I am a huge fan of the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_Whisperer

He has outlined his amazing principles for dealing with problem dogs, which of course I immediately began applying to raising my son. Here are a few of his top principles:

1. Cesar emphasizes that dogs want to know who the pack leader is, and that if you don't establish leadership then they will challenge you more often. I noticed this principle applies to my relationships with co-worker humans at times.

2. Cesar also stresses the importance of exercise, discipline, and affection (in that order) with your dogs. The revelation there is that a dog will be much better behaved if you prioritize exercise and take him on a long walk every day. The dog gets tired, and the exercise ends up resolving a huge number of behavioral issues.

3. Finally, he emphasizes that affection is important but that it's the third most important thing, after exercise and discipline. This makes a lot of sense to me, because I believe that consistent and clear discipline is hugely important.

I've been using these principles to try and raise Charlie, and they have been hugely helpful. As the pack leader, I make it clear to Charlie that I am the boss, and I make the decisions. That has helped a lot, especially as he has gotten more verbal and aware.

Along those lines, I used to give Charlie options: do you want to go to the market, or to get coffee? Now I just tell him where we are going. A small thing, but I read somewhere that when we were kids, our parents never gave us options. But parents today like to give their kids choices and input... and it can supposedly impact the dynamic between parent and child. Not sure on that, but I've noticed that Charlie doesn't seem to mind not having to choose between options all the time.

I also try to make sure that I take Charlie on long walks as much as possible, to tire him out. Whenever he goes on a long walk, he seems to pass out so much better at night and also to listen to me more. In one episode, Cesar put a weighted backpack on a dog once, to really tire him out. So I put a bunch of Charlie's stuff into his Elmo backpack one day, to see if it would help. I didn't want to hurt his back or anything though, so I didn't put enough in and I don't think I truly tired him out. Still, I love to tire him out whenever I can.

In general, I think about Charlie as my pup. Our family is the pack, and Mrs. Bee and I are the pack leaders. Is this a healthy way to raise a child? I actually have no idea! But I don't want Charlie to be spoiled, and so instead I am trying to raise him like a dog.

Anyone else a fan of the Dog Whisperer? Also: do you think that Cesar's principles work at all on humans?