Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer's Most Controversial Topics
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Cesar Millan is the host of the popular show The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is a charismatic and very entertaining host, and he has made The Dog Whisperer into a big favorite amongst many dog owners.
As a result, he has many fans that implement his techniques on their house pets.
There are some who feel that The Dog Whisperer's dog training techniques are overly harsh and inappropriate for novice trainers (most pet owners).
In this article, I examine some of the most popular discussions from The Dog Whisperer's proponents and opponents.
1. Are Cesar Millan's techniques humane?
Cesar Millan's techniques are humane because that is what wolves or dogs do to each other.
There is some disagreement as to whether wolves or wild dogs alpha roll each other. From watching my dogs, it seems that they do.
Sometimes my Shiba Inu will correct my Siberian Husky when she bites him a bit too hard. He squeals, and then goes after her, tumbles her onto her side, and holds her neck. This happens quickly and efficiently, and then they start playing again. Sometimes, my Shiba Inu will tumble my Siberian Husky multiple times in a row, at which point I will step in and separate them for a while.
Whether wolves or dogs do alpha rolls or not, is a moot point.
The fact is we are not wolves, or dogs; we do not have the same teeth, paws, speed, or strength that they do. Whatever alpha roll that we do will be very different from the alpha rolls that they do to each other.
In addition, just because it is done by wolves or dogs in the wild does not mean that it is acceptable behavior for a dog living in a house, and it also does not make it humane.
In the wild my Shiba Inu would probably hunt down and kill all of the cats and squirrels that he sees. That does not mean that I will let him do that to the neighborhood cats, and that also does not mean that cat killing is particularly humane.
Cesar Millan Books
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Be the Pack Leader: Use Cesar's Way to Transform Your Dog . . . and Your Life
Price: $10.38
List Price: $25.95 |
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Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems
Price: $7.70
List Price: $13.95 |
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Cesar's Way Deck: 50 Tips for Training and Understanding Your Dog
Price: $8.17
List Price: $14.95 |
Cesar Millan's techniques are NOT humane because he uses aversive methods such as alpha rolls and leash jerks.
Whether something is humane or not, is often subjective and dependent on the cultural and social values of the time. Such criticisms (which are themselves, aversive techniques) are never very effective at convincing people to your point of view.
In fact, quite the opposite.
It is not very productive to scold people who are just trying to do what they think is best for their dog. It is more productive to describe the good and the bad of different dog obedience training methods, and let people decide which is most appropriate for themselves.
Personally, I find that aversive dog training is difficult to implement correctly. Under the hands of a real expert it may work well, but in the hands of a novice, it is fraught with many risks and difficulties.
Ultimately, it was just a lot easier, effective, and satisfying to only use reward dog training on my dogs.
2. Is Cesar Millan's program just entertainment or actually good for dogs?
Cesar Millan's program is good for dogs.
Cesar Millan communicates some good information to a large audience including how to be pack leader, how to maintain calm and assertive energy, and how to fulfill a dog's needs.
He is also a good ambassador for certain breeds like the Rottweiler and the Pit Bull which have traditionally gotten a bad dog reputation because of the irresponsibility of their human owners.
Cesar Millan's DVDs
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Cesar Millan's Mastering Leadership - Volumes 1-3
Price: $31.95
List Price: $49.99 |
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Cesar Millan's Sit and Stay the Cesar Way: Vol. 4 Mastering Leadership Series
Price: $24.94
List Price: $29.99 |
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Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: Power of the Pack
Price: $4.26
List Price: $9.98 |
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Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan: The Complete Third Season
Price: $22.19
List Price: $39.98 |
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Cesar Millan's Mastering Leadership Series Volume 3: Your New Dog: First Day And Beyond
Price: $24.95
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Cesar Millan's program is just for entertainment.
While there is useful information that can be gleaned from The Dog Whisperer program, there is also misinformation that can result in physical and emotional harm to both trainer and dog.
What has worked best for me is to do my own research and get all the information possible through the web, the neighborhood SPCA, and local training centers. I still watch The Dog Whisperer, It's Me or the Dog, and other dog training shows on television, but mostly because they are entertaining. It also helps to see that other owners are having similar problems with their dogs as I am having with mine.
Sometimes I will adopt an interesting technique from the shows, but only after doing my own research and discussing it with a professional trainer that I trust.
It can be dangerous and detrimental to your dog, to follow anything you see on these television shows, without first doing thorough research of your own.
Cesar Millan is so charismatic and popular, that unfortunately, many follow his techniques without first exploring alternative methods and without fully understanding all the risks involved. Some dog breeders, vet technicians, and dog trainers use and teach others to use alpha rolls for a wide variety of situations, and even on puppies!
This is very unfortunate, as such extreme techniques cause a great amount of stress, especially on young dogs. They may hurt a puppy's social and emotional development, and bring about behavioral problems down the road.
Cesar Millan has an amazing, natural sense for dogs, and is able to execute the proper techniques, with perfect timing, at the proper force, and for the right reasons.
However, this is not true of most people.
Therefore, Cesar Millan has a great responsibility to all of his viewers, to make clear the risks involved from using his techniques (especially the leash jerk and the alpha roll). Cesar Millan should be extremely explicit on when to and when not to apply his methods.
3. Should dogs be walked the Cesar Millan way?
Dogs should always be walked the Cesar Millan way, i.e. at a heel position.
Cesar Millan recommends that dogs be walked in a heel position at all times. According to Cesar Millan, this will help establish and maintain leadership during walks.
There should be some breaks during these walks but the breaks are always at the discretion of the human.
Many trainers, even reward obedience trainers, also believe in having this level of control. With greater structure during walks, there is less danger of aggression in the presence of other dogs, cats, or squirrels; there is less danger of eating something poisonous or harmful; and there is less pulling.
Dogs should usually be walked on a loose-leash.
Dogs may need more structure during walks when they are young. However, I am a great believer of loose-leash walking.
I train my Shiba Inu to walk on a loose leash most of the time, and only shorten the leash when I need to, for example, when there are dogs or cats nearby. I do "the walk" purely for my dog's enjoyment, and since I do not know where the most interesting smells are, I let him roam and smell where he likes best.
