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May 27, 2012

Why I'm Obsessed With 'Dog Whisperer'

by Stephanie Earp, posted Nov 8th 2010 5:00PM


I went to see 'Cesar Millan Live.' Usually when a television writer tells you they went to a television-related event, what they mean is that a publicity contact provided them with tickets, an interview or a backstage pass. I went to see 'Cesar Millan Live,' but I bought the tickets myself.

I admit it, I love 'Dog Whisperer.' Still, when the commercials on the National Geographic Channel started running with Cesar's gleaming white smile telling me to stay calm and assertive, as he was on his way, I didn't give it much thought. But (proving that ads do work) it slowly seeped into my consciousness. What, I wondered, would Cesar do on a live stage that he couldn't do better in a taped environment? How many people would really go to an arena to see him? And finally, the thought that broke me: I wondered who on Earth would be in the audience. My curiosity to see who else would go to such a thing had me buying tickets for his Ottawa, Ontario show last week.

The two-hour drive to the Canadian capital was easy and uneventful. The first clue that I had underestimated Cesar's appeal came when we turned off the highway towards Scotiabank Place, and found ourselves in a traffic snarl that lasted half an hour. It seemed as busy as an Ottawa Senators game. An usher told me the show was sold out -- about 7,000 people came to see the Dog Whisperer speak.

The audience was made up mostly of families, and it struck me that 'Dog Whisperer' is really a very family-friendly show. It preaches self-confidence and patience as essential virtues, encouraging good morals and plenty of exercise. The crowd around us responded to Cesar's talk verbally, exclaiming that the dog he was describing was "just like Sadie" or admitting ruefully "I do that" when Cesar made fun of people who get their dogs all wound up for dinner. In this post-Oprah age, they showed their agreement by clapping. "Puppy mills are bad." Applause. "Adopt from a rescue." Applause. "Cats are spooky." Applause.



I had a great time, once I got over my vague embarrassment that I was there at all, but there wasn't much, content-wise, that I hadn't heard before. Did I say I love 'Dog Whisperer'? Let me be clear: I have an almost endless appetite for the show. I will watch five, six or more episodes back-to-back on a weekend afternoon. I will sit and watch an episode I saw the week before -- or even earlier that same day -- if the mood strikes me. I don't think there's much you could program against the show that would get me to change the channel. This is not the sort of thing I like to admit. I'm supposed to be a sophisticated TV critic, spending my time watching HBO, AMC and PBS. I love 'Dog Whisperer', but I know it's not the most thoughtful show. It's got the sensibility of a Disney production, with about as much plot variation as 'House': Dog is bad, Cesar comes, dog is good.

But I have an excuse. I have a dog. And I think about my dog all the time. Probably more than I should -- my beloved would definitely suggest my curiosity about "what she's thinking" could be verging on the pathological side. Mostly, my dog is a good dog, but every now and again she does something that worries me -- growling at another dog who tries to share her water at the park, peeing every time my deep-voiced friend says her name, or pacing obsessively around guests. 'Dog Whisperer' is the only place I can see people as consumed by these trifling events as I am. Not only that, a genuine expert is taking them seriously.



And isn't that what specialty channels are all about? Giving the obsessed a small corner of the TV-scape where they can feel normal? Those who love cooking (and eating) have The Food Network. Those who love weddings have all those wedding shows. And those who love renovating have the home decor shows (OK, this metaphor is not working. No one loves renovating, do they?).

At least, that's what I thought. Then at the end of the live show as the lights came up, I turned to the teen boy and his father who sat next to me and asked them what kind of dog they have (hoping, of course, to get the chance to show them pictures of mine on my phone).

"Oh, we don't have a dog," the kid told me. Now that's what I call obsessed.

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Ray

I have a hunting dog and my techniques are based on positive methods. I would never use Cesar's methods. I agree with Ray. I train using my brains, and no pain. Even shutzhund training are moving away from force methods.

http://www.duckhillkennels.com/about/seminars.php

November 12 2010 at 3:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan M

Ray,

You are another one of the psychobabble fools that is a self-proclaimed "expert" in something you apparently do not understand in the least. Very sad. You can cite other people's studies all day long. You can claim your successes. Nobody cares. The proof is in the pudding. The techniques work. People like you assume it is all about the HUMAN exerting it's will on the dog in some overtly abusive domineering way. Cowering the dog into submission. That's how people like you view it. That the Human has some twisted idea about dominating an animal for his or her own pleasure and that translates into "abuse". People who UNDERSTAND what Cesar and a whole host of very talented dog trainers advocate,(particularly field trial dog trainers, and I know a bunch of them) and practice it appropriately have great, happy, well-adjusted, obedient dogs. Let me guess you don't think field trial or hunting dogs are acceptable either. They don't cringe in fear from their masters commands as people like you would have others believe. You are a sad person who has claimed a position of authority based on an interest and spread misinformation to suit your ends. You have zero credibility. Good luck with your techniques. I wouldn't let you near my dogs. You don't like these methods? So what, guaranteed I don't like yours. If you don't like them or understand them, then don't use them. The rest of us will and we've got great dogs to prove it.

