As Dog Bite Prevention week is being recognized across the United States, experts agree that one of the contributing factors to the 4.7 million dog bites that occur each year may be owners mimicking what they see on T.V.
Dr. Jennie Jamtgaard, an applied animal behavior consultant and behavior instructor at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences gives an example.
"I saw an Australian Cattledog mix with severe aggression (lunging, growling, barking) directed at other dogs whenever they came into view, even hundreds of feet away. The dog was fine with people and had never been aggressive to people before. The owners watched the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan regularly and dealt with the dog in a completely punishment-based way. They repeatedly tried to physically subdue the dog whenever it was aggressive. Finally, at PetSmart, the dog growled and lunged, and when the female owner tried to force the dog down, she was bitten on the arm. That was when they called me."
Dr. Kathy Meyer, president of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB), describes a case she saw.
Last year I consulted with an owner who was having trouble with his Shar-Pei becoming aggressive toward the dog-walker when on walks. The owner had no trouble with his dog on-lead outdoors, but the walker complained of escalating aggression. Upon further discussion, it was discovered that the walker claimed he was utilizing some methods demonstrated by Cesar Millan on the Dog Whisperer. Instead of walking the dog on a loose lead, he would place a choke collar high up on the dog's neck, where it is the most painful and can shut off the airway. When the dog didn't respond to a command, he would punish the dog by tightening the collar, even lifting the dog's front feet off of the ground. As the punishment escalated, the dog began to growl, snarl, and snap at the walker. The walker even began to take a tennis racket on walks to try to subdue the dog when he became aggressive, a technique he saw on Millan's televised show. My advice was simple. Find another dog-walker who knew how to calmly walk the dog on a loose lead and did not try to intimidate him. A new walker was introduced and the dog continues to do well, with no aggression on walks.
Dr. John Ciribassi, past-president of the AVSAB explains why punishment can cause aggression.
"A typical scenario is a client with a 3 year old dog who was presented because of aggression directed at strangers that the dog meets either on walks or when guests come to the home. Initially the dog barks at people as they pass and backs away if approached, indicating that the aggression is due to fear. The owner is referred to a trainer or watches a show that demonstrates the use of choke chain or pinch collar and verbal or physical corrections. Because the dog now feels pain when it encounters the person it fears, the aggression escalates. As a result, now the dog lunges, snaps, and bites in situations where it used to bark and back away. In some cases the dog is so aroused it learns to redirect its aggression towards humans."
Bite Incidences Come as No Surprise
Unfortunately, these bite incidences are not surprising. According to a recent veterinary study published in The Journal of Applied Animal Behavior (2009), if you're 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 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 dog's 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.
What Methods Can Be Used Instead?
Says E. Kathy Meyer, AVSAB president, " Behavior modification and training should focus on the scientifically sound approach of reinforcing desirable behaviors such as focusing on the owner and removing rewards for undesirable behaviors."
She emphasizes that modification also involves changing the dog's underlying emotional state. This combination of scientifically proven non-confrontational techniques works well for aggressive dogs. (See reward-based behavior modification of a fear aggressive dog and a dog that is aggressive for toenail trims.)
So what about the Australian Cattledog we met at the beginning of this post?
Says Jamtgaard about her case,
The Australian Cattledog improved dramatically at our consultation, being calm during situations the owners had never witnessed before, such as the neighbor dogs barking at her only a few feet away. I think seeing what just a few minutes of work could accomplish by changing approach gave them the hope that it could work.Within 4-6 weeks they began to be able to go on normal walks with her, with dogs at normal distances. They feel so good that they can treat her differently (more kindly). The owner now competes with her dog and can be in close contact with other dogs they meet during contests and on the street, whereas before, the dog was reactive from over a hundred feet.
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I think the statistics would be frightening and would show most could not "control" the dogs and many were surrendered or euthanized. The people who follow CM will likely not change their minds either since they don’t see the problem, or will not acknowledge the problem and place the blame for failure on the individual dog instead of the possibility of the methods used. I am reformed, by being informed!!! I wish that for the people who are still convinced that dominance is the right way or the only way. Know that there is a better way, for all involved including the dog!!
