Posted on 05/22/2009 3:56:17 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Study Finds Mimicking Trainers Could Make Dog Behavior Worse: Trying to make your dog less aggressive by showing them you are the boss is a waste of time, researchers in a new British study say, especially when using popular new training techniques that urge owners to use physical force to make their dogs more compliant.
According to the study, physical control methods usually shown on TV or touted by celebrity pet trainers like "The Dog Whisperer," Cesar Millan are "ridiculous" and could do more harm than good by making aggressive behavior in dogs worse. Researchers from the University of Bristol's department of clinical veterinary sciences studied dogs for six months They compared their observations to existing studies of wild dogs, like wolves, and concluded that generations of dog lovers have misunderstood "aggressive canines."
The study asserts that, contrary to popular belief, dogs are not trying to assert their dominance over their canine or human "pack" and aren't motivated by maintaining their place in the pecking order.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
NIIIIIIIIICE!!!!
Yeah, but can you herd them all the way to the railhead for shipment?
;-)
There was a gay guy in my condo sub who lived several doors away who owned an obnoxious miniature dachsund. The dog was misbehaved, and did not listen to his owner. That was due to no training by its owner, which is usually the case.
I would always laugh at Jerry when he would try to make his dog behave then ultimately say to him "Jerry, your dumb dog doesn't understand sentences. Try teaching it one word commands........"
He'd just turn away while continuing to yell at the dog and jerking on its lead.....
Absolutely agree that the herding instinct is very strong. Mine tries to herd people, other dogs and even the rabbits in the back yard. She stops the behavior on command thank goodness, but her instinct is to round them up. Your program sounds like fun “work”. I wear mine out with a three mile daily walk. She lives for it and is very obedient and well behaved. The daily exercise is the key.
“But can he train cats.”
Every time I read a post like your I smack my forehead wishing I would have come up with such a reply. Guess I have no sense on humor.
I think the cat would be doing the whispering.
I admit I have never EVER watched Ceasar Milan, but you can’t live in this world and not have heard much of what he espouses. It sounds like common sense to me (as a dog trainer). However, does he never ever fail? I simply cannot believe that. There really are dogs out there (just like there are people) who are unreachable. I don’t buy the no bad dog drivel.
You should try to watch the show sometimes.
I think he probably does have dogs that fail.
He talks about the ‘red zone’ dogs he deals with, where if he can’t turn it around, the dog has few options.
He doesn’t ‘train’ dogs in the traditional sense on his show. He doesn’t train them to ‘sit’ ‘stay’ ‘come’, etc. He deals with aggression, territorial and fear-biter type issues, unbalanced dogs. He gets their personality re-adjusted so they would be in the right frame of mind TO be trained. He does a lot on-leash work, teaching them to heel, basically, and follow him, but not as a command really, as a tool, a means to an end.
But I’ve never seen him actually teach a dog a skill. He leaves that to others. He deals with normal and abnormal dog pack behavior, and teaching people how to better be at the top of the pack. Teaching them to stop rewarding and encouraging all the wrong behaviors in the way they were doing things.
I see. In my experience, (admittedly limited compared to his) in actually going into people’s homes, what I generally found was a dog without any *real* problems, but owners who just didn’t have a clue about basic dog behavior. They were treating the dog like a kid. But, it was frustrating to try to get them to do what was required. The dogs were fine with me, would learn behaviors quickly (sit for instance) but the human often didn’t really WANT to be the boss.
Dogs are dogs, not people and when people think otherwise, I think it’s generally to the dog’s detriment.
But, I have seen a few dogs (when I worked for a vet) who I think should have been euthanized for safety sake. They may have been ok in very specific homes, but they would not ever be suitable for the normal dog owner.
Just my opinion, I have not really kept up with the newer training methods since I only train my own dogs now, and what I do works for me.
I looked around a few minutes, and there's actually a lot of Cesar clips on youtube, if you can watch those. They're shortened clips, of course, but they help get a feel for the guy... I haven't found the one, quintessential clip, you should watch several.
This one isn't bad, but it underplays the walking part probably. When you watch the show, the walking part is important for getting to the right state of mind.
That is a beautiful dog. We have a six year old Malinois and are very familiar with the nuances of the herding instinct.
Yep, I just took my 9 mo. old parti-poodle out for a long walk. We are staying at my Mother’s condo until she recovers from a broken hip. Since there’s no yard, a very long walk is a great way to keep him calm.
Oh, Belgian Malinois’s are beautiful dogs. My dog is a rescue mutt so I’m not sure where the herding instinct comes from. She looks like a perfectly proportioned miniature golden lab. She is now nine years old, but most people think she’s a lab puppy. She’s been a wonderful companion.
“He wouldn’t stop so we had to resort to a collar that squirts a strong lemon scent that dogs hate and it briefly worked.” “
My dog loves lemons. She loves pepper, too. I used a shock collar to train her not to bark incessantly. (Of course she is allowed to bark and growl at threats.)
I learned Cesar’s methods before learning about him. THey are tried and true techniques from hundreds of years of training.
These researchers are biased. They want a world of unicorns and rainbows, and see dominance by another as an interference. I bet they are also people who think spankings are never a good education tool.
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