do anything viscous, but she would P-U-L-L on the lead and bark her fool head off. Almost like when she gets there, blood will flow (which has been my biggest fear).

With that being said, with the dogs she has met face to face (or nose to anus) after a few minutes of barking there would be no problem. I can cite examples from my friends dog Roscoe (Roscoe rocks!), my sister's dog Marley (high strung, but nice), and by accident the neighbors twin schnauzers. Lots of noise, nothing really happening.

Then over Easter, Jaci's dad mentioned a TV show that Jaci's Papa watches called the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. So I started to watch the show. I was in awe, I was amazed, this guy is fantastic! He has place in California where he rehabilitates dogs. He has no formal training, he just knows dogs from watching and learning from them. He is the pack leader for a pack of 30-40 dogs. Many of which are powerful breeds like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds and many others. All co-exist peacefully and naturally. He calls his place the Dog psychology Centre.

He has also written a book. Which I bought and read this past weekend while I was in Kingston. The book is called Cesar's Way. In it he describes exactly what I have been looking for, dog psychology. He also describes how he deals with dogs and why he does it that way and why it's effective. He also goes into great detail about how most human owners who mean well are really doing injustice to the dog. His book helped me to understand how I can help Chewie to have a more balanced and fufilled life while at the same time fufilling Jaci and my need for a family dog. Here's the 64 million dollar question: Does it work?

Well, I read the book over the weekend. I caught an episode of the show last night and many of the things he was doing in the show I recognized from the book. And the book made LOTS more sense. So what was I doing wrong? I wasn't being the pack leader 100% of the time and when the dog senses an absence of leadership, they will try to exert dominance. I was also not exercising her enough. Running in the back yard is not enough. Dogs MUST be WALKED. Book says MINIMUM 1/2 hour, twice a day. Even if you make them run for hours playing fetch or Frisbee or whatever, it's not enough. They must still be walked.

So why am I blogging about this? I will tell you my gentle readers. I took Chewie for a real walk this afternoon. I don't know exactly how long of a walk but we were bootin' it for about 90 minutes (seemingly uphill both ways, I don't get it). The way I walk, that makes about 6-8 Km. Toward the end of the walk I saw a man walking his dog (really it looked like a slipper) and using my newly learned techniques, Chewie didn't bark ONCE! She didn't jump ONCE! Nothing! I was stunned then amazingly happy! It works, it really works.

I am now an avid Cesar Millan fan, he is my new hero. Chewie and I still have work to do and a way to go, but it's easily doable now. So I thought I would share my doggie news with my faithful readership!

If there is anyone out there who wants to understand dogs better, buy this book and watch this show. I cannot tell you what a positive eye-opener this experience has become.

Vene, vidi, vici. Hail Cesar!