The inconsistencies that occur with dominance and/or punishment based training and multiple family members, confuse and frustrate the dog to react. The positive methods I have since learned address the dogs motivation, the ability for all family members to help reinforce the pet to acceptable behavior, and the pet is not fearful, confused, or frustrated to aggression. This is a very different end result from the dominance methods!! I am reformed from my previous, uninformed view on dominance and I am glad to see and know the differences between the styles and the effect on animals. I do believe Caesar is doing what he believes is right and has helped some (few) animals short term. I do believe he does truly care for dogs as well, but doesn’t know another way, and the impact he is having on the dogs or the spreading of the dominance myths long-term effect on the dog, or the families that own them. I'd love to see a follow up show by a different production company and network tracking down the clients who have appeared and if the dogs are still alive and owned by the same owners what their level of success has been since learning dominance and Caesar left their home.
I am a practicing Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and Certified Pet Dog Trainer. My practice consists of 90% aggression cases, many with multiple bite histories. I receive no fewer than 10 calls per week from new clients who tell me "I tried what the DW does and my dog bit me".
I have never heard from a single client, "I tried what Patricia McConnell suggested and my dog bit me." or "I tried what Ian Dunbar recommended and my dog bit me"...
If you don't know who those individuals are, I encourage you strongly to read their body of work. Also that of your blogger here, Dr. Sophia Yin, Karen Overall, Bob Bailey or hundreds of other dog professionals who are world renowned and have been working with severely aggressive dogs far longer than Milan.
If you can watch a man kick a dog to provoke an aggressive response so that he can physically punish the dog and be OK with that...I don't know what else to say.
"You also misrepresent the work of Cesar Millan. He is specifically against punishing a dog for misbehaving."
That being said, let me draw your attention to a recent episode of the DW where Mr. Milan kicked a dog in the inguinal area to (paraphrasing) illicit an aggressive response from the dog so Milan could hold the dog back with some sort of toilet brush to "prove" to the dog that he couldn't "win".
Do those of you who are repeatedly commenting that CM is against punishing a dog for misbehaving actually think that kicking a dog is not punishment? Is not aversive? Is appropriate?
Milan followed that behavior by placing a "vibrating" collar on the dog (actually calling the device a shock collar was apparently not something he or perhaps the producers felt would be well received by the viewing public) and shocking the dog multiple times near a food bowl until the dog was showing such severe signs of stress (through body language) that Milan found the dog "rehabilitated" (though for money I'd bet this dog's food guarding behavior increased dramatically after this treatement, just not in the presence of the individual the dog had learned to fear - and justifiably so!) (See part 2 of this post)
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/player.html?channel=39678
In this clip, CM takes a fearfully aggressive dog (tail tucked, ears back, avoiding direct stares, exposing the sclera or white part of the eyes) and forces it on its side, holding it down for several minutes until the dog is immobile. The dog is not immobile because it is relaxed, as CM states, but because it is reacting to the force by at least temporarily complying. It is by no means relaxed as evidenced by it panting and wide eyed appearance. In the clip CM also states that “I’m taking the dog's tail out from between his legs, because that creates fear”. He is trying to forcibly pull the tail out from under the dog's body assuming this will reduce the dog's fear. It is not the position of the tail the causes fear, it is merely a reflection of the fact that the dog IS fearful and pulling the tail out will not change that motivation.
Punishment or physical restraint can temporarily stop any behavior but will do nothing to change the underlying motivation for the behavior. In fact, forceful methods can increase the incidence of danager and injury as evidenced by this paper by Dr. Meaghan HErron at the University of Pennsylvania:
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=124687
John Ciribassi DVM, Diplomate American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
Also, don't you realize dogs aren't magically afraid of a hiss noise and a finger point. That is taught, obviously with punishment, off camera.
I have trained dogs for over 20 years. Since Milan became popular, my business has boomed, mostly because of dogs made more aggressive or fearful by people trying to follow his outdated methods at home.
I don't use positive reinforcement, classical and operant conditioning because I am some kind of wimpy do gooder. I use it because it is safe, highly effective, and free of the harmful side effects of Milan's type of approach.
Just go to Sea World and talk to the trainers that work with Killer Whales and other large potentially dangerous animals. They are going to use the safest, fastest and most reliable methods because their lives are on the line. They all use operant conditioning with mostly positive reinforcement.
One other thing. The psuedo pop psychology and obvious sexism he applies to the human side of the family must drive real psychologists crazy.
I use many professional dog psychology and human psychology methods, the ones I find work the most are the ones that dogs use themselves to communicate, yet sometimes we need a tool as well as we are not the same species. Either way dog psychology is not an exact science!
My large pack of 14 dogs are balanced thanks to Cesar's Way of being the Pack Leader, along with my professional experience in rehabilitating dogs, using methods similar to Cesar and others too - whichever best suits the diagnosis.
What I do not do is judge those I do not know and do not present my opinion in a way anyone could read as fact, me expeirence is suceess with Cesar's Way.
