Our Dog Whisperer Experience

I was truly at my wits end. My husband was ill quite a bit of the time, the dogs were acting up. The fighting was becoming a daily occurrence; they were scarred and bloody, Dolly was on medication for anxiety and still was aggressive. I knew we needed help and went to a dog psychologist in LA and paid $500 for a 2 hour session. Taking every word he said to heart, we tried our best to follow his instructions, only to find out that we were making the problem worse. Now we were really in trouble.

By chance, we saw the ad in the LA Times - an audition to work with the Dog Whisperer. For us it was a huge opportunity that we couldn't miss. When we were chosen, we were relieved that help was on the way.

The Big Day!

After delays in our film date, the big day finally arrived. The crew arrived and couldn't have been nicer. They allayed all our fears, assuring us Cesar would be able to help us and making us feel comfortable in front of the camera. When Cesar arrived, we could actually feel his presence in the house. He was gracious, as was his wife, Illusion. Sue Ann was a life-saver, she led us through the process, and Sheila made us feel completely comfortable with the entire process.

This day, we didn't get a chance to actually see Cesar work with the dogs. We were brought out after he worked with them, to find them sitting together with a pile of toys and a bowl of food between them, and they were paying attention to Cesar and not each other. Amazing. I think we were overwhelmed; the rest of the day seems a blur. We went for a walk, and Cesar helped Jeffrey with proper walking techniques - and then it was over. When everyone left, we were full of hope. As the days progressed, we experienced a worsening of the dogs. Fortunately, Illusion told us that this might happen, but when it actually does, you get disheartened. But we persevered. The walks became the most important task of our days. The dogs were wearing backpacks, and all three dogs were being walked together without incident. We began introducing Peaches with the bulldogs one at a time. There was some improvement, but when a fight broke out, we still panicked.

Read on.