My Shiba Inu can be aggressive to other dogs, so when there are dogs or cats about, I shorten the leash and quickly walk him away. My Shiba is happy with loose leash walking and he gets to smell, hunt lizards, and explore the places that are most interesting to him.
When my Shiba Inu was younger, I was a bit more strict with leash training, and placed him in a heel position more frequently.
However, he enjoys his walks a lot more now, and does not behave any worse than when I exerted greater control.
Which walk technique works best depends on your temperament, your dog's temperament, the environment, and how much time you have to devote to the walk. You can cover a lot more ground and thus expend more of your dog's energy in a short time if you walk in a brisk heel. However, it may not be as interesting or stimulating for your dog.
Once your dog learns to walk without pulling, consider rewarding him by letting him walk on a loose leash more frequently. You can always go back to a more controled walk if he starts acting out.
4. Are Cesar Millan's methods needed for aggressive dogs?
Cesar Millan's aversive methods are necessary for aggressive dogs that are about to be destroyed.
Some people point out that aversive dog training is necessary for the real problem dogs. Some dogs, they argue, may not respond to reward dog training because it is too soft and may not get the message through. Furthermore, if a dog is about to be destroyed, it may be better to use aversive methods to quickly improve his behavior rather than let him be destroyed.
Cesar Millan, must often deal with owners who are about to give up on their dog, and/or cannot spend much time in fixing all of their dog's issues.
In addition, owners may not be able to afford a professional trainer for long periods of time which may be needed for reward methods. Aversive methods, they say, may cause some discomfort; but certain lessons must be learned for the safety of the dog. For example, no running in front of a car, and no biting on strangers.
Being seriously injured from a car accident or forced euthanasia for aggression is worse than any aversive method.
Reward Obedience Training
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Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs
Price: $5.50
List Price: $13.95 |
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The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs
Price: $8.25
List Price: $14.95 |
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Don't Shoot the Dog!: The New Art of Teaching and Training
Price: $8.81
List Price: $13.17 |
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The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs
Price: $6.99
List Price: $17.95 |
Reward dog training works better especially for aggressive dogs.
There was a really enjoyable program, Growing up Grizzly hosted by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, on Animal Planet. This program shows how grizzly bears can be effectively trained with only reward obedience training.
If bears and other wild animals can be trained in this way, certainly large and aggressive dogs can as well.
Traditional trainers, used to apply aversive methods on wild animals, e.g. whips for training tigers and lions. More recently, however, animal trainers have found that reward methods that are based on positive reinforcement rather than positive punishment, are more effective at getting animals to perform.
Such animals are happier, more eager to please, and less likely to become dangerous.
In fact this University of Pennsylvania 2009 study shows that 1 in every 4 dogs that are trained with aversive methods exhibits aggression during training.
Contrary to common belief, aversive methods do not lessen aggression in dogs, but may actually encourage it.
Cesar Millan and Pack Leadership
A common misconception is that pack leadership can only be achieved with forceful aversive methods.
Although Cesar Millan does not explicitly say this in his program, it comes through implicitly with the techniques he uses (leash corrections and alpha rolls), that achieves leadership through physical dominance.
The belief that certain problem, aggressive, or dominant dogs can only be cured through physically forceful aversive methods is just not true. It is a myth, perpetuated by traditional trainers and by shows like The Dog Whisperer.
Many trainers have successfully rehabilitated aggressive dogs with reward methods. For example, dog trainers in the DogTown animal sanctuary were able to rehabilitate Michael Vick's fighting Pit Bulls using only reward obedience training.
It is true that reward methods may take longer before showing results, but the results are much better and last for a lifetime.
The most powerful argument for using aversive methods is that they may get the dog to respond more promptly and more consistently. This may be required for working dogs, and/or may save a dog's life in an emergency situation.
It seems to me that a working dog will be happier and more industrious when he is working for rewards, rather than when he is working to avoid punishment. In addition, a dog that is properly managed, should never be in an emergency situation.
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Comments
Dear rb, nobody is truly unbiased. If you are truly unbiased, then you probably do not care about the subject matter. Personally, I think some of the things that Cesar says is good, but he also spreads a lot of misinformation. I tried many of Cesar's techniques on my dogs and some of them worked, and some did not. The ones that did not, caused a lot of harm to the relationship between me and my dog. I am not a professional dog trainer, just a dog owner and a dog lover. A professional trainer can execute the aversive techniques that Cesar uses with greater accuracy and effectiveness, but even under the direction of such a trainer, it did not work out well for me.
I believe that discussion is good, and I try to present some of my experiences and views in this article. I try to present both sides of the argument, but I naturally have my own biases. However, through discussion, we can gather as much knowledge as we can and make good decisions for our dogs.
You make a nice exposition, and you bring up a very good point in that unprepared people might apply his techniques incorrectly. However, you also have a very big misconception... "working for rewards rather than working to avoid punishment". Cesar's methods are not about punishment, they are about communication and sometimes snapping the dog out of a "non-communicative state of mind". Once communication is established, the dog will not do something to avoid punishment, he will do it to please you. Pleasing you and being looked after is all the reward he/she needs. I also postulate that one finds himself/herself giving leash corrections over and over again they should STOP. Again it is about communication, not punishment. You do not pull the leach because you are annoyed or irritated with the animal. You do it to redirect his/her attention. As he has said in some interviews you match the intensity, but you can never go overboard or will will damage the dog. One of the most telling moments in the show was when in the 1st season Cesar made a mistake and pulled the leash at the wrong time -- they dog just looked at him as if asking why did you do this to me. Cesar explained that he had made a mistake, waited for the dog to achieve a better state of mind and "apologized" to the dog. If the person is not communicating they did not get it and are no longer helping the animal.
Great comment Ed. It made me smile and got me thinking about a lot of things. I think there are many dogs who are motivated by human approval and affection. Many dogs are bred to work with humans and to desire working for us and "pleasing us". However, I think there are also many dogs who have very different motivations. My Shiba Inu, for example, has very little interest in pleasing me - he is most interested in pleasing himself :) He is also not very food motivated; but he turns out to be the explorer type and really values his freedom to roam. So I use that as his reward.
