Dog whisperer TV Programme

[Mr H 10]

Hi,

 

I've only just started to watch this programme and I've heard people on this forum criticise his teaching methods and I was wondering which techniques are people disagreeing with?

 

(by the way I have only seen one episode so I am not making a judgement either way)

[Lotti 10]

Hi Mr H,

 

The things I personally disagree with (and am backed up by trainers such as Pat Miller and Jean Donaldson and by the American Humane Association who have already tried to get his show taken off air) are:

 

The leash jerks on a full choke chain

The alpha rolls and 'finger bites'

The overuse of aversives

The use of flooding techniques which work by exposing the dog to high quantities of something it fears so much that it can't cope and shuts down...

 

The 'man' has no qualifications, is a Mexican immigrant who's visa is payed by the National Geographic, the very people who are supposed to prevent cruelty to animals...

He learnt his techniques from his grandfather when he lived on a farm with dogs.

 

He has fatally injured a TV producer's dog in America when forcing him to run on a treadmill wearing a choke chain, the dog was rushed to a veterinarian with blood pouring from his mouth and nose and bruises to his inner thighs and died.

 

I've seen a woman bitten by her own pitbull by following his 'advice' which was completely unnecessary.

 

I've seen him diagnose a dog with dog-dog aggression when in fact, it was perfectly clear by her high pitched barks and madly waggy tail that she wanted to get to the other dog to play...

 

I've seen through his training, a dog go from barking excitedly at the doorbell to running to a corner and quivering when the doorbell was rung...

 

Need I go on?

 

you may have noticed, I'm not keen on him...

[tara 10]

He seems to get results everytime. He didnt just follow his Grandfathers techniques, he studied the packs for years himself.

His main claim to fame was done via word of mouth and not advertising. because people thought he was so good .

The book cesars way is excellent.

However just to keep an open mind i will research those other Dog trainers mentioned.

 

But does it matter if hes a Mexican Immigrant, if he does his job with excellent results.

[Meter Man 15]

he is reported to have a 98% success rate!

[geerarffe 10]

His results are not the issue it's his methods.

[Mr H 10]

thank you for your response lotti. Some of the methods you have listed I totally disagree with, such as choke chains.

 

I have to admit though, something that he really does push which I do agree with is that treat dogs as dogs and not as people.

[Gemima 10]

His results are not the issue it's his methods.

 

I agree, results can be achieved by beating a dog into submission, but it does not make it right.

 

 

I dont know any trainers that treat dogs as human beings

[Mr H 10]

 

I dont know any trainers that treat dogs as human beings

 

Sorry, I meant that there are plenty of dog owners who treat their dogs has children and not dogs and they wonder why they have no control over them.

[Lotti 10]

Yes, I do agree with the whole treat dogs with the respect they deserve but the rest is rubbish. Unfortunately, he doesn't treat them with any respect, as far as I can see.

 

I have taken the time to look at his programmes with as open a mind as possible but I'm afraid I just can't condone it.

 

He punishes behaviour rather than desensitising the dog to what it fears. By making the dog supress its natural response to something, it is then forced to try something else (as dogs try stuff til they find out what works) and many dogs that 'suddenly turn for no reason' are actually harbouring a fear that they've been abused for displaying.

 

Also, if you watch his programme properly, take note of the dramatic music and camera angles etc, you will see how they go from majorly dramatic and odd angles when the dog is showing the bad behaviour to far more relaxed music and camera angles when the dog is magically reformed.

 

His 'training' is abuse pure and simple, imo. I will dig out all the info I gathered from other trainers and from the American Humane Association for your reference.

[Lotti 10]

I found the article relating to a letter the AHA sent to the National Geographic...

 

The entire article can be found here: http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=nr_news_releases_dog_whisperer

 

And starts with:

The training tactics featured on Cesar Millan's “Dog Whisperer” program are inhumane, outdated and improper, according to a letter sent yesterday to the National Geographic Channel by American Humane, the oldest national organization protecting children and animals.

[Lotti 10]

Article by Curtis Pesman of Esquire Magazine:

 

No. 039 Misguided Expert of the Year

 

The Dog Whisperer Should Just Shut Up

 

By Curtis Pesmen

 

For Cesar Millan, the goateed toughguy, best-selling author, and

cable-TV star who throws down pit bulls, it's time for new rules. And

for countless dog owners, dog lovers, or stray humans skittish at the

big-ass Doberman mix approaching them in the park, it's more than a

matter of cult personality. We want our damn dogs to behave, and we're

afraid of losing flesh—or of having to surrender "untrainable" dogs to

the pound. Problem is, Cesar's ways, experts say, aren't the best ways

for dogs. Or for us. Yes, yes, his alphadog training tips make good

television and may provide fast results. But what happens when the

show's over?

