Cesar Millan', the "dog whisperer".

[Abramelin]

Hello all,

I would like to know your opinion about this guy 'Cesar Millan', aka the "dog whisperer".

I have to admit, when I first saw his show, I thought he was nothing but an Oprah Winfey spin-off.

You all know what I mean, a lot of pseudo-psycho blah blah, but no real content.

But then I watched his shows.

He got bitten, he got mangled, but goddamn, he was able to get these 'canine sharks' back on track (human track that is).

He **EDIT** did it.

Now YOU try to get am agressive pittbull terrier to behave civil.

OK, I admit again: maybe I am being fooled, and this guy is nothing but a fraud.

Well, I really do hope you will be able to set me free of this 'dream'.

**Your attempts to bypass the language filter are not appreciated.**

Edited August 9, 2010 by aquatus1
Profanity

[Piney]

I only saw this guy once and it was accidental because I watch "Bones". He didn't impress me. After chasing fraudulant trackers, Plastic shaman and outright fake Indians I'm under the impression that when it comes to "experts" on T.V. and in books- liars prosper.

You might know of some examples Abe.

The "Horse Whisperer"

David Yeagley the fake Comanche who was denounced by them is now the History Channels "expert" on the tribe.

Tom Brown "The Tracker". He re-wrote Pine Barrens geography and it was proven that his Apache teacher never existed and all his knowledge came from the writings of Ernest Thompson Seton. He still sells.

Andy McNabb screws up royally and now he's the SAS spokeperson on the History Channel. All he had to do is cut a friggin lightline.

Charles Storm author of "Seven Arrows". The Feds are still looking for him and his book is still a hit.

I don't have to tell you about Castaneda. My sister, Sondra Ball was debunking him all over "Indian Country" for 30 years. People still fall for his crap.

Lapiche

[MissMelsWell]

Are you sure you saw the right show Piney?

Ceasar Milan is really kind of a basic dog trainer... not much more. He more or less teaches people how to behave around their dogs and in doing that, he modifies the dogs behavior kind of by default. There's really nothing on his show that isn't anything I didn't learn in basic dog training classes. I've seen him come up with some innovative ideas on rare occasions.... but mostly, he watches people's behavior and the dogs behavior... and he finds a solution for training the dog. It's all real straight forward really... and he doesn't make it a mystery and he doesn't claim to have psychic powers or anything of the kind.

I think one of the more interesting episodes I saw was him training a dog who was a rescue, pretty badly abused, and was blind. His solutions for the owner were fairly impressive.

99% of the things he does are rather perfunctory, but once in a while he'll come up with innovative ideas for special cases that make me thing "hmm, cool idea".

I kind of like his show. LOL.

Edited August 11, 2010 by MissMelsWell

[Piney]

Are you sure you saw the right show Piney?

Like I said, I just saw him on the show "Bones" and it looked staged. Oprah's batting average hasn't been too good. ( see: James Ray) and I really can't stand her, so I never paid attention to anyone she recommends.

Lapiche

[Kazahel]

I would like to know your opinion about this guy 'Cesar Millan', aka the "dog whisperer".

I've heard of him and from what I've heard he sounds very interesting.

Must just be in his blood or something.

[alphafemale]

I am a dog lover. I have 4 of them myself. Caesar is the best! I so enjoy seeing him take the people & teach them how to be good pet owners, and he brings so much hope to families & dogs that would have otherwise been put asleep for unruly behavior in the past.

Thanks for such a good post!

[Abramelin]

I only saw this guy once and it was accidental because I watch "Bones". He didn't impress me. After chasing fraudulant trackers, Plastic shaman and outright fake Indians I'm under the impression that when it comes to "experts" on T.V. and in books- liars prosper.

You might know of some examples Abe.

The "Horse Whisperer"

David Yeagley the fake Comanche who was denounced by them is now the History Channels "expert" on the tribe.

Tom Brown "The Tracker". He re-wrote Pine Barrens geography and it was proven that his Apache teacher never existed and all his knowledge came from the writings of Ernest Thompson Seton. He still sells.

Andy McNabb screws up royally and now he's the SAS spokeperson on the History Channel. All he had to do is cut a friggin lightline.

Charles Storm author of "Seven Arrows". The Feds are still looking for him and his book is still a hit.

I don't have to tell you about Castaneda. My sister, Sondra Ball was debunking him all over "Indian Country" for 30 years. People still fall for his crap.

