So generally I try to be a positive person. I try to promote the good things instead of rant about the bad things, but Cesar Millan is going to come up occasionally and I think I need to be up front with you about my history with him.
First you need to know a little about me. What my friends always say about me is that I do things all the way. I never do anything unless I really plan on doing it. And I learn from the best and want to understand everything.
So when I got a dog, Cesar Millan appeared to be the best. I read both his books, and got his first season DVDs. And for nine months I was telling everyone how great he was, and they were usually agreeing because everyone loves Cesar.
The problem with Cesar is that while he tells you what to be, and he tells you how to feel, he doesn’t often tell you what to do. And after a while, you find yourself saying, “I know I’m supposed to be the pack leader, and I know I need to be calm assertive, but I have no idea what to do when my dog behaves this way.”
There were times when things didn’t add up. When I went on walk with Kody he was just such a barker, and a leash puller, and a ground sniffer. I took what Cesar had told me and I tried to implement it, when he sniffed I held his head up with his leash like Cesar told me. I had the control he said I would, but someone who saw us asked me if I beat my dog. That was not fun. I jerked on his leash right at the right moment when he would get the idea to run up ahead but it didn’t seem to do much except make him really angry. My dog did not want to be held back. And a couple of times I even alpha rolled him just like Cesar did, and even the receptionist at my vet did this once to show me how to stop him from barking. However, I pretty quickly learned alpha rolls don’t do much.
I kept trying and trying. But as time moved on, I realized that other than leash jerking, and tsssst, I didn’t have much I could do in any given situation. And it seemed like I was using those way too much and they weren’t working.
So long story short I went to training. They didn’t use any of Cesar’s methods or attitudes and our life got exponentially better after that. I finally knew what to do with my dog.
It turns out my dog didn’t need to face all his fears. He didn’t need to walk right by my side and not sniff anything. And I wasn’t a bad person for my dog not doing those things. I was far more calm now than when I was jerking on his leash and tssst-ing all the time. And far far more calm that when I was alpha rolling him.
Now I could look back and see how Cesar’s methods had actually made my dog more aggressive. How jerking his leash actually made him afraid of going on walks. How tssst-ing actually was sending him “negative energy” which is the opposite of what Cesar says to do. Hold it, how can a guy who claims to send “positive energy” promote leash jerking, alpha rolls, and tssst-ing? None of those things are remotely positive.
Now that I was finally living the good life with my dog, all of Cesar’s talk seemed like nonsense. He tricked me. He roped me in with half truths. He told me dogs were different than humans and I shouldn’t treat my dog like a baby, which is true. Then he told me I had to “be the pack leader” which was false since I was living great with my dog without ever thinking that. He told me to send “positive energy” and be “calm assertive”. Those things sound so nice. And then he told me to jerk the leash and do alpha rolls. False. He told me not to be nice to my dog when he was being bad, and he told me I could only give affection to him after applying “discipline”. But it seemed like his version of “discipline” didn’t work with my dog. So when was I to be nice? Never?
So what I’m trying to get at here is that while most of the emotion has faded because things are so good now, I was very angry with Cesar Millan. He told me to do things that hurt my dog. That is the last thing I wanted to do.
So that’s the deal. Cesar will come up a bit more, there are a few articles I want you to know about. I wouldn’t expect you just to take my word for it. But much like my training with Kody, I will focus on positive stuff on this blog.
6 Comments
Angelika
Hello Matt,
Your blog about Cesar was written just when I need it. Although I don’t watch Cesar as much as I used to and yes I thought his ideas were great also but in time through watching him I found things that I did not agree with..call it being an overprotective mommy or whatever I started losing interest in his methods.
My husband and I have 2 dachshunds..one mini(3 years old) and one standard(1.4 years old) black and tan boys and a almost 12 year old lab but he is not the issue at present. My dilemna is with my doxies,my mini(Oscar) has terribel seperation anxiety and my standard boy(Trevor) wants to rip other dogs to shreds that he sees on the street although he is fine with my moms and mother in laws dogs.
I had one trainer come in and work with my dogs for a free visit and told him to come back(hoping to finally get some help) but never did,I called him several times to no avail.
Well, some time went on and so did the issues with my dogs…Trevor continually runs to our fence in search of the neighbors greyhound and frantically digs to get under the fence to get at her..which he could if I didn’t put cinder blocks there! It scares and saddens me that he may be capable of such anger to the point of wanting to hurt another dog!
Next we tried going to Petsmart for group training…WRONG idea,Trevor did nothing but bark and want to destroy and dog that came to close. The trainer the first time we arrived put up a black barrier in front of us to calm Trevor down and assured me he WILL get better, this past Saturday we went for training again and Trevor was even worse,my husband and I were seated in class while Trevor barked and barked, the trainer walked up to us and told us she would put up the barrier again but walked away,came back a few minutes later and told us we had to control our dogs barking and that she couldn’t have him barking the whole time..either hold him or give him the watch me and treat command…my husband and I just looked at each other..WELL, if we KNEW how to control Trevor we wouldn’t be there..we thought in silence! We then told the trainer we were leaving and we wouldn’t be back and that we thought Trevor needed one on one training instead to which she replied “Give me a call” We already knew that was not going to happen and asked for our money back!..We exited the store,I sat in the car and was virtually in tears!..Who is going to help our dog?Do I have the worst dog on the planet?…NO, I know I don’t, we love him and he is a sweet and loving boy..I just don’t know what to do!