You are right that "punishment" is an overloaded term and not a good description to use here. I *do* believe that leash corrections can work well in snapping a dog out of a bad/obsessive state. My first trainer was a traditional trainer and he was able to do that very well and get good initial results with my dog. However, the leash correction does deliver pain to the dog. Training collars such as the prong and the choke chain can be used to amplify the amount of pain delivered. In fact, the key to executing a good leash correction is to apply it with the proper level of force/pain. The Monks of New Skete describe this well in their book.
You are also right that dog training is not about punishment but about communication. The trainer communicates to the dog what is desirable and undesirable behavior. There are two ways to communicate this - positive stimulus or negative stimulus. Therein lies most of the disagreements in dog training. If you enjoy the Dog Whisperer, check out "Its Me of the Dog" on Animal Planet. Victoria Stillwell emphasizes more positive stimulus type communication. I personally prefer that style of communication, and think it is more effective in the long term; but that is just from my own experiences with my dogs, and it is different with different dog-owner pairs.
I also agree with you 100% with not over-correcting a dog. I think that is one of the most common mistakes, that I unfortunately made when I got my first dog.
Thanks for your thought-provoking comment. I really enjoyed it.
The alpha rollover can be detrimental if it's not done right, and as silly as that sounds there is a right and wrong way to do it. Also, just because something ss done dog to dog, it doesn't mean that it should be done human to dog.
I read his books, but I don't take what he says to heart. I agree with some of the things that the man says, but definitely not everything and definitely not to the degree he says.
If he's as great as he likes to claim, why doesn't he help more dogs who are in shelters because of supposide behavior problems? Why doesn't he do more pro bono cases?
Thanks for dropping by Whitney. I definitely agree that alpha rolls are difficult to implement properly. In fact, in my experience, most aversive techniques are difficult to implement well, and when not applied properly they can cause more harm than good.
I also agree with you wrt. his books. I actually really enjoyed Cesar's Way. Mostly because of Cesar's story and how he became such a success from having so little in the beginning. I thought it was really inspiring. I also really like how Cesar uses positive reinforcement with people and encourages them to live life to the fullest. Hopefully he will switch to using more positive reinforcement with dogs. He has such a good feel for a dog's mood and body language, he really does not need to use any aversive stimulus.
I too would like to see him do more with shelters. In the latest season he has started exchanging rehabilitated dogs with more unruly client dogs, which I think is a good idea. One of my favorite dog shows on t.v. is DogTown which is about a no-kill shelter and how they rehabilitate difficult dogs both physically and behaviorally. You have probably seen it. I really enjoy that show. :)
Hey! I didnt know you had a website! Shibashake.com??? WoW...(There I used it..) lol That's cool! Making your own website... is THAT free? Wait I'm not talking about the dog whisperer... AGAIN!!
Helloooooo??
I like Cesar's training techniques. I agree with you that they should definitely not be used by people with no experience. I think its good how he promotes using body language and tone to show he is the pack leader. From what I've seen his techniques dont seem inhumane but I can see how some of the great stress he puts on the dogs seems a bit much. But if its a drastic case...
I moved in with my partner who loves his big dog but had barely spent anytime training him and he has terrible seperation anxiety. He then rescued a young Alaskan Malamute alpha bitch who hates other dogs and is impossible to walk. It frustrates me when I hear his tone of voice when he tells them to do something as he sounds like he knows they aren't going to do it. I've tried training them but he just undoes it all with his attitude!letting the dog sleep on the bed, babying him when he whinges, feeding them at the table. One of them even has a psychosomatic skin problem now! they eat and excercise well though..Sorry that turned into more of a rant than a comment relative to yours.
Hi Dog owner, thanks for dropping by. Yeah it is especially difficult to train dogs when both people in the house are not on the same page.
When I switched over to using positive reinforcement techniques, my partner didn't want to, and he continued using the more traditional/aversive methods. I think this confused the dogs greatly. Luckily, he saw that the dogs were responding better to the positive techniques, and decided after a short time, to switch over as well.
One thing you can do is to hire a professional trainer to come over for a few sessions. Sometimes it is easier to accept advice from a third party than it is from a partner :)
Do you watch It's Me Or The Dog on Animal Planet? It is a fun dog training show, and may have some parallels with what you're going through now.
There is dog training and there is dog phsycology. Unless you're rewarding the dog when it is calm and submissive, you're just teaching the dog tricks. What you really need to achieve, you might not know you need at the moment. I don't think the dogs were confused when you switched over. I just think there may have been a conflict of dominance where the dogs could gain more power(dominance) from you and that was undoing the good work your partner was doing.
Dear Mr Smith,
Dog training is based on dog psychology. Using rewards is one type of dog training and therefore also falls under the umbrella of dog psychology.
http://www.hubpages.com/_srec/hub/Dog-Psychology--
The article above is about dog psychology, dog training, dog behavior modification, and dominance theory.
I welcome your opinions and thoughts on this matter.
I believe Ceasar Millian is in a spiritual place and communicates with dogs on other levels, so what may appear to be solely aversive techniques to you is not necessarly so. I see and feel both.
There are no absolutes only relative truths.
Hi Dawn, Thanks for visiting and thank you for your very interesting pespective.
"There are no absolutes only relative truths."
When it comes to morality, I definitely agree with you on this. For example, is eating animals wrong? Many people here believe that eating dogs is wrong, whereas people elsewhere believe that eating cows is wrong, and still other people believe that eating any animal is wrong. So what is right or wrong depends largely on culture and religion.
So I agree with you that we should keep moral judgements out of dog training. I do not think that Cesar Millan uses solely aversive techniques, he actually uses both aversive and reward techniques:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Cesar-Milan-Dog-Training-t
However, Cesar does use *more* aversive techniques. Leash jerks and alpha rolls are the two most pominent aversive techniques. They were not invented by Cesar Millan, but have been used by many dog trainers before him, including the Monks of New Skete who were the first to popularize alpha rolls in their dog training book.
