hey zogger, sorry man. i didn't mean to sound as if i was blasting you personally. and yes, cats do need scruffed. i'm just against everything ceasar milan stands for and get testy when i hear him mentioned as being an example to follow. he's not, but for some reason (tv) people seem to think he is...
back on topic. frontline/advantix
Well, I am "guilty" of getting one of his dvd things at the library and watched it, we don't have cable or satellite, so that is all I have seen. I didn't see any sort of cruelty going on with his methods, and you can't deny he has a rapport.
I am not a pro trainer or anything like that, just have a buncha rescued mutts and purrers to take care of, get by the best I can figure out. MOST of them I first got to be calm with me by simply laying my hand on their heads and leaving it there for a real long time. Sort of zen out, all of a sudden they..get calm.
Some of the ticks apparently cause them pain when removing, so they squirm and wiggle, some seem to come off easy and the dogs don't care a bit, and most of the time I just slide my hands around them and snatch them out, along with cockleburrs and whatnot.
When I first have to catch the feral/abandoned dogs, I get close to them and roll on the ground onto my back. I guess it is goofy, but it works, they go from either real shy or real aggressive** to come over and check me out, then it is all fours, few minutes later, it's like they were always with me. I have little idea why that works, but it does, just something I noticed when strange dogs meet up, so I sort of copied it. I go from passive/no threat to them, then have to turn around and become topdog to them, that's when they might have to get scruffed and held, which is the "similar" I saw to what he was doing with new to him dogs. That's later on though, not right them, I don't do anything remotely forward or aggressive with new to me animals. Well, hardly never ever at all really. Had to get macho with some bulls before, that's it.
I can't comment one way or the other on what "professional" dog trainers and handlers do, I imagine it is similar to ford/chevy/dodge, or stihl/husky/whatever, "yours suck and my way is the best"!!!! I don't ever really watch my TV, never saw any other sort of dog show on there, never been to a dog show, nothing. My late sister worked with dogs as a pro, police dogs and like guide/helper/rescue dogs, she showed me a few things, but that was back when I didn't own a dog myself, too, quite a long time ago, the 80s.
I have no personal ego into this at all, either way, l don't claim to be a professional, I'm not into "breeding" or "showing" animals at all, just had been turned onto that trick or method of holding them for care/work.
**exception was a wild pitbull pack. Instant attack, could have been a real problem.... I very very reluctantly had to resort to using a self defense tool to deal with it. They were bonafide in highly aggressive pack attack mode. No notice at all, right up to the yard, up by the greenhouse, came charging at my GF, completely out of the blue, she's screaming, me and my dogs come running, blah blah long story, posted it before, ain't gonna dig it up or retype it. I just was not gonna fool around with that and try any dog psychology stuff, just wayyy too dangerous, plus with all the stock critters here. Had to make a judgement call, that was it. All the rest of them though around here I have caught/tamed up, kept or found homes for.
