Treadmill Puppies

Cesar Millan is right! Ok, for those of you who don't have satellite TV (and I am not being a TV snob, I just love the National Geographic channel!) there is this phenomenon called The Dog Whisperer on NatGeo. Cesar is a "dog psychologist" who "rehabilitates dogs, but trains people." Basically, people who are treating their dogs like babies or people (not treating them like DOGS) mess their dogs up, call Cesar, and then he comes and tells the crazy people that it's not a little furry, four-legged baby in their house... it's a DOG! (gasp!) You wouldn't believe how much that statement can really shock people. But Cesar is a good guy (read: adorable, Hispanic silver fox!) and he shows them the power behind Calm, Assertive Energy to control their dogs. (John and I call it "putting the SHH! on 'em" as that is Cesar's No-No noise he uses with the dogs. Cesar says it's just a noise, you can use anything you want. The shh! is just what his mom used on him and his brothers!)

So Cesar's abbreviated lesson is "Exercise, Discipline, and Affection... in that order!" And he often tells people who can't walk their dogs to put them up on the treadmill. It looks weird, but it is the same physical and psychological exercise as a walk around the block. Well, Inu is getting to be quite a chunker (she's gained the equivalent of a person gaining about 30 lbs!) and we were playing with diet and exercise ideas. Me, an avid fan of Cesar, put the puppies on the treadmill for about 1/4 mile each (20-30 min depending on dog's speed). Puppy Maile was unsure, but settled down really fast and liked the exercise. Fatty Inu was scared, but accepting of the authority. Then alpha-bitch Doge came along and I thought I had ended up deep-sea fishing with a bucking sailfish at the end of the leash! Good god, I thought she was going to choke herself! But Cesar says that the puppy is just protesting and you can't give up until they surrender, or else they win and you reinforce the behavior. So, choke herself she did. So there.

I tell you all this because I couldn't help myself -- I had to get a video of fatty Inu trekking along on the treadmill. It's too cute! (Sorry it's sideways. Apparently you can't rotate video clips.)