Cesar, Help Me!

I watch the Dog Whisperer regularly. I follow the exercise and love part but I'm having a bit of trouble with the discipline. I will take part of the blame but it can't all be my fault. Seymour has slowly but surely starting asserting himself and now I find that I'm in competition with him for being the pack leader.

Having a dog is like having a child all over again. I'll admit that there were times (many) when my kids would get their way after a tantrum. There were also times when I can't believe what would come out of my mouth -

After hearing "Mom, mom, mom", my retort was "I'm changing my name and I'm not telling you what it is!" That was mature of me.

I guess when it came to my dog, I decided that I should be more mature and understanding so I now have a 7 pound pack leader want-to-be in my house. It's like the lesson in biology about the frog that was put in water that kept getting hotter and hotter and - well I don't want to go into the gory details, but I am that frog!

Seymour went from sleeping in his crate in the dining room, to sleeping in his crate in my bedroom, to sleeping in my bed! It was almost like magic or I was hypnotized! Where did he learn that??

Then he started asserting his will during our walks - he had his own idea on which direction he wanted to go and when he wanted to just turn around and go back home. I know he's only a little guy, but I'm not comfortable having my neighbors seeing me dragging a 7 pound dog around the block - and I think it would be bad for his skin. So,he is basically now taking me for a walk.

Lastly, he has gone from loving his dog food to giving it a sniff and then jumping on my lap, looking me deeply in the eyes and saying telepathically "I know you're holding out on me - where's the bacon?"

Seymour has gotten so good at the pack leader role that I'm sure he has a mentor. My only legitimate conclusion is that there is a "People Whisperer" - and maybe the "People Whisperer" is happening at the same time I'm watching "The Dog Whisperer" in that high pitched voice that only dogs can here. I think that Cesar needs to have a talk with his pack - or there needs to be statement at the beginning of the show that says "not appropriate for dogs". I'm just saying -