'Dog Whisperer' has viewers on short leash

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

PASADENA, Calif. — In a country that's crazy for dogs, a man who can whisper to them can be king.

At least on cable.

If we weren't so nuts over canines, there's no way dog-trainer-turned-TV-star Cesar Millan would be presiding over one of the opening news conferences at the semi-annual Television Critics Association press tour. Yet there he was, flanked by three clients and five shockingly well-behaved dogs — including one of his own pit bulls and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's Lhasa Apso — to discuss the new season of his National Geographic hit Dog Whisperer.

Millan's show is so popular that it's expanding this season to a full prime-time Friday hour (8 ET/PT), even though, Millan concedes, the title is basically a lie. He never actually whispers to the dogs. "I would not be in business, because everyone can do that."

Nor, for that matter, does he really train dogs. He prefers to say he "rehabilitates" dogs and trains humans, which mostly means teaching us to treat our dogs like dogs.

"We humanize dogs," he says. "It's important for them to become dogs first, and fulfill being a dog."

What a dog wants, Millan says, is to follow along as part of your "pack." So he teaches his clients (who pay $350 an hour to get in person what we get free on TV) to take a leadership position and to give their dogs "exercise, discipline and affection on a daily basis." Treats are fine as a reward for work done, he says, but he draws the line at birthday parties.

Millan says his rules also work for other animals, such as horses, pigs and goats — but not on cats. "They don't follow anybody, just themselves. So it's hard to influence them."

On the plus side, the techniques should work on a pack animal we're all familiar with: humans. That's fine with Charlene Fuller, whose escape-artist pooch was one of Millan's successfully rehabilitated doggie clients. "I'm so excited by this, I'm going to apply it to the next man I meet."

[calgal]

I don't see spending that kind of money, but some people will, just because some famous actor say's it's worth it. Actors will buy anything anyway. I don't believe in this sort of scam. All dogs have their own personalities and idiosyncrasy's and we as their caretakers would be the ones to know how to train, what method works for each dog and so on.

[Raised By Wolves]

Way to go Cesar!!!

I have done a lot of research on Cesar Millan, and have also attended one of his seminars. I also recommend watching his show to my clients. Yes, I tell them not to try his techniques without my help.

If you can't stand him or his methods, then don't listen to my advice either, because I find very few points on which I do not agree with him. My "handling" methods are a little different, as well as how I describe things. But, our "core" philosophy is very similar.

I've also corresponded and met with Cheri Lucas, founder of the Second Chance at Love Humane Society in Templeton CA. She also maintains a pack of up to 50 dogs, and credits Cesar with turning her facility around three years ago, and saving over a thousand dogs.

So, grab your torch and pitchforks, and I'll grab my flamesuit and say "Go ahead...make my day!"

[elegy]

i agree with a lot of what mr milan says (humanizing dogs, underexercised dogs, etc), but i disagree with a lot of his methods. i think a lot of what he does could be accomplished in a much less "in your face" intimidating manner. of course, that probably wouldn't make for as interesting a tv show.

and while i think it's nice he gets some good publicity for pit bulls, i think his pack of pit bulls is more dangerous than helpful, because that is *not* normal pit bull behavior, it is the golden rule of pit bull ownership to never trust a pit bull not to fight and never leave a pit bull alone with another dog, and i just see bad things coming from people trying to imitate what he does with his dogs.

[flyndog]

Prime time. $350/hour. Ugh. Is there a jealous smiley?

As much as I'd like the chance to aim for that big bullseye on RBW's flamesuit, there's nothing in that press release I can disagree with.

[mrsgrubby]

I LOVE him!!!! I never miss his show, he impresses the heck out of me, and yes, much of what he critisizes his clients for, I have done. So I have learned alot from him.

And when my hubby goes and finds Jasmine and curls up with her and starts feeding her cookies, I give him the evil eye and say "exercise, disiple, affection...did she earn that cookie?"

The only bad thing about his show, if I was to name one, is that the show shows two dogs in each 1 hour session, plus commercials. So what he does expertly in an entire hour, we see in 7-10 minutes, so it looks so easy.

But I do LOVE him, and his pack of rotties.

[sadieshy]

I really enjoy him and his knowledge. He makes great sense and it works. So many people expect their dog to be a human. That is an injustice to the dog. Cesar is great!!

I have to disagree with the pit bull statement. I have a pit mix and she is fantastic and is wonderful with my 4# yorkie. They even kennel together at night or when we leave the house. Matter of fact, the 4-pounder, Sadie, is the boss.