I learn everyday from the dogs themselves, if seeing is believeing then I see my pack, they are indeed contented canines else 14 could not live in my home together without problems! I fully support Cesar, just do not copy methods from anyone - consult a professional!
Dog psychology and human psychology is not fundamentally different. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning is the same in dogs as in humans, and dolphins, and walruses and giraffes and horses and pigs.
Look, I understand how impressive he would appear to someone who is new to training and behavior. 10 years ago, I would have been a fan. But I think the longer you work with dogs, you will find as I and many of my colleagues have, that methods such as those seen on the show have serious drawbacks and consequences.
Are there dogs that can be helped using those methods? Sure, there probably are. Just as many dogs were successfully trained using traditional methods of the past. However, a LARGE number of breeds were labeled untrainable and stubborn because they didn't respond to those methods. I sincerely hope that you don't fall into the trap of thinking that Cesar's way is the best and only way, or you too may find yourself blaming the dogs for the failings of the methods.
Even the one lawsuit against him has been skewed and lied about since the animal injured was by a trainer who asked to used Cesar's facilities in Cesar's absence. Cesar was not on the property, nor was his staff working with that dog. The only connection was that it was on Cesar's property and Cesar does have money, which is a target.
No one is saying that operant conditioning with mostly positve reinforcement doesnt work. for many dogs it does. If a dog is too hard to work with, why not dispose of them and get a new one rather then save a more challenging dog. Cesar helps dogs that other trainers cant or wont, but of course those... what ~500 (?) dogs don’t matter in the bigger picture.
This argument never ceases to amaze me. It was Cesar's business and he is ultimately responsible for what happens there and by whom. He has proven himself to be a savvy businessman and I would be very surprised if he didn't know about the 'trainer' and his methods before he granted access to his facility and equipment.
"Cesar helps dogs that other trainers cant or wont"
This is one of those generalized statements that fans use as some kind of proof that he is the best of the best. I could make the same claim. There are trainers who refer dogs to me that they don't want to work with and I have clients who have worked with other trainers previously. That is the nature of the business, not evidence of a special ability.
The manner in which Mr. Millan instructs these owners entices viewers to attempt his methods without the experience or knowledge that such techniques require. His disclaimers as presented as briefly and furtively as possible, and will hardly discourage those who feel they are not as naive as the dog owners on the program.
Mr. Millan should recognize that his program promotes reckless behavior that will likely cause injury to many viewers and adversely affect the lives of their dogs. National Geographic Channel, which pays for and encourages the production of this dangerous program, has tarnished the reputation of that esteemed organization for a few pieces of silver. Just because their legal department provides the necessary cover doesn't make it right. There is some very bad behavior presented on the "Dog Whisperer" and not just by the dogs.
None of the advice we give our adopters is vague. We do an outlined method that is designed for each individual dog for integrating that particular dog into the adopters home using Cesar's Methodology. As stated on pg. 67 in "A Member of the Family", we feel bringing the dog into the home, not allowing free roam, but allowing the dog to settle into the home over a course of days, even weeks works for an adoption that is forever.
We give specifics on body language, integration, introductions to other family members and dogs to our adopters It is all very specific. I suggest you read "A Member of the Family."
Mary Murray
GWP Rescue, Inc
in fact if you gave someone an two page instruction sheet on how to set their VCR up you wouldn't even get good compliance. Every veterinarian knows that people have problems following even simple instructions—e.g. difficulties following the handout on post surgical suture care, difficulty taking just 10 days worth of antibiotics until they are all gone. If you think you can give instructions out and people will 1) all understand them really well 2) actually comply, it probably means you should do more thorough follow-up. Actually go see what the people are doing. rather than asking -- are you being "calm and assertive?" As a behaviorist who actually observes and measures animal behavior/ and people behavior, I can tell you that what people say they do and what they actually are quite different.
Sophia Yin
www.AskDrYIn.com
Thank you, but we do not do GSP rescue...we do GWP (German Wirehaired Pointer) they are an unrelated breed, not from any related root stock.
We have very close relationships with our adopters. We visit them regularly, and we all stay in touch on our families list. the GWP is a rare breed, so we can have that close knit relationship....plus the GWP community is very small.
I wouldn't be shocked at what our adopters do...as they have too many in home supervised visitations during the first weeks and months. They provide wonderful working homes for our working breed, must be experienced, and follow Cesar's methodology. We have had 3 dogs returned out of over 200 adoptions. What we do works, please do not devalue our success by implying we do not know what our adopters do with our dogs. I find this most degrading, and am very taken back by your response.
