Quote Originally Posted by littleindiangirl View Post
Maybe I'm just going on a tangent, but I have no respect for people that expect dogs to act like humans with fur, and are frustrated when the dog is wild, unbalanced shy or aggressive because of the lack of leadership from the human. That to me is completely irresponsible.
littleindiangirl- this is the passage that got me. You quoted my post and then went on to say, ya da ya da, I have no respect for people that expect dogs to act like humans... perhaps I read too deeply, but I certainly based my comments on what you said and what appeared to be (based on you quoting me) a direct jab at me.

Here's a quote from Urbandawgs.com about training techniques, "The force-free movement gains momentum every year and a sure sign of this is that many trainers in the other camps resort to murkier and murkier euphemisms to disguise their more violent practices and retain their market share. Stressed dogs aren't "shut down," they're "calm." It's not strangling, it's "leading." As a committed devotee of the "dog-friendly" camp, I am therefore, along with my colleagues here at The San Francisco SPCA, somewhat agog at the stunning success of "The Dog Whisperer". This is pretty ferocious stuff by anybody's standards. The National Geographic Channel even runs a disclaimer banner at the bottom of the screen admonishing people to "not try this at home," a warning notably absent on home improvement shows or "Nanny 911". Many have suggested that the cloaking of corporal punishments and hazing in mystical language, promise of instant results, high octane telegenicity of Cesar Milan and lucky connections with Los Angeles celebrity clients are sufficient explanation for the Dog Whisperer phenomenon."

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's opinions. I prefer a primarily positive reinforcement based training technique and have seen it work very well for my dogs and for many of my colleagues animals, but if you want to endorse old-school fear based training that's fine by me. I still fail to see how aggressively confronting a fearful dog is a good idea, let alone a good idea to teach the general public, but who am I to care if people do things that result in them getting bitten...