Lavs Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 What do you guys think of the show? I'm referring to the national geographic series with cesar millan. I've been so hooked on it lately, but i wonder, is it the real deal or is it just made for tv always get a happy ending sorta junk? Opinions please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I am hooked on that show too but frankly I have no clue if it is a "happy ending" kind of show. I do believe that he has a way with dogs BUT I don't think any behaviorist, no matter how experienced, can fix a dogs problems in one day the way he does. I remember watching the episode withe the lady that had four huskies. He went roller blading with them all and I was inspired so I tried it. The disaster I experienced was indescribable. Not only did I nearly loose Smokey, he ended up pooping in someone else's front yard. I doubt that they showed the clips of him draped over a picket fence or crashing into a bush while roller blading with those huskies...In fact I doubt they ever show the clips of him failing (although I have seen one where he actually got bit by a lab and one where a total fiasco dog fight broke out). So all in all, I honestly don't know how truthful that show is but it's good entertainment for sure cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I wanna smack him every time he goes 'shht!'. I tried that with Suka, and he looked at me like I was an alien and continued doing whatever that was bad. Of course they don't show Cesar falling, and I burst out laughing when they showed the huskies. He probably fell so many times and that was the only 'good' clip they had! I'm not sure what to think. He might have a gift, but then again it is a TV show and I'd pay to see the bloopers where he gets bit or when he can't solve a 'problem dog'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I personally don't care for his techniques - if you want to call what he does a technique. I've watched a few of the good clips and I've watched a few of the ones that should (from his perspective) never seen the light of day. Most of what I see him do looks, to me, like borderline abuse (and sometimes not so borderline!) You mentioned the one unmentionable here, so be prepared for a LOT of comments! Better yet, just search for Cesar - you'll find more than you can imagine!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I personally don't care for his techniques - if you want to call what he does a technique. I've watched a few of the good clips and I've watched a few of the ones that should (from his perspective) never seen the light of day. Most of what I see him do looks, to me, like borderline abuse (and sometimes not so borderline!) You mentioned the one unmentionable here, so be prepared for a LOT of comments! Better yet, just search for Cesar - you'll find more than you can imagine!!! LOL - if you mention 'Cesar', breeding, or even combine the two...prepare to be eaten by husky-piranhas on H-O! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 LOL - if you mention 'Cesar', breeding, or even combine the two...prepare to be eaten by husky-piranhas on H-O! For gods sake, don't combine the two, we'd never hear the end of it!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 For gods sake, don't combine the two, we'd never hear the end of it!!!! What? So I can't say: "Cesar Millian inspired me to breed dogs cause he's so awesome!!!1!!1!!one!one!1" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synphny Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I personally do not like Cesar's techniques the only thing I agree on with him is his belief of why dogs are misbehaving is usually the result of poor ownership. However my opinion of his techniques to handle huskies is in exact contradiction of what a husky is. 1. He believes that all dogs should never walk or lead in front of you (its displaying his/her dominance) guess what the huskies did for hundreds of years. 2. He believes that bullying a dog into submission is the only way to get a dog to obey you. Most dogs and certainly huskies don't like to be bullied and will only listen and respect you ONLY after you earn theirs. 3. Cesar is in no way a dog professional in any sense, he is a very good showmen. Hence you will see a disclaimer before and during the show stating to consult a "professional" before implementing any techniques shown on the show. The disclaimer was forced on National Geographic due to a lot of pressure from the dog professional industry. Also solitaryhowl if you want to see an out take of how he "handled" a difficult husky mix go to this link. Qh9YOyM2TAk i will let you make the judgement of whether he was provoking Shadow of if Shadow was truly being an ass. Sorry for the long post and I am just one opinion out of many but if you do like watching his show by all means do so but keep in mind this is just entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan&Diesel Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 The bullying doesn't seem so bad this season....maybe the bad publicity has made a positive impact (or is it just what we see??). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikaani'smum Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I personally do not like Cesar's techniques the only thing I agree on with him is his belief of why dogs are misbehaving is usually the result of poor ownership. However my opinion of his techniques to handle huskies is in exact contradiction of what a husky is. 1. He believes that all dogs should never walk or lead in front of you (its displaying his/her dominance) guess what the huskies did for hundreds of years. 2. He believes that bullying a dog into submission is the only way to get a dog to obey you. Most dogs and certainly huskies don't like to be bullied and will only listen and respect you ONLY after you earn theirs. 