Cesar Millan or not Cesar Millan ?

Mon, Jul 19, 2010

With the recent popularity of a television show about problem dogs, the controversy over which methods are the most humane and effective ways to address behavior problems in dogs has been renewed and is dividing dog lovers all over the world.

While behaviorists, trainers and other dog professionals recognize that the show is exposing dog owners to the possibility that their dogs’ behavior can be changed, the show gives the false impression that behavior can be changed within a matter of hours. Professionals are also concerned about the methods used, as many of those methods are known to incite or increase aggressive behaviors.

This article will explore the controversial issues and will attempt to separate fact from marketing. Wherever possible, additional links or book recommendations are provided as reference or to elaborate on the preceding issue.

Part II of this article responds to the most commonly asked questions .

DOG PSYCHOLOGY OR POP PSYCHOLOGY?

Since before Ivan Pavlov’s experiments with dogs, scientists have been studying animal behavior both in the laboratory and in the field, where behavior can be studied in the animal’s natural environment, without human intervention. It is the combination of these studies that gives us our understanding of dog behavior today and continues to provide us with startling new discoveries. For any one person to claim that they have it all figured out when our understanding of genetics and the brain (human or canine) is incomplete is preposterous.

Dog psychology or, more accurately, the study of animal behavior, is not a complete mystery that is left to the interpretation of a few individuals. While there are many areas in which our understanding is incomplete, there is a staggering amount of scientifically proven information available.

Many of the dogmatic concepts presented on the show appeal to people who have,…

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1 Comments For This Post

calmassertive Says:
April 26th, 2010 at 10:50 am

One has to wonder why an author would spend so much time writing such an odd article as this. Dragging Cesar Millan’s name into a lengthy diatribe about wolves seems simply bizarre, given that Cesar works with dogs and not wolves. Cesar grew up on a farm with dogs, in a country where dogs roamed free, then came to the U.S. and worked as a dog groomer, then opened a dog rehab facility where he spent all day every day for years and years with hundreds of dogs, not to mention going to people’s houses to train them how to stop creating unwanted behaviors in Their dogs. Dogs, not wolves. Two decades observing and working with Thousands of dogs, hands on. Not a handful in a lab somewhere, not in a classroom kissing the academic ass of someone with ‘book learnin’, but eyeball to eyeball, in the trenches. Not recommending euthanasia for behavior problems like hypociritical ‘experts’ such as Stilwell, not putting dogs down like so many veterinary behaviorists
such as Sophia Yin and her ilk in the AVSAB, but actually getting to the heart of the human-created problem and Fixing it, to the immense satisfaction of his many clients. Authors like this one do a great disservice to dog owners seeking actual knowledge about their dog and their relationships to them. Sad, really. Fortunately for the rest of us the National Geographic producers ignore such rubbish.

calmassertive Says:
April 26th, 2010 at 10:50 am
One has to wonder why an author would spend so much time writing such an odd article as this. Dragging Cesar Millan’s name into a lengthy diatribe about wolves seems simply bizarre, given that Cesar works with dogs and not wolves. Cesar grew up on a farm with dogs, in a country where dogs roamed free, then came to the U.S. and worked as a dog groomer, then opened a dog rehab facility where he spent all day every day for years and years with hundreds of dogs, not to mention going to people’s houses to train them how to stop creating unwanted behaviors in Their dogs. Dogs, not wolves. Two decades observing and working with Thousands of dogs, hands on. Not a handful in a lab somewhere, not in a classroom kissing the academic ass of someone with ‘book learnin’, but eyeball to eyeball, in the trenches. Not recommending euthanasia for behavior problems like hypociritical ‘experts’ such as Stilwell, not putting dogs down like so many veterinary behaviorists
such as Sophia Yin and her ilk in the AVSAB, but actually getting to the heart of the human-created problem and Fixing it, to the immense satisfaction of his many clients. Authors like this one do a great disservice to dog owners seeking actual knowledge about their dog and their relationships to them. Sad, really. Fortunately for the rest of us the National Geographic producers ignore such rubbish.

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