It's not so much the touching and the jerks (well, the jerks on the halti had me cringing)...but the reaction of the dog and the association being made in the dog's mind. For example, I saw him with two different dogs practicing the approach of a stranger dog. He corrects them so frequently, they do not even make eye contact with the stranger dog or give one sniff in its direction. This creates a situation where the dog is ignoring the stranger dog b/c Cesar is in charge and is commanding the dog to focus on him (which is exactly what old school behaviorists like him want). However, the dog now has NO clue how to properly interact with a strange dog. What happens if the dog is in its yard and a strange dog comes by and Cesar is not there issuing leash corrections to enforce physical domination? He's not correcting leash reactive aggression, he's suppressing it. Maybe it's because I'm a GSD person and we like our GSDs to be alert and curious but wary of stranger dogs, but IMO a dog out on a walk showing NO interest in another dog is very, very odd and unnatural.
I'm not inherently against chain jerks, but I prefer using prongs because they are self-correcting and safer than chokes. Chokes put pressure directly against the dog's throat. Cesar avoids this because he knows a choke is positioned just behind the ears, but most common folk keep collars and leads lower on the neck. Jerking a choke in this position will cause MORE pain and more damage than a self-correcting prong. When a prong tightens, it tightens evenly because of how the chain pulls IN on the collar, not UP. The choke pulls up leaving space between the back of the collar and the dog's neck, thus causing basically a punch to the dog's esophagus. I also prefer prongs to chokes because I want my dog to actually understand what is and is not appropriate leash behavior. In the episodes I've seen so far, all the dogs understand is that Cesar is in control and Cesar will jerk if the dog does this or that. My dogs walk at heel with their heads slightly ahead of me, but they are trained to glance up and back to read me, rather than wait around for a correction. Again, I don't ever want a GSD walking behind me, it defeats the purpose of the dog! Also, I don't agree that a dog ahead is assuming dominance. Sled dogs mush ahead of the sled and they damn well know who is in charge! Again, my dogs walk at heel against my left leg (touching) but about half a stride ahead of me. They keep focus on me for cues and even though they're not behind me, they don't pull and have slack lead at their slide. If they get ahead or lose focus, I simply stop walking. If they are wearing a prong, they will quickly self-correct. If they aren't they'll be confused for a second, then look back, then think "oh! oops!" and resume walking correctly. Jerking on the choke doesn't teach leash manners, it teaches "just stay behind Cesar." Anyone can walk my dogs, say "heel" and get the same results, but Cesar's method requires constant correction and every new person to go through a period of demonstrating physical dominance. It works and I don't think it's that troublesome, not at all abusive, but that's a 30 year old method and not as effective as more common training programs. I prefer methods that involve more reward and allow the dog to self-correct. For example, I take out a 115lb Chessie who pulls like a pack mule. The second he pulls, we stop walking. I command "heel", get him set, and we start again. I've worked with dogs where we move maybe five feet in 20 minutes, but it seems like at about the 20 minute mark, it finally clicks that if they pull, we don't walk! If they heel, we walk! And then we're off! Throw in some treatage when they're maintaining the heel and you've got an obedient dog that corrects itself without being jerked and is happy to be walking, not waiting for corrections for submission. Both ways work, but our goal is to train dogs for families that might have an 8 year old walking the dog. I trust Cesar, but I do not trust an 8 year old to properly give corrections by jerking a halti.
As for jerking the lab on the halti, I know Cesar knows what he's doing but that's one situation where I'd not be showing that to millions of viewers. I know the disclaimer is there, but misusing a halti is going to injure the dog and cause a lot of frustration.
However, it seems that Cesar is working with whatever leads and tools the families are already used to and I think that is commendable. Prongs, haltis, and chokes are all designed for certain dogs in very specific situations and I'm glad he doesn't seem to be pushing for one universal answer like some dingbat trainers.
My uncle is also very rough with his dog so I'm used to it. The problem they do not understand retaliation or punishment, only correction and reward. His roughness is exactly the reason she has become so frustrated and we're starting from square one with training. We've got a huge, strong, adult labrador nipping, yelping, lunging, and pulling like a puppy because she interprets his roughness as play.
What I do like about him is that his comments and suggestions to the people are dead-on. However, he's not really saying anything earth-shattering. Pretty much any credible behaviorist would say the same thing. But I think it's good knowing that inexperienced owners will actually see this. I like how much he stresses the correct use of affection and being aware of how your body language is being read by the dog. Those are like the two most important things to consider and it seems every person on the show as overlooked them until Cesar comes along.
All in all, I enjoy the show so far, even though I prefer NILF, clickers, and self-corrective methods if possible. Sometimes physical domination is the only way. Of course if all these people properly trained the dogs in the first place, there wouldn't be a need for all the jerking and forced submission. I think the impressions he's making on the owners is more valuable than his handling of the dogs.
Stars, instead of MySpace you should get a dogster.com page! I'm making catster.com pages for my cats.
That dog has quite the pedigree 
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