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TIP FROM CESAR MILLAN: DOES SEX DETERMINE
AGGRESSIVE TENDENCIES?
Dear Jubilee:
I am trying to understand
what will be best for my family: a male or a female dog? Can you help me?
Can you give me some information? I am concerned about territorial and
aggressive tendencies.
Trying to Understand
| Dear Trying to
Understand: In most cases, I don’t
believe that the sex of a puppy has any bearing on whether s/he becomes
territorial or aggressive. There is a man, Cesar Millan, who is doing an
excellent job of helping people understand their responsibility to their
dogs and the role that owners play in whether or not their dogs develop
development territorial and aggressive traits.
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Cesar clearly explains and demonstrates, in his
weekly The Dog Whisperer program, on the National Geographic Channel, in a
DVD (People Training for Dogs), and in his recent book (Cesar’s
Way) how we owners create many of the problems, like these negative
traits, that our dogs develop. He has many examples of how these negative
traits are directly linked to the owners and how well they take charge of
their dog(s). I recommend that you get his book and DVD and that you watch
his program before selecting your dog. You can learn more about him on his
website,
http://cesarmillaninc.com/dsc.php
As for male vs female: I do not have a strong preference: both are smart,
very trainable, and very affectionate. In my experience, neither male or
female tends to be more aggressive or territorial.
The best way to determine the right dog for you
is to (1) research what the breed was developed to do and (2) pick a
responsible breeder.
Most breeds were developed for a reason. Some
were developed to do jobs that required high speed, and they can out run you
and just about anything else. Others were developed to herd other animals,
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Cesar Millan with Joyce Miller and
Neisha |
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they tend to want to herd
whatever they live with: other dogs, children, you and your friends, etc. Some
were developed to be lap dogs and some were developed to hunt and kill their
prey. It is important that you know what the breed you want was developed to do
so that you can determine if you have the space and the resources to keep that
dog happy and well exercised.
Once you have decided on a
breed, then you need to find a good responsible breeder. For many breeds, you
can go to the website of its national breed club and find a directory of
breeders. A good breeder will ask you a lot of questions, and these questions
are aimed at placing the right puppy in the right home. The better the breeder
understands your life style and you, the better able the breeder is to select
just the right puppy from a particular litter for your home.
I hope this all helps, and please do get Cesar's DVD and book: his weekly
one-hour program on the National Geographic channel shows how his ideas work
with actual case studies in real homes. I met him at the annual conference of
the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP), and I am very
grateful that dog owners have someone like him helping them understand how to be
a really good dog owner.
Thank you for your inquiry. Good luck in your search for the right dog for your
family.
Jubilee
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