Cesar's Way or the Highway???

Hi everyone.
I am just wondering what you all think about Cesar, the “Dog Whisperer” who has the popular tv show and book out right now (Cesar's Way), if you are familiar with him.  I've found him to be quite controversial in “dog circles.”  I haven't read his book but my husband is reading it - he is a HUGE fan of Cesar's.  I have watched the show with my husband many times.  I must admit Cesar is effective with the dogs (the ones they show on tv, anyway) but I find his approach rather dominant and I'm just not comfortable with it.  Maybe it's because I see my husband taking it very seriously, and he seems to be becoming more controlling and stern with our dogs - and I'm sure he thinks I spoil them.  We don't have children so our parenting conflicts are coming out in our dogs!
Any thoughts?
stephanie

Re: Cesar's Way or the Highway???

Hi Stephanie,
We have recently received a copy of Cesar's book on dog training, and found him very convincing in his techniques. The underlying premise of his training is respect: your respect for the dog, and dog's respect for you. There is love for sure. We have two family dogs right now, Zoe and Halston, and the house is shared by them and us plus two birds. We recently took in a foster dog, and instantly there was a dominance game being played by everyone. Cesar goes into detail on how to understand a dog and read his body language. In as much as I respect his work, I think his principles are good, but it is the individual approach you and your husband have based on your dog's personality that will work as long as the respect is there. Thanks, Harmony

Re: Cesar's Way or the Highway???

I have to be honest and say that I have attempted to watch the show on animal planet times before and felt uneasy each time I did. I am not much for someone who encourages others “to control” anything. I am more a leadership rather than “control” type of gal. This weekend however I made e a point of Tivo-ing it so I had a somewhat educated response. I have not read the book and do not feel resonance with it so I will just answer according to the TV show.

I watched two separate episodes and am not so concerned with Cesar himself, but how the general population will interpret what they are seeing. I recognize Cesar as being someone who has a broad understanding of dogs, the language and their innate nature. I also highly commend him for the work that he is doing, even though I might not fully resonate with his technique or communication of it, because he is infact saving many, many dogs from an untimely death in a shelter.

I fully believe that 98% of people with animal problems are infact, animals with people problems. Most likely the dog has a behavior problem because they didn't get enough attention as a puppy, they were abused, they were treated like a human and not like a pack animal, they are mirroring an imbalance in their environment, but most of all they are not getting the respectful leadership that they desire and need to feel safe.

I think this is what Caser means to teach….leadership. In my mind, animals want to know they are being lead by someone competent and respectable. I think that Casar would say the same, but unfortunatly, there is a lot of room for his methods to be misinterpreted(at least on the show).

For example, when a dog is “acting out” or biting, he “bites back” by grabbing the dogs with his hand and is using as biting/pinching motion. Most  people would not see this as “biting back” but as striking the dog. He uses choke chain collars and yanks on them quite frequently. I understand that it is the sound that annoys the dog as much as the feel and when used humanely and gently, can create great outcomes. Unfortunelty, this neither appears to be the “humane” approach, nor does he explain why he chose the collar. I have also witnessed in both of these episodes, him forcefully relocating a dog with his leg that is a boarderline kick. Then, in one particular session, the dog was biting quite fiercely and he grabbed it by the scruff and hung it there as the dog screamed and yelped in horror and anger. It appreared very distressing and to those who don't understand that the scruff of a dog is where the mother will reprimand a puppy for wrong doing, it appears to also be very dominating and border-line abusive.

My other concern is his use of the words “control the dog” quite often. The above actions and the verbal choices are what I am most concerned with as I suspect that those who are not dog experts might get the message that it is OK to be aggressive, strike, yell at and “control” an animal which on the extreme end will become abusive.

