The Cesar Millan phemomenon: Is there blame to be laid? Where do we go from here?
I'll admit it. As a pet care professional, I am not a fan of "The Dog Whisperer". I cringe when I see the commercials for the show, and the poor dogs being subjected to methods of interaction that are cruel, and even dangerous. Cesar Millan, star of the show and self-professed dog behavior guru offers his methods and advice to millions of people across the country on the National Geographic Channel. I will say that I do appreciate Millan's emphasis on dog's getting enough exercise and humans being more involved with their pets. flickr photo courtesy of pmarkham Alas, Millan relies heavily on the " dominance theory ", which is for so many reasons, just backward thinking. In fact, the trainers who get the best results from their client rely on positive reinforcement techniques. The Alpha roll , stringing up/hanging - all things that Millan is in favor of - are counterproductive, detrimental to actually teaching a canine anything besides, well, agg...