Dog Whisperers

[naomi24]

Does anyone know anything about them - and do their methods work?

[anneasquith]

ratter or lankeela, would be helpfull.

[anneasquith]

i dont mean as dog whisperers .......... with advice.

[welshlibranr]

My brother in law has a dog with megga problems, he met by chance a dog whisperer, he was sceptical about the guy, but was offered a training regime, at a cost obviously!...........But it really worked, the dog was facing being put down!.....Now he's doing well!.................getting better every day!..............

[naomi24]

Thanks Anne. I was rather hoping one of them would spot this.

[lankeela]

In my opinion there is no 'magic' formula they are just glorified dog trainers who charge a lot more than the people who regularly give their time often for free each week helping run classes. Most of what they tell people to do is just common sense, and while individual behaviourists might be able to offer advice to some people at a price you can get just as good tuition from a good dog club. I shudder when I hear how much some charge, just to tell people to throw a can of stones on the floor to stop a dog barking for example. A trainer who belongs to the APDT will be able to help with most problems, but I think some owners will never be able to be taught how to manage their dogs. Join a dog club and read books on dog training and provided you treat your dog like a dog and not like a spoilt child you won't go far wrong. Good breeders will also offer advice and help if necessary, which you won't get from puppy farmers or even 'backyard breeders' who probably have never trained a dog in their lives.

[lankeela]

http://www.apdt.co.uk/index.asp

[woofgang]

If you can, then try to get someone by word of mouth who knows about your breed. We went to training when the boys were pups paid 90 quid for each dog up front and the classes were totally unsuitable for our dogs, although other folk with different breeds did okay. I would suggest that you look for someone who says they are a behaviourist rather than a trainer..this advice passed on from the best bloke i have ever seen with our dogs who now owns a posh kitchen installation firm but used to have GSD's, and compete in obedience with them as well as train dogs for a living.
The trouble with "dog whisperer" is that anyone can call themselves one, it means nothing.
The other bit of good advice that I received, but after we had shelled out for the training we went to, is to ask if you can go and observe a class without your dog before signing up. If i had done that we would never have signed up for that particular class :-(

[naomi24]

Oh he's been to training classes. He's very excitable and affectionate, he loves people and he gets on well with our other two dogs, but since a groomer injured him when he was young and he needed stitches in the wound he won't let anyone groom him - and he won't let a vet anywhere near him. I kid you not! He has to be knocked out to have his claws clipped!! He's eight and weighs about 7 stone and is very hairy - he looks like an Old English Sheepdog - so he desperately needs grooming. A friend of mine got a rescue dog that turned out to be a problem, and a Dog Whisperer sorted him out in one visit, so I just wondered if anyone else has any experience of them. I've already tried a dog psychologist the vet recommended - but that didn't work.

[woofgang]

naomi I had a similar but not as bad prob with one of mine. he has atopic excema and very mucky dirty ears as a result. When he first got it, his ears filled up completely and he needed them cleaning under anaesthetic, was supposed to be sedation as they were very sore but he went ape at the vets, totally unexpected and they had to knock him out. I did 3 things with the support of my vet. I taught him to accept a muzzle..the soft kind. I took him to sit in the vets at lunchtimes with and without the muzzle and the vet staff came and gave him super treats (cooked chicken provided by me) and I taught him to accept having his ears cleaned by me at home. This was totally no fun and if you are interested I will post more...he now comes and sits in front of me when his ears play up and I clean them with no probs, he will also fall asleep with his head in my lap while I am doing it.
he still hates the vet but will go and have what is needed done quite calmly, accepting the muzzle. after the treatment I take the muzzle off and he accepts treats from the vet and will offer the vet a paw for a treat. It took time to get to where we are now and i have to say i used some of Cesar Milan's techniques to achieve it....not the red zone dog ones I hasten to add. btw we achieved muzzle acceptance, ear cleaning and a calm revisit to the vet in 7 days cos that's all the time i had...he needed ear drops and deep intensive cleaning by me at home 3 times a day from day 1. I am not a magician or excellent trainer but my goodness we worked at it!

[RATTER15]

I will strongly recommend Cesar Milan's methods, we have used his methods and whilst it can be time consuming and you really need to be committed, his methods really work. Watch the Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo, you can find a lot of his stuff on you tube and I think he has DVDs and books.

It all makes so much sense and it really works!! :-)

[welshlibranr]

The guy my brother in law employed used the same methods as Ceasar Milan, and it really helped loads, in fairness his fees were not excessive, he did get results!.......

[naomi24]

Looks like I need to do a bit of research. Thanks very much indeed for the advice everyone.

[divegirl]

Hi, I use various methods to train my dogs, basically I use whatever works for that individual dog. I do use some of Cesar Milans techniques and they work fantastically!
Can you not get the person who worked with your friends dog to help you?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk...n&hash=item588aa284cf

I haven't read it myself, but lots of my doggy friends have and highly recommend it.

Lisa x

[naomi24]

Hi Divegirl, yes I can get that Dog Whisperer to help, but this is the only case I've heard of and I wasn't sure whether to try it or not. I just wanted to know if anyone else had any experience of a Dog Whisperer's methods and successes.

[woofgang]

you are very welcome....let us know how you get on

[woofgang]

PS I think that the three key things I found most telling when sorting out my boy are maintaining the calm assertive attitude emphasis on the calm in my case, not stopping the activity when/if the dog flips out. You pause, control the flip out and go on again, which is why i found the muzzle helpful, and always finishing the activity with the dog in a calm submissive happy state. It means you need not to be constrained by time, it will take as long as it takes, and also to break down the final objective into tiny steps so far as is possible.

[naomi24]

Can't say I ever remember him being in a calm, submissive state. He's as nutty as a fruit cake! A 7 stone stone eight year old who still thinks he's a cute puppy! :o)

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It's very much appreciated.

[sandyRoe]

Perhaps if you whispered: If your behaviour doesn't improve I'm going to give you an almighty kick up the backside. Some dogs can understand what you say to them. It's worth a try, might work.

[naomi24]

Haaaaaa! Thanks Sandy. I knew I could rely on you for a common sense approach. I'm surprised you don't have a few bible passages I could quote to him. :o)

[woofgang]

lol I've got two like that, they are only around 5 stones each with smooth coats, still think they can both fit in my lap at once.