Cesar Milan

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lula

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Am curious to know what other forum members think of Cesar Milan and his 'Dog Whisperer' training methods.

personally i am a bit shallow and think he's pretty dishy ;) so i may be a bit biased in my opinion :D
..but seriously, apart from having the whitest teeth ive ever seen (bar katie price!) Ive watched a lot of his tv programmes while trying to deal with my own dog's issues and he does seem to make a lot of sense and his methods seem to be very effective in dealing with various canine problems. At least as far as his programmes reflect....


anyone have any views on him one way or the other?
 
Lol, re the dishiness:D dirty mare:p
Im not a hater put it that way, there are some things I have watched and thought "not the best way to go about it" and others, I have thought he did a great job. His job cannot be easy dealing with the knobbers he deals with and some of the dogs/breeds. You don't readily see anyone else dealing with such aggression, sure you have VS who teaches dogs to sit and give a paw (she has something against teaching owners to teach their dogs not to pull) cos I have yet to see this, but never the mind.:D and after a one I watched with a hyper ginger wifey where her (fantastical stooge dog) actually bit the dog they where working with, bit of a joke really, all these trainers have their good and bad points.
There you have it:p
 
He is pretty much hated by a lot of people :o
I've been to his stage show so I can't be a hypocrite, and I enjoyed it, he changed behaviour like pulling, mugging for treats etc in minutes, without all the harsh methods he is vilified for, just simple stuff.
The problem is he can be very firm and that only works on certain types of dogs and people see what he does on telly and try to copy it.
I agree with calm, assertive energy and I agree with exercise, discipline, affection, I do believe he exudes that aura that a lot of dogs take to, but if you scruff and roll the wrong dog, if you poke the wrong dog in the kidneys, you will soon find yourself missing an arm.

No doubt someone will post the video of him stringing up the husky cross who was trying to grab his arm...as I have said before, if a dog came at me like that, at that size and strength, I would also try and interfere with it's oxygen supply.

I don't think it is helpful to say X training method is ALWAYS wrong and Y method of training is ALWAYS right, life is not like that and neither are dogs.

I pick and choose methods which suit my dogs and that ranges from the 'tighten up, he won't break' trainers to the 'whale music and essential oil' trainers, there are so many people out there with something to offer us as dog owners.
 
I think that CM knows exactly what he's doing, and he's good at what he does. I do think that as it's a telly show, he also selects those dogs which are suitable. I don't often see many of the dogs actually make eye contact with him, so think that few of them actually want to bite him. I've had plenty of dogs who'd have taken the steps to meet him, but then given time they'd have accepted him, and he'd have got round them, I feel sure.

As with many things in life, I don't think that it's so much what you do, but the way that you do it, and the confidence level which you give off. Doubtless others, without his experience, have copied him, except that they haven't, and have come unstuck!! I've enjoyed the few programmes which I've watched.

Alec.
 
Same as any other trainer really- some bits are good, some not so- I would also like to see the dogs 3 months down the line, and see what progress they have made.
 
I like him, he talks a lot of sense. Also really want to get a pair of the skates he uses, they look safer to use than roller blades :D
I was really disappointed in the show he did when he picked puppies of different breeds to raise. He went for medium energy, submissive types. I would've liked to have seen how he trained a high energy dominant type pup. These are the types of pups more likely to cause problems for people and end up being re homed or in rescues IMO. He maybe does cover more in his books but I'm just going by his TV show here :D
 
I think he is good,and his progs are informative to dog owners;after all quite a proportion of behavioural problems are due to lack of free exercise and wrong diet.
I still use an old fashioned check chain,used properly(!) combined with his common sense methods. It has turned around quite a few unruly rescue bull terriers,even the nudge into the dog with your heel (right leg behind left and nudge dog) does seem to work well in reminding a dog of good behaviour.It`s training the PEOPLE that is the problem!
Too often these reformed bull terriers go off to new homes,and before you can wink some idiot has persuaded them a harness "stops pulling", and only train with treats etc.:mad:
 
I saw him when he was touring the UK, until then I had never seen him as don't have the extra tv channels. I enjoyed the show and saw nothing I disagreed with, he spoke a lot of sense imo. I know dog owners and trainers who highly rate his training methods, I think the problem comes with any tv trainer when people try to copy his methods without really knowing what they are doing, or knowing if their dog is suitable for that sort of training.
 
