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Well, my german shepherd puppy Marlie will be six months old in another week.  She has graduated puppy class, and is halfway through intermediate obedience.  I have to say it’s so much fun to have a dog that is so easy to train.  She knows the basics of sit, down, stay, and come, and she also can roll over, shake and high five.  We are working on more advanced training now like staying with distractions.  She can stay fairly well with distractions except for those that are moving.  We’re working on that.

I just finished reading The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller.  She is Oprah’s dog trainer, and her approach to dog training is positive and playful.  I agreed with her philosophy, and have seen it work in my own dog.  Marlie’s obedience classes are based on positive approaches to dog training.  I’m also trying to use a clicker with Marlie, but I’m not certain I’m going to stay with that yet.

My husband is a fan of the Dog Whisperer show on the National Geographic channel.  Cesar Milan is the Dog Whisperer, and he mostly handles what he calls “red zone” cases.  These are dogs who are usually very aggressive and dangerous.  He uses methods and dog psychology based on “the power of the pack” and achieving a “calm, submissive” state for the dogs.  Tamar Geller’s philosophy is different from Cesar Milan’s in some areas, and my husband seems to want to go with Cesar’s philosophy.  I don’t agree, because my dog is not a “red zone” case.  So far she has responded very well to positive dog training methods.

We have agreed that we need to be consistent with her training.  So since my daughter and I are the primary trainers for Marlie, we have decided to go with positive dog training methods, and my husband is supporting us.

I recommend both The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller and Cesar Milan on The Dog Whisperer show.  Take the best from each method, but only you can decide which method is appropriate for your dog.

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