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More Millan mania
By Gina Spadafori
December 28, 2006
Over on “A Dog’s Life,” the pro-Cesar and anti-Cesar forces have found a new place to square off like a pair of fighting dogs in a pit.
The pro-Cesar forces’ arguments:
– Cesar doesn’t need degrees or books to be good at what he does.
– If Cesar weren’t the best, he wouldn’t have a TV show.
– Cesar’s methods are revolutionary, and they work.
– Cesar’s critics are just jealous.
Well, hmmmm. In the first place, I know a lot of dog trainers who are very, very good at what they do who have never completed a course of academic study, been certified by a trade group or otherwise spent much time reading up on training technique. It’s absolutely possible to learn “in the trenches,” and when Millan’s critics huff about his lack of formal education, they do come off like a bunch of snobs.
As for being the best because he’s famous and on TV … Oh c’mon. Since when does celebrity mean expertise? Again, I know a lot of really good trainers who aren’t as telegenic as Cesar Millan. They train dogs as well as Cesar seems to if not much, much better, but as women in a world where wrinkles and a bit of middle-aged spread makes a woman pretty much invisible to the media as any sort of expert, they’ll never get a TV show. Just because Cesar is on TV doesn’t mean he’s the best around. It just means he’s marketable.
Are Cesar’s methods new? Not at all. In fact, they’ve been around since, like, forever. His views that dogs don’t get enough exercise and should be treated like dogs, not people in fur suits, is one that every good trainer shares no matter what other techniques they use and recommend. One of Millan’s most vocal critics, Dr. Nicholas Dodman of Tufts University, has a book that’s almost a decade old. Almost every single one of Dodman’s case studies in that book includes a recommendation for more exercise. My friend Job Michael Evans has been gone for more than a decade, and in all of his books (including his first work as one of the Monks of New Skete) he discussed helping dogs to understand their place in the family/pack structure. As for Cesar’s methods? Look up Bill Koehler and get back to me. In other words: Nothing new here, sorry.
So do Cesar’s methods work? Yep, they often do. You can punish or frighten many a dog into obedience. I guess the question for me is: Why would you want to if you can get the same results with other methods?
Why not take the things every good trainer agrees on — more exercise and the need to understand that a dog’s a dog — and then add on proven training methods that work with your dog not against him and focus on encouraging the behavior you want instead of punishing the behavior you don’t? Why should your dog have to guess at every rule you want him to follow, and be punished for guessing wrong before he knows the rules?
I see in this intense and emotional discussion a parallel with what’s thought to be acceptable in raising children. They may not be speaking up much, but there are plenty of people who truly and literally believe in “spare the rod, spoil the child.” There are even Web sites where you can buy fiberglass rods to hit your child with maximum sting and no lasting scars. This would be one extreme, and at the other would be parents with the incredibly rude and ill-behaved children everyone has run into. I’m not talking about a child who’s cranky-tired, or throwing a tantrum (normal kids, in other words) but rather the truly out of control kids with parents who either look the other way, make excuses or believe their children are not causing any problems. (You can find the same sort of “parents” in any dog park, by the way.) Does that mean I think all those parents need to buy a fiberglass rod? Hey, how about some middle ground instead?
I do not appreciate either ill-behaved children or out-of-control dogs, but I don’t think punishing either for every miscue in the name of teaching respect and submission to authority is the answer — and it’s damn unfair if the limits aren’t taught first so the dog has a chance to make a correct decision. As for straying for an all-positive training approach: I am not an entirely positive trainer by any means, but I do believe when a correction is needed that there’s no need to hit a dog in the head with a 2-by-4 when a fly-swatter will do, and neither should be brought out before a dog understands what you want. (And I mean that metaphorically, folks. I have in fact never hit a dog with either a fly-swatter or a 2-by-4.)
What can you take away from the debate? Again: Your dog needs more exercise. Your dog need to be understood to be a dog, not your four-legged child. And your dog needs training. That latter? My advice is to find a trainer who isn’t interested in being a name brand or a TV star, one who will look at each dog as an individual and reach deep into her bag of all training techniques to come up with the combination that works best and most humanely for your dog.
And quit wishing for magic wands and easy answers from TV stars. A well-behaved dog takes patience, consistency and time. You’re building a relationship, not fixing a toaster.
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I thank you for this. I have never seen Cesar work a dog in person, but I have seen one of his early disciples—Linn Boyke. I saw no cruelty.
