The Dog Whisperer

[cecily]

Who is this person?

I've never heard of him. But I've heard a few people on the boards mention him, sometimes in not a very complimentary way!

I figure he must be american? On Channel 4 in Ireland and UK we have "It's me or the dog", which I quite liked (SHOCKING how some pet owners and their pets behave). Unfortunately we moved house and didn't have channel 4 all last year, so only saw one or two episodes. Anyone know if it will be back?

[merlinsmum]

Who is this person?

I've never heard of him. But I've heard a few people on the boards mention him, sometimes in not a very complimentary way!

I figure he must be american? On Channel 4 in Ireland and UK we have "It's me or the dog", which I quite liked (SHOCKING how some pet owners and their pets behave). Unfortunately we moved house and didn't have channel 4 all last year, so only saw one or two episodes. Anyone know if it will be back?

I've heard of him but never seen or heard his "work"

[misty]

I saw him on satellite tv last night.

A lady had a dog from the pound, who hated being groomed. I didn't like his methods of sorting the problem

UK'ers and Irish, watch out for "Me Or The Dog" - my daughter and I were interviewed at the Wag & Bone show for it, together with Bradley.

Fingers crossed it gets shown.

[merlinsmum]

I saw him on satellite tv last night.

A lady had a dog from the pound, who hated being groomed. I didn't like his methods of sorting the problem

UK'ers and Irish, watch out for "Me Or The Dog" - my daughter and I were interviewed at the Wag & Bone show for it, together with Bradley.

Fingers crossed it gets shown.

Will do - just hope its not on a Thursday - its training on a Thursday and we can't miss that!

[Cathy Moon]

What a coincidence that I just received my November 2006 Dog Fancy magazine, and there's an article about the Dog Whisperer. His name is Cesar Milan, he's Mexican-born, now living in Los Angeles. He has set up a dog training center and trains dogs using dominance training, an old and incorrect version of wolf-pack hierarchy. He has had no formal training in animal behavior, yet National Geographic Channel has been running his dog-training show for two years, starting on its third season. He has also published at least one book about dog training.

In the article, professional dog trainers criticize his methods and point out all kinds of wrong things he is teaching. Even the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists has complained to National Geographic Channel. But his show is evidently very popular; I'm assuming its a lot like watching the Nanny911 type shows, where you cannot believe how bad people let behavior get!

I have never seen the show because I don't want to spend too much money on cable TV every month.

I guess I take back what I said yesterday in another thread about being neutral in regards to him. Now I'm saying I totally disagree with what he's doing, and wish he'd work on attaining an American Pet Dog Trainer certificate.

[Cathy Moon]

UK'ers and Irish, watch out for "Me Or The Dog" - my daughter and I were interviewed at the Wag & Bone show for it, together with Bradley.

Fingers crossed it gets shown.

Wow, that's really exciting! I wish I could see it!

[Cathy T]

I've been a fan of Cesar Millan's since the day I found him. Until....Lee Wells spoke at our club last week. I was so incredibly impressed with her methods and calmness and having fun with the training. Sorry...I've had a turn around in my thinking. I think he's fine as a last resort. Some of his methods I'm okay with but really prefer a kinder gentler method of training...particularly for this breed.

[cecily]

We just signed up to national geographic last night! What a coincidence. Must keep an eye out for it.

Misty, that's really exciting about "it's me or the dog"! Rio and I will be keeping an eye out for it.

I don't think dominance training is really necessary with cavaliers, ever. I can't imagine a nasty one. I wonder is this cesar man anything like the one that does me or the dog? She lets them know who's boss but is never cruel (at least in the 2 eps I've seen!). I'd say more aggressive breeds that have been brought up poorly need a stronger hand than most though to get their behaviour into line. What kind of methods does he use? The name 'dog whisperer' would suggest a Robert Redford / snow white type

[Cathy Moon]

According to this article, he does collar pops, finger jabs, alpha rolling (pinning a dog to the ground). He doesn't tell viewers to first take their dogs to the vet to make sure a medical problem isn't causing the problem behavior. For fearful dogs, he uses 'flooding', which overwhelms a fearful dog into shutting down. This is all in the article in Nov. 2006 Dog Fancy magazine. He has many critics!

I would only work with trainers who use 100% positive methods! Positive, reward-based training is much better for promoting mutually respectful, close and trusting relationships between people and their dogs.

[cecily]

[quote="Cathy Moon"]According to this article, he does collar pops, finger jabs, alpha rolling (pinning a dog to the ground). He doesn't tell viewers to first take their dogs to the vet to make sure a medical problem isn't causing the problem behavior. For fearful dogs, he uses 'flooding', which overwhelms a fearful dog into shutting down. This is all in the article in Nov. 2006 Dog Fancy magazine. quote]


He sounds horrible
I'm fascinated by dog training, but definitely there's only one way to do it. Like you said Cathy, positive reinforcement will produce the same rewards. I'm a teacher and we use very similar methods Lots of praise, deliberate ignoring, rewards systems and it definitely works. They're not so different, people and animals Just need love and encouragement.

Here's a link to the Channel 4 show... it's got some videos and stuff
http://www.channel4.com/entertainmen...dog/index.html