Both aversive and reward techniques are based on many years of study and experiments on animal behavior and animal conditioning. Most dog training techniques, except for social learning, are based on these "animal conditioning" principles. If you are interested in reading more about this, please check out:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dog-Psychology--Dog-Behavi
I look forward to hearing your views on this.
Hi,
so you said somewhere that there is a reward method of rehabiliting agressive dogs, but it takes a long time for trainers to do so. Cesars method may seem a bit harsh but do work quickly.
So here's the point: Not everyone wants to spend that time, nor the money to pay a trainer for that long. Usuall dogowners doesnt even want to spend 60min a day for walking them out. Allright, they probably shouldnt have a dog at all, but these dogowners exist and will for a long time.
Maybe its better for them (i mean the dogs) to be trained aversive first and later with a reward training. Like first you do everything so the owners wont kill them or give them up?! They said before, there is no absolute truth.
I know dogs are not human: but dont parents do kinda the same with children. If your child hits another child, you first ground him (or sth else that makes him realize he had done bad). Than after a while you should try make him really change this behaviour, talk to him, teaching him in some way more "rewarding".
Now maybe you would say that you shouldnt do "aversive" (im not english, i dont understand that word so good) teaching on kids eather. But how many years have parents done that, and it works. It doesnt really hurt me when I was grounded 3 month after smoking pot.
Maybe, neither way is the golden one. Like everything else in life it should be somewhere in the middle. In my opinion, both ways combined should do the trick.
I agree that highly agressive dogs shouldnt be trained by any novice. But the ones between black and white can be corrected even by non professional trainers. Again, not everyone has the will to pay a trainer(or just dont have the money). So should the owner do nothing?
I mean, a "novice" owner may do wrong on reward training too, and spoil the dog. Same as he may be too harsh on his dog with aversive training. For example: First case, spoiled dog with still lots of issues. Second case, fearful dog and still lots of issues. The thing is doing it the right way, knowing the thin line between too much and the exact amount. For this, you normally have to get to know your dog pretty well and pay attention.
Thats what I like about the show, it gets people to START thinking. Its all about the start.
Why has he so much popularity? Because people are amazed on how quick it works, and how "easy" it is. You dont have to read lots and lots of books until you can make the first progress. You dont have to work hours and hours and hours to make the dog listen to you.
Thats just how usuall people are. Thats just what we humans are normally looking for: efficiency. They pay attention because it is sth. quick, and "easy" to keep in mind = efficient way. Its sad, but its like that.
Hopefully later, they would be more intrigued about the whole dog behavior/training thing. Would consider other books, other training methods. Maybe they would look in the internet and come across these type of discussions, make their own way of dog training.
If the American Human Associating would have succeded with their request to shut this show down. Lots of people wouldnt have started thinking about their dogs, and a lots of people wouldnt end up searching of their own.
Im glad he's there, he helped me helping my boyfriends parents "Doberwoman" be a happier dog. And I hope he still does it for a long time.
Has somebody even considered on how hard it is to be under the focus of millions of people? Would you (everbody) do better than him? Can someone say he's perfect in what he does?
These are just some thoughts of mine, nothing is ever black or white.
Hi Sarah,
I agree with you on this. I think that Cesar Millan is very charismatic, and he has certainly gotten a lot of dog owners to think about the needs of their dogs rather than just their own.
Just imagine how much better it would be for the dogs if Cesar Millan actually started using more reward methods and fewer aversive methods. That would convince many people to start with reward methods as well.
Unfortunately, Cesar often tries to separate himself from reward methods, and actually *imply* they are not as effective as aversive methods which is not true.
"Usuall dogowners doesnt even want to spend 60min a day for walking them out. Allright, they probably shouldnt have a dog at all, but these dogowners exist and will for a long time."
Yes this is really the saddest part. Dogs need daily exercise - even Cesar Millan says so. And really all the aversive techniques in the world are not going to make a dog need less exercise. All the aversive techniques will do is suppress behavior - and the dog will remain unbalanced because his needs for exercise have not been fulfilled.
As you said, people really should not get dogs if they do not have the time for it. In these cases, I feel that it may be better for them to surrender the dog over to a shelter and then don't get any more dogs in the future.
Cesar Millan can also do more to educate people on the enormous responsibility of dog ownership. Also, there should be better laws for controlling the sale of dogs and for protecting the dog's rights.
In short - I think Cesar Millan has done some good for dogs. As you say, he has spread the message that dogs have needs. But he can do so much more for dogs. He has a special gift - and he can do more for those (the dogs) who have given him so much.
i have a pure bred lab who i took to training classes every week and also had the help of the trainer at weekends,this went on for 3 years and we still could'nt calm him down and so the trainer and her behaivourist friend gave up on me.He is now 6 and i have started to use cesars methods and i have noticed a great difference after 5 days,so i understand that some people think he is too harsh but withwith my dog he needs that structure to calm down and make him concentrate and i cannot see any harm to him or stress as he is still his usual friendly,dopey self.Every body has different dogs and should use the method that they are comfortablewith.ceasor is doing whats right for him and he gets results,and in my opinion its over a long period of time,not fast like alot of people seem to say.
Hi Kate,
Thanks for sharing your dog's story with us. I am do glad to hear that your dog is doing so much better now.
You bring up a very good point, that I may write about -
There are a lot of not very good dog trainers out there.
I had a couple of dog trainers give up on my dog as well. At the time, that really made me feel bad, and also set back my dog training. Finally I got fed up and decided to get as much information as I can so that I no longer need to rely on what any one dog trainer said. :)
"my dog he needs that structure to calm down and make him concentrate "
That is another very good point. All dogs need that I think, and it is one of the very good messages that Cesar Millan conveys in his show.
As you pointed out, there are a variety of methods for achieving this. With my really difficult dog, my Shiba Inu, I was finally able to calm him down by controlling his resources, and controlling my own energy as suggested by Cesar.