Lapiche

Hmm.. I think you are being a bit prejudiced here and confusing my topic with a totally different subject.

Like MissMelsWell said, he is a dog trainer.

But he has a different approach.

From what I see he is able to get dogs more sociable, and some of those dogs only have one other option: be put down.

But he not only trains dogs, he also 'trains' people, because most of these problematic doges have become that way because many people treat dogs as though they are other people.

Btw, I only mentioned Oprah because I would not be surprised if he had been a guest in one of her talkshows once. I did not know he actually did show up there.

[MissMelsWell]

Like I said, I just saw him on the show "Bones" and it looked staged. Oprah's batting average hasn't been too good. ( see: James Ray) and I really can't stand her, so I never paid attention to anyone she recommends.

Lapiche

Ah, I wasn't aware Oprah had recommended him... she drives me batty. LOL

However, Milan really is pretty good. Sure the shows look staged, there's only so much you can show in a 22 minute spot, so they are heavily edited for sure. But, even given that his advice is really sound in most cases.

I think one of the problems he's best at dealing with is dogs with dog aggression problems and people aggression. His tag line for his show is that he "trains people and rehabililtates dogs" and that's really pretty true.

He's worth watching a few episodes.. some episodes are better than others... but in general, he has some good ideas--he's not always innovative, but he can be creative at times. He focuses on consistency, being the leader wtih the dog, not the follower, he's a huge advocate of the daily walk and exercise, and he helps people to understand that their dogs are not people, but are in fact dogs.

Frankly, I think half his techniques would work for training children too. LOL...

[Lilly]

Frankly, I think half his techniques would work for training children too. LOL...

There was a "South Park" episode about just this...it was hilarious!

Personally, I like Cesar Millan and use many similar techniques myself. Of course the TV show is, after all, a TV show.

[CalmLeader]

Cesar Millan is not a normal dog trainer. Dog trainers basically teach dogs how to sit, stay, down, etc. Cesar Millan grew up with dog packs around him and developed a pretty unique insight into the psychological dynamic in dog packs, their social structure and how dogs relate to one another and maintain order and balance in a pack. He uses these great insights to train people on how to have a better relationship with their dogs by understanding them and addressing their needs from a dog’s point of view.

In the western world people often have a tendency to view their dogs as another kid in the family. In my work (I am a dog trainer and rehabilitator myself) I find that to be one of the biggest problems. People spoil their dogs based on their selfish needs to shower them with love. And while most people have the best, most loving (from their point of view) intentions, they do not really love their dog in the true meaning of the word. Loving your dog means to accept his nature, seek to understand and provide him with what he needs and not what we think he should enjoy – this is what Cesar Millan advocates.

He shows people how putting themselves in a state of calm-assertiveness their dogs will naturally follow them and behave better because is it’s programmed in their DNA to seek out balance and stability and follow that naturally. Most people are not calm and relaxed (but yet assertive) when they are with their dogs because of whatever is going on in their lives. Most people didn’t understand how this affected their dogs and what behavioral consequences it had. Cesar Millan has changed that and brought awareness to these connections to the general public. If you see a poorly behaved dog (pulling on the walk, jumping on people, excessive barking, aggression, etc.) there is always a person that is responsible for that dog’s condition (state of mind) as by nature dogs are balanced. It is not the dog. It is the owner who is responsible. Cesar Millan shows people that if they provide their dog with sufficient exercise, structure and affection (in that order) their dogs will naturally accept them as their leaders and return to a state of balance where most issues resolve themselves.

Cesar Millan does rehabilitation work that goes beyond what any normal dog owner can fix i.e. for severe aggression (dog who want to kill), extreme anxiety, etc. He uses his own balanced dog pack in the Los Angeles Dog Psychology Center to bring these dogs back into their natural, balanced state with help of their doggy peers – “the power of the pack” as he calls it. He has rehabilitated many dogs other “trainers” recommended to have euthanized as he understands dogs better than many. He does sometimes get criticized for his methodology and approach of “working with nature” but that is usually by people who don’t quite grasp nature’s basic concepts when it comes to dogs.

Cesar Millan has also founded the Cesar and Illusion Millan Foundation who is a non-profit organization that supports shelters, dog rescues etc. He is a big lover of dogs and has and continues to do what he can to help dogs wherever possible.