cesar milan

Just wanted to hear it from the horses mouth so to speak. I've heard a heap of people bagging him out and putting down his methods and just wanted to hear what methods people were actually talking about and why they hate the bloke soo much! Dont get me wrong i am far far away from a CM fan myself.

 

Quotes:
"Millan's techniques are almost exclusively based on two techniques: Flooding and positive punishment. In flooding, an animal is exposed to a fear (or aggression) evoking stimulus and prevented from leaving the situation, until it stops reacting. To take a human example: arachnophobia would be treated by locking a person into a closet, releasing hundreds of spiders into that closet, and keeping the door shut until the person stops reacting. The person might be cured by that, but also might be severely disturbed and would have gone through an excessive amount of stress. Flooding has therefore always been considered a risky and cruel method of treatment.

. . . The last episode (compulsive disorder) is particularly unsettling because compulsive disorder is related to an imbalance in neurotransmitter levels or receptors, and is therefore unequivocally a medical condition. Would it be appropriate to treat obsessive compulsive disorder in people with punishment? Or have a layperson go around treating such patients?" -Andrew Luescher, DVM

"Mr. Millan builds his philosophy from a simplistic conception of the dog's ''natural'' pack, controlled by a dominant alpha animal (usually male). In his scheme, that leader is the human, which leads to the conclusion that all behavior problems in dogs derive from the failure of the owner or owners to dominate. (Conveniently, by this logic, if Mr. Millan's intervention doesn't produce lasting results, it is the owner's fault.)

Women are the worst offenders in his world. In one of the outtakes included in the four-DVD set of the first season of ''Dog Whisperer,'' Mr. Millan explains that a woman is ''the only species that is wired different from the rest.'' And a ''woman always applies affection before discipline,'' he says. ''Man applies discipline then affection, so we're more psychological than emotional. All animals follow dominant leaders; they don't follow lovable leaders.''
-Mark Derr, author of ''A Dog's History of America: How Our Best Friend Explored, Conquered and Settled a Continent.''

World-renowned dog trainers, behaviorists and veterinarians had all warned National Geographic that Millan’s methods had the potential for disaster. Below are quotes from noted experts:

“Cesar Millan's methods are based on flooding and punishment. The results, though immediate, will be only transitory. His methods are misguided, outmoded, in some cases dangerous, and often inhumane. You would not want to be a dog under his sphere of influence. The sad thing is that the public does not recognize the error of his ways. My college thinks it is a travesty. We’ve written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years.”
Dr. Nicholas Dodman - Professor and Head, Section of Animal Behavior
Director of Behavior Clinic, Tufts University - Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

“Practices such as physically confronting aggressive dogs and using of choke collars for fearful dogs are outrageous by even the most diluted dog training standards. A profession that has been making steady gains in its professionalism, technical sophistication and humane standards has been greatly set back. I have long been deeply troubled by the popularity of Mr. Millan as so many will emulate him. To co-opt a word like ‘whispering’ for arcane, violent and technically unsound practice is unconscionable.”
Jean Donaldson, The San Francisco SPCA-Director of The Academy for Dog Trainers

"A number of qualified professionals have voiced concern for the welfare of pet dogs that experience the strong corrections administered by Mr. Millan. My concerns are based on his inappropriateness, inaccurate statements, and complete fabrications of explanations for dog behavior. His ideas, especially those about “dominance”, are completely disconnected from the sciences of ethology and animal learning, which are our best hope for understanding and training our dogs and meeting their behavioral needs. Many of the techniques he encourages the public to try are dangerous, and not good for dogs or our relationships with them ."
Dr. Suzanne Hetts, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist
Co-owner of Animal Behavior Associates, Inc., Littleton, CO

"Cesar Millan employs outdated methods that are dangerous and inhumane. Using a choke chain and treadmill to treat fear of strangers and dogs is completely inappropriate. Hopefully the National Geographic Channel will listen to the scientific community and discontinue production of The Dog Whisperer."
Vyolet Michaels, CTC (Certified Dog Trainer and Behavior Counselor)
Owner of Urban Dawgs, LLC of Red Bank, NJ

"On his TV show, the main method Millan uses for aggression is aversives (leash jerks, kicks, snaps of the hand against the neck, and restraint, among others) applied non contingently. The aversives are non contingent because they are so frequent that they're not connected to any particular behavior on the part of the dog—the dog gets popped pretty much constantly. This results in a state called learned helplessness, which means the animal hunkers down and tries to do as little as possible. This is what Millan calls "calm submission." It's exactly the same thing you see in a rat in a Skinner box that is subjected to intermittent shocks it can do nothing to avoid. This can happen quite fast, by the way, shall we say in ten minutes? The dangers to the dog are obvious, ranging from chronic stress to exacerbating the aggression, i.e., some dogs fight back when attacked. This latter is the simplest reason that aversives are a bad idea in treating aggression. Even used technically correctly as positive punishment for specific behaviors like growling and snarling, aversives do nothing to change the underlying fear or hostility, so the best you can hope for, in the words of famed vet and behaviorist, Ian Dunbar, is "removing the ticker from the time bomb." Thus such methods substantially increase the risk to humans of getting bitten."
Janis Bradley, Instructor at The San Franciso SPCA Academy for Dog Trainers
Author of the book, "Dogs Bite"

Excerpt of letter from Lisa Laney, Dip. DTBC, CPDT, CBC to National Geographic before airing “The Dog Whisperer”:
“The intended program depicts aversive and abusive training methods - treatment for some serious anxiety and fear based issues - being administered by an individual with no formal education whatsoever in canine behavioral sciences. The "results" that are shown are more than likely not long lasting changes, but the result of learned helplessness, or fatigue, neither of which impact behavior to any significant long term degree - at least not in a good way. For those of us who are pioneering the effort to end the ignorance that drives the cruel treatment administered upon our canine companions, it is disappointing to see that this programming will reach the masses - especially on the NG Channel. The ignorance that this program perpetuates will give equally ignorant people the green light to subject their dogs to abuse. In turn these dogs will react even more defensively, will bite more people - and end up dead.”