You cannot take away what we have accomplished, and we have taken in dogs from the most challenging of circumstances. Many. many groups have achieved success using Cesar's philosophy and certainly all of the dogs we have taken in have been from high kill shelters with no time left.
I have seen Cesar Millan use lots of treats to redirect the animal from a behavior. I have seen him use reward based techniques, avoidance in the position of aggression. I have picked up many ideas, tools, and positive techniques from his show.
We use the information Cesar has given us on becoming a Pack Leader to teach the children in our community to be calm and assertive, how to transform themselves into balanced human beings. We work with children at our local Mental Health Ass. and do Dog Bite Prevention Seminars.
Children having the opportunity to learn to relax with a well balanced dog, and see their issues melt away even for an afternoon is something I wish everyone could experience. We use two of our dogs that have been raised Cesar's Way.
Cesar is a gift to humanity, he has helped thousands of people, and encouraged those of us with the opportunity to help in our communities. We understand him, his techniques, and he has our utmost respect and support.
That is not reinforcement, that is bribery. I have seen him hold a bag of treats in front of a dog's nose to try and get it to walk forward, but never once give the dog a treat for successfully moving ahead.
Reinforcement is a consequence, something that occurs after the dog performs a behavior to encourage it to repeat that behavior. Using a treat to redirect a dog is helpful in some circumstances, but it teaches the dog nothing.
10-15 years ago, I would have been a huge fan of Cesar, like yourself. Why? Because he reaffirmed every bit of conventional wisdom I had ever heard about dogs. Pack animals, dominance, etc. Fortunately, when I sought help after my dog (trained using "dominance") put a young girl in the hospital, I was introduced to methods based on actual animal behavior.
I think that your work with rescue is wonderful and noble. I sincerely hope you will continue to expand your knowledge of behavior in order to help save those dogs that don't respond to Cesar's methods.
I have seen real dogs in a pack correct eachother, they do use their mouth to hold down another but they do not use this way with aggression or cause harm, it is merely a way to correct another. I also see dogs volunteer submission by rolling over to a higher ranked dog. This is what dogs do.
The problem as I see it is when people try to copy professional methods without the skill/training and the right energy, most I find who do this are angry or frustrated, not calm assertive like Cesar is. So the results of mis-use of any method would be much different from professionally applied and can indeed escalate aggression - mis-use a method and it can go wrong even positive reinforcement! The DW show clearly staes to consult a professional.
Cesar saves many dogs who others will not help, inspired by Cesar's Way so do I now and I have success here in the UK with leadership and rehabilitation methods, so long as the people are correctly trained any method that does not harm the dog is good.
14 dogs here are proof, they respect me, trust and love too, We are a pack who follow Cesar's Way, Cesar has my 100% support both personally and professionally. With you Mary!
It's great that you have learned how to be a leader (although you are unclear on what that means). Setting consistent rules and boundaries are important and not unique to Cesar. These concepts have been discussed for decades by professional trainers.
The show is the first exposure the mainstream dog owner has had to any sort of training. There is so much more out there. Imagine what you can do if you expand your knowledge of behavior even more! And with 14 dogs, I'm guessing you'll have need to keep learning! :)
There are some of Cesar's techniques that I don't use because I've never had to use them. There are others that are relatively safe and easy, and I do use those methods. I've used these methods even before I ever heard of Cesar. They worked then and they still work today - and my dogs will never be aggressive enough to threaten anyone nor submissive enough to urinate all over themselves. They are BALANCED dogs living BALANCED lives.
I have also watched Victoria Stilwell at work. I don't like the way she badgers and bullies the dog owners, so I have only watched a dozen or so shows. But if she's learned to teach the owners to give their dogs plenty of exercise, discipline (which means rules, boundaries, and limitation) along with lots of affection, then I have nothing negative to say about her.
I believe that many people who find all their answers in science and logic or in that which claims to be science and logic miss a great deal of the spiritual and emotional and instinctual content. I have a rescue Plott hound who, thanks to my use of many methods espoused by Cesar (some of them predating my discovery of the Dog Whisperer) now gets along with our five cats, has no more food aggression and who enjoys life as a dog, as a member of a pack (albeit one of cats and people) and is a treasured companion and an inside dog.
I commend Jim Milio for his thoughtful commentary and I would urge Dr. Yin to try opening a dialogue with Cesar himself or with some of his supporters in the dog world, which includes shelter managers, rescue groups, groomers, trainers and some medical personnel as well.
* Increasing your dog's physical exercise?
