Ping Cohen - The Dog Whisperer

My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic
channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with his own pack of dogs
and dispenses advice and helps people with their dog problems.

He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty interesting
to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate profound stupidity in
relation to their pets. He obviously has the smarts and experience as well
as a good rapport with both people and the dogs.

What is yout take on this guy?

We have adjusted our approach to a couple minor issues with our dog and he
is behaving better already.

"Lee Michaels" <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:84Gdnb7eD4jNftvYnZ2dnUVZ_sSdnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
> My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National
> Geographic channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with his own
> pack of dogs and dispenses advice and helps people with their dog
> problems.
>
> He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty
> interesting to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate profound
> stupidity in relation to their pets. He obviously has the smarts and
> experience as well as a good rapport with both people and the dogs.
>
> What is yout take on this guy?
>
> We have adjusted our approach to a couple minor issues with our dog and he
> is behaving better already.
>
Cesar also uses electric shock. Not sure if he whispers sweet nothings in
the dog's ear as he's zapping him.
Supposedly the shock treatment is only for resistive cases:-)
I heard him on NPR, he seems to make sense.

"Lee Michaels" <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote
> My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National
> Geographic channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with his own
> pack of dogs and dispenses advice and helps people with their dog
> problems.
>
> He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty
> interesting to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate profound
> stupidity in relation to their pets. He obviously has the smarts and
> experience as well as a good rapport with both people and the dogs.
>
> What is yout take on this guy?

I don't have a take yet, but have been meaning to get one. I haven't read
anything by him yet, nor seen him on TV. I have heard from reliable sources
who I trust that he is a dishonest nutjob who isn't achieving the results he
claims.

If I get around to reading some of his stuff, I'll let you know.

David

"ATP*" <waxwingslain@azurepane.com> schreef:

>> We have adjusted our approach to a couple minor issues with our dog and
>> he is behaving better already.

> Cesar also uses electric shock. Not sure if he whispers sweet nothings in
> the dog's ear as he's zapping him.
> Supposedly the shock treatment is only for resistive cases:-)

Sounds like a good therapy for my girlfriend.

Other then never having the pleasure of having sex with a dog, i see no
reason whatsoever to treat women different then dogs.

And besides, dogs can actually be usefull.

----
Pete

"David Cohen" <sammiesdad@earthlink.net> wrote
> "Lee Michaels" <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote
>> My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National
>> Geographic channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with his
>> own pack of dogs and dispenses advice and helps people with their dog
>> problems.
>>
>> He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty
>> interesting to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate profound
>> stupidity in relation to their pets. He obviously has the smarts and
>> experience as well as a good rapport with both people and the dogs.
>>
>> What is yout take on this guy?
>
> I don't have a take yet, but have been meaning to get one. I haven't read
> anything by him yet, nor seen him on TV. I have heard from reliable
> sources who I trust that he is a dishonest nutjob who isn't achieving the
> results he claims.
>
> If I get around to reading some of his stuff, I'll let you know.

OK, in order to give you at least a preliminary answer, I went to his
website and read his tips section, to get the flavor of his training
philosophy. But first...

The basics of dog training have been understood for thousands of years.
Ancient shepherds and hunters knew well how to train their dogs to perform
the required tasks. And the details have been extensively studied,
researched, and written about, for fifty years.

There is no "magic" to dog training. Proper dog training simply uses
classical and operant conditioning, combined with an understanding of canine
evolution, psychology, and sociology, and an appreciation and respect for
the role of the dog in the advancement of human society.

Good dog trainers can have their own style, while maintaining these basics.
Some write straight forward, simple, advice for the average pet owner (e.g.
Brian Kilcommons). Some delve into the psychology behind the training (e.g.
Patricia McConnell). Some have an almost spiritual aspect to the training
(e.g. Monks of New Skete). Some advocate a certain technology to help
utilize the psychological conditioning (e.g. clicker training).

My brief review of Milan's website doesn't reveal any "magic" techniques.
His choice of "dog whisperer" as a title is unfortunate, as it implies
"magical" psychic methods, which I didn't find. He utilizes, for the most
part, standard training techniques. So far, so good. However...

He has an extremely over-inflated reliance on the "owner as alpha dog"
concept. In this he isn't alone, as many dog trainers share this view. Since
the proper, far more limited, role of "alpha dog" principles, is taught by
enough of the best dog trainers and writers, there is just no need to use
Milan's methods. There are better available.

