Cesar Millan: “Mastering Leadership” 3 DVD set—a review

I’m not a dog trainer. I don’t even play one on my blog.

With my little guys, I rely mostly on reasoning and logic, my superior size and intellect, my ability to provide food to the pack, and sometimes yelling raising the volume of stern commands. For the most part it’s all good.

[Except for the occasional magpie homicides, of course. Some of you have asked about those, and they seem to have abated. My theory is that area magpies have evolved with warning capabilities]

I had not watched Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, on TV since I don’t get the National Geographic channel. I had read the usual arguments on blogs and forums. Some people love him; some seem to think he is a terrible influence on the dog world.

Recently, I received a three volume DVD from the good people at National Geographic to review. And I must say I am most impressed. He is engaging, entertaining, but best of all, he makes sense and his methods seem effective.

It may be that the biggest problem is that he is too successful, too charismatic, too popular and that makes him an easy target.

Dog training, like human teaching, is an art. And like human teachers, dog trainers are different in their personalities and approaches. As long as there are good results, there are different ways to achieve them. There is no denying he gets some incredible results.

On to the DVD’s.

Volume one is “People Training for Dogs,” as he explains to an audience some of his basic principles. First, a dog is not a person in a fur suit. Although this seems obvious, how many times have you seen people treat their dog as a furry person, a spoiled furry person, which is totally confusing to the dog. Cesar lays out the importance of the human role as leader of the pack and the dogs’ needs for rules and boundaries. Calm assertiveness is his key to success.

Volume two, “Becoming a Pack Leader,” introduces three dogs that are completely out of control. They aren’t vicious; they are just dogs behaving badly. Without any respect for the human as leader, they have learned that they don’t need to follow rules. He demonstrates to the family members how to change the behavior with calm assertiveness. What he is able to accomplish with each dog is amazing.

Volume three, “Your New Dog: First Day and Beyond,” covers what to look for in selecting a dog to match the human’s lifestyle and energy level. He goes with three different prospective dog owners to three different venues, a shelter, a rescue and a breeder. He lays out what to look for and what to avoid in choosing the right dog. Then each dog is brought into the home and he shows the people how to immediately establish ground rules to avoid problems later on.

After watching the series, you may decide as I did that you’re not such a bad dog trainer after all. I just need to do more whispering and less...uh, raising the volume.

Cesar Millan's Mastering Leadership - Volumes 1-3 is available at Amazon

Comments

[Tom and Icy]

Icy watches him, then she applies the techniques on the cat.

[Khyra]

He hasn't met me...

I rest my khase...

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

[Lynne]

Thanks for the review. I do think Caesar Milan's techniques make sense. Now just to get my dog to agree he makes sense too!

Trying not to be handled by a bossy miniature poodle,
Lynne

[YesBiscuit!]

Good to know the opinion of someone who hasn't seen the show. I've seen the show often and always learn something from Millan. I really enjoy him.

[rosemary]

my daughter watches his show faithfully....she says she does what he suggests....she has 4 dogs that all have their own ideas about training.

[jackie]

my best buddy bill was a great doggie..but he thought my singing was the same thing as yelling.and when i would sing he'd either run and hide or go jump in the jeep..and if he was in the jeep and we were driving he'd jump in the back and hide...no amt of whispering could make him like my singing..ha
I have a book called how to get your dog to do what you want by warren ecksein..you can have it if you want..might help..hah

[George T]

You say you rely on reason and logic and then you say not to treat dogs as furry people, sounds like you are doing just that.

[jan]

Gosh, you caught me there, George. My bad.

[Tammy]

Interesting Jan! I have never watched him either. I'm interested in what he does simply because there is so much "buzz" surrounding him! I'll have to check this out (of course - I don't have a dog currently to try it out on though!) :)

[cube]

I've been a fan of Cesar's for a long time. He's come a long way with his
common sense dog handling approach. He likes to say he rehabilitates dogs and trains humans because it is usually the human that is allowing or, in some cases, provoking the bad doggy behavior.