Below are some of the steps I took. I would be interested in hearing what you think.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Pack-Leader-Being-Pack-Lea
I think that Cesar conveys some really good messages, but I also believe that he can be just as effective using fewer aversive training methods.
well my dog has the opposite problem,he's not aggressive.he's totaly in love with everything from birds to people to anything that breaths really and will drag me or charge when anything appears to go and say hello!Its a different problem to yours but just as frustrating and terrifying as i have heard that with the dangerous dogs act,you only have to feel threatened by a dog not nessesarely attacked or bitten,and having a 6 stone lab run full pelt across a 3 football pitch sized field towards you at full speed,while totaly ignoring its screaming owner,I think qualifies as threatening!,so trying to be calm and assertive when you are trying to look all around you and concentrate on the dog,and trying not to remember what happened on all your ather walks,is easier said than done,but i find that listening to music calms me down alot and if i am getting stressed then i stop,take a deep breath,remind myself of something i have acheived in the past,and than start the walk again .It's going to take a long time to get him where i want him,cos he is going to be 6 in october and the trainer who dumped me made it my fault that we were not getting any where which knocks my confidence even now,but what keeps me going is to meet her on a walk sometime with my wonderfull,calm,dog,and say Idid it all by myself! I say though that people should always go to training,and just keep an open mind and if things arnt improving in 6 months or so,then consider another trainer.
Hi Kate,
lol - love your dog stories. My Siberian sounds a lot like your lab. Some people get a bit afraid of her too - they think she is a wolf hybrid :)
Have you ever tried using a head-halti? I use that on my Siberian sometimes when we go for long walks in the park. Your dog will probably really not like it at first, but it is great for controlling pulling - especially in large dogs. It is just like a horse halter - except for a dog so you can control the dog's head with very little force. I have more on it in my leash training article, if you are interested.
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Stop-Your-Dog-from-
"the trainer who dumped me made it my fault that we were not getting any where which knocks my confidence even now"
Yeah I know what you mean - I felt the same way at first with my Shiba. Now I know that many of these trainers may not know what is best. Not saying there aren't any good ones - but there are certainly some bad ones :)
"people should always go to training,and just keep an open mind and if things arnt improving in 6 months or so,then consider another trainer"
Yes - I think keeping an open mind is very important. For example, like with Cesar Millan, people tend to get really polarized about him. I think he says some useful things, but he also says some things that are not very accurate. And this is probably true of all dog trainers. It is up to the dog owner to learn as much as they can, and sift the corn from the chaff :)
An important lesson that I learned when I started out with my Shiba is - Don't take everything that a trainer tells you as truth. Always get more information on your own and then make the best decision for your dog :)
I think Cesar's Ways wouldn't work for Wally. I think they would turn him into mush, especially if I had done them when I first started working with Wally.
I'm not particularly into leadership/dominance. I'd rather the dog do whatever because it's something that could get him a reward. That will keep him doing it while avoiding things that don't reward. Also means I'm communicating with him and we're working together in a more "pleasant" atmosphere instead of "me vs him - who's gonna be in charge". Calm? Assertive? Sure, I'll buy that, if nothing else, you can't think and interpret what the dog is doing unless you're of a stable mind yourself.
I don't want Wally submissive. That seems to imply that he can't act on his own, he always has to wait for my direction. I don't want that. I want him to take initiative to create his own solutions and solve problems. Maybe my goals are just different that what Cesar tries to accomplish.
Hi kb,
You bring up some really good points and I am in whole-hearted agreement.
Cesar Millan does say a fair number of things that make sense. What I like most about him is his message on a dog's needs and how it is the responsibility of dog owners to fulfill those needs.
But his aversive methods can encourage dog aggression, can cause dogs to break down, and can cause loss of trust; when used by most dog owners.
I really like what you say here -
"I don't want Wally submissive. That seems to imply that he can't act on his own ... I want him to take initiative to create his own solutions and solve problems. "
Wally is a lucky dog! :)
Hello!
Hey! Great new profile picture! :)
i stopped watching cesar several years ago because it was readily clear that his techniques might be too standardized for individual dogs. my own dog's behavior tends to alter based on her own moods, as well as my state(s) of mind; i see her as an intelligent being, capable of making decisions for herself. when i don't agree with those decisions or feel that she is endangering herself, i intervene by aversive or reward techniques, depending. however, there are times when she isn't going to do what i decide is best; it is up to me to determine our roles at that point, and there are those times when i actually support what others think of as 'bad' behavior.
i like that your articles show a similar sensitivity. i am by no means an expert on anyone, certainly not dogs, but feel strongly that to effectively integrate a dog, it must be treated with the same degree of respect and discipline as its interactive humans. we could learn a lot of human relationships through our canine counterparts, eh?
many kudos to you, shibashake!
Hello sbeakr, Thanks for your kind words :)
"but feel strongly that to effectively integrate a dog, it must be treated with the same degree of respect and discipline as its interactive humans"
I can't say it better than this. That is one of the key issues that I have with Cesar Millan - he supports a system of total dominance of the human over the dog which I do not agree with. It is just not the type of relationship I want to have with my dogs.
"we could learn a lot of human relationships through our canine counterparts, eh?"
I have certainly learned much from my silly dogs :) I am a much better person because of them.
hello, i just read what you wrote and the immediate thing that popped out is that you dont understand what cesar is trying to get across....and it became very clear after you constantly used "alpha rolls and leash pulls".... buddy, he uses those to snap a dog out of a certain behavior....those dont establish dominance...and YES dominance matters...
i also have a shiba inu and i tried being nice and rewarding her so make her stop her behaviors.... when i CALMLY and ASSERTIVELY proclaimed my space as being MINE to her in a completely non agressive manner, she responded extremely well and seems to be actually enjoying it... i might be wrong but everything ive ever read about shibas states that they thrive on discipline and order, and i am finding out that it is true.... i honestly dont believe that cesar goes overboard and he ALWAYS asks that people consult a professional before they try these things at home. ive used a couple of his techniques (carefully) and they worked...ive got her to stop chewing up the carpet and furnature...simple by snapping my fingers at her and owning the space...when she stops and calms down i then pet her...but i dont yell or get frustrated....
i dont know what cesar did to piss you off but one thing cannot be denied....HIS METHODS WORK....not once...not twice....but over and over and over and over again
Hello KevinB, Hope you are enjoying your July 4th weekend.
