WARNING FOR CESAR MILAN FANS
Cesar Milan is a talented and enjoyable entertainer who shares his love of the American pit bull with the public. However, TV shows are about entertainment and happy endings - not reality. No one would watch his show if he tackled the hard issues of euthanasia of unsound dogs or showed what happens after he leaves.
Cesar's methods of tight lead choking, hanging, kicking and intimidating dogs into submission can and does stop unwanted behavior - as long as the person doing the physical and mental intimidation is right there. It is important that dog owners realize that some dogs (pit bulls included) may stop dog aggression when physical and emotional trauma are applied - but when the intimidator is not present, the dog aggression will return.
PLEASE! Never leave American pit bulls together unattended. Even dogs which get along. Dog owners of many breeds have come home to tragedy (someone I know has had three of her Schipperkes killed by her wirehaird dachshunds on three separate occasions). Don't make the mistake of thinking dogs can be "rehabilitated" to the point where they will not act like normal dogs - they will.
Cesar has brought increased attention to the exercise needs of dogs - and for that I am thankful. But please, seek help from a reputable trainer. It takes much more than a fifteen minute "rodeo" to manage a dog in a responsible manner. |

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Pit Bull Informational
Pages
by Diane Jessup |
TRAINING YOUR PIT BULL
A positive approach
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Manner! |
Obedience |
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Sport Bite Work |
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Loose lead heeling
Not jumping up
And more! |
AKC/UKC
French Ring
Schutzhund (VPG) |
AKC - TD, TDX, VST
VPG - TR 1, 2, 3, FH 1, 2
"Fun" Search & Rescue |
Schutzhund (VPG)
French Ring |
Fun stuff! |
THE RELATIONSHIP YOU WANT WITH YOUR DOG |




All pics of Boldog Dirk, SchH 3, FR Brevet while earning his SchH 2. |
Before You Start
Before you start training your pit bull you need to have a CLEAR picture of why you are training, how you are going to train and who you are training...
Why you are training is very important. "Sport" training is very (very) different from "manners" training. Training for AKC obedience is very different from training for agility. You, as the handler must have a clear idea of your goals. Truly, if you try and switch gears half way through your dogs training you will never achieve the success you would if you started with clear goals.
How you are going to train causes many people a lot of acid reflux. Some people hear the word "positive" and think this sounds good. Others are attracted to the power and control of force training. Still others have no real idea and just want a method that will produce results.
Who you think needs to be trained will say a lot about the method that will fit you. If you feel that it is solely the dog which needs to learn, then force training will probably suit you better. If you feel that you, as the "thinking" part of the team need to learn as much if not more than the dog, then you are a candidate for positive methods. If you don't care - you just want the dog to stop pulling on the leash and that is all, then sign up at the local obedience class and be done with it.
This is a website dedicated to those who seek to learn. Seriously, if you are only interested in very basic pet manners, than you will find this site has "too much" information. If you think a dog should be trained with electric shock or compulsion at every level, then this site will not interest you. These pages are for those who want to explore their dog's mind, learn a lot about how dog's learn, and learn a bit about themselves. You won't hear me saying "they dog is flipping me off" - you will hear me say "I failed as a teacher to motivate or to make clear". You won't hear me say "I need a more powerful shock collar" - you will hear me say "I need to think about where I have not made this clear to the dog or have failed to motivate correctly."
If this sounds like the kind of relationship you want with your dog, a relationship where you are firmly the "boss" but through shaping behavior intelligently, not through brute force, then read on. |
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I found this gem in an article by Lori Drouin in a copy of Front and Finish, a very good serious obedience magazine. Please read this, and then reread it. It applies to ALL methods of training:
"A correction never works the way we want it to if the dog sees the action as an expression of temper on our part rather than a consequence of the dog's behavior choice. Once thing is certain: If you're having to correct many times per session on a daily basis, you need to look at providing better information (which might also be less information all at once) and better motivation if you want your dog to improve.
If you're in a deep hole in your training with a dog who has been overcorrected or conversely with a dog that needs some correction but hasn't had enough experience with corrections to know what to make of them, it's going to take time and patience and commitment on your part to build a new line of orderly and careful communication, and allow your dog to build trust in the new system. I've been in both holes, and I can tell you that the way out involves small steps up a new ladder, and not a backhoe approach that makes the hole different, bigger, and still a hole.