[Mary Jo and Hudson]

I love Cecar and have one of his boks and he certainly nows how to communicate with dogs. Love the reviews on your blog of his DVD's

[Anne Good]

I have three small dogs and before learning Cesar's model it was easy for me to see the "naughty" as being cute and endearing. I also appreciate his emphasis on exercise - something I think too many dog owners neglect.

[Lindsay]

I think Cesar Millan is great. I do think that his techniques appear to be easier than they really are though. On the show, it makes it seem like anything can be accomplished in ten minutes. That might be the case for Cesar, but not your average dog owner. Still, I've learned a lot from him and I can't think of anything right now that I disagree with him.

I was happy to hear your opinion.

[Sling]

I'm in complete agreement with the 'leader of the pack' thing.
That's not ruling with an iron fist,but recognizing that dogs are pack animals,and WANT to know,and feel secure in their place in the pecking order.
..Even if it's last place,they really are happy in that.
I also count heavily on the dog's natural desire to please it's master.
No such thing as a bad dog,only bad trainers.

[jan]

I agree completely. Cesar Millan has tapped into the old ways, the pack mentality, that dogs understand.

[Wendy]

I like CM because he encourages people to walk their dogs. I can't stand watching his show though.

[Three Dog Blogger]

I really like Cesars techniques. I know some people hate him but I think he is a realist when it comes to training.

The no shouting, no telling off, school of training that some advocate just doesn't seem like a reality to me.

[Marie]

Well I am a dog trainer and I can say that when it comes to CM people need to do more research. Yes some of his stuff is truely excellent. (dogs are not people in fur coats, dogs need regular exercise, dogs need a leader) However therein lies the problem. Only some of it is excellent. The rest is out dated methods that rely on force over thinking in training. To be clear I have used force methods in the past and they can work. I just prefer a different path now because I know more about dog behavior AND I like my results better.

CM claims to be a dog psycologist yet he believes in some scientifically proven outdated information. For those interested in a different view of pack dynamics as it relates to dogs check out my blog at http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com (which links to this blog so I hope that's ok) You need to scroll through the older posts (link at bottom of each page) but there are posts about the pack theory in dogs.

Yes dogs need leadership, no one denies that. But it needs to be looked at more like parents setting limits and teaching consequenses to their offspring. Not as a dominance chain. Kids want to do what they want to do, not because they are trying to be more dominant than us. (Yes dominance aggression exists but very few dogs have TRUE dominance aggression to people in reality.) Dogs are the same as kids in that way. They do what works for them. Teach them it doesn't work and you get a different response.

Dogs live to please themselves. Smart dogs learn quickly that pleasing their owners can get them some really good things. This in turn can promote the "want to work for us" attitude. There are two very important things dogs think when it comes to training. One is what is it? Does the dog CLEARLY know what we are asking them to do. And why should I? What is in it for them to do this thing we ask. Is it worth it for them to listen to us? That is the part that takes the most work. To many people want a quick fix. All training takes time and then practice to keep the skills fresh no matter what method you use.

I don't think being successful has made him a target due to jealousy. I think it is because he is in the public eye and not everyone agrees with his methods. Say what you will about positive trainers but the act of training using those methods isn't physically hurting dogs.

I wish he would attend a seminar or two on behavior. (and reading dog body language) There is always more to learn when it comes to dogs. None of us in the field knows everything after all. Personally I would love to see more long term follow ups on his cases. How many were rehabed for the lifetime of the dog?

P.S. Positive training doesn't equal permissive. It isn't about cookie pushing as some would argue. There is a right way and a wrong way to use food in training. Used incorrectly is becomes a bribe which never works longterm. Positive training also includes teaching consequences by using appropriate punishment. To see good positive trainers at work check out Victoria Stilwell on It's me or the dog or Andrea Arden on Underdog to Wonderdog. Both shows can be seen on Animal Planet.

Just my two cents. :-)

[Marie]

To make it easier here are direct links to the posts about dogs as pack animals I spoke of:

http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com/2009/01/dogs-as-pack-animals-or-not.html#links

http://k-9solutionsdogtraininginc.blogspot.com/2009/02/redefining-alpha.html#links