3. Cesar is in no way a dog professional in any sense, he is a very good showmen. Hence you will see a disclaimer before and during the show stating to consult a "professional" before implementing any techniques shown on the show. The disclaimer was forced on National Geographic due to a lot of pressure from the dog professional industry. Also solitaryhowl if you want to see an out take of how he "handled" a difficult husky mix go to this link. Qh9YOyM2TAk i will let you make the judgement of whether he was provoking Shadow of if Shadow was truly being an ass. Sorry for the long post and I am just one opinion out of many but if you do like watching his show by all means do so but keep in mind this is just entertainment. Oh my god, I couldn't watch it all! He was literally strangling the poor dog, you could see it struggling to swallow!! If that was my dog I'd have told him to take his filthy hands off him and walked the other way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tams Teeko and Keeta Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I'm not a fan at all. I was quite open minded about it and enjoyed watching him now and again and then watched an entire show where he taught a woman how to kick her dog. Literally! No shame in it...he even had her practise on his hand and he kept telling her harder until it made a right whack. If I could've hopped through the tv screen and wrung his neck I would've! I also don't agree with all his alpha BS. Basing dog training on wolves...well, i'm not raising a wolf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Povodny Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I much prefer Victoria stilwel's technique. She engages dogs, encourages the positives and plays to the strengths of breed characteristics ie a bored dog is a destructive dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stranger Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 i enjoy his show sometimes, but i dont think his "Techniques" shouldnt be shown on tv....no matter howmuch you tell someone do not try this at home, people will and it does result in problems. what with being told one thing by him, another by victoria on Its me or the dog, and then all the books, how are you supposed to get it right?!?!? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I like how he help owners and how much owners appreciate his help but sometimes I don't like how he's being a bit too rough with the dogs. Most of the time, however, he's doing a pretty good job I love how he helped to erase the bad image of Pitbulls, Rotties and other so-called "dangerous breeds" and continuously reminded people that there is no bad dog--there's only a bad owner! I also love how he has such a big rescued pack and make generous donations to animal shelters however, I won't refer to his methods all the time =\ some of his techniques are just not suitable for huskies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlythisgirl Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 LOL - if you mention 'Cesar', breeding, or even combine the two...prepare to be eaten by husky-piranhas on H-O! Throw some off lead/leash action in there and who knows what will happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 i dont like him at all - he does it for the money and i will never jab my dogs in the side - and him rollerblading with dogs on collars - dont get me started - any dog will behave calmer after pulling him round the streets for abit! i much prefer victoria stillwell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy'N'Rosie Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 i dont like him and i dont like his techniques either! they are bordering abuse, you just wouldnt do half the things he says :/ i just cant stand the guy, simple as really lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 PersonallyI don't rate him. He did an episode with a woman and her 3 huskies. They pulled really hard on walks (no surprises there) He tried lots of techniques finally he settled for taking them for a good run on his rolerblade things BEFORE giving the huskies to the woman to walk. So his solution was. . . . Tire them out FIRST with some vigorous exercise then they will walk nicely. WHAT !!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I never heard of Victoria Stillwell...must be a UK thing? I'm not a fan at all. I was quite open minded about it and enjoyed watching him now and again and then watched an entire show where he taught a woman how to kick her dog. Literally! No shame in it...he even had her practise on his hand and he kept telling her harder until it made a right whack. If I could've hopped through the tv screen and wrung his neck I would've! I also don't agree with all his alpha BS. Basing dog training on wolves...well, i'm not raising a wolf. I saw that episode too! Grr.... Dominance/Alpha-ness has some role to play when it comes to dog behaviour, but its not everything like Cesar makes it out to be. Also, dog behaviour is similar to wolf behaviour, but only to a point and then it differs greatly. This is typically seen at the dog park where you can see groups or 'packs' of dogs in action. Dog 'packs' do not behave like wolf packs at all - they don't 'follow the leader', nor does there seem to be any organization. With a wild wolf pack, the pack structure is organized and generally you can easily determine which ones are the breeding pair (I HATE the term Alpha! Alpha implies that wolves fight for their 'position'. They don't - they're usually the parents of the other wolves! A pack is a family!). They commonly use physical force to maintain their position as the 'Alpha' (for lack of a better term) such as biting/snarling or doing the famous 'Alpha roll' that some dog owners use. This is wolf behaviour and not dog behaviour. If you look at the dog park, I've NEVER seen another dog perform the 'alpha' roll on another dog. NEVER and I've been going there steadily for 3 years. When Suka wants to display his dominance (he's a dominant boy with other dogs), he usually just does some posturing and some humping. Granted, fights do break out but they aren't nearly as vicious as wolf fights and they fizzle out quickly. That's not what wolves do when they want to express their dominance (see above paragraph.) And Cesar Millan would have you believe that dog behaviour is EXACTLY like wolf behaviour. Really? I call bull'poo' on that one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavs Posted February 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 ok ok so majority says he's not all that great. i never had to do any of that side poking or collar pulling with my dogs BECAUSE i know they respect me, a respect i earned without any physical discapline, however, i think a lot of people have dogs to keep them company but don't fulfill the needs of the dogs, they