Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

Another area where Victoria and Cesar share similar ground...neither are presenting anything really "new". :wink: Butterfly_Dawn, If any method and/or philosophy is getting you frustrated and upset, that method and/or philosophy may not be for you. There is more than one way to create a st...

I have heard this too that when you giv ethe dog garlic it will not get fleas. I think thats a myth. It did not worked on our dogs. I just saw this on the Animal Planet show "Dogs 101". An owner put garlic in his dogs food and remarked on it helping with the fleas. I found most of the inf...

When he says "name" he means that people treat their dogs like humans, so they should think of the dog as an animal first, then a dog, then the breed, THEN the name (their pet/baby, etc.). I think he means that when people think of the dog as its name first, then they are meeting their ne...

My primary training experience has been as a people trainer. With humans I found there were those with good technical and task skills, and those with good social communication skills. Most jobs where you deal with internal team members and the public, do require good social skills, OMOAE. Then, ther...

At this age, their interaction with each other and with mom would be the most important focus. I know they're bugging her, but if she's a good mom, her "doggie disciplines" are what they need. I'd be careful about broadening their outside world too quickly. Having other humans come to your...

I don't think dogs have a sense of morality. They do understand and can be taught social expectations and boundaries. They can learn social skills, gain confidence, and manners. But to me, this has more to do with being "wired" by nature (and bred for by man) to function within a social gr...

One of my dogs is an ACD mix. Boy, these guys are active, smart, and need challenge! I'd make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise, including a structured portion of the walk where he has to concetrate on your direction rather than just wandering around at the end of the leash. Kongs and treat ball...

It does brass me off :D when I work something out slowly and painfully and then get a behaviour book and discover someone else has already reached the same conclusion and then written a book about it! :oops: but at least I know I agree with that concept because I have already unravelled it in my mi...

Wasn't it descartes that had the horrid belief that dogs do not feel and nailed dogs on the barn wall as evidence? Decartes asserts: "animals are machines, automata, do not think, have no language, have no self-concious, and worst of all totally without feeling" He committed some of the w...

If, in the past, you had fallen down the steps and now avoided them like the plague because everytime you went near them your heart started racing and your stomach seized up, that would be reactivity. Okay, I get what you're saying. The gravity part would be a rational (healthy)fear of falling, rat...

Mattie wrote:
The rest of this thread has gone over my head, I am completely baffled by it.

Beware the dog nerds!

Sorry Mattie! I just love these types of discussions.

I'd say this conversation is perfectly in line with the topic. This is very much about science, the belief systems based upon science, personal experiences, observations, and success rates. Both Skinner and Pavlov have my respect. So does Karen Pryor. So does Jane Goodall...and many others. But thei...

Reactivity is fear based behavior. It is not a choice the dog makes, but rather a reaction (hence the term reactivity). For me, this is where the need to study radical behaviorism vs intelligent choice (combined with a few other sciences) became important in understanding aggressive behaviors, thei...

Nervous dominance does not even make sense. Yep. It's definately a Cesarism, LOL! :) I'll take a stab (based on his philosophies) that this term is describing a dog who is trying to control the situation or direct the activities of others due to being a naturally high strung dog, the dog's own inse...

I'd say part of the problem is also simply asking too much of the dog's ability to just hang out without her social group. Social interaction and a long walk if you're going to leave later in the evening will help the situation, IMO. One area a lot of folks forget about is the importance of a dog's ...