Cesar Millan: Canine guru, or doggie dope?

Says Dr. Patricia McConnell, on the subject of Cesar Millan: “Cesar has put dog training back 20 years.” Patricia is author of several books, including “The Other End of the Leash” and “How to be the Leader of the Pack and Have Your Dog Love Your for It”. She is a certified applied animal behaviorist, the former host of Animal Planet’s “Petline” and currently hosts NPR’s “Calling All Pets”.

“Cesar works with aggressive dogs, and that’s sexy these days,” says Patricia McConnell.

For years, dog trainers like Patricia McConnell, Ian Dunbar, Karen Pryor and Jean Donaldson have been revolutionizing the dog training field by using reward-based, positive methods of dog training, rather than fear or pain-based methods, such as leash corrections and forcing your dog into submission.

Yet, in the world of mainstream dog training, people still seem to be latching on to the concept of “being a pack leader” and “dominating your dog”, and want nothing less than fast results.

Millan, who is a native of Mexico, now lives in the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles, which is also home to his dog training and research facility, where he houses large packs of outside dogs, ranging in size from tiny Chihuahuas to large Rottweilers who live together without seperating runs or fences. Cesar often uses his pack, who he claims are all “well-balanced pack members”, to rehabilitate dogs with serious aggression issues.

It is no lie that what Cesar does is nothing less than extraordinary. He turns dogs around, changes owners’ lives, and has even saved dogs from euthanasia with his training methods. His dog training motto is, “I rehabilitate dogs, I train people”. Cesar even takes on high end celebrity clients, such as rapper Redman and actor/actress Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Millan’s pro-pit bull stance is also worth noting. He owns several of them, ranging in age, sex and size, and his unofficial “mascot” on the show is a pit belonging to rapper Redman, named “Daddy”, who often accompanies Cesar on more difficult cases. On his show, he is often seen disspelling the myth that pit bulls are dangerous, aggressive dogs. Yet he still houses these dogs together without the aid of seperating runs, and many of the pits he keeps are still intact (not spayed or neutered).

Are his methods safe for the average dog owner? Can anyone, even soft-spoken women (a large part of his client base), be transformed into a “calm, assertive pack leader” in just a matter of moments? Moreover, in this day and age of animal welfare, are his methods even…well…humane?

In my professional opinion, my response to both of those questions is “No”. I am not anti-Cesar by any means–I respect that he supports the responsible ownership of pit bulls and has saved several dogs from euthanasia–but his methods of dominating, forcing a dog to comply, “flooding” (the method of forcing a dog to face what it fears or dislikes) and brute phsyical methods are oldschool at best. Cesar often pushes dogs past their bite treshold, or at least very close to it, which is a dangerous for the average dog owner. He warns not to practice his methods at home without a professional, yet I have known and had to consult several people who were attempting to mimic his methods. Forcing a dominate or fearful dog into a submissive posture is a bite waiting to happen.

Nor are Cesar’s methods neccessarily humane. It is true that he does not condone yelling or hitting a dog, but his sharp jabs, pokes and prods are mentally damaging–it creates a fearful, unsure dog. He also uses leash corrections for more aggressive dogs, which are not only painful to a dog, but may also cause extreme tracheal damage. He puts dogs face to face, forcing them to interact, which could be a dog fight in the making (and on several episodes, HAS resulted in dangerous dog fights). He also puts dogs through strenuous activities, which are meant to drain their “negative energy”. While I agree that exercise is good for a dog’s mental well being, I have yet to hear him suggest that dogs should be checked by a veterinarian before being put through
extreme physical strain. That, too, can be dangerous.

So what is the alternative to Cesar’s “exercise, discipline, affection” and the oldschool, militaristic methods of dog training? The answer is positive reinforcement–a method of dog training that rewards compliance from the dog rather than punishing unwanted behavior.

Positive reinforcement is best used with a “clicker”–sometimes called a cricket–which is a small device with a metal tongue that, when depressed, produces a distinct “click-click” sound. This sound tells the dog “Good Job!” and that a reward is forthcoming. Unwanted behavior is ignored or gently redirected to a rewardable behavior. For example, a dog who is jumping will either be ignored–usually by turning one’s back and ignoring the dog until it calms down on its own–or directing the dog, through the use of hand signals and treats, into a sit or down. Once the dog is calmly sitting, standing or doing anything other than frantically jumping, the desired behavior is clicked and then the dog gets a treat, toy or affection. Through repetition, the dog learns that all four paws on the ground yeilds good things, and jumping yeilds nothing.

Clicker and positive training is slowly but surely catching on. Victoria Stilwell, a trainer from the UK, now has her own show on Animal Planet where many of her cases are just as difficult, if not more so, than many that Cesar deals with. Like Cesar, Victoria gets results quickly. The difference is that the dogs she trains become happy to work for their owner’s affections, rather than compliant in order to avoid physical punishment. Her punishments involve ignoring unwanted behavior, as she believes that even negative attention is reinforcement for some dogs.

Clicker training has yet to be fully embraced because, unlike Cesar’s methods (and others who train like Cesar), positive reinforcement and clicker training require more thought than traditional training. It involves distinct understanding of common dog behaviors, and it requires one to figure out what a dog will work for. It’s much easier to slap a pinch collar on your dog and have only one thing to hold–the leash–instead of three: the leash, the clicker, and a bag of treats (or a toy). It is also common opinion that positive training cannot help with aggressive dogs, but with the right approach, positive training can be even better and more successful than traditional training.

And better yet, unlike forceful methods of dog training, positive reinforcement/clicker training is so effective, that even children can get involved.

– Susan Shipman, 2008