November 11 2010 at 1:59 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DebinSoCal

I have been using some of the methods Cesar has taught, way before he came to us via TV. I am the boss, not the dogs. There has to be a pack leader, and that's the truth...and it better be YOU. I have always had well behaved dogs, even sitting for hours in a vet's office with other dogs barking around them. They are loved, but they have rules. Treat them with respect, kindness and love, and that's what you'll get back.

November 11 2010 at 2:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan M

Have used Cesar's techniques with our labs and a pit mix we found abandoned in the desert. To a person, EVERYONE we come in contact with says the same thing, "I can't believe how well behaved your dogs are." If you understand that your dog is just that, A DOG, and it lives by dog rules, not human rules, you will have the relationship with your dog that it deserves and you will get the same comments on how well adjusted, calm, happy, and well behaved they are. We have happy, well-disciplined, well exercised dogs that do EXACTLY what we ask of them. The whiners on here I GUARANTEE treat their dogs like humans and cannot separate from that interface. tragic in so many ways. And I'm a professional wildife biologist that regularly works with wild canines. If Cesar was full of it, I'd be the first to howl about it, no pun intended.

November 10 2010 at 10:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Dan M's comment
Ray

Cesar's methods are not new. They were used in the 30's and 50's and his methods have been discredited. A dog is not a wolf. Domesticated animals are not descendants of wild life successors but a product of a calmer, friendly animals that people continuely picked out and bred for decades. Dogs are products of evolution. They are not wolves. They do not even have the same behavior. The scientific evidence is out there - read!

Did you know that dogs and cats had a common ancestor (miacis). So does a dog act like a cat. Evolution branches out in diffent areas. What about a bird, is it a dinosaur? Do we engage and socialize with chimps? Animals evolve. Behaviors and even the biological genetics of an animal changes in order to adapt to its environment.

I am a Animal Behaviorist and Dog evaluator and I would never use these type of ruthless methods. I deal with many dogs with extreme behavior problems. If I would have used any of Cesar's methods, the dogs would have ended up being killed. His methods lead to further aggression in aggressive dogs. My methods are based on animal cognition and learning. Many of the dogs I work with are now service dogs. They help the disabled to function in daily task.

Even the police force have been getting away from choking and shocking dogs. They are basing their training on operant conditioning. There is no need, to install fear into a dog. Cesar's methods are based on flooding. If you read the research on his methods, they have proven to increase aggression by 25%.

Do you see Dogs in Canada ever writing about Cesar - no. Huge publications who are geared to dog professionals will not sell his books. Some goods studies from Jean Donaldson and Doctor Patricia McConnel have practical studies and analysis of how dogs and humans are different - without flooding techniques or some of the physical correction Cesar does. Dr. Nicholas Dodman - DVM and Director of Animal Behavior Clinic, Tufts University says Cesars methods are dangerous and inhumane That the training he does goes 20 years behind time. Doctor Suzzanne Hetts, Certified Animal Behaviorist and owner of Animal Behavior Assoc. says Cesar's explanations about dog behavior are fabricated. Dr. Ian Dunbar, DVM who is a expert witness in dog aggression trials, is outraged when Cesar mentions "wolves". He says, does it make sense to think "I want to interact with my dog better, so I will learn from the wolves makes about as much sense as saying "I want to improve my parenting - lets see how the chimps do it". Dr. Andrew Luescher DVM asked by the National Geographic to review the Dog Whisperer shows says that Cesar's techniques are unacceptable and are wrong. The show repeatedly cautions viewers not to attempt his (Cesar's) techniques at home. SO THEN WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SHOW?

Ray - Animal Behaviorist, MA

November 11 2010 at 1:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
CJ

By the way, good point Becca. Our mordern day canines are descendants of wolf species of long, long ago. And Cesar is all about whispering. That means communicating and understanding dogs and how we interact with them.

November 10 2010 at 6:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
lilah

I love this show!! I have been watching forever and refer to cesar as my T.V. boyfriend. Like the author, there isn't anything else that will make me change the channel when its on. Cesar rules. R.I.P Daddy.

November 10 2010 at 3:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
norman sunden

Boundaries,Structure and Limitations are foreign to most. Dogs and Humans need this but its much easier to overindulge.

November 10 2010 at 11:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Becca

And since when are dogs not wolves?
He is the "dog whisperer" not the dog agility coach. It's about his communication and rapport with them.

November 10 2010 at 11:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
James Brackin

Love the show, and watch it all the time. Being ret USAF and 66 years ole, I have the time. He is truely a pro.at his field.
Thanks.

November 10 2010 at 10:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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