Again I love Cesar and is work. I think he is very beneficial for dog owners as long as they don't get the brilliant idea that they could do some of the advanced stuff on their own....leading to a big no-no or oops. Typical human mess ups.

[DFrost]

<<<<i think a lot of what he does could be accomplished in a much less "in your face" intimidating manner.>>>

The problem with that theory, it's what got those dogs in the mess they are in. While certainly not every dog has to be trained in an "intimidating manner", there are those cases where that is exactly what is required. As RBW stated, our core philosophies are very similar. One I particularly use in my training is: "There are no behaviors that go either unpunished or without praise. It's one of the biggest problems I personally have with things such as "time outs". Often times, when a time out is given, the dog sees it as a reinforcement. The owners doesn't recognize this so rather than the dog being corrected for a behavior, it got what it wanted, an escape from whatever the situation was. None-the-less, we won't see the easy ones, those people don't need a $350.00 an hour trainer. Are there trainers that are less expensive that could get the same results, of course. They do it everyday. Among his many good traits as a trainer are: 1. He's very attentive and able to recognize behavior quickly. 2. His consistency is the thing good dog trainers are made of.
(Oh my gosh, did I end that sentence with a preposition?)

DFrost

[TribalRats]

If you can't stand him or his methods, then don't listen to my advice either

RBW I love your bluntness.

[Redyre_Rottweilers]

With Rottweilers and quite a few other breeds, a little "in your face" leadership works wonders, especially when a puppy is raised properly.

I don't have to do much 'in your face' leadership after about 16 to 20 weeks, but they ALWAYS remember it. A tone of voice and a certain body posture puts things back in order around here FAST.

I'm a big Cesar fan.

[Raised By Wolves]

Originally Posted by TribalRats

RBW I love your bluntness.

I must say, nobody has ever said that to me before! Thank you! I feel a tear welling up.

Honestly, I think Cesar earns every penny he makes. And, like the article says, he gives most of it away free. Well, you do have to have cable and live in the right part of the world.

He puts it all out there. No mystery, no smoke and mirrors. Simple basic concepts put in simple basic terms. Terms a regular dog owner can understand and use immediately.

I'm looking forward to his book coming out.

[TribalRats]

I must say, nobody has ever said that to me before! Thank you! I feel a tear welling up

Well I meant it.
Don't cry.....unless they are proud tears!

[mrsgrubby]

Originally Posted by Redyre_Rottweilers

With Rottweilers and quite a few other breeds, a little "in your face" leadership works wonders, especially when a puppy is raised properly.

I don't have to do much 'in your face' leadership after about 16 to 20 weeks, but they ALWAYS remember it. A tone of voice and a certain body posture puts things back in order around here FAST.

Yes, I wish I would have better understood training when Jasmine was a puppy. I never got "in her face" and now I can't without either risk of getting bit, or her just ignoring me.

I am sure I baby'd her too long and then started treating her like a dog. Now she could care less if I holler and yell or "give her a look".

I was so into reward based training and lures, that I thought that it meant never punish, never yell, ect. Well, now I see that with a rottie it does not work that way. I feel like sometimes she says to me "what ya going to do about it?" as she defies me by grabbing something and takes off running, or bites at my pants, and the answer is nothing as a raised voice has not affect on her.

Anyway, she will be fine with lots of hard work, but my point was that I went a little overboard maybe with the no punish thing, and it bit me later, where as if I would have understood more in the beginnign I could have avoided a bit of the troulbe I have now.

And the truth is, I still get confused as too how much and how long to baby a puppy. You need to instill confidence and trust and stuff, and love em and hold em, but at 16 weeks I still treat them like babies, and don't know when to switch over to a more strict routine.

[elegy]

Originally Posted by DFrost

<<<<i think a lot of what he does could be accomplished in a much less "in your face" intimidating manner.>>>

The problem with that theory, it's what got those dogs in the mess they are in. While certainly not every dog has to be trained in an "intimidating manner", there are those cases where that is exactly what is required.

there's a difference though between being permissive and treating your dog as if he is king (which seems to be the root of the problem with many of the owners on the show) and being aggressively dominant with your dogs. controlling resources, setting and enforcing boundaries, teaching them alternate behaviors to the problem behavior, and so on seems a lot more sensible to me.

[EscapeTurn]

I think he's great, and his show is really entertaining to watch. I've used a few of his methods myself, though I disagree with the whole "don't humanize your dogs" philosophy. I throw birthday parties for my dogs, yet they remain well behaved.