There is a fine-line between “controlling” an animal (or person for that matter) and giving strong, respectful leadership to that dog. I would prefer to hear Cesar say “give your dog leadership” as it speaks to a partnership. His very subtle comments about “the energy of thoughts” could be greatly expanded upon. He could be VERY careful with his body language so as not to mislead his viewers into believing it is OK to kick, strike, etc. And in the ideal, he could use less dominance and more directed respectful  leadership asking the dog to work in partnership rahter than telling the caregiver that a submissive dog “is a good thing”.

I also understand that much of what he is trying to teach is edited out after taping and “creatively adapted” to be more “entertaining”. For example, in the episode of the biting Bichon, the owners were being taught to “ask the dog” to “get off the bed on his own”. But at the end of the show the owners said…. “We think we had a great week. When “fluffy” wasn't behaving, John “threw him off the bed”. This was not what Cesar was trying to teach, but is what the producer included and this is the type of message that I am concerned with.

I think that we can learn a lot about this very conversation that we are having. If we were all to grasp it on a soul level, we could end violence and war in my opinion. This is why I have dedicated a good part of my life to studying the non-violent techniques of Monty Roberts. Monty has spent his whole life studying the language of the horse and then finding a way to work with them in a mutual, respectful partnership. There is no “controlling” and instead is an “asking” in the horses language and an encouragement to produce the desired behavior because the horse “wants to”. Monty will not allow a whip in his barn, not because he does not recognize it as a potential non-violent training tool, but more because he realizes the potential of all humans to use the whip as a weason when placed in a situation of momentary imbalance.

This is why The Dog Whisperer (which strikes me as quite odd because he spends a lot of time hissing and yelling at the dogs) concerns me….. not because Cesar is telling people to be aggressive and abusive, but that his methods might be misinterpreted by the majority of those who are viewing.

Re: Cesar's Way or the Highway???

Once again, you have taken a vague feeling of mine and articulated in thoroughly and thoughtfully (as you also did when I expressed thoughts about Temple Grandin’s book…). What you wrote is exactly what I was getting at (though not as explicitly…don’t think I’d articulated it so coherently in my own mind yet).

I agree with much of what Cesar says and does, and I admire his devotion to dogs and the number that he has rescued, as well as the sentiment that the problem with dogs is their people - which makes me reluctant to criticize his methods. It’s not that he’s “all bad” at all, and there is a lot that can be learned from him. But it is that controlling, dominating undercurrent that I find troublesome - particularly when I know it will be interpreted by people who tend that way anyway. I hate to see people viewing dogs as objects to be controlled instead of cultivating a more mutual, respectful relationship. But not everyone believes that animals are “worthy” or capable of that kind of relationship, I suppose. Too bad.

And I agree that this subject is at the root of so many of society’s problems - the desire to control rather than “let be.” And Man’s dominion over nature and beast.

I don’t think I really added anything to Shelly’s discussion - thank you (Shelly) for articulating it so well!

Re: Cesar's Way or the Highway???

I thank you Stephanie for starting the conversation so that we all might discuss ways to better help out. It is both courageous and shows great conviction to put yourself out there so honestly. You absolutely add to any conversation that you give positive energy to and I am grateful that you and Harmony are part of this pod. I suspect we are all on the same page, just articualting differently, as I know Harmony to be a very kind soul as well and always taking the animals best interest to heart.

I very much appreciate you bringing my attention to the subject as I was able to better educate myself by watching the episodes I did and maybe be a catalyst in a more compassionate communication to the world. I agree with you that when we are all able to agree that every being, even the smallest and seemingly insignificant animal is worthy of kindness and compassion, peacewill be world-wide.

Re: Cesar's Way or the Highway???

I'm a very “bottom line” kind of guy, so results go a long way to impacting my opinion. A couple of links you might be interested in that talk about the results of Cesar's methods:

• http://www.slate.com/id/2149364/
• http://www.cesarsway.com/ (upper right corner; displays a different one each time you load the page)

Re: Cesar's Way or the Highway???

I have read many dog training books and rfesearched many different methods of training, but I honestly think that Caesar has his pros and cons.  I read the dog whisperer, but the author I most liked was Paul Owens and his non-violent approach to training.