The Dominance Theory Unmasked! Part 1

I will be posting a breakdown of an article from "Carnival for Carnivores" about the Dominance theory and the man who fuels the flame for it, yes Cesar Millan. His techniques are popular, he is endorsed by National Geographic (which greatly saddens me) and many dogs are suffering because of his fear techniques. I receive many calls asking to correct what has gone wrong for those that have used his suggestions and tried to be the "Alpha" and now their dog is aggressing more than ever. I think this is an important article although lengthy, to help people understand what he is doing, why he is endorsed, why his techniques don't work and how it will deteriorate your relationship with your dog. I will post sections of this article over the next few days... The Deception Of The Dog Whisperer Every one of Cesar Millan’s clients and fans has two things in common: they love their dogs and they don’t know the first thing about training them. An untrained dog in a household can be a burden and a pain, or even dangerous, depending on the dog. It’s only natural for these people to want to seek help for their problems so they can live in harmony with their pets. But Cesar himself poses an even greater danger to these unsuspecting clients and fans: bad training advice. Cesar Millan and his faulty theories are a danger to dogs and the public and should not be endorsed by a company – National Geographic - whose reputation is based on integrity and scientific fact. It’s also only natural that these clients, with no training or knowledge of dog behavior would trust a dog-training TV program aired by National Geographic , a long-standing company with an impeccable reputation that few people bother to question But the problem with trusting blindly, is that even National Geographic makes mistakes sometimes. Such is the case when they decided to endorse Cesar Millan AKA The Dog Whisperer. There are many reasons why his show would be appealing to those unfamiliar with animal behavior as a science. He’s charismatic, he exhumes confidence, he always knows just what to do in any hairy situation, and most importantly, he solves problems quickly – which is exactly what fans and owners who don’t want to take the time and effort to train their dogs in the first place want – a quick fix. To the untrained eye, Cesar’s TV program might seem like a doggy miracle hour – out-of-control dogs with atrocious behavior problems turn into loving, obedient pets, all in the course of an hour. Clients are stunned! How on Earth does he do it?! Anyone with a trained eye can tell you: he cheats. Cesar Millan preaches a theory based on dominance and submission. He even creates his own language to describe problems dogs can have: Red zone dogs: aggressive dogs. Calm-assertive: what a good owner should be. Calm-submissive: what a good dog should be. In his book, he explains that there are two types of aggression in dogs: dominance aggressions, coming from dogs who are “natural leaders” and not being dominated by their owners properly and therefore become aggressive in an attempt to make up for their owner’s lack of leadership. The other aggression he describes is fear aggressions: in which fearful dogs behave aggressively as a means to repel things that they dislike – and for both of these problems, he offers the same solution: dominance. He claims that most problem dogs simply don’t respect their owners enough and don’t receive proper discipline. He denounces people that anthropomorphize their dogs and shower them with affection, telling them they have it wrong. They do, but the problem is that, according to the current science of animal behavior, Cesar has it wrong too. This conjecture is supported the vast majority of experts in the field, many of whom are happy to help illustrate why: Watch for Part 2, posting will be tomorrow!