Send your questions to The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan

[RachelMumsnet]

Great news for all those in The Dog House. We've been given the opportunity to send our canine questions to none other than the Dog Whisperer himself, Cesar Millan. Cesar is over in the UK to promote his forthcoming new series of the UK version of 'The Dog Whisperer' which will be aired in UK on Nat Geo Wild in early February 2011. We'll be filming some members of Mumsnet HQ (plus dogs) putting your questions to Cesar in January and we will be airing the film across the site at the end of January, to coincide with the launch of his new series. To stand a chance of getting your question to Cesar, post them to this thread before end of Tuesday 21st December 2010.

[Ponders]

so all those satisfied customers on the programmes, whose dogs are, clearly, dealt with (painlessly) right in front of them & end up, clearly, much happier than before, are what - brainwashed? paid off? shareholders in Nat Geo Wild? actors?

Cruel & dangerous. Right.

[VallhalaLalalalalalalalaaaaaa]

I see that Bella has added to the comments - so that's a vet nurse, as well as rescuers, breeder and behaviouralist, MNHQ.

So come on MNHQ, please tell us, what does MN get out of having this man on the forums?

[VallhalaLalalalalalalalaaaaaa]

No Ponders, they are, at best, naive. Naive to think that it is acceptable to use force and pain to train a dog and naive to think that frequently these actions don't come with some pretty tragic consequences.

[Ponders]

that's the same clip that was linked to earlier. if you watch the whole clip (not just the short bit ) the audience is told about the ecollar

There's a lot of propaganda on this thread

[OverflowingMum]

Blimey, From the Fab Justin Fletcher...to the very, well, NOT fab Caeser Milan...what a dissappointmant
Must say I'm surprised MNHQ would stoop this low

[stickersarecurrency]

Ponders, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're not just someone who naively believes and accepts everything they see on TV. So, would you mind telling me what exactly qualifies you to dismiss the view that his methods are wrong?

[Ponders]

none of you seem to be able to produce any "evidence" of use of an "electric shock collar" except this one dog - which, incidentally, wants to kill its owner's cat - whose ecollar was already being used by the family which owns it

[tibni]

Mumsnet do you really want to be associated with Cesar Milan?

Gosh wonder what other despots we might get in chat?

[ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo]

ponders again, you are ignoring the fact that in cesar's own book he tells of how he uses the electric shock collar on a dog called molly. page 107.

is that not enough proof for you? cesar tells you himself he has used it.

[ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo]

and ponders, regardless of what the dogs problems are and who owns the collar. teh clip shows cesar using the collar. that is proof he used teh collar.

[midori1999]

Ponders, why do you think all those animal welfare organisations are against him and his methods?

There is no doubt his methods work in the short term at least, but at what cost? Bitten owners, miserable, unhappy and shut down dogs? There are some fates worse than death for a dog you know.

Two video clips of both CM and Sophia Yin dealing with a very similar problem in two dogs. Do you honestly think CM's way looks better for the dog? Why treat a dog like this and put it in a position where it feels it has to bite to defend itself when you don't have to?

[VallhalaLalalalalalalalaaaaaa]

Ponders, whether the audience or owner is told of it or not, it is still unacceptable.

May I point out too that I have successfully trained dogs out of trying to kill the resident cat - both dogs I have owned and foster dogs (including an ex rcing Greyhound) and I have NEVER had to resort to any form of force or cruelty, neither would I.

I have seen for myself too the damage that this sort of aggressive training can cause.

[hugglymugly]

I've watched a lot of his TV shows and on the few where that particular type of collar is used, he's demonstrated it by placing it on the owner's arm. It doesn't deliver a shock, it's more like a mobile phone set to vibrate. When he's demonstrated it on the dog, the dog's response isn't pain or shock it's more a puzzled "WTF?" response.

A lot of the problems he deals with seem to stem from owners not having much clue about how to care for a dog. I would have thought it was obvious that dogs need exercise, and they also need boundaries, but a lot of his TV programmes seem to involve owners who haven't thought things through and ended up with problems they don't know how to solve.

Dogs don't appear to be afraid of him, and when he asserts his authority many of the dogs seem to be perfectly happy with that. Some of his cases have involved anxious or frightened dogs and he's resolved those and shown the owners the techniques for dealing effectively with that.

I know that many people don't ascribe to the "pack leader" concept, but if a dog is confused or unhappy as to how they fit in, as many of his cases appear to be, then I can understand how a dog can respond positively to someone who does give clear signals about what is acceptable behaviour and what isn't. Dogs are naturally gregarious animals, but they can't fit in to either a "pack" or a family if they're not given clear and consistent signals.

Watching the Dog Whisperer is like watching Supernanny. And a lot of the solutions seem to be the same ? understand what your dog/children need both physically and emotionally, clear and consistent boundaries about behaviour (including owners and parents), make time for talking with children/walking with the dog, watch their diet, etc.

As for a question ? I'd ask what his advice is for people being confronted with an off-leash dog and how to interpret that dog's behaviour.

[minimu1]

umm naughty step versus electic current through your neck - doesn't seem like a fair comparison to me!

[VallhalaLalalalalalalalaaaaaa]

Huggly - see the video clip I just posted above. Does that dog look happy?

MNHQ, please ask Millan if he is willing to offer UK rescue some of his earnings in order that they can care for dogs like Jack, mentioned above, who have ended up in rescue because their owners used his methods and couldn't deal with the fallout from having done so.

[ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo]

so we should put electric shock collars on our children then huggly? is that what you are saying, because if it works on the dogs...

[minimu1]

Same problem as in the clip val linked to a reactive dog towards other do. This dog is being trained by the positive reward method.

Which is the happier dog
which dog would you rather be
Which dog is most likely to revert to the old behaviour

[midori1999]

hugglymuggly, the dog was upset enough by the collar to bite his owner when the shock was applied. That's pretty unpleasant at best.

Val, I have also managed to train dogs out of chasing or wanting to chase the household cats and in fact to live happily in harmony with them without resorting to such methods also, using nothing but positive re-inforcement.

The dog in the clip doesn't just not want to chase the cat anymore, it is upset at the cat even being near it an dthe methods used were unpleasant enough to make the dog bite it's owner.

[minimu1]

Also you do not have to buy new clothes with positive reinforcement!!!

[Ponders]

they are not "electric shock collars"

I might take some of your other objections more seriously if you stopped using such stupidly emotive terminology.

[ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo]

ponders what is your response to my proof that cesar himself says he used and electric shock collar (his words) on a dog in his book?

[Ponders]

But how would Sophia Yin manage the giving-treats-while-handling-the-problem-area when the problem area is around the mouth?

[minimu1]

Ponders have you personally felt an E-collar?

[stickersarecurrency]

I'll ask again - Ponders, in what way are you qualified?

[Ponders]

OK, if I accept your word that he says in a book that he used an "electric shock collar" on one dog, will you all stop saying "why does he use electric collars?" as if he does it to all the dogs he deals with all the time?