It sounds like we may just have to agree to disagree on this, but let me mention a few things -
1. Alpha rolls - As I understand it, the origins of alpha rolls are from studies done in the 1940s on wolf behavior. The scientists at the time observed that the alpha roll was used as a dominance ritual among wolves. I know that there are many disagreements among people who use Cesar's techniques and people who do not, but I think that there is general agreement that the alpha roll *is* a dominance technique. Cesar Millan did not invent alpha rolls - it has been practiced before he came along and was originally popularized by the Monks of New Skete. Alpha rolls have been widely recognized as a dangerous technique to use, especially by non-experienced dog trainers - which would include most dog owners.
2. Calm and assertive - Being calm and assertive is a good thing. I think everyone agrees with that. Some of Cesar Millan's techniques work quite well, including body blocks (what you describe as claiming space). In fact I have also written about all this. However, not all of his techniques work as well, and some of them may encourage aggression in dogs.
http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/research/030
3. Discipline and structure - Yes. Shibas need discipline and structure - all dogs do. I give my Shiba that by using reward dog training and controlling his resources. And no, reward dog training is not just about giving a dog food. It can also be used to stop bad behaviors. This is all very well documented in behavioral psychology and actual animal psychology as conducted by scientists such as Skinner and others. The process is called conditioning.
4. Pissed off at Cesar Millan - I do not get personal over this and I truly wonder why so many do. I research various dog training techniques so that I can make the best decisions for my dogs. In my writings, I share what I have found as well as my own experiences with my dogs. As I have said previously, I do not think that Cesar Millan is all bad, nor do I think he is all good.
Calm energy works well on people too. Cesar uses it all the time, which is another reason why he is such a success.
Hello Shiba, This is an excellent analysis of the pros and cons of Cesar Millan's techniques. LOVE your photos -- I assume those are your babies modeling for us?
I do enjoy watching Cesar but primarily as entertainment. And because the dog owners he works with are so obviously clueless. Makes you wonder.
Must confess, I've tried the techniques on my cats -- to no avail. They are resolutely untrainable:-). Mm
Hey MM! Thanks :)
"LOVE your photos -- I assume those are your babies modeling for us?"
lol - yes. I shamelessly use them as cheap labor to promote my hubs :) Actually my Shiba seems to really like posing for the camera. My Siberian is usually too wiggly for good picture shots.
I have actually watched almost all of Cesar Millan's episodes. I keep up with The Dog Whisperer show because he is entertaining as you say. Also, it helps me keep my articles up to date and have discussions with people about him. Not as bad as the Religion Forum, but it can sometimes get quite interesting :)
lol about the cats. I really should get some cats. It would be really interesting to observe and train or not-train them. Have a great July 4th MM!
I have a grad degre in psychology and a professor of mine was BF Skinner's daughter. I am seeped in behaviorism and have used operant methods to train a number of animals. That said, I am a big Cesar fan. I'm tired of arguments about the pack theory side and the operant side, both are true, both are right, both are useful. As I like to summarize it, a dog is a dog and a dog is always learning something.
I find your article pretty well balanced although there are places I disagree. One is your comparison of dangerously aggressive dogs to wild animals like bears. Believe me, bears are easier. A bear that is psychologically normal is easier to train/rehabilitate than a dog that is psychologically abnormal as red zone dogs defintely are. This should not be surprising. Sane animals, humans included, are easier to work with than insane ones.
And I think the comparison needs to take that into account. You didn't see many videos or in person examples of red zone dogs being trained until Cesar came along. Most dog training is akin to teaching humans to ride a bike, or speak a language. But training the red zone dog is like attempting psychotherapy on Hannibal Lecter. Desperate situations require desperate solutions. Polar bears can be trained with single raisins. The red zone dogs Cesar works with cannot be penetrated with operant methods.
Hello Shiloh, Thanks for dropping by. I wish I had also gotten a degree in Psychology. What a fascinating field of study. I do know enough not to mess with a psychologist though ;)
The point you bring up of red-zone dogs vs. normal bears is very valid. Most dogs however, are not red-zone cases. If I were charged by Cujo, I certainly would want Cesar Millan at my side. But for my own dog, I am going to only use reward based training, because that is the type of relationship I want to establish.
And even with red-zone cases, physically based aversive techniques are not necessarily the right choice. For example, the trainers at DogTown were able to rehabilitate Michael Vick's dogs with no physical based aversive methods.
I agree that desperate situations will often require desperate solutions, but that is not the case with most pet dogs. Unfortunately, those are the people who are most likely to adopt Cesar's techniques which can be extremely difficult to implement properly, can be risky, and will likely encourage dog aggression when not properly applied.
Just my humble opinion :)
Do you realize that over 90% of Cesar's methods "are" reinforcement based? He just doesn't use those terms. And he doesn't use aversive methods on dogs who are not way out of balance. I've yet to see ANY operant method trainer take the lead and work with a truly red zone dog. They know they can't do it, they are justifiably afraid to try. They would surely get hurt if they did. What Cesar does with red zone dogs is a completely different challenge that the sit, down, heel that the clicker trainers do. The real measure, in my opinion, is that the can easily do all they do, and they can't begin to do most of what he does. No good trainer uses a totally reward based method anymore than a good carpenter uses only a hammer.
Dear Shiloh,
"Do you realize that over 90% of Cesar's methods "are" reinforcement based?"
By reinforcement do you mean "positive reinforcement/negative punishment" training? If so, then I have to disagree. I recognize that Cesar does use a variety of reward techniques, in fact I write about those as well. Personally I would like to see him use more of those and less physical aversive techniques. I have said many times to many different people, Cesar Millan really does not need to use physically aversive methods. However, that is not the reality of what I see in The Dog Whisperer episodes.
"And he doesn't use aversive methods on dogs who are not way out of balance"
Perhaps we just have a different definition of dogs that are way out of balance.
"I've yet to see ANY operant method trainer take the lead and work with a truly red zone dog"
If by "operant method trainer" you mean positive reinforcement/negative punishment trainers, then again I refer you to DogTown. I think Michael Vick's fighting Pitbulls qualify as red zone dogs.