I have seen a lot of his shows and think he does a great job.His understanding of dogs is great,and i think more importantly,the application of psychology to the owners demonstarates that this is where the main problem lies with difficult and aggressive dogs.Some of the owners on the shows either need locking up or sectioning under the mental health act.There are some very odd and eccentric people in the States.I do think his strength is dealing with these owners.
 
Agree with what many others have said, some of his stuff is great, other bits not so IMO. I do think he does really well to put up with some of the mad owners seen on his programme, and I dont think I've seen any other TV 'dog trainers' deal with the types of issues he has!

I missed the series he did in the UK, would have been interesting to see if the owners were different!?

I've read a couple of his books, and found them helpful and informative.
 
CaveCanem said:
I do believe he exudes that aura that a lot of dogs take to, but if you scruff and roll the wrong dog, if you poke the wrong dog in the kidneys, you will soon find yourself missing an arm....
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yes i have often thought this when i see that little backward kick he recommends giving to the haunches to get a dog to 'focus' !!

regarding people hating him though ive seen a lot of contentious posts about him on other dog forums and a lot of people do seem to feel this way but i dont truly get why.

Regarding the over commercialism of CM, thats when i become turned off, their PR machine and the money coming in from the whole production with how many t shirts and videos they can sell becomes bigger than the genuine desire to help the dogs.
a bit like how how that Parelli training circus for horses has now become too in my opinion.
 
I find his TV programmes interesting but personally that kind of approach does not fit in well with my character. I don't think I would be very good at the dominance thing so I prefer other training methods. To be fair I've never had aggressive dogs nor do I know how to deal with one!
 
I think hes great and love the fact that his first bit of advice is usually 'take it for a walk'.
I think a lot of what he does is common sense but he knows when to apply pressure and when to back off - the same reason Monty Roberts, under all the bullshit, is actually a good horse trainer, they both read body language very well IMO.
 
I think he is laughable and some what abusive.
I've met him in person on a summer program and while i think he loves dogs I don't think he has a clue.
Funny how now he has spent some time with some real trainers/ behaviorist his methods are rapidly changing. Thankfully.
 
He's not really my cup of tea. And if you tried his 'techniques' on a fair few dogs, (mine included) you'd get nowhere.

I do think it's interesting how some of his fans use the fact he is working on difficult dogs as a reason to excuse him... Henry is not exactly easy, he can be a challenging little sod, but he needs a very different approach to his training and management.
 
I use "difficult" and I mean in terms of the levels of "aggression he deals with" which is alot different to recall/general behaviour and bratishness (which he does not deal with/or certainly not alot) Im not sure how his skills would fair up on those:D I think he could possibly be pants at teaching the whole recall thing:D I think VS is best with that.
 
I found the 'husky hanging' video after seeing it mentioned here.
faint2.gif


My Salem is around the same size as that dog and likely just as powerful. I can't imagine anyone else tackling that dog's aggression without a full protective suit and a muzzle
fear.gif


The dude has a pair of brass ones
notworthy.gif
 
Maggie2009 said:
I have seen a lot of his shows and think he does a great job.His understanding of dogs is great,and i think more importantly,the application of psychology to the owners demonstarates that this is where the main problem lies with difficult and aggressive dogs.Some of the owners on the shows either need locking up or sectioning under the mental health act.There are some very odd and eccentric people in the States.I do think his strength is dealing with these owners.
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Indeed! Do you remember the lady with white mini bull terriers?She boasted about her great successes with her dogs to him,to his credit he did`nt squish her.The dog involved was so funny,she just was`nt ahead of it`s game (despite her many training awards!) so by the time she was correcting it it was on level nine.
Cesar got it first time, result a well behaved mini bull. He`s good:)
 
katielou said:
I think he is laughable and some what abusive.
I've met him in person on a summer program and while i think he loves dogs I don't think he has a clue.
Funny how now he has spent some time with some real trainers/ behaviorist his methods are rapidly changing. Thankfully.
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I agree, Imo hes the canine worlds answer to parrelli!
 
itsmylife said:
I agree, Imo hes the canine worlds answer to parrelli!
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And funnily enough he has done an episode with Mr Parrelli !

