Cesar Millan

I saw a video on YouTube recently that’s pretty amazing. You can watch it in that link, although you’ve probably seen similar videos.

In it, a couple of small dogs are barking at something in their backyard. One dog is a terrier, maybe thirty pounds at the most. The other is a Dachshund, about two thirds that size. Whatever they’re barking at isn’t visible at first because of the bushes around the yard.

And then the thing they’re barking at becomes visible. It’s a gigantic bear.

We see the bear’s head just long enough to worry for the dogs — but then it pulls itself up on top of the chain-link fence, terrified. This is when we see how big the bear really is. It’s at least twice the size of an adult human and five times the size of either dog, but that doesn’t matter.

In this encounter, the tiny dogs have the bigger energy, and they very easily drive this massive bear out of their yard, onto and over the fence, and away from their territory. They don’t even think to be afraid because they see the world the way that animals do, through their instincts. So did the bear. The dogs were not bluffing and that bear wasn’t taking any chances.

In the conversation they had, the dogs were saying, “This is our territory. You get out now!” The bear didn’t have a response to that except to say “Don’t hurt me” by fleeing. If you’ve ever watched a little tiny dog like a Chihuahua get up in a pit bull’s face barking only to have the bigger dog retreat, then you’ve seen this conversation in person.

If your dog is pushing you around with this energy, then you’ve played the role of the bear in the video — you’ve let your dog intimidate you into retreating. Imagine for a second how the encounter would have changed if the bear had turned and roared back at the dogs, or even took a swipe at them with his claws. Or even imagine the bear just standing there, not retreating. At some point, the dogs are going to lose confidence in their own dominance.

The great thing is that when your dog is trying to be the one in charge, you don’t have to roar or swipe your claws. All you have to do is refuse to give in to their demands. If your dog is jumping on you for attention, you “win” by ignoring her. If your dog is barking because he wants to go out, you don’t reward him by going outside until he’s stopped barking and calmed down.

It seems pretty ridiculous for a huge bear to be scared off by two tiny dogs, but in the world of energy and Nature it makes perfect sense. It should seem equally ridiculous for humans to be intimidated by their own pets, but it happens. And yet, all we have to do is show the same absolute confidence as the dogs in the video do. They are sure of what they want — which is that bear out of their yard — and when they approach, their attitude is not “We hope this will happen” but rather “We know it’s going to.”

When you’re trying to get your dog to behave, you have a choice of two approaches as well. You can hope it will happen — and give off weak energy that your dog will ignore. Or, you can know in your mind and heart that it’s going to happen, and your dog won’t argue with that because she can’t. How can she? You’ve got the forces of Nature on your side.

Stay calm, and scare the bear!


More From Cesar's Way Videos

Recommended Videos


Related Posts

May 26, 2023

How Can I Get My Dog to Stop Digging?

Hi Cesar, My boyfriend and I have three dogs. Two are Rottweilers (three years old

May 19, 2023

What You Need to Know About Hookworms in Dogs

Hookworms are dangerous parasites that live in a dog's small intestine. With remarkable efficiency, hookworms

May 12, 2023

I Can’t Get My Overweight Dog to Lose Weight

My Cheena (a Chihuahua/pekinese) is overweight at 11 lb. I have had numerous suggestions on

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get Tips From Cesar & The Pack

Don’t get left out of the doghouse! Sign up now to make sure you’re up to date on the latest happenings!

Trending Today

Trending This Week