"What Cesar does with red zone dogs is a completely different challenge that the sit, down, heel that the clicker trainers do"
Most pet dogs are not red zone cases. And if by clicker training, you mean reward training - then you should know better than most people that it can be used to correct undesirable behaviors as well as to reinforce desirable behaviors.
"The real measure, in my opinion, is that the can easily do all they do, and they can't begin to do most of what he does."
Frankly, I like what the trainers in DogTown do. I am sure Cesar Millan can do the same things as well because he is very talented at reading canine body language and has great timing, but he chooses not to. I would be very happy if he did.
"No good trainer uses a totally reward based method anymore than a good carpenter uses only a hammer."
I am sure you know that within reward training, there are a plethora of methods that practitioners use. Frankly it is aversive training that is a lot more limited because they mostly rely on leash corrections.
I am afraid we will just have to agree to disagree here.
If I remember the Michael Vick dog episode on DogTown, weren't all those dogs already happy playful 'good doggies' from the getgo? I am going to have to watch that show again to see, but my memory of my thoughts at the time is that I was wondering what was all the fuss about, these dogs are perfectly fine as is. I don't remember for certain, but my memory is that of thinking they were making a big deal out of who used to own these dogs and ignoring the fact that none of them had yet been trained to be the aggressive monsters the media was incorrectly assuming them to be. Does anyone else remember seeing it this way?
This is a response to Mighty Mom's comment above regarding trying to herd cats. Have you ever seen a pack of cats running wild in the streets? In a movie, perhaps, or on a nature show? I reckon not. Cats don't travel in packs. Dogs, on the other hand, wander the streets in packs all the time. What makes pack-leadership an effective technique with dogs won't cut the kittie-mustard with cats. Felines do respond well to classic operant conditioning techniques popularized by Skinner, and I've seen cats go through greatly complicated circus performances in order to get the reward cheese at the end of the conditioning tunnel.
Hey Joe_dominant,
"happy playful 'good doggies'"
Thanks for making my point for me so well. I will buy you the next round of beers ;)
Members of the DogTown team were able to rehabilitate fighting dogs that had a terrible life in Michael Vick's care and help them become relatively happy and playful. I think that this is a testament to their technique, patience, and dedication to dogs.
The did not show footage of the dogs being aggressive while at DogTown probably because their techniques are not based on provoking/"daring" a dog into aggression and them correcting that aggression. Instead they use a desensitization process that slowly helps the dog re-associate objects and situations that were previously negative with something positive.
If memory serves, they *did* show footage of the dogs while in Michael Vick's care and it was not pretty. One of the dogs was a prize female fighting dog, that they strapped her onto this contraption to force-breed her. There would have been a dog fight otherwise. She was definitely dog aggressive, and may have also been people aggressive when they took her to DogTown.
Another dog was a bait dog. He was very fearful and had fear aggression issues.
They also had two regular male fighting dogs, which were both dog aggressive, I think.
There was another dog that had all her teeth removed so that they could force-breed her.
No, no, no these dogs did not have a 'good' life or even *any* life before coming to DogTown. If you believe that they did, and the people in DogTown did nothing, then there is truly nothing else that I can say.
Shibashake, I never said the Vick dogs had a good life before DogTown. Down boy. Take a chill pill and re-read what I wrote.
In the interim, I went and looked at a few clips on the NatGeo website, and I'll stick to my original point which is the dogs in the clips, at least, didn't seem any more imbalanced than half my neighbors' dogs. Not that they didn't need rehab, but they didn't need any more rehab than a gazillion other dogs with bad behaviors created by their owners. I also maintain that the DogTown staff is largely clueless about doggie rehab, getting good results no faster nor more reliably or consistently than would a high school kid volunteering to play with the dogs at his local animal shelter. One of the most memorable examples of stunning ineptitude was the episode where they had a dog they thought was blind. The whole place, including the vet, thinks this dog is blind, when it Obviously is not. It's heartbreaking to see these people who one would expect to know better but who sometimes appear to be qualified to do little more than shovel dog poo, and even that only if the dog is not present at the time. There was an example on one of the Vick-dog videos I just reviewd on the NatGeo website where they surround this insecure dog with a half dozen staffers, then one of these dingdongs enters the dog's space uninvited and starts to rub the top of the dog's head. The dog reacts defensively, and the narrator blathers about how this vicious dog instigated an unpredictable and unprovoked attack on the crew member. Cesar Millan would never have allowed the stressed dog to be approached in that way, and would have chastised the crewmember and enlightened the audience in post-production if it had happened when he wasn't present.
Did you know DogTown got paid $450,000 to take 24 of those dogs? They should spend $150 of it on a set of Dog Whisperer DVD's and view them again and again until they at least partially fill the huge void in their miniscule knowledge base.
If NatGeo ever airs those episodes again, I'll watch them to see if I'm missing something, but it appears the network has yanked the show from its rotation so it may be awhile. While not as lame as Victoria Stillwell's trainwreck of a show, the DogTown show still had way too much mis-educational content to warrant being held up as any sort of instructional model for those trying to learn how to 'handle' dogs. It really was just the cute trainer-chick's mom (Darcy Dennett, the executive producer of the show,I think was her name) attempting to get her unmarried daughter some national airtime, with some dogs thrown in to help sell it. Kind of like Keeping Up With The Kardashians, only the trainer/daughter wasn't already famous.
Dear Joe Dominant, Calmassertiv,
" I never said the Vick dogs had a good life before DogTown."
But you are saying that the Vick dogs who have been abused in the ways that I have stated above are no different from your neighborhood dogs? That psychologically they are as balanced/imbalanced? Truly?
Ok :)
The more I learn about dog training the less I like the "tv training" shows.
I think they are all for entertainment first and foremost (afterall, it's tv and tv = ratings wars. Also, the shows are edited - that already makes them "less pure" because content is cut out).
As far as the techniques, I think Cesar's techniques could work - if you have the kind of dog that responds to those techniques. Showing a tv trainer working with a dog for 30 minutes isn't really getting to the heart of training, which is what the tv viewers could use to train ANY problem - not just the ones they are showing on that show.
