Caesar Milan

Discussion in 'Behaviour & Training' started by kinser, May 9, 2012.

  1. kinser

    kinser Well-Known Member

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    Do you watch The Dog Whisperer? Do you agree with his methods? I've read both criticism and praise with regard to his training techniques. Although I'm not a regular watcher, and I don't put much stock into what's happening in the show itself because I'm sure it's heavily edited, I do pay attention to his advice when I happen to catch an episode. Most of his advice seems to make logical sense.
     
    kinser, May 9, 2012
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  2. kinser

    MakingCents Well-Known Member

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    I read over and over and over again that his methods were bad. We tried for over a year to use 'positive reinforcement' only with our dog and got NOWHERE. We had 2 training lessons with a trainer who uses methods similar to Caesar and the difference is CRAZY. Our dog responded more to those 2 lessons than he did to any other lesson ever. He's not perfect by any means but much more manageable.
     
    MakingCents, May 10, 2012
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  3. kinser

    haopee Well-Known Member

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    Well, in my point of view, Caesar Milan is Caesar Milan. His techniques work with dogs who've already undergone different trainers and have not gotten any positive results.

    In the simplest way to explain it, he used the pack hierarchy where he acts as the alpha male. Like in a pack of wolves, the alpha male is that entity who is respected without question. So what he does is he acts in the dog species' primal state and makes the dog submit to him in play of dominance so they begin to realize that he is their calm and assertive leader. As for his methods regarding anxiety, aggressiveness and instability, he simply projects that such behavior isn't acceptable in the pack and will not be tolerated (e.g. attention deprivation)- in a doggy way.

    That's just the gist of it. There are quite some interesting points in his techniques and it's simply a matter of what works best for your dog- which means he also uses positive reinforcement.
     
    haopee, May 10, 2012
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  4. kinser

    kinser Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I used a trainer for one session with one of my dogs who used methods like Casar. It did work wonders. I think only positive reinforcement may work on some personalities just fine, but others are more stubborn and need a combination.
     
    kinser, May 14, 2012
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  5. kinser

    MakingCents Well-Known Member

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    The theory there is also that if you can gain control of the dog, and be the 'pack leader' then when trying to teach a new behavior the positive reinforcement is even more effective. The dog understands that you are the 'boss' and wants to get praise and treats from you.
     
    MakingCents, May 15, 2012
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  6. kinser

    Melody Well-Known Member

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    I've seen many of his shows. You are right, they are heavily edited. So, we see what they want us to see. However, I have read two of his books. In one book, he goes into many of the cases in detail. You really get a better sense of the complications that existed and what he had to go through to treat each dog.

    I believe that his methods are very effective. I think he makes the point that it's dog behavior not dog training. What I see is he breaks down each dog problem to its most basic form. It's fear, aggressive, dominance, protectiveness, etc. Then, he deals with it in such a calm way. I agree that he teaches the dog what is not acceptable. He, also, uses different methods depending on the dog and the situation.

    I think Cesar Millan has a gift. You see how the dogs sometimes submit to him the minute he enters the room? They will jump all over the owners, then Cesar walks in and they are like "Yes sir!" I guess it proves the point that dogs want a strong pack leader. When you don't take that role, that is when things start to go haywire. I know if I approached some of the dogs that he has worked with I would not be so calm!
     
    Melody, May 15, 2012
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  7. kinser

    Karen Member

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    I personally love Caesar Milan and think he knows what he's doing. I would really like to see a show where he's confronted by a couple of mean, aggressive dogs out on the street and how he would handle a situation like that. I've used some of his methods and still do with my dog Tippy while walking him and making him sit and wait if he wants to go outside or eat etc and it works great. I've never saw anyone who could handle dogs so well.
     
    Karen, May 17, 2012
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