I come to bury Cesar, not to praise him!

Cesar Millan, that is — dog whisperer to some, Nazi dog trainer to others.

Actually, I don't intend to bury or praise him; I just couldn't resist the allusion. Some of the guy's ideas and practices strike me as sketchy; others make sense.

In the latter category: exercise for dogs! I'm with Cesar on the importance of making sure my dog (I won't speak for others) gets LOTS of exercise. Yesterday we had Freddie out on the UBC trails in the morning and the beach in the afternoon, and it was pretty clear, as it usually is, that this guy thrives on galloping/leaping/digging/pulling/chasing/paddling/carrying/tracking/wrestling ... as well as an impressive style of lion dancing.

And, as Cesar and others argue, it's a lot easier to work with a dog on things like impulse inhibition when he doesn't have ants in his pants.

One of these days I hope to do justice to Freddie's repertoire of moves, and to the spectacularness of Vancouver's natural setting, but the speed of the former and the immensity of the latter may defeat me! In the meantime, here's what I came up with yesterday ....

 

 Have a relaxing weekend, everyone!