oof, the after-effects are a nightmare -
fellow-trainers in the Southwest are always bitchin about the repair work, and the dogs are so stressed-out and defensive - not a fun state to be in, or to deal with. :---(

several of his former TV-clients have been bitten badly by the dogs when they did as he had shown / told them, one was the woman in season-1 with the dog-reactive black Lab-mix; only a day or two after CM left, she attempted to *correct* (AKA punish) him for reacting to another dog, and this time he did not -mouth- her arm + bruise her - he BIT her badly, she needed stitches!
adding aggro to aggro is throwing gasoline on a fire - dangerous for the person throwing the fuel, potentially explosive, and hazardous to innocent bystanders.
:---(

i cannot believe so many ppl get sucked-in by the snake-oil salesmanship - if U mute the sound, and watch the DOGs, the tenor of the performance is entirely altered.
*the right energy CURES aggression*, ye gods! when he said that, i was stunned.
i could not believe my ears!

the DEvolution of dog-training, IMO -
along with shock-collars, electric-fences for pets (livestock is a diferent matter, but even there, some rules apply! like TAPE or ribbon fence for horses, etc), hanging, helicoptering, pinning, Alpha-rolling, etc.

i handle dogs with bite-histories, but i never use a prong, choke or zap them - i use a power-pole to keep them from coming at me to bite, or assaulting anyone else. (the power-pole clips to the dogs collar - it is not a control-stick, just a rigid substitute for a leash, 4-ft long.)
my collars are all-fabric martingales, or GLs from Premier (headcollars).
sometimes i use the dogs buckle-collar, especially with pups.
and for heavy-pullers, i use an H-harness with a front-ring - no loop for tightening across the shoulder / chest, just an ordinary harness.

CM/DW is photogenic, charming, a rags-to-riches underdog - but beyond the romance, he is a good dog HANDLER in a crisis - he is *not* a trainer, let alone a behaviorist, and certainly no sort of -psychologist-.
that is not to take away anything from his achievements - he left Mexico in his early teens as an undocumented person, with an 8th or 9th grade education in a rural Mexican school, and poor English.
but i do not think the *dogs* are so grateful for his attentions or glad of his choice of career - they would be just as happy if he had become a tool-and-die artisan, a painter, a mechanic, or ANything that did not have to do with dogs. :---(

JMO - Ur mileage may vary!
--- terry

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All My Pets....
http://www.petforums.co.uk/members/s...my-babies.html
My Idol...
http://www.petforums.co.uk/members/s...x_p-nk_xx.html

I have an odd body-clock anyway, not helped by a rather traumatic last few days

I know what you mean. I trained my family's dogs in my late teens when it was jerk-and-choke. Have a dog again now after a break of two decades, luckily I already knew about positive reinforcement and clicker training but even so it has been mindblowing, I simply cannot see why people still use the old ways. I was even on UK TV two years ago with mine, took part in a reality show training novice dogs to do HWTM (in front of millions lol), all achieved with clicker & lure, my dog was only 18 months old at the time. There's a video link of that somewhere on this site.

I will be starting the Training levels soon, have joined the yahoogroup but the next few weeks are going to be a bit stressful for me so I may wait a while (cut a long story short, a close friend passed away on Friday night, possibly murder).
On the other hand perhaps it's what I need right now, if I can find the Zen.

Love the comment about the gator! Leopard or tiger for me, I think.

__________________
Sue, Merlin & Cuba
Dog moves in mysterious ways. Be at peace, Patrick.
I've been described as a lighthouse in a bog - brilliant, but useless.