I hear so many people mention how great Cesar Milan is that I finally have to say something. Ive studied many, many of his videos and have done a great deal of research in to him, and others like him, that I can honestly say, with his popularity and huge audience, he is one one the most detrimental things that have happened to the world of dogs!!!! There has been a HUGE increase in aggression problems with dogs since he, and others like him, became popular on TV. Untold animals have been damaged beyond repair, or have had to be euthanized, after being helped by these people, but you dont see that part on TV, do you? There are probably thousands of articles/websites/videos, etc. detailing the bad things that have happened because people try to copy methods used by these ludicrous people. Im, seriously, begging everyone to wipe Cesar Milan, et al, from your lives! There is so much really, really good information (and methods) out there to be be utilized instead of so much dominance and abuse! This is a quote from the attached article by Dr. Sophia Yin, who was an enormous advocate of being nice to animals and behavioural science based training methods. Unfortunately, these bite incidences are not surprising. According to a recent veterinary study published in The Journal of Applied Animal Behavior (2009), if youre aggressive to your dog, your dog will be aggressive, too. Says Meghan Herron, DVM, lead author of the study, Our study demonstrated that many confrontational training methods, whether staring down dogs, striking them, or intimidating them with physical manipulation such as alpha rolls [holding dogs on their back], do little to correct improper behavior and can elicit aggressive responses. These techniques are pervasive in many T.V. shows and some popular books. For instance, The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan routinely alpha rolls, dominance downs, demonstrates alpha rolls, dominance downs and forced exposure to things that cause fear or aggression, and has depicted Millan restraining dogs or performing physical corrections in order to take valued possessions away from them. And like their previous bestselling books, Divine Canine by the Monks of New Skete focuses on correcting bad behaviors using choke chain and pinch collar corrections rather than proven non-aversive techniques. These sources attribute undesirable or aggressive behavior in dogs to the dogs striving to gain social dominance or to a lack of dominance displayed by the owner. Advocates of this theory therefore suggest owners establish an alpha or pack-leader role. But according to the AVSAB position statement on The Use of Dominance Theory in Animal Behavior Modification, undesirable behaviors are most frequently due to inadvertent rewarding of undesirable behaviors and lack of consistent rewarding of desirable behaviors. Herron adds, Studies on canine aggression in the last decade have shown that canine aggression and other behavior problems are more frequently a result of fear (self-defense) or underlying anxiety problems. Aversive techniques can elicit an aggressive response in dogs because they can increase the fear and arousal in the dog, especially in those that are already defensive. Indeed the AVSAB position statement and guidelines on the Use of Punishment in Animal Behavior Modification backs her up. drsophiayin/blog/entry/experts_say_dominance-based_dog_training_techniques_made_popular_by_televis Experts Say Dominance-Based Dog Training Techniques Made Popular By TV Can Contribute to Bites | Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog | Dr. Sophia Yin, DVM, MS
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:50:42 +0000