Dog whisperer?

Question

what do you think about the training methids of the Dog whisperer Cesar Millan ,do you agree with him?

I want to buy some of his videos!

Answer 1

Cesar Milan is very entertaining, but his training methods can be dangerous under a wide variety of circumstances. What is great about Cesar is he shows that the problem isn't dog behavior, it's people. People need to learn to understand and direct their dogs. We do not need to dominate dogs. We need to learn to dencourage the behaviors we want and redirect their behavior when they're doing something "bad".

I think that the methods that work for Cesar will not work for very may other people. he does point out that body language is important, shouting is not effective, physical punishment is not effective and exercise can be really important. Another important thing that Cesar makes clear is that some dogs need a job .

Answer 2

Dominance theory had been dying a well-deserved death until Cesar came back. Cesar and his ilk suggest that everything a dog does is because he is trying to "be dominant". Dog is barking? It's trying to be dominant. Dog is pulling on leash? It's trying to be dominant. Dog is peeing on the floor? Dog is scared? Dog is pushy? Dog is rude? It's trying to be dominant That's ridiculous, because most misbehaver is because they don't know any better -- it has very little to do with being dominant. It's like saying that unruly children are trying to be dominant. (Hmm.... do they ever do alpha rolls on that Supernanny show?)

Cesar promotes exercising dogs and giving them jobs. This is great -- trainers all over the world have been promoting this for years. Cesar promotes the idea that dogs are not small furry children. This is also GREAT. More people need to hear this. This is the one real service that I think Cesar performs, that he gets this message out where lots of people can hear it.

When you watch Cesar, remember that you are watching television and that it is for entertainment. His methods are NOT for everyone to pick up and use as they require precise timing and careful observation of the dog's behavior. Even Cesar gets bitten in the show... imagine how easy it is for an inexperienced dog owner to get hurt using such confrontational methods! If you pay attention, Cesar himself frequently points out that those dogs are NOT cured in that single session, although the show almost never does follow-ups to show whether those dogs did great or regressed five minutes after he left.

Cesar is a very charismatic man and a very naturally skilled dog handler. His training methods, and sometimes his lack thereof, are not so impressive when you scratch below the surface.

Answer 3

I find him entertaining. BUT, I don't think you can really train a dog, any dog as quickly as he seems to. I am sorry but it is not possible every time.

I never heard the end of the story but not too long ago, he was in trouble. He had taken a Golden to his "ranch" for training and the dog died from being left on the treadmill too long.

He treats the dogs like dogs in the wild. I do not agree with that.
You can see the dogs cower from him. I guess I don't want to be
the leader that bad.

Answer 4

Cesar himself is a great dog trainer, but as the disclaimer says, his techniques should not be used without help. He does so much that depends on incredibly precise timing that you are likely to get hurt if you try it on your own. He uses several controversial methods of training such as flooding and alpha rolls. The dominance theory his whole show is based off of has been blown out of the water and to those that do a small amount of research, it will become apparent that dominance means nothing to dogs. Dogs NEVER force one another on their backs, doing so would be rude and would start a fight, not end one. See the links for info on dominance

Answer 5

Well, I don't know about "amazing"! There are trainers who use the same types of methods all over the country, they just don't have a tv show. I am happy there is such a show on tv, not only so that people will realize there is hope for their dog, but also to show an alternative to the beg and bribe methods.


Lauren - " Dogs NEVER force one another on their backs, doing so would be rude"

LOL! Have you EVER watched a dam with her puppies? They roll them ALL THE TIME!

"it will become apparent that dominance means nothing to dogs." Well I have been studying behavior, reading books, and teaching obedience classes for 25 years, and I believe it means ALOT! You need to spend more time working with problem dogs.

Answer 6

Yes, I think he is pretty neat, but I did not appreciate it when he stuck a guinea pig up to a dog that was "small animal aggressive" to train it to not eat guinea pigs. The pig could have been bit faster than casear could have reacted. That was a little off the wall, and should be done in a more secure way.

Answer 7

He is awesome. Not only should you buy his videos ( I have 2 ) but you should but his book also. I have it too. His in-site into animals is uncanny. He retrains, so to speak, owners who have unwillingly let the dogs become the leader. I have never seen him abuse, hurt, harm or injure an animal. Sometimes, the owners get bawled out (nicely) but they are the problem. They ask for his help and he gives it. His show is AWESOME. I think his methods are wonderful.

Answer 8

He has a great sense of humor and a very loving nature. He can get rough with a rough dog and he gets results in a very short time.

He has a warm affinity for dogs and their owners.

Wish I could get him to bring my cats in line! I don't think wearing a "pack leader" t-shirt is going to do it for me.

Answer 9

yes, i am! he is awesome!! i highly recommend his dvds and his methods! i use them every day on our 2 dogs. we adopted a 6 month old great dane puppy that was rescued from bad circumstances. she was afraid of her own shadow! she was terrified of loud noises,boats,semi trucks,i could go on and on...so we needed help,she was too big too just let her do what she wanted ,we needed "structure" we felt.then we saw caesar on tv and bought his first dvd,the rest is history.almost 5 great yrs later,i could not ask for a more wonderful pet!!good luck!

Answer 10

I watch him all the time