The Dog Whisperer: Cesar Millan’s Fans and Critics

I love the show, I admit it. I’ve been a fan for a while and have always been amazed at Cesar’s ability to calm out of control dogs. For those of you who don’t know, Cesar Millan is the Dog Whisperer, which is also the name of his television show on the National Geographic Channel. After watching many episodes, I came to the conclusion that his “Power of the Pack” approach was a no-brainer. Why hadn’t anyone else thought of that?

In his teachings, Cesar Millan tells us that we must become our dog’s pack leader and we must be calm and assertive in doing so and that we must be good leaders to maintain our dog’s trust. Not doing so can result in unwanted behaviors from the dog. He explains that dogs are more comfortable being treated as they are… dogs. This makes sense since most human’s wouldn’t want to be treated like a dog. Why would they feel any different?

I decided I wanted to learn more about Cesar Millan as his way with canines is fascinating to me. (I’m a big dog lover) I was surprised to learn he is a poor immigrant from Mexico who came to this country, worked hard, and through word of mouth, made a name for himself, eventually landing himself a television show. His is a fine example of word of mouth advertising as it led him some famous clients, including Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

My research got kind of side tracked when I began to run into many opposing, slanderous, and sometimes cruel statements made toward Cesar Millan online. The American Humane Association, Esquire Magazine, and Jean Donaldson are just a few who have voiced negative opinions toward Millan. One person even stated that they’d like to put a choke collar on him and tie him to a tread mill. What these people want you to believe….

1. The dogs are actually afraid of Cesar.

2. His methods are outdated.

3. His methods are abusive.

4. The dogs are not calmly submissive, they are scared submissive.

Like I said, I’m a fan. I’ve never seen one ounce of abuse displayed toward any dog. Yes, he does use a training leash. So do a lot of other trainers who aren’t bashed for doing so. Some say the way he holds the dog is abusive. I again haven’t seen any abuse in this area. Every dog I’ve ever seen experience pain has yelped. I’ve never heard a dog on the show do that.

I guess it’s obvious which side of the fence I’m on. This man is amazing with dogs, dogs who seem to be beyond hope and were heading toward their demise with owners who were scared of them. Luckily, I’m still seeing the majority seem to agree with me. I guess if I was a dog trainer and someone came along and made me realize I was doing it wrong, I’d be a little upset too. I think that’s more likely the case. I mean, why should this dog trainer have his own show when none of the rest do? He’s not a dog trainer. He’s a dog rehabilitator and he earned it. I’ll definitely keep watching this show.

Reference:

• www.dogviews.com