BEFORE YOU TURN ON THAT SHOW!
Before you turn on that dog training show
and start utilizing that information to train your dog, please think twice.
Remember!
There is a reason why "Consult a professional trainer....." is
posted on this show. Because adversive techniques are being used, and you can get dangerously hurt.
It's Hollywood! Lots of editing and staging is used. It is only an hour
show. There is no "reality" in reality shows. There are NO quick fixes! Just temporary suppression when using
this technique.
Some
celebrities are just in the right place at the right time, and are very charismatic, but not necessarily RIGHT!
Many trainers have the same beliefs or theories about dog behavior.
What motivates a dog. What causes problem behaviors or aggression. It is the methods that the trainer uses to rectify these
behaviors that is important. Not only the final outcome, but the impact it has on the animal as a whole.
So, before you take this very popular trainers advice, switch the channel
and find a dog training show that uses gentler training methods and does not use forced based- dominance training.
Some reading material
"Pack of Lies"
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CE3DF1E3EF932A0575BC0A9609C8B63
And some quick quotes from the 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