David

"David Cohen" <sammiesdad@earthlink.net> wrote
>
> "David Cohen" <sammiesdad@earthlink.net> wrote
>> "Lee Michaels" <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote
>>> My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National
>>> Geographic channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with his
>>> own pack of dogs and dispenses advice and helps people with their dog
>>> problems.
>>>
>>> He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty
>>> interesting to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate
>>> profound stupidity in relation to their pets. He obviously has the
>>> smarts and experience as well as a good rapport with both people and the
>>> dogs.
>>>
>>> What is yout take on this guy?
>>
>> I don't have a take yet, but have been meaning to get one. I haven't read
>> anything by him yet, nor seen him on TV. I have heard from reliable
>> sources who I trust that he is a dishonest nutjob who isn't achieving the
>> results he claims.
>>
>> If I get around to reading some of his stuff, I'll let you know.
>
> OK, in order to give you at least a preliminary answer, I went to his
> website and read his tips section, to get the flavor of his training
> philosophy. But first...
>
> The basics of dog training have been understood for thousands of years.
> Ancient shepherds and hunters knew well how to train their dogs to perform
> the required tasks. And the details have been extensively studied,
> researched, and written about, for fifty years.
>
> There is no "magic" to dog training. Proper dog training simply uses
> classical and operant conditioning, combined with an understanding of
> canine evolution, psychology, and sociology, and an appreciation and
> respect for the role of the dog in the advancement of human society.
>
> Good dog trainers can have their own style, while maintaining these
> basics. Some write straight forward, simple, advice for the average pet
> owner (e.g. Brian Kilcommons). Some delve into the psychology behind the
> training (e.g. Patricia McConnell). Some have an almost spiritual aspect
> to the training (e.g. Monks of New Skete). Some advocate a certain
> technology to help utilize the psychological conditioning (e.g. clicker
> training).
>
> My brief review of Milan's website doesn't reveal any "magic" techniques.
> His choice of "dog whisperer" as a title is unfortunate, as it implies
> "magical" psychic methods, which I didn't find. He utilizes, for the most
> part, standard training techniques. So far, so good. However...
>
> He has an extremely over-inflated reliance on the "owner as alpha dog"
> concept. In this he isn't alone, as many dog trainers share this view.
> Since the proper, far more limited, role of "alpha dog" principles, is
> taught by enough of the best dog trainers and writers, there is just no
> need to use Milan's methods. There are better available.
>
He does work with a lot of different people. And he does have good people
skills. And some of those people are completely loopy. Most of his time is
spent in teaching the owners. And most of them think of their dogs as little
people.

Cesar does relate the message that these furry animals are in fact dogs and
should be treated as such. It makes for good TV. He is charming and
gracious enough to portray these total retards in a sympathetic light. Thus
the teacher - moron dynamic. Which is about as good as it gets in the
wonderful world of "reality TV".

"Pete" <phoutstra@wanadoo.nl> wrote in message
news:45474a03$0$64262$dbd4d001@news.wanadoo.nl...
> "ATP*" <waxwingslain@azurepane.com> schreef:
>
>>> We have adjusted our approach to a couple minor issues with our dog and
>>> he is behaving better already.
>
>> Cesar also uses electric shock. Not sure if he whispers sweet nothings in
>> the dog's ear as he's zapping him.
>> Supposedly the shock treatment is only for resistive cases:-)
>
> Sounds like a good therapy for my girlfriend.

It worked for Kitty Dukakis.
>
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2458124&page=1

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 06:31:43 -0500, "ATP*"
<waxwingslain@azurepane.com> wrote:

>Cesar also uses electric shock. Not sure if he whispers sweet nothings in
>the dog's ear as he's zapping him.
>Supposedly the shock treatment is only for resistive cases:-)
>I heard him on NPR, he seems to make sense.

I am not normally a fan of stuff like that. But my father used it on
one of our dogs and it worked well. This was a VERY stubborn dog that
did whatever he felt like. The pain caused him to yelp a little bit
but he seemed to get the message better than yelling. My father later
claimed he was the best hunting dog he had. He was still a pain in
the ass, but a good hunter.

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:47:14 -0500, "Lee Michaels"
<leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote:

>My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic
>channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with his own pack of dogs
>and dispenses advice and helps people with their dog problems.
>
>He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty interesting
>to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate profound stupidity in
>relation to their pets. He obviously has the smarts and experience as well
>as a good rapport with both people and the dogs.
>
>What is yout take on this guy?
>
>We have adjusted our approach to a couple minor issues with our dog and he
>is behaving better already.

I don't know if anyone else here watches South Park. They did one
spoof on this guy training Eric Cartmen. I think it was one of the
funniest they have ever done. He determines Cartmen is a pain in the
ass because he is the Alpha male in the house.

Shute wrote:
> On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 00:47:14 -0500, "Lee Michaels"
> <leemichaels*nadaspam*@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> My wife has recently discovered The Dog Whisperer on the National
>> Geographic channel. It features Cesar Millan, a guy who lives with
>> his own pack of dogs and dispenses advice and helps people with
>> their dog problems.
>>
>> He says he rehabs the dogs and trains the owners. It is pretty
>> interesting to note how people go on national TV and demonstrate
>> profound stupidity in relation to their pets. He obviously has the
>> smarts and experience as well as a good rapport with both people and
>> the dogs.
>>
>> What is yout take on this guy?
>>
>> We have adjusted our approach to a couple minor issues with our dog
>> and he is behaving better already.
>
> I don't know if anyone else here watches South Park. They did one
> spoof on this guy training Eric Cartmen. I think it was one of the
> funniest they have ever done. He determines Cartmen is a pain in the
> ass because he is the Alpha male in the house.

Beeeefcake?

--
Bully
Protein bars: http://www.proteinbars.co.uk

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss