Saturday, September 02, 2006
Mike Derr vs. Working
Very interesting NY Times article here regarding Cesar Milan and his 'controversial methods.'
I think this Mark Derr is a little hard on Milan, sort of paints him with one brush. I'll agree Milan has some old world attitudes regarding gender, but more that he puts women on too much of a pedestal. Like he's trying to empower the women of the world by himself. I see what he’s trying to do, but some of the things he says makes me roll my eyes for its simplicity. However, I can't fault his methods with dogs.
I've used them to tremendous success, far more than I ever had before. The methods aren't so different from what every other 'expert' is teaching, just less complicated and there's a nice show I can scour for examples. I go to the park and hear frustrated owners talking about hundreds of dollars they paid for the best trainers in Toronto and yet their dog remains out of control. In some cases, I've asked them to give me the leash for five minutes and I've got the dog calmed down without yelling or beating. How exactly is that an abuse?
The whole "alpha" thing is taken a bit out of context - this isn't about being an abusive authority figure or mimicking the wolf world. It's that dogs will pick up on energy, that the world around you can be affected by your intention. Hardly a new or unique concept, but the first time it’s been applied to dogs and marketed. I think it's the best theory I take from Milan and it isn't even mentioned in the article, which leads me to believe that Mark Derr hasn’t done his homework or even interviewed Cesar Milan.
Basically the theory is this: if you feel like a leader who has it under control, they will respond as such. The whole world will respond to you as such. Think of a confident person walking down the street versus a distracted, angry or meek person walking down the street. Big difference in their energy and how the world reacts to them. The alpha exercise is for you, not the dog. Derr has missed the whole point.
I’ve tried Milan's techniques on several aggressive dogs now and it works. I've never had to do the alpha roll, I've only "finger bitten" one dog when she was about to bite a human. It got her attention immediately and saved the human a nasty bite. Of course I tailor myself to the dog. D'uh. Milan never suggests otherwise! When I take Charlie and Percy out, I don’t have to work as hard. When I take the neighbour’s Lucky out, I have to breathe deep and really make sure I relax before I even touch her leash. I’m scared of her, I have to be careful she doesn’t feel that. Eventually we’ll build up trust. It's already world's better after just two walks.
Different dogs, different reactions. But I’m trying and succeeding and we’re all having fun together. We’re all getting great exercise. I wouldn’t have done this if I hadn’t come across Cesar Milan. And that’s essentially the whole point.
posted by Working From Home Today
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