As a pet sitter and dog walker I ONLY do Cesar Millan's techniques and believe in his philosophy with 100% success in 5 years. I don't do rehabilitation or training. So I have declined two clients in 5 years who had red zone dogs and the clients were in denial.
You can see some on the internet on his channel or Nat Geo's channel I think. If you have a DVR and his station WILD or nat geo...just set it to his show about 2-3 times per day and the message is always the same, puppy, adult, crazy, calm, fearful, aggressive whatever.
(DISCLAIMER:Just the specific cases and specific problem solving varies and of course not all people should do what he does. It's just to show that it CAN be done and problem people need professional help.)
In watching the show you can see how often doing LESS is the best technique. For example making sure you never have tension on the leash and you are standing up straight and relax your brain if you are getting tense, and only use tension on the leash for a brief second then release it to loose leash again right away. If you watch these shows over and over and pay attention to the method it becomes second nature. And he does it in a funny way, like simply taking a leash from an owner who's dog is going NUTS barking etc and the dog immediately STOPS. This was on this week Season 6 Ep 1 "mad Dogs" where he went to an office that accepts dogs a work. One employee's Chi was barking it's head off in the group auditorium so the lady handed Cesar the lead and he simply put the dog next to his leg, said a quiet "shh" and it shut up and calmed down all normal and stayed that way while they continued to talk LOL. Then he handed the leash back to her and the dog was fine.
Puppy book:
How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond: Cesar Millan, Melissa Jo Peltier: 9780307461308: Amazon.com: Books
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Two things I believe in 1000%. WALKS and CALM ASSERTIVE ENERGY. For bringing ANY dog home: Before going in the house, walk the puppy with you on a leash to create a bond and trust that he has found his leader. Of course it's kind of a fake walk, not going a half mile but a good walk none the less. This will set the tone for everything afterwards. A CALM walk but see if he'll get "in the zone" and think he's going somewhere. (obviously depending on his age).
Don't let other people or animals near him on this walk. Just you and the dog on a leash. Or with your family being QUIET and just walking. Don't distract him with alot of words if he's going to the bathroom "Go potty! Go pee, poop! yay! omg he pooped! GOOD BOY! " blah blah blah. haha. All he is hearing is "excitement".
If you have kids do NOT let them play like crazy puppies or kiss, hug, all that stuff. They are conveying to him that they are his peers and you want them to convey they are his "leaders" or if that term offends people say "guidance counselors" LOL. Let everyone get their bearings before going to the "play like nuts" stage. And when they play do NOT let things escalate to mouthing and dominating the kids, he needs to learn from them like he would from his puppy littermates when to de-escalate his brain and calm down and give up the toy or whatever.
Keep the house calm when he gets there, tell the family to SIT DOWN and relax and watch him ...then you lwalk in let him use his NOSE to learn about the house not his eyes to grab toys or ears having everybody yelling "HI BABY OMG SO CUTE HI HERE GET THIS BONE GET THIS BALL" all excited. If you have a yard after he smells the house take him out to the yard to do the same thing. NOT TO RUN AROUND - to "study" with his nose. Or eliminate. Then back in.
When he needs to chew... offer a GUMABONE by holding it in his mouth CALMLY and don't distract him with alot of talking ...let him get the point so he starts using the bone to chew out his frustration, energy, teething whatever. Lay on the floor and hold it. My kid fell asleep overnight holding my puppy's gumabone in his mouth and he used those bones for 9 years for stress relief. Don't just throw it on the floor and expect him to read the label HAHA.
Of course I'm saying this knowing nothing about the dog or your house. Just general advice that I KNOW works to help a puppy become calm and confident and not wild and neurotic and annoying.
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Housetraining:
IF he's not housetrained or if you see accidents and feel you can't get him out 100% of the time so decide to put "down papers" like some people choose to do:
Keep his living area SPOTLESS and use the plain white paper on a roll or UHaul ink free white packing paper to make up a potty area ...and dont' keep the potty are spotless. He needs to understand where to go. Do not remove every single piece of paper or he won't get it. Puppy pads are not really the best IME, I LOVE this technique.
You can cover up a stool/urine with a piece of paper while he's going so he doesn't step in it and track it back if he's exuberant.
If he tracks urine or stool back into his "clean area" it will smell of potty and he won't understand to WALK OVER to the potty area. So immediately clean that clean living area to be spotless again. Including all crate pads/blankets etc being washed and without any fragrances in the laundry detergent.
Here's a full explanation of the technique. It's about a breeder training baby 3 week old puppies (haha) but the concept is still valid. Of course if the "breeder" or whatever never bothered to do anything about housetraining (like mine in the past or a rescue) your challenge is much greater.
Puppies at 3 to 3½ weeks - Time to start potty training
OH and don't forget to get a bag of food from them to not switch foods too quickly. Research the recommended food for the breed if he's a specific breed, IMO. Like a Great Dane needs a different food than a Rotty or Jack Russel or a Bulldog for example.
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Lastly, I am one of those people who are VACCINE worriers and my vet respected that and we did not do alot of combo shots but spread things out a bit. Discuss this with your vet if you're that way, too. I did the same thing with my kid haha.
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. A lot of the books we've read have been very helpful but they seem to speak to training in general for all dogs, not just for puppies. Since I know puppies have their own unique training needs, I think it may be helpful to find a book just for puppies. I know there's a ton around, but obviously I want to find a good one.
