Bouncing Beagle

Raksha

Castration rarely actually has an effect on behaviour, besides, at 4 months, he's still a little young - best to allow the hormones to cycle through and allow the dog to mature BEFORE he's castrated, or you'll end up with an eternal puppy!

Re 'The Perfect Puppy' - this has now been reprinted and the dominance sections re written, so look for a new copy.

pulliptears

Castration can help calm dogs down in some situations as it removes the hormone that drives the behaviour. Nothing is guaranteed but if you are not breeding from an animal its always the best option anyway.

Recommended age for the op is between 6 and 12 months of age.

suki1964

pulliptears wrote: »

Castration can help calm dogs down in some situations as it removes the hormone that drives the behaviour. Nothing is guaranteed but if you are not breeding from an animal its always the best option anyway.

Recommended age for the op is between 6 and 12 months of age.

Personally I would never castrate a dog until fully matured, which can be as late as 18 months old

Raksha

*can* and *some* are little words with big meanings, and castration is not reversable. Also, many behaviour problems (such as feminisation) result from castration. The behaviours you refer to can also become learnt behaviours, and castration won't affect the dog whose learnt to 'hump' because it gets a reaction, or because they've never been taught what else to do........

supermezzo

We used chunks of frozen/really cold carrot when our dog was teething (in fact she still loves it!). Just a small piece at first in case it goes through him, though. (Almost calorie-free too).

DKLS

Georgina wrote: »

Please, please, please, DO NOT follow the advice of Cesar Milan. Cesar Milan uses methods which are at best dubious, and at worse are downright cruel. He subscribes to the Dominance Theory, which is thought to be flawed (more about that here), uses methods like 'flooding', alpha rolls and cruel pieces of equipment (like prong collars). It really is not necessary to be dominant over your dog - it's more about being consistent and training your dog what is expected of it.
Georgie

Have you ever seen one of his programs? The results he achieves are amazing, and are not cruel in the slightest, and if you notice, its actually the dog owners who go through the biggest transformation. Whats cruel about an alpha roll?

You dont happen to read Ian Dunbar do you? A sad bitter old man who is jeolous of Cesars Fame and Fortune.

WeirdoMagnet

DKLS wrote: »

Have you ever seen one of his programs? The results he achieves are amazing, and are not cruel in the slightest, and if you notice, its actually the dog owners who go through the biggest transformation. Whats cruel about an alpha roll?

You dont happen to read Ian Dunbar do you? A sad bitter old man who is jeolous of Cesars Fame and Fortune.

Yes, I have seen his programs. They are cruel - you don't think prong collars are cruel? Or using the old fashioned flooding technique? Alpha Rolls - well, they could physically hurt the dog, and cause psychological trauma, making the dog fearful and can cause further agression. He is unable to read canine body language, and many of the dogs have 'shut down' owing to the techniques he is using. He relys heavily on the "dominance theory" which has been debunked by many eminent canine behaviourists.

It may seem to the layman that the results are 'amazing', but it is at the end of the day an entertainment show and is no doubt a heavily edited program. We don't know what has happened weeks/months down the line - if the undesirable behaviour has returned, or new unwanted behaviours have started to occur. Maybe there is some kind of 'turnaround' in the owners, but to be frank, they probably didn't know too much in the first place, which is why the dog behave like it does and why they 'buy' CMs miracle methods.

No, I haven't read anything by Ian Dunbar, but I have heard of him. There are many trainers and behaviourists who dislike CMs methods, and instead choose to use positive training methods successfully with all different breeds and types of dogs, including rescue dogs and dogs with behavioural problems.

DKLS

Georgina wrote: »

He is unable to read canine body language, and many of the dogs have 'shut down' owing to the techniques he is using.

I did write out a full reply but lost it so in response to the above :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
I do find this site entertaining.

WeirdoMagnet

DKLS wrote: »

I did write out a full reply but lost it so in response to the above :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
I do find this site entertaining.

Why do you adopt such an facetious tone DKLS? We may disagree, but no need to be quite so derogatory just because your opinion differs.

If you're happy using his outdated techniques that's fine, but I certainly won't ever be using them on my dog, or advising anyone else to use his methods, and I will still point out drawbacks of using his methods when people who don't understand how dogs learn insist on promoting him.

Raksha

DLKS - so you haven't seen Cesaer use prong collars and shock collars on dogs in his program? Have you witnessed him in action (and I mean before the 'outakes' and the editting)? Have you dealt with dogs suffering the 'fallout' from some of his inane activities?

Yes, I an a fan of Ian Dunbar, because his methods and techiques do not have this 'fall out', they are kind, fair and above all effective...... As for sad and bitter - have you ever attended one of his seminars?