just let the dogs meet their needs, therefore, dogs get frustrated and develop bad habits. As dog owners we all know this. Maybe we don't agree with some of his methods but he does have some good points too. We need to teach our dogs to respect us, set boundaries for them and not let them away with stuff that is aggression, destructive behaviour, etc. To me yeah, he prob makes a pretty penny doin the show and more power to him! He also takes dogs that aren't suited to a certain family and places them with someone who matches their energy. thats not mean, is it? I think what he stands for is good, i see it as, what can we do better as pet owners to improve the quality of life for our pets, not necessarily yank their neck every time they do something "bold" but just looking inward at ourselves and saying "what part of my behaviour may have caused my dog to act like this?" and i do like how he tells people to have a "calm assertive energy" not just for pets but for life. there's good and bad in everything and until i meet him or see him kick a dog for misbehaving, im not condemning anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synphny Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 I'm not a fan at all. I was quite open minded about it and enjoyed watching him now and again and then watched an entire show where he taught a woman how to kick her dog. Literally! No shame in it...he even had her practise on his hand and he kept telling her harder until it made a right whack. If I could've hopped through the tv screen and wrung his neck I would've! I also don't agree with all his alpha BS. Basing dog training on wolves...well, i'm not raising a wolf. Well here is a nice video by Dr. L. David Mech stating why all that alpha dominance is BS tNtFgdwTsbU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elyse Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 Well here is a nice video by Dr. L. David Mech stating why all that alpha dominance is BS tNtFgdwTsbU Thank you for that link. I love Dr. David Mech, he's a world famous wolf researcher and he's practically my role model (I have so many research articles and books by him!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synphny Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 Thank you for that link. I love Dr. David Mech, he's a world famous wolf researcher and he's practically my role model (I have so many research articles and books by him!) Glad to provide the link usually when a "old school" dog trainer is boasting about the alpha dominance theory I just have to bring up Dr. David Mech or how Dr. Frank Beach devoted 19 years in researching dog social behavior debunking that theory. Anyway I will shut it now so I don't derail this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laine Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 ok ok so majority says he's not all that great. i never had to do any of that side poking or collar pulling with my dogs BECAUSE i know they respect me, a respect i earned without any physical discapline, however, i think a lot of people have dogs to keep them company but don't fulfill the needs of the dogs, they just let the dogs meet their needs, therefore, dogs get frustrated and develop bad habits. As dog owners we all know this. Maybe we don't agree with some of his methods but he does have some good points too. We need to teach our dogs to respect us, set boundaries for them and not let them away with stuff that is aggression, destructive behaviour, etc. To me yeah, he prob makes a pretty penny doin the show and more power to him! He also takes dogs that aren't suited to a certain family and places them with someone who matches their energy. thats not mean, is it? I think what he stands for is good, i see it as, what can we do better as pet owners to improve the quality of life for our pets, not necessarily yank their neck every time they do something "bold" but just looking inward at ourselves and saying "what part of my behaviour may have caused my dog to act like this?" and i do like how he tells people to have a "calm assertive energy" not just for pets but for life. there's good and bad in everything and until i meet him or see him kick a dog for misbehaving, im not condemning anyone. Actually there was/is video of him that was taken from different shows that prove he kicks dogs. He gives them the back of his heel into the gut just behind the short ribs where there's no bone at all. In the video it shows him doing this not only to instigate a dog to misbehave and do his infamous "Shht!" thing but it also startles the dog. In another part of the video, there's a cut between scenes where it shows clearly he was getting ready to either kick the dog, or at least lift his foot up to a dog that was barking at him. What happened for sure is unknown because it was cut out, but from body posture and stance, it looks like he was ready to kick. And then the abuse he put on the husky. If you watch the above husky video, and stop it at :16 you will SEE his foot into the soft spot of the husky, right near the sheath, which is a second before the husky rises up and starts to thrash and fight. He was also misusing the prong collar on the dog in this instance, which doesn't help; a prong should NEVER have gone on this dog at all, especially so early in "Training". He KNEW the dog was aggressive, a prong, or any pinch, would only increase the level of aggression, not suppress it. A pinch is a GUIDE, not a tool just to throw on an aggressive dog and expect him to obey, especially if he's never had it on before. A REAL dog trainer would have known this. CM himself has said he is not a dog trainer but a "behaviorist". IMO he's neither; there are way, way better trainers out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synphny Posted February 29, 2012 Report Share Posted February 29, 2012 What a disservice to the real animal behaviorist when Cesar calls himself one. Also he has no formal training or education all of his ideas and methods are the result of his observation of his grandfather and his life experiences there was an interview about it years ago where his words were similar to that if I can find the video I will post it. Also I thank Dr. Ian Dunbar for standing up to Cesar's methods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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