For those who think he reads dogs really well, watch it with the sound down and a copy of Turid Rugaas' Calming Signals book. This is one of the reasons the dog training community are up in arms against him, he gets dog body language so wrong.

Positive, reward based behaviourists regularly deal with and help aggressive dogs, so the ' he deals with dogs that other trainers would PTS' doesn't cut it I'm afraid.

I've posted this before, but it does sum him up quite well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fiEvW_429o&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
Exactly! Anyone with any knowledge of dogs body language should be able to see it, but for some reason some people think hes great. I find it worrying that peope try to copy him.
Im just very glad that the CM wanabee that was on th one show recently has been dropped due to the hundreds of complaints from viewers and many dog charities including the dogs trust, blue cross and many more.
 
not heard of him before(yes,do live in my own little world lol) but have watched some utube recently.

surely it`s like monty roberts etc in the horse world,common sense and use which bits are useful to yourself but dont try any beyond your own capabilities?

what exactly dont people like/disagree with?
 
Exactly Cahill, lots of Monty Roberts stuff is common sense ,giving a name to some things we have all done..join up for instance. Cesar is the same deal; one of my puppy owners used his methods entirely,his mini bull terrier is exemplary in her behaviour.Another friend in Bavaria trains her big family of mini bulls his way,they are a joy,all behaving perfectly in a pack as house dogs.
Some hard headed breeds can be so charged up they would`nt even notice treats,some come in as welfare cases and mostly raw feeding and these training methods work well and turn them around.
Personally ,once they are checking in to me ,then yes,reward is part of it too.
 
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My son has this recorded, cracks me up again and again :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHatVTpdlx4&feature=BFa&list=PLA29210F3ABFC59B5&lf=results_video

CM is not a god nor is he the devil.
I have only scene his TV shows which can;t be a rounded representative view of his trainin- we all know you can't correct deep rooted issues in 60 mins and it is pointless to try ;)
He seems to make the point that most problems begin with the handler and while I have seen some things that make me cringe I have also seen some well thought out work- I just wish he would stop the "hippy speak" :D :p

I don't really understand the whole "guru" scene TBH and would always prefere to pick a trainer I trust IRL to work with regulary to prevent problems in the first place alongside reading/watching as much as possable to help me to tease out what I think will work with dog X in situation Y.

No one trainer will EVER work well for every dog/horse/human and I think on the whole, CM does little harm while doing a lot of good- hsi clients seem to be happy with the results in the catch up shows- but then again, TV show edits ;)

As with the prat who must not be named :p CM will only be a problem if muppetts start to copy without a trainer on hand to advise them.
 
I liken Cesars way to old school horsemanship. He has the natural intuition/feel for how it is and he is a very competent handler. I sometimes sit and watch his programmes when he's working with all these hapless owners and think to myself "how can so many people get dog-raising so wrong!" :o
 
lula said:
well thats a load of rubbish.
is this aimed at Cesar Milan solely? where has he ever said he's a 'mystical dog trainer' ?


make your point well and i'll take it on board but that vid is just bitchy petty sniping
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How is that petty bitchy sniping for goodness sake !! Yes I know that CM does not say he is a 'mystical dog trainer' but he does call himself the 'Dog Whisperer' !!! I believe that cartoon was designed to show people what is behind his big smile and inaccurate interpretation of what is shown on his show.

The major dog rescues and training organisations in this country do not approve of his methods. http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/press-statement.php

I totally agree with him tellling people to give their dogs proper exercise and to give their dog's rules and boundaries to live within a family home, its his totally outdated methods to enforce those rules that I have a BIG problem with.
 
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