January 3, 2012

DVD's to Watch - Part 1



I love to read, but the truism that a picture is worth a thousand words means that watching a video can transform conceptual ideas into pictorial representations that become easier to acquire. I watched the following DVD’s and tapes, most of which were worth the time and effort.

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Calming Signals: What Your Dog Tells You by Turid Rugaas is a companion to Rugaas’ written treatise, On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals. The book is excellent, but I found the DVD to be a disappointment. The author is the narrator and I had difficulty at times understanding her speech patterns. The DVD could be vastly improved if it had subtitles. I purchased it hoping it would also display various canine expressions and examples of aggression so that I could discern the good, the bad, and the ugly. As the title suggests, calming signals are on display. The presentation includes various behaviors that we humans can perform to calm a dog. I own it! 


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Cesar Millan’s Mastering Leadership Volume #1 – People Training for Dogs cesarmillaninc.com. Cesar conducts a live, stand up seminar in front of a small group. Some video clips from his show, The Dog Whisperer, on the National Geographic Channel, are included to visualize particular points. Cesar’s main theme is that first people need to train themselves to be pack leaders before they can train their dogs to be pack followers. In addition, Cesar covers the basics of dog behavior.
   (1) Understanding the nature of the pack.
   (2) How the human’s state of mind and body language impacts the dog.
   (3) Instituting rules, boundaries and limitations.
   (4) Explaining why the walk is so important and
   (5) Cesar’s dog fulfillment formula. I own it!

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Cesar Millan’s Mastering Leadership Volume #2 – Becoming a Pack Leader cesarmillaninc.com. Cesar discusses:
   (1) The role of the pack leader.
   (2) How to use your state of mind and your body language to influence your dog.
   (3) How to create rules, boundaries and limitations.
   (4) How to get control during walks.
He uses three episodes from his TV show to demonstrate his points. I own it! 


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Cesar Millan’s Mastering Leadership Volume #3 – Your New Dog: First Day and Beyond cesarmillaninc.com. Cesar demonstrates three very different ways to select and obtain a dog. Selecting a dog from the local dog shelter, getting a dog from a rescue group, and going to a dog breeder. He discusses how to select the perfect dog for you and your family and advises selecting a dog that matches your level of energy. He also shows how to introduce a puppy to your household for the first time. One of the features that surprised me is how little talking Cesar does with the dogs – so different from everyone else. Cesar projects what he expects the dog to do, and they do it! I own it!

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Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan Power of the Pack  cesarmillaninc.com. This was the very first time I saw Cesar Millan in action. I had never seen his TV show, but after reading his books, I went on his website and purchased this DVD. Cesar uses a number of examples from his first season to demonstrate that a well balanced pack of dogs, can influence an individual unbalanced dog. He tells the history behind his Dog Psychology Center located in Los Angeles. Obviously I was impacted by this DVD because I read, watched, or purchased all of the materials listed here. I own it! 


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Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan – The Complete First Season cesarmillaninc.com, is 650 minutes of Cesar Millan, that is almost 11 hours! During this first season, the shows were 30 minutes long and typically two stories were told each show. Each show I found myself wondering how Cesar was going to solve the particular problem at hand. Cesar is very unique in that he not only diagnoses the dog’s problem, but then he often diagnoses the person’s problem as well. I find it very refreshing that Cesar is absolutely straight forward in telling the person the truth, without beating around the bush. Amazing, truly amazing and inspiring. 


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Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan – The Complete Second Season cesarmillaninc.com, is 980 minutes of Cesar Millan, that is over 16 hours! On the sixth and final DVD, which contains the bonus materials, they show you the behind the scenes which I found to be very interesting. Cesar reviews the five most common mistakes that dog owners make that relegate them to be pack followers and not pack leaders. Then there is a call back visit Cesar makes to Hootie, an agility competitor that he had helped overcome the fear of children. The interesting aspect was that although the owner was a very skilled trainer and handler, she was not the leader of her pack of four dogs! The next segment showed a vicious dachshund who nails Cesar’s hand. Cesar’s reaction is incredibly fast, but at no time does he become angry, or alarmed, or frustrated! He does what needs to be done to help the dog submit. The final segment deals with the danger of rattle snakes and how to very rapidly train a dog to avoid them. This entire series is well worth the purchase price. I own it! 

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