I think it comes to the person to use their knowledge of their dog to know if they need to use Cesar's (or Victoria's or anyone's) methods. Like with Wally, it would be unneccessary. My time with him is better spent showing him what to do, not what NOT to do. If I had a more strong-willed dog that was (over)confident, then I may end up applying more of Cesar's techniques.
What I think is more ironic about Cesar's techniques is that he talks of alpha/dominance but a lot of what he does is just redirection, then rewarding the proper behavior. It's like he's an operant conditioning trainer that explains everything using dominance. Kinda strange, really.
Hey KB, good to see you! What have you been up to? Are you planning to stick around Hub? I hope so - looking forward to more Wally episodes. :)
I may - haven't really decided yet.
I have an idea from watching an episode of Family Guy for another hub, but I don't know if I want to make it or not. Guess I'm still a little depressed about how the last one went down (low score for the longest and still the fewest views yet of any of the EADT volumes).
I guess I haven't figured out if it's just a time issue or is hubpages basically saying "go away, we don't like your writing anymore!"
Actually there has been an issue with hubscores lately. There were several forum threads posted about it and apparently Paul is looking into it. I had a hub that went all the way down to 30 and maybe even less - I don't know because I decided to go to sleep :)
In terms of traffic - it depends on whether you are looking for HubPages traffic or search engine traffic. HubPages traffic is difficult to get for dog related issues because most of the people here are more interested in entertainment type topics, or making money.
For search engine traffic you want to look more into using keywords that people are likely to search for. Do you use Google AdWords? It is a very useful tool for picking keywords. Also to get a good Google ranking, you will need to create some backlinks and such. SEO can be a fun system to learn once you start getting into it.
I hope you will stay. It took me a while (maybe 5 months of so) to start getting ok search engine traffic. I hardly got any HubPages traffic until I started writing about other topics.
Busted ... :)
Yep, there are some messed up dogs in my neighborhood. I walked with one lady afraid to push her baby stroller past one house because of the 3 very loud and very large dogs living there, one that charged into the backyard fence with obviously bad intent and another off leash right at the front edge of the front yard. It would have been quite a bit to handle even for me. Other people have dogs that bark whenever people walk by and try to get under the fence to get at them. The worst for me is that my next-door neighbor just got Three puppies, and of course he and his wife are cluelessly training them to fight over food, bark until they're let into the house, etc etc. The dog barks, the owner barks back. The dog barks, the owner barks back. The dog barks, the owner gives up. The dogs are already tearing up the guy's couch, tearing up his plants, etc, and it's so obvious that what they're doing is showing him no more respect than they would for a bone or a toy, which is how they view the owners, as resources to be fought over and not as leaders to be followed. These poor dogs are never walked, ever, and kept inside much of the time I suspect as the people's way of shutting them up, so when they're let out the first thing they do is start barking in excitement. Then they bark to be let back in. They're getting more neurotic by the month. I'd be very surprised if they don't start biting the owners pretty soon, if they haven't already. They never get groomed, judging by looking at them thru our common fence, such that their hair is already blocking their vision. But I'm sure the owners give them plenty of ill-timed affection. As a result my house value probably has dropped by $100k since who wants to live next to woof-wooof-woof at 11pm or 6 am? When living next to someone who thinks they know what they're doing and who Explodes when you even try to Hint that no they don't, it's enough to make a person sit at a computer and vent into the ether in frustration. Welcome to my life.
"These poor dogs are never walked, ever, and kept inside much of the time I suspect as the people's way of shutting them up"
I think you should put a shock collar on the owner. I'll come and help you push the button :)
Sounds like a difficult situation. You could report your neighbor to Animal Care and Control. One of my neighbors got a summons from them, and his dogs aren't even very bad. Based on what my neighbor said, it is all done anonymously so he doesn't know who filed against him.
Where I live it takes two neighbors maintaining a written log for a month and submitting them before Animal Control even will send out a letter, then another month of two neighbors written log and in-court testimony before they actually Do anything. Barking dogs are the norm around here, and the cops are busy generating drug turf wars and gang-warfare drive-by shootings so they don't have time to actually help maintain the peace.
I went for a walk today on a cul-de-sac I haven't walked before and at the end was a house with 3 little dogs running and barking unattended in the street. I sat down on the curb and watched the dynamic as this little pack sent the youngest and littlest out front to bark at me while the other two stayed back and barked their encouragement. No talk, no touch, no eye contact, and after about 15 minutes the scout puppy came up and sniffed me, but then backed away and started barking again. So I waited some more, the puppy came and sniffed me again, then wandered off, and all was almost quiet when the owner came out and started them all barking again, then recalled them so I got up and left.
The next house had 6 chihuahuas behind a gate that decided they would do the same thing, so I knelt in front of the gate and waited them out, except for one persistent one, the youngest again or so it appeared, and it was funny in a way, because once they had stopped all barking except for the 'designated barker' what would happen is the 'designated barker' would get tired, so another chihuahua would pick up the slack while the first caught his breath, then they would pass off the responsibility again back to the first one. I had gotten them to about 2 seconds of silence between 2-minute tirades when the FedEx truck came by and messed the whole thing up, or else I think I could have gotten them all to shut the F up before walking away. I'm going to bring some cheese next time and see if I can get the ones who stop barking to take food from me thru the fence, or actually, not whether the ones that stop barking will take food, but whether watching the ones taking food will get the one(s) still barking to shut up and follow the quiet one's lead.
Is that positive enough for you?
Cesar Millan in the News
- Surf City wins 'Dogtown USA' honorOrange County Register30 hours ago
Irvine-based magazine dubs Huntington Beach, San Diego and Carmel-by-the-Sea as most dog-friendly cities.
- Bad dogs line up for 'Dog Whisperer' auditionsOrange County Register2 days ago
TV producers meet pets with behavior problems at Buena Park Petco.
- My Pet World: Readers sound off on advice they liked and didn't likePioneer Press2 days ago
Here you are, sometimes purring contentedly, other times barking back at me for the answers offered here over the past few months:
rb says:
7 months ago
Written by a another typical trainer who is jealous of Cesar Millan Hater...making believe you are unbiased...shame on you!!!