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Tapes & Books
I am often asked which tapes and books I like. Here is a list.
TAPES/DVDs:
Order:
Obedience Without Conflict
By: Ivan Balabanov
Tape 1 - CLEAR COMMUNICATION
Tape 2 - THE GAME
VHS $59.95 + shipping and handling
DVD $69.95 + shipping and handling
Canine Training Systems www.caninetrainingsystems.com 720.873.0900
BOOKS:
Purely Positive Training - Sheila Booth
Click here to buy from Amazon
EQUIPMENT:
I just want to go on record as saying two things... DO NOT buy a head halter of any kind for your poor dog. They are ridiculous, look like a muzzle and make your dog look bad in public, irritate the crap out of dogs and are useless for training.
Second, I don't care what kind of collar you use when training, but if you are going to use a prong collar, for the love of gawd, please buy a correctly sized one. Buy the small, inch long links, and fit it snug up under the ears. PLEASE don't buy the big sized links and have it loose on the neck. Thanks! |
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An open letter from Dr Karen Overall regarding the use of shock collars.
A MUST read
I have not changed my opinion and it is that there is never any reason
for pets to be shocked as a part of therapy or treatment. If anything, I
have strengthened this opinion. There are now terrific scientific and research data that show the harm that shock collars can do behaviorally. At the July 2005 International Veterinary Behavior Meeting, held in conjunction
with the AVSAB and ACVB research meetings, data were presented by E.
Schalke, J. Stichnoth, and R. Jones-Baade that documented these damaging
effects (Stress symptoms caused by the use of electric training collars on
dogs (Canis familiaris) in everyday life situations. Current Issues and
Research in Veterinary Behavioral Medicine, Papers presented at the 5th
Int'l IVBM. Purdue University Press, 2005:139-145. [ISBN 987-1-55752-409-5;
1-558753-409- 8]).
This follows on the excellent work done by Dutch researchers, in cooperation with their working dog groups and trainers, that showed that working /
patrol dogs were adversely affected by their 'training' with shock, long after the shock occurred (Schilder MBH, van der Borg JAM. Training dogs
with the help of the shock collar: short and long term behavioural effects.
Applied Animal Behaviour Science 2003;85:319-334).
Research meetings can be attended by anyone paying the fee, and most published work is available either in the public domain, from an organization, or from someone with a university library connection.
There is no longer a reason for people to remain misinformed. Let me make
my opinion perfectly clear: Shock is not training - in the vast majority of
cases it meets the criteria for abuse. In my patient population, dogs who
have been 'treated' with shock have a much higher risk of an undesirable
outcome (e.g., euthanasia) than dogs not subjected to shock, and I never
recommend euthanasia. In all situations where shock has been used there is
some damage done, even if we cannot easily see it. No pet owner needs to
use this technique to achieve their goal. Dogs who cease to exhibit a problem behavior usually also cease to exhibit normal behaviors. The only data available support the idea that shock is neither an effective nor
suitable training tool.
That said, it's time we replaced everyone's personal mythologies and opinions with data and scientific thinking. Such opportunities are now available, but are often not exploited.
For example, the statement: " Major veterinary universities have tested E-collars since the mid 60's when they were invented. No evidence of any
damage, Physiological or psychological has ever been found." is patently and
wholly false. For the evidence re: data - see above. As for the initial
statement - it's WRONG. It's a MYTH. The specialty college (ACVB) even
conducted a census a few years ago to see if we could find ANY truth to this
and there was NONE. We couldn't get anyone to say that they had - or knew
someone who had - participated in such tests and studies. This pattern of
behavioral repetition is representative of the danger of myth, and also of
the power of the scientific method. Science tells you when you are wrong.
Myth allows you to steal credibility where none is earned. That particular
myth has damaged universities too long, and it has traded on the reputations of people who neither endorsed that decision, nor supported the finding, and it must stop.
I hope this helps. I have never thought we could get via electricity what we couldn't get by advanced training and hard work.
Karen L. Overall, M.A., V.M.D., Ph.D.
Reprinted thanks to http://www.joelwalton.com |
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