Is the Dog Whisperer turning the page?

    • Silver

    Is the Dog Whisperer turning the page?

    I usually just read these forums, but ran across this article and thought it would be right up your alley.  Looking forward to seeing some thoughts on this one:

    Cesar Millan has requested a symposium with the world's leading positive dog trainers in response to mounting pressure and the (rumored) possibility of losing his contract with NatGeo. 

    http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/last-days-pain-training-are-upon-us

    Disclaimer: This is not an unbiased article by any stretch, just the only one I've found so far.  Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what comes out of this.

     

    Julie and Jersey

    • Gold Top Dog

    I don't know if he's turning a page or not, but it will be interesting to see.  Let's hope his exposure to some of the best minds in dog training and behavior is a step in the right direction for him and for dogs in general.  There's a similar discussion going on on another thread "Guess who's staying around.." if you want to check it out.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Jersey's Mom

    I couldn't find the article. When I click on that it says I need to "sign up." I did look at the blog section, and I don't see it listed. I haven't watched The Dog Whisperer in a long time. We no longer have NatGEO unfortunately. I probably wouldn't be here writing if it weren't for TDW. I owe it to Cesar Millan's show for getting me into dog training.

    It is unfortunate that he hasn't updated his methods, though. Too much pride, maybe? Patricia McConnell said on her blog that Millan has one "incredible presence." This is with both humans and dogs. You can't teach that to anyone. He'll still have a unique gift of training dogs even if he switches to Positive Reinforcement. He'd still always have that edge above other trainers.

    Has Millan ever stated why he won't make the switch?

    • Gold Top Dog

    I don't know if he has commented on that, but some say his people continue to threaten lawsuits.  I heard that they got IAABC to take their name off the big group in the UK that was banding together in opposition to his methods, but of course I have no direct knowledge of how that took place.  He's been characterized as a bully in that regard, though, similar to another couple of coercion trainers in the U.S. who try to shut people up in that way.  In any case, the pressure is mounting for him to acknowledge and work with the legitimate behavior community, which, in my opinion would actually work to his benefit.  The show has softened somewhat, but it's still distressing to see some of the videos still out there with dogs being choked, coerced, shocked, etc. and having that treatment of animals legitimized in the mind of the public who may be unaware that there's a more positive way to handle those issues.  If you want to learn more about the people who are trying to see that this turns around, Google "beyond cesar millan" and one of the sites will pop up.  There are also some FB groups that have been formed to expose his methods to scrutiny.