cesar millan dog whisperer techiques

Cesar Millan, Dog Whisperer: An Alternative Approach

Cesar Millan and his television show have become very popular among the dog-owning public. Millan seems to have been made for the screen, with a charisma that makes some folks call him the 'Dr.Phil of Dogs'. However, there IS a disclaimer at the beginning of his show, warning those at home not to try the same methods – have you ever wondered why?

"To call his operation a psychology center is a total paradox," says veterinary behaviorist Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and author of "Dogs Behaving Badly". "I think, like a bullfighter, he understands how to approach and work around a dog, but thereafter he stops. He doesn't understand separation anxiety. I doubt he knows what obsessive-compulsive behavior is. Basically, with a smile, he's going to war

with these dogs. Imagine if there was a new Dr. Phil for children, and he said, 'If your kid is playing too many video games, get a big paddle and whack him on the head.' People would be incensed!"

Millan's methods rely on a theory built around short-term studies of captive wolf packs in the 1940's – the Alpha/Dominance theory. There were a lot of serious flaws in that theory. First of all, it drew all of its information about behavior from a very small portion of wolf life – then basically took this tiny portion as gospel. A lot of the behaviors and rituals were wildly misinterpreted, and for some reason, the researchers decided that that these rituals and behaviors were totally valid across species (i.e. dog-dog and dog-human). But, as Dr. Ian Dunbar, veterinarian and author, states, “Saying 'I want to learn how to interact with my dog so I'll learn from the wolves' makes about as much sense as saying, 'I want to improve my parenting -- let's see how the chimps do it!' ”

Fast-forward – researchers at Yale and UC Berkeley spent 30 years observing dog packs and their hierarchy. This research showed something very different: mainly, 'alpha' does NOT have anything to do with physical dominance – it has to do with control of resources, and does not include physical displays of strength. Let's take the so-called 'alpha roll' – which, by the way, is not a forced thing among either dogs or wolves. A lower ranking dog may roll over an show his belly as a sign of submission; but, in a wolf pack, a forced roll is only done to another animal if the intent is to kill it. Guess how that makes our dogs feel when we try an alpha roll? Now, guess how many people have ended up in the emergency room with multiple bites to their faces after attempting one too many alpha rolls...

So what are the alternatives to traditional training methods? According to recent research on the efficacy of various dog training methods, positive reinforcement-based training results in faster learning, and longer retention of learned behaviors (without the need for 'retraining' on a regular basis) than either traditional force-based methods OR a combination of traditional and reinforcement-based. Plus, it strengthens the bond you have with your dog. You really can't argue with statistics like that!

Many people are under the impression that 'positive' means 'permissive' when it comes to positive reinforcement training – it doesn't. A good positive-reinforcement trainer uses two portions of the learning quadrant: positive reinforcement – when you reward the dog for doing what you like, in order to increase the chance of the behavior repeating and negative punishment – when you take away a good thing, usually your attention or the chance for a reward, in order to reduce the chance of a behavior happening. A positive reinforcement trainer isn't just a 'cookie pusher' either – while they may use food rewards in order to train a particular behavior, they quickly phase out the food in favor of using 'life rewards' – physical things that the dog wants, like going outside, or being allowed to jump up on the sofa. In this way, you are acting as a benevolent leader – someone who controls the resources, which helps keep order and harmony in your 'pack'. This combination of gentle leadership and reinforcement of wanted behaviors engages you and your dog in a training experience that's fun for BOTH and helps to cement good behaviors on a daily basis with your dog.