Be Seeing You, Daddy

Daddy, Cesar Millan's beloved Pitbull, has died at the age of 16. This is a time to pay respects to a truly awesome dog, the human-canine bond that was so evident to everyone and all the good public education Cesar and Daddy did for the breed. Shame on those who are using Daddy's death to take jabs at Cesar Millan's training techniques.

Thank you Cesar for sharing this special dog with us. Be seeing you, Daddy.

Just Sayin'

If you've ever tried to engage a religious zealot who knocked on your door to convert you in a reasonable discussion of the "Live and let live" principle, you know the meaning of pointless. They are driven to show the world that everybody else is wrong, they're right and good news, you can - and absolutely must - join them (unless you want to burn in the eternal fires of hell).

You know what group reminds me of those people? Cesar Millan haters.

If you think Cesar Millan is Satan incarnate, yippy damn skippy for you - have a balloon. Whatever. You don't have to watch his show, read his books or say anything nice about him ever. But seriously, if you feel compelled to go frothy on every e-mail list, forum or blog post that mentions the man's name, you might want to consider changing the channel in your brain once in awhile. This is getting really old.

Things I've Learned from Cesar Millan

Seems like many online dog folks are Cesar Millan haters. Not me! I like to have lots of tools in the toolbox and enjoy learning from as many people as possible. I have one of his books and try to catch his TV show, The Dog Whisperer when I can.

Note: These are not verbatim quotes from Cesar Millan - just a few random things I have taken away from his show. It's certainly possible I have misunderstood or misremembered something over time. Enough of the disclaimers already.

1. Exercise, discipline, affection - in that order. It's his mantra and so basic yet so true. I keep it in mind every day and those three simple words have guided my approach to solving a lot of challenges.

2. Dog parks are not the place to go to release your over-anxious, under-exercised dog's energy. Instead, they should be used to allow an exercised dog who is in a calm state to socialize with other dogs. Since the majority of owners use dog parks as the former, I tend to stay away. Less potential for problems that way.

3. Allow dogs to meet you at their own comfortable pace. My friend Heather blogged about this in a great post yesterday.

4. Set the tone for whatever activity you are doing with your dog - walking, training, etc. Be calm and assertive and your dog will feel confident in following your lead. Again a simple idea but so helpful to keep in mind when interacting with your dog.