Some force-i e putting a dog on its side and quietly holding it. He was dealing with out of control PitX’s, Rottweilers etc. Dogs that could do (and some had done) a lot of damage. When they were walking, they were all quietly behind him, a few off leash. I have a Rottweiler, a Rott/Pit and neither need that kind of interaction from me. I do know that I felt a lot safer when Linn was around the dog pack.
My dogs are what Jon Katz calls “good enough dogs” and still I brought home a few pointers that makes my life easier. One I first heard about from Patricia O’Connell and her multi-dog household (I have 4, plus 1 or 2 foster dogs)
Waiting at the door until I say come. I do not get knocked over and I wait until calm, well almost calm prevails and then we go for our walk. My other is “out of the kitchen” while I am preparing dinner. Small changes in my life.
Some of them still sleep on the bed, get on the couch, even sleep under the covers (well where else do Doxie’s sleep?) But they seem to listen to me quicker. My young dog’s drop dead recall though comes only through dog biscuits ready in my hand. Why cannot we use what we need. Read about Orson by Jon Katz. Would he have felt more secure if Mr. Katz had studied with Cesar. Maybe. He certainly tried nearly everything else.
Not a dog trainer, just a person living with dogs.
Comment by Eliza — December 28, 2006 @ 7:33 pm
Patience, consistency and time…that to me is the most important point here. I know many pet owners who just don’t get it. They ask me all the time, “how did you get your dogs to be so well-behaved?” It’s not a few training classes, it’s not a TV show. There is no magic answer, just a lot of hard work. Another reason I don’t like Cesar. He makes it look like everything can be accomplished in a 30 minute broadcast segment.
Comment by Kim Hanson — December 29, 2006 @ 6:49 am
Oh pleeeeaaaze, can we stop with this? Once again I am just so done with this subject.
Comment by Judi — December 29, 2006 @ 11:21 am
I really can’t. See … as a pet-care columnist I get so much e-mail from people who are following advice that’s not best for their situation, or looking for easy fixes. Millan plays into both these trends.
I promise not to comment on him further until the next time I get a wild hair about the subject, OK?
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 29, 2006 @ 11:59 am
Dogs are meant to be dogs. Someone has to take control of the pack whether it consists of 1 person and 1 dog or multiples. I recently had to combine my 2 large dogs with my mother’s 2 dogs. Rather than go through the hair, teeth and eyeball syndrome I hired a trainer. Not only for the dogs but for me. There was no excessive exercise to create a ‘good’ dog. There were treats given and withheld. ‘Bad’ dogs were put in crates immediately upon display of non-cooperative behavior. It worked. I have 4 dogs living together and no vet bills. My trainer doesn’t yank dogs around by the collar, force them to conform, she gets the dogs to behave with firm kindness. Stuff even I can do.
Comment by Sher — December 30, 2006 @ 9:31 am
Now, I wouldn’t know this guy from Prince Charles, but after I posted something on him, I got lots of Google hits on the topic, so I figure he must be pretty popular.
I think this explains why:
“And quit wishing for magic wands and easy answers from TV stars. A well-behaved dog takes patience, consistency and time. You’re building a relationship, not fixing a toaster.”
Best sentence on the subject yet.
Comment by KathyF — December 31, 2006 @ 11:29 am
When it comes to teaching a completely different species (canine) how to fit into a human world, I think learning should go both ways. We want our dogs to learn alot about us. I think it’s our responsibility to learn a lot about them. How can we expect to teach dogs a foreign language (English) and human culture if we don’t understand their language, culture and therefore learn how to be effective canine instructors. I personally prefer the term “cue” to “command” and “instruct” to “correct” when it comes to teaching our dogs “manners” and an English vocabulary which puts a real twist on the term obedience training. I also believe we must protect our relationship and build trust when giving instruction to our dogs and allow dogs to use their innate intelligence rather than trying to force any response. When we don’t use our minds, we tend to use our might - brawn instead of brain. Dogs need physical and mental exercise. Learning is mental exercise. It’s important that we learn many reliable teaching methods because nothing works all of the time and everything works some of the time.
Comment by Susan and Dr. Rolan Tripp — January 4, 2007 @ 12:13 am
Well done. I don’t think you can revisit this topic too much. Like many other professionals, I too deal with calls from potential clients who are Cesar addicts.
In social situations people argue over Cesar and his magic. They don’t have enough information to know that the “cure” for the problems don’t happen in one show—and they believe that is all it takes.
The big disserve is that the WWII methods of training reinforced once again (these are the pop culture methods that still endure despite better choices being available).
As someone who has been in the industry over 30 years, I know people market different techniques. The “one method works for all” is incorrect…why does everyone need a guru?
Comment by Diana Guerrero — January 6, 2007 @ 10:36 am