* Ceasing to reward undesirable behavior? Deciding which behaviors you're going to allow and which you aren't?
* Giving attention and affection contingent upon acceptable behavior?
If this is the case, these are principles professional dog trainers, pediatricians, smart parents, pastors and family psychologists espouse every day. There's nothing new-age or unique about these ideas and there's nothing wrong with them. Otherwise, I do not see Cesar explaining or demonstrating methods on the show other than intimidation through staring, body language, man-handling, poking and hissing, mild and severe leash pops, and physical restraint with hands or the leash. These are usually accompanied by disclaimers of "Don't try this at home." Yeah, like THAT makes people go, "Ew, yeah, that's just for people with 'calm, assertive energy' " i.e., confidence, good timing and physical skill. Let's see these hapless, average owners actually DOING SOMETHING with their dogs responding to them expectantly, happily and calmly. Let's not see all the dogs' ears plastered to their heads, cowing down, being held down, heart pounding, chest heaving.
I certainly agree with and commend your comments on not dismissing the spiritual and emotional aspects of our relationships with our dogs. Great point!
However, it is really important to define what "punishment" is. Punishment is ANY stimulus applied to an animal that results in the immediate DECREASE of a specific behavior. It doesn't have to necessarily be "cruel" or "harsh", just aversive enough to stop the behavior. By definition, the "physical touches" and leash corrections he uses ARE punishment, as they reduce the frequency of the problem behavior, at least in the short run. Whether they "harm the dog" or are "cruel" is open to debate, but they are punishment by definition. I am a vet, and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's official stance on punishment based training is that it is not appropriate as a first line methodology. You can look on their website for the reasons why, one of which is that most of these problem behaviors are at least partially anxiety based, and punishment is proven to increase arousal and anxiety, and can therefore make these behaviors worse in the long run. As a vet who performs in-home behavioral consultation (mostly for "Red Zone" or severe cases who are otherwise on the way to euthanasia), I see this VERY often. Believe me, I am the one who has to euthanize these dogs if the problems cannot be resolved--if aversive based training worked, I would use it!!! Unfortunately, it often backfires.
My favorite teaching example is the word “bike”.
What picture just flashed into your head? A bicycle? A motorcycle? What if what I was communicating was an exercise bike? We all think that we are speaking the same language, symbols, context and culture.
Many professionals ignore these facts, to present Cesar in a negative light, in my experience. Cesar’s own approach/concern: “ALL ways are good, that do not harm the dog”. This encourages people to first apply the most gentle solutions. . He encourages people to correctly assess their level of knowledge/skill to handle the problem safely, effectively, then “seek professional help” for both safety and jumpstart change.
On my youtube.com/cjanderson site, are many of the over 40 last chance rescue dogs brought to me, (overweight, 55 year old college teacher) to help change problem behaviors or face being euthanized.. Public archives of my Dog Whisperer Fan 3,000+ member email list, have success stories about how Cesar’s solutions were appropriately applied.
Many Cesar supporters often say "the people who claimed to use Cesar's way just didn't know what they were doing and that's why they got hurt." You can certainly claim that, however, here is how I look at it. If the method can possibly end in a dog bite, then the method isn't really that good. And on Cesar's show he has indeed been bit. Techniques used by experienced veterinary behaviorists and applied animal behaviorists don't result in the owners or handlers getting bit. The goal of sound, life long training is to not stress the dog so that learning can take place. Anyone familiar with dog behavior can see that the dogs are stressed when Cesar works with them. Again, I suppose it does depend on how you chose to define "harm," but I think harm is being done when a technique that applies stress is used when one that doesn't would have sufficed.
Mandy, DVM
For my own precious dogs and cats, I would never want dominance based training applied to them, I do not believe in causing undue stress to my own animals and would never recommend that my clients use dominance based approaches with their pets.
Mandy, DVM
I greatly appreciate the work of Herron et al as well as the position statements provided by the AVSAB - we have these accessible at the shelter so that potential adopters may be educated on safer, sounder, and more fun training options.
The important element here is that just because some claims to have 'tried Cesar's way does not mean that they applied his technques appropaite or correctly. It si no different then if a person tried to ride a motorcycle just because they knew how to ride a bicycle correctly and they saw a tv show on it. Such people who would get on a motorcycle, are a danger to selves or others but they can blame the show they watched for the reason they chose to use a technique they neither understood nor learned under or with an approrved authority., to confirm their skill and safe application of knowledge.
There is both specific knowledge AND skills needed to apply Cesar's solution which many misuse and them try to blame this approach for their own failures.