[crazywiggy]

Angelgal - I agree there are few perfect trainers - I also usually find good and bad in most of them.

My objections to Caesar are as follows:

His theories are just the old, disproven theories given shiny new names. He assumes dogs are just wolves (they are not), and blames every behaviour problem on dominance (very few are actually dominance related).

He does not use food in training. Now food can be correctly or incorrectly, and some are dogs are motivated by food, others are not. But to simply refuse to use it seems a tad crazy. In fact - I get the impression he uses very little in the way of positive reinforcement at all.

He touts the benefits of adequate exercise (very good!) but thinks it okay for a dog to have only strictly controlled walks (no fun) or be put on a treadmill! He doesn't seem to consider their need to run, jump, play etc.

He uses abusive methods - collar corrections (sometimes severe), choke chains, prong collars, shock collars, hitting (oh I'm sorry - I meant jabbing the dog in the neck(?), alpha rolls (a physical attack on the dog likely to get you bitten), flooding etc.

His methods have NO basis in animal behaviour, learning theory or proven scientific knowledge. They are at odds with all the genuine experts. They are often ineffective, or simply mask problem behaviours rather than curing them. Many of his methods have to potential to cause devastating side effects, such as extreme fear or aggression. And of course he causes suffering to the dogs, and puts people at risk.

All this from someone who has never even opened a text book on dog behaviour! He has set back dog training and behaviour by decades and he is famous and well paid for it! Grr....

(Sorry rant over - made worse by having just seen his show advertised on the tv - and all I see is extreme leash corrections, jabbing, rolling etc. Makes my blood boil.)