Are there any good trainers out there? Who do you beleive and who can you trust with your dog? I am so confused!
Matt
Thanks for the comment!
I went through some of the same things. My dog made it through training but was constantly stressed and would bark at the other dogs sometimes. I think this is a common dachshund thing, but I’m working on that theory.
I feel for you, as I know what it feels like to be unsure what to do next. You sound like you’re really trying. So, I’m going to give you the best advice I can. I’m not a trainer, but the people at this site are some of the best trainers in the world. They are positive trainers, caring, and most of all, successful. I read this blogs on this site every day and often comment.
http://www.dogstardaily.com
This site will be the light you can see at the end of the tunnel. Start reading it and start learning, and you will learn how to judge the attitudes of a trainer so you can eventually find one to help you. You will see a bunch of other people who deal with dogs like yours every day.
As for advice I can give you, just try to keep your dog out of stressful situations. Don’t take him on walks around other dogs (but definitely take him on walks). Although it’s so easy to let your dog out by himself, you might want to let him out only when he’s with you. That way you can monitor him. Him digging like that isn’t helping him. He should be brought in when he does that (calmly, just bring him in, no need to scold.) It’s going to be a change, but when you get him to have a calm life by taking away things that stress him, you can begin to add things back in one at a time when you know how to deal with them.
But to be honest with you, I don’t take my dog to parks with lots of dogs and people anymore. It’s just too stressful for him, and we don’t need it. He likes mellow walks, and so do I.
Angelika
Thank you for your kind reply Matt. The Website looks very informative and I will check it often. It’s at least abit refreshing to know that my dogs behaviour is one that many other dogs have as well.
We do take our dogs for walks and try to act as casual as we can when we see another dog across the street,however I realize we need to do more of that. We have a fenced in yard and when I let Trevor outside I am always watching him especially at night..I take the flashlight and watch where he goes…can’t trust that little boy of ours..lol
We will have to be more patient and diligent in our efforts to train Trevor and my other doxie right,I truly believe that both Trevor and Oscar would be much happier without the issues they have and oc course so would we and as I told my husband the other day…It was so much easier raising my kids than raising my doxies!
Thanx for all your help!
Eliza
I like Cesar Milan and also love Jon Katz’s concept of “the good enough dog”. Doxie’s are wild dogs. I have two and have fostered probably 20 over the last few years. They are definitely large dogs in small packages. I guess I am lucky, no dog agression. My boys are both neutered and have been to multiple dog training classes. Everytime, I start a class either with my dogs or a foster dog, I think I am the only person whose dog will never get it. But they do. There was a person there with a very small very dog agressive Staffie. They were at classes for at least 3 years. I just met them again and their dog was walking cheerfully in a pack. My friend and dog trainer, Sallie Palmer of Well Mannered Mutts, leads what she calls a Dam Dog Walk, we start at the Dam, every Sunday and 10 to 25 pairs of people and dog or dogs walk in a pack. It is so good for the dogs. And people. I think part of the problem with dog agression is fences. Mind you we have to have them, but growing up in the 50’s we had no fences and I do not remember any agressive dogs.
Most dog trainers have some great ideas that work for you. Use those and go on.
Regina
The first couple of times I watched cesar Millan, I was like “wow, he’s good”. After a couple more shows, I started to not like him…at all. Something about him is just not right, I wouldn’t trust him at all. Besides, I think the way he handles dogs is not the right way. I believe in affection and discipline, but not the way Cesar says. On many of his shows, the dog is scared out of his mind when the guy aproaches him/her. He’s very rough on them, and I don’t think that scaring an animal is the way to go. I don’t agree with his methods at all. Going on walks and training should be fun for both the dog and the owner!!! Glad to see I’m not alone!
Angelika, nice to see you here!!! Give yor babies a hug.
Regina
Erin
YaY! I get to disagree!
Cesar does say his way is NOT the ONLY way. OK, Yes its good to have your dog by your side so you can have CONTROL, not just to keep him from sniffing, but to keep him by you if you meet an aggressive dog,a scared neighbor, or are walking in a crowded area. Too many times i have seen dogs walking their people getting into all sorts of things.
Cesar doesn’t say not to have fun, but just to be in control of your fun! Not out of control crazy to where you can get your dog under control!
I deal with people and their dogs a lot, and I’m just not seeing much good of the “Let your dog do its own thing way”. In fact we spend most of our time correct and re-training these dogs so they are SLIGHTLY manageable for the short time we have them! (double ugh)
Its rare that we find an owner who will take the time and WORK with their dogs. But when we do, its an awesome thing to see. A HUGE German walking calming WITH its owner. Not Leading not Dragging! Beautiful!
Also when you say the dogs are “scared” …make sure you are ready the body language right!
Don’t get me started on the positive only stuff…….uurghhh.