"I have serious concerns because his methods are often intimidating rather than motivating. On TV, the dogs do comply but often they're being forced to - you can tell by their body language: tail down, mouth closed, ears back, eyes dilated... I argue that motivating leadership is far more effective than leading through intimidation."
Steve Dale

 

I disagree, its not like putting someone in a closet with trantulas LOL. BAD anology... i've never seen the dogs forced into a position where they could be physically harmed by staying there. You could be physically harmed in small dark closest full of spideys lol

I don't believe a jerk on a chain or poke to a dog is that damaging either, my dog would just look at me. Plenty of CM's methods work, i just don't think they are for everybody with any breed of dog. These guys who wrote that seem to be a little soft lol if a slight poke to the dog is really that bad, i feel bad for all the dogs that get a swat on the butt at home LOL

 

i dont think you uderstand the whole picture .... another words you dont put someone or something into the very situation that scares them to try and fix em... someone that is afraid of closed in areas you wouldnt throw them in a cave

 

To each his own. Whatever works for you. I don't mind Cesar Milan and I think his show and books are very entertaining

 

No, i understand it perfectly but an over exaggerated example is not needed to get a point across. A dog that is afraid of water, put in a pond or lake trying to re-introduce him to the water is a far cry from throwing him off the golden gate bridge.

 

I think he stands up for my favorite breed. I like that part best. I don't agree with everything he says but I still watch his show.

 

He pushes this nonsense and gets people believing an APBT(although his clearly aren't) would be well served by living in a "pack" Bad idea,and no APBT owner should condone it.

 

attack one of the most famouse people standing up for our favorite breed. ? do you know how many old people watch that show alot and those old people have nothing better to do than be at your local city hall voicing their concerns about our dogs get the picture......

 

wether his methods are what you all may not like as real bulldog owners those methods seem to work for him and his clients so i really cant say shit about him all im gonna say is i do my own thing and u have to take into consideration the people he does this for i mean come on they cant even make a toy dog mind much less a damn real bulldog

 

I only saw one episode and he dragged a dog onto a e mill until it ran on it. Seemed kind of dangerous. JMO
I did however like the South Park episode where CM tought Cartman's mom how to train him

 

I think people are generalizing CM's experiences with pitbulls based on DADDY. If you've watched the show, you know he has a good number of pitbulls that are not bully or bully types... rescues of all kinds and dogs who were previously used in the []. So i don't know how you can say what his dogs are or aren't when the dude has a shit load of dogs lol just because daddy is a wide load, that don't say shit for the other dogs he has or has worked with.

 

thats a matter of opinion. Thats a approach used in psychology by some. Sometimes the technique works, sometimes it doesn't. It depends on the situation and the individual. Some psychologist use this technique and some dont. Same can be said about dogs and trainers. I myself think that u cant conquer ur fears til u face them so... Im not a fan of the way he portrays the apbt, thats my biggest issue. And he doesnt "throw them in a cave" they gradually progress til they get to that point, same as the approach used on humans. I dont see anything wrong with it myself.

 

Those quotes are from veterinarians, behaviorists, professors, and trainers. I've seen him man handle fearful and aggressive dogs to the point that they are fighting for their lives...These animals don't understand what is being done to them. All they know is that someone is pinning them down and/or constricting their necks with a leash. These dogs develop something real psychologists call "learned helplessness". These dogs realize there is nothing else they can do, so they give up and shut down. Do his methods work? Sometimes, yes. Are they the best methods? By and large, no.

In one episode there was a GSD that was very aggressive toward a cat. Cesar Millan slapped an e-collar (shock collar) on that dog and by the end of the clip the dog trying to hide itself under a couch! Talk about severely fucking up a dog psychologically...

 

i didnt say he did...nor did i say i agreed or disagreed

 

pinning a dog down is the same thing that would be done by their mother when they are pups nothing he does is any different than the mother does to pups when she is teaching them boundaries. while i do believe that his methods work, i do agree that when it comes to bulldogs he may be able to have them controlled but not every one can do what he does, and for everyone who says he teaches people the wrong idea he always states that it takes a lot of hard work and he does not recomend trying this stuff without professional help

 

thats exactly what you'd do. maybe not a cave but definitely a dark enclosed area.

personally i could give a rats ass what cesar milan does. i hardly think hes harming the breed much. seriously, whats the statisticof people who watch his show and go "well i was going to get a second cocker spaniel but after watching cesar i think i'll just go out and get me a pit bull"

I don't agree with his methods and when I watch him on the tube constantly yell at him but apparently some people like the results. Oh well.

 

No collars,leashes or breakstick...

Dog Whisperer | National Geographic Channel

 

LOL i dont think many people do that either.

 

IMHO cesar milan seems to make things up as he goes along and always seems to contradict himself. i actually get a laugh out of him when he talks about certain things i dunno.. lol