Why I Don't Agree With The Dog Whisperer
This article pretty much sums it up for me in a nutshell.
I am very much against force training and it seems like it is becoming popular lately what with the popularity of Cesar and other shows showing similar techniques. People would rather use force, fear, or aversive techniques rather than understand how the dog behaves, thinks and communicates. Everyone wants a quick fix, not a technique that takes weeks of consistant work to see improvement.
I do agree with some of the things he says I just don't agree with most of the techniques he uses to fix issues.
I like that he calls owners out on their own BS. People get dogs they have no business caring for and they think they are doing them good when they are not. They are lazy and don't want to physically or mentally exercise their dog but then get a breed like a border collie that requires a very high amount of exercise in both ways.
Many of the dogs on his show need significant amounts of behavioral therapy and training. It saddens me that these dogs are forced into a training program that can make them worse but the owners think they see an improvement in behavior because the dog is too tired to do anything else.
If people want to watch a show that shows positive reinforcement techniques that work they should watch It's Me or the Dog. Victoria Stillwell understands dog behavior and can read body language. Her show gives me hope that more owners will see what positive reinforcement can do for your pet and use that technique rather than force.
I am very much against force training and it seems like it is becoming popular lately what with the popularity of Cesar and other shows showing similar techniques. People would rather use force, fear, or aversive techniques rather than understand how the dog behaves, thinks and communicates. Everyone wants a quick fix, not a technique that takes weeks of consistant work to see improvement.
I do agree with some of the things he says I just don't agree with most of the techniques he uses to fix issues.
I like that he calls owners out on their own BS. People get dogs they have no business caring for and they think they are doing them good when they are not. They are lazy and don't want to physically or mentally exercise their dog but then get a breed like a border collie that requires a very high amount of exercise in both ways.
Many of the dogs on his show need significant amounts of behavioral therapy and training. It saddens me that these dogs are forced into a training program that can make them worse but the owners think they see an improvement in behavior because the dog is too tired to do anything else.
If people want to watch a show that shows positive reinforcement techniques that work they should watch It's Me or the Dog. Victoria Stillwell understands dog behavior and can read body language. Her show gives me hope that more owners will see what positive reinforcement can do for your pet and use that technique rather than force.
Comment
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Comment by MagnoliaFly on November 5, 2008 at 6:35pm
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I don't like anything that will create a robotic dog - from shock collars to clickers.
I'm curious why you think clickers create robotic dogs?
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Comment by Mariana on November 5, 2008 at 6:01pm
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MagnoliaFly: I totally respect that you don't want to read the book. Trust me, I'm not trying to force it on anybody; I'm just defending it - being the one who has actually read it. But I think it's safe to say we can probably stop going back and forth about it and agree to disagree about the book's value.
As far as Cesar Millan. Eh. I don't know what I think about him. I like that he stresses exercise of both the mind and body. I don't mind the "shush" noise - in fact I find that I make all sorts of weird noises when I correct my dog. I'm not so sure about his strict walking routine - I prefer to give my dog more freedom on a walk. I don't like anything that will create a robotic dog - from shock collars to clickers. And like MagnoliaFly said in the original post, I do like that he tries to train the owners - especially to stop anthropomorphizing their dogs. And I agree that part of the reason The Dog Whisperer is so popular is because everyone wants the quick fix - just like Dr. Phil and other reductive shows on t.v. these days.
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Comment by Suzanne on November 5, 2008 at 5:32pm
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Back to the Dog Whisperer. My biggest problem is the people that watch the show, and think they can 'fix' their own dog in 15 minutes. A friend of mine tried his 'technique' on a dog that doesn't appear to like being in cars. In the long run they made the dog worse... I hate the 'shush' noise!
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Mariana again, I appreciate the suggestion I just personally don't feel I would enjoy reading a book about a man and a feral dog where he uses shock collars and other forceful techniques. That doesn't equal entertainment for me. The other two hundred reviews seemed to enjoy the book very much so I don't doubt his writing was beautiful and I'm happy you found a book you seem to have enjoyed so much.
While every dog is different, as Aloha says, it has been proven that OC works. And it is funny how so many other animals can learn using the same methods. Can you teach a bird to get on your finger by jerking a leash around it's neck? I bet not. But you can use positive reinforcement to get the bird to do so. For whatever reason we've chosen the dog to be the recipient to all sorts of methods like shock collars to train them to do things we want them to.
Many fail to realize after watching Cesar's show and using his methods that they may be hurting the relationship with their dog. All in an effort to become "pack leader" and "alpha dog" in an animal that is social in nature.
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I forgot to mention that I have done research, but I think some of my opinions differ from yours in terms of interacting with dogs. Which doesn't mean you're wrong and doesn't mean I'm wrong. Just a healthy difference of opinion. I respect yours and I see how the review makes it look as if Ted was abusing his dog. But that isn't the case at all.
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I should have been more clear when I recommended the book. I only recommended it as a beautiful story about a man and a feral dog who comes into his life. The dog is feral, so the rules (if you can call them that) about domestic dogs don't apply to the relationship the author had with Merle. And I'm not reading it just for entertainment. I'm reading it for the experience and what I can learn from it.
On another note, one can only comment on the book if one has read it, in my opinion.
Anyway, just to make sure there's no confusion, I definitely didn't recommend Merle's Door as a book about training. The research in it is extensive, and worth listening to if you want to broaden your horizons. I'm not making any claims as to the reliability of the research - only that it stimulates the mind.
As far as Cesar is concerned, I like some of his advice and don't like some of his advice. I agree with Sarah when she says that every dog is different.
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Comment by Sarah C. on November 5, 2008 at 3:07pm
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I think it's best to remember that the Dog Whisperer is a SHOW and you should do what the SHOW's warning tells you and talk to a PROFESSIONAL on what will suit YOUR DOG's needs. Every dog is different, every trainer is different.
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No. I have a stack of other books full of sound research that need to be read. I have nothing against reading the book for entertainment value so if you enjoyed it, great! Lots of other reviews said the dog was a great character and the man was a bit off-putting. If you haven't read any other research you may not understand the harm it sounds like he might have been doing do his dog.
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Have you read the book yourself?
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Well after reading a review that described:
He's padded it out with excerpts from some very mediocre source books (Masson's book, which Kerasote quotes on the first page, is the only dog book I've ever thrown in the trash), and offers nothing new to readers who keep up to date on dog research and theories about dog behavior. It's all old information, probably gleaned from the Web and his own library. Furthermore, the man is a hypocrite and a windbag. He takes his dog camping in subzero weather at 12k feet without training Merle beforehand to sleep in a tent. When the dog panics at being confined, Kerasote leaves him outside in blizzard conditions. He takes his dog bird hunting and shoots a shotgun right over Merle's head (again, no previous training), and is surprised when the dog freaks. He pontificates about how we all ruin dogs by leashing them, then blithely mentions dogs that are shot for chasing livestock. He puts a shock collar on his dog to train him to avoid a neighbor that gives the dog treats. Think about that one.
I'll take books by Patricia McConnell, Karen Pryor, Ian Dunbar or Jean Donaldson over that book any day.
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