 

"My position is, Millan is a poseur," Claudia Kawczynska, editor in

chief of The Bark magazine, says of the ex–dog groomer. "He is a

hairdresser, not the real guy in terms of being an expert. He doesn't

have credentials. And it is shocking to me how easily people are ready

to fall for it."

 

With approximately two million strays euthanized in the U. S. each year,

Kawczynska sees reason to worry: "He is doing a disservice to the real

experts in the field," she says. "He gives quick fixes, but they are not

going to be a solution for most families with problem dogs."

 

Ken Ramirez, an animal behaviorist and the chief animal trainer at

Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, believes everyday dog owners need to learn how

to better observe and understand their dogs' behavior. Then they can

reward the behavior they want and either ignore, avoid, or distract them

from unwanted behavior. It's reinforcement versus enforcement. While

both he and Millan believe the average dog owner—as well as dog—needs

better training, Ramirez remains wary of instructors who yearn to make

animals learn through tough-love techniques, or "aversives." "I may

teach some of the methods Cesar uses," says Ramirez, who also trains

bomb-sniffing dogs and their handlers, "but only as a last resort."

 

Millan fancies himself a faux wolf by practicing—and promoting—the

alpha-dog theory of training, whereby he "joins the pack" and gains

dominance. These alphatraining-yanking-learning techniques (in theory)

then transfer swiftly to the dogs' owners. All of which makes Millan

today a solid B-list Hollywood personality.

 

"The cause of most behavioral problems is miscommunication and not

dominance issues," says Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., associate professor

of zoology at the University of Wisconsin and author of For the Love of

a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend. Either dogs

don't know what their owners want, she says, or we inadvertently have

taught them to do the wrong thing. "Most behavioral problems can be

solved by owners learning how to teach a dog what it is they want, by

using the science of how animals learn."

 

Yet the showmanship continues. On Millan's Dog Whisperer, he goes house

to bad-dog house, jerking leashes, shaking scruffs of necks, and

throwing the occasional kick—in a wolfmanto-wolfpack fashion, except

that the dogs aren't truly fooled. They don't believe he's a dog. What's

worse, says Janis Bradley, a San Francisco trainer and author of the

helpfully titled Dogs Bite, the dogs often fall into a helpless state

Millan calls "calm submission," but what trained behaviorists see as

possible chronic stress or "shutdown," which can lead to a dog

eventually fighting back.

 

October 2006, Volume 146, Issue 4

 

I have Curtis' permission to reproduce the article.

[Lotti 10]

The Article regarding the TV producer's dog that suffered fatal injuries at Cesar's 'rehab centre'

Dog Whisperer Settles Lawsuit With Man Whose Lab Died

POSTED: 11:55 am PDT April 6, 2007

 

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LOS ANGELES -- A television producer who sued the man known as the "Dog Whisperer" because his dog "collapsed" while on a treadmill settled his lawsuit, a court official said Friday.

 

Flody Suarez alleged his pet Labrador was injured during a workout at Cesar Millan's training facility on Feb. 27, 2006.

 

Suarez took his 5-year-old dog Gator to Millan's "Dog Psychology Center of Los Angeles" so the animal could be socialized with other dogs and overcome his fear of strangers, the lawsuit stated.

 

The lawsuit stated that while at the facility, staff put a choke chain around Gator's neck and for the first time in his life he was put on a treadmill, where he "collapsed" after being overworked.

 

As a result, Gator had to undergo several surgeries and was fed with a tube for several weeks, the lawsuit stated.

 

Suarez sued Millan last May 4, alleging breach of contract, negligence, fraud and deceit, and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

 

Millan claimed that Suarez's personal dog trainer was with Gator the entire time the Labrador was at the Dog Psychology Center and that he allowed the trainer to bring Gator to the center as a favor and did not charge for use of the facilities.

 

The settlement notice was filed March 29 with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kenneth Freeman, prompting cancellation of today's scheduled motions hearing.

 

Neither Suarez's lawyer, Shannon Keith, nor Millan's attorney, Robert T. Bergsten, was immediately available for comment, and terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

 

Newspapers and magazines have featured articles on Millan's "dog whispering" methods. He also has appeared on "Oprah" and has his own television show.

 

This was emailed to me by Pat Miller so I dont' have the original link.