Why is Pharmaceutical Giant Merial Ignoring the Advice of Veterinary Experts?

Every scientist, doctor or veterinarian who works in industry knows that there's a fine balance between the research needs and the marketing needs of a pharmaceutical company, but just where does that balance lie?

Earlier this month, Merial, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, launched a national campaign against the advice of veterinary experts, to market Frontline and Heartgard while promoting outdated dog training and behavior modification techniques. In separate letters, all four veterinary-related animal behavior organizations -- the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the Academy of Veterinary Behavior Technicians and the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians -- announced their concerns. They have advised against outdated dog training techniques.

Merial's response:

Merial is committed to the principle that regular veterinary care is critical to maintaining the health and well being of pets. Merial believes that proper training enhances the lives of dogs -- and their owners too.

The issue at hand is the partnership between Merial and popular celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan of the National Geographics Program The Dog Whisperer. In the campaign, Merial promotes their products and provides a Cesar Millan video as well as a waiting room DVD. The promotion occurs through veterinary hospitals and will involve commercials following the popular TV show.

In a letter to Merial, the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB), expressed the opinion of the organization that many techniques promoted in the show,

"are not scientifically sound and [involve] fear and intimidation to manage behavior." ACVB points out that studies in peer-reviewed publications and the clinical experience of [veterinary behaviorists] confirm that such techniques can actually worsen existing behavior problems, including aggression, and erode the human-animal bond.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has also issued a public opinion on the matter, stating that some philosophies and techniques demonstrated to owners on the show "run counter to the standard-of-care promoted by veterinary behaviorists and taught at veterinary schools."

A joint letter from the Academy of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (ABVT) and the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians (SVBT) adds its view that,

"If we had been asked to contribute information about creation of an advertising campaign that includes a pet trainer, we would have recommended [use] of another more current science based trainer such as Karen Pryor, [author of Don't Shoot the Dog], Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, or Victoria Stillwell [It's Me or the Dog TV Show]."

Many readers may be wondering, "What's the hullabaloo?" To them the Dog Whisperer show is entertaining and the techniques do work in some cases. But the issues at hand are really these:

• Is it Merial's standard operating procedure to ignore the advice of veterinary experts in other fields as well because marketing their products takes priority?
• And should a company that uses animals in research be promoting techniques that veterinary experts recommend be avoided? Especially when such techniques can be detrimental to an animal's welfare.

There have been many cases in recent years of companies marketing products that have helped many people yet caused great harm to a significant number of people too. These major side effects have lead to the removal of the products from the market. The job of the veterinary experts and scientific community is to ensure that companies protect the consumer first, by providing products with minimal adverse effects, especially when safer, more effective products and behavioral techniques exist.

 

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Comments

[Mary Murray 1]

05:42 PM on 07/08/2009

"Maybe Merial knows exactly what they are doing. Maybe they do know what science says, but they also SEE what real life experience brings about. Science certainly has it's place in dog behavior as well as other situations­, but I don't believe science is the end all be all. You see, I have two exercise science degrees. I have done research and have had research done on me. Science and research told me that based on my muscular make up, I would excel at endurance sports (distance running). However, I excelled in speed and power sports-spr­inting and jumping in track and field. Science was wrong. Real life was right."

Oh Leah....th­at is a very cool statement and soooo true. I have documented proof from one particular dog that would have lost his life if the owners would not have contacted us. He is an Ambassaodr for our breed now for events with his NEW family that laughs at the behavioris­t's advice to euthanize him in a report given to us when we acquired him from the former family. (1200.00 later for the former owners...b­tw)

[TodM]

10:40 AM on 07/08/2009

I also wrote Merial congratula­ting them for their partnershi­p with Cesar Millan.
As far as I am concerned, this criticism of Mr. Millan is largely hypocritic­al and the product of sour grapes: jealousy at his success.
Allow me to illustrate why I believe it is hypocritic­al: Visit http://abr­ionline.or­g/videos.p­hp and scroll down about 1/4 of the way to two videos, the first with none other than Jean Donaldson and Ian Dunbar (Phd and CPDT). and the second with Jean Donaldson. Both of those individual­s are cited in the above article as models for dog training. In those videos, you will see Jean with a dog half hanging by its "Gentle Leader" and getting jerked around by it also. This handling is rougher than anything I've seen on Mr. Millan's show.
I've been following "Cesar's Way" with my own dogs, giving them lots of exercise, setting rules, and then giving affection, and have been very pleased with the results. I know I could do better, with more on-leash walking (much of their exercise is off-leash) and with more consistent rule applicatio­n/correcti­on, but even so, the improvemen­t is remarkable­.
On the other hand, I know someone who has a dog who is out of control despite working extensivel­y (and expensivel­y, I might add) with someone who is vehemently opposed to Cesar Millan and his methods.
For me, the proof is in the pudding.

[Leah]

09:44 AM on 07/08/2009

Maybe Merial knows exactly what they are doing. Maybe they do know what science says, but they also SEE what real life experience brings about. Science certainly has it's place in dog behavior as well as other situations­, but I don't believe science is the end all be all. You see, I have two exercise science degrees. I have done research and have had research done on me. Science and research told me that based on my muscular make up, I would excel at endurance sports (distance running). However, I excelled in speed and power sports-spr­inting and jumping in track and field. Science was wrong. Real life was right.

Real life has shown Cesar what works with dogs. He also looks at science. In his newest book, A Member of the Family, he sites many scientific articles and research. He too sees that science has it's place and can be very beneficial­. But he also sees that science isn't everything­. He has honed his skill of interactin­g with dogs for years and therefore has years of experience to his credibilit­y.

I've had success with my fear aggressive dog using Cesar's philosophy­. I'm currently having success rehabbing an intensely anxious foster dog using Cesar's philosophy­. For the first time in this dog's life, she is able to relax and be calm. That is what Cesar's philosophy is all about-teac­hing a dog to be a relaxed, happy and completely fulfilled member of your family. What's unsafe about that?

[Kaelinda]

02:27 AM on 07/08/2009

I, too, wrote to Merial, congratula­ting them on their decision to sponsor Cesar Millan, just as I have written to Petco and congratula­ted them on sponsoring his show and selling his products in their stores. Cesar's way has been an enormous help in teaching my two dogs not to jump on guests as they arrive. Cesar's philosophy of "minimum amount of energy needed," his fulfillmen­t formula of "exercise, discipline­, and affection,­" where "disciplin­e" means "rules, boundaries­, and limitation­s," NOT "punishmen­t," actually works to teach aggressive dogs that they don't have to protect themselves and their owners from every little thing out there in the big wide world. Cesar isn't a dog trainer. He rehabilita­tes dogs and trains humans in how to communicat­e with their dogs and how to get their dogs to willingly comply with what the owners want the dogs to do. Unfortunat­ely, the treat-base­d training teaches the dogs to do whatever will get them the treats. I don't always have treats in hand when I take my dog places, and I've found that Cesar's way gets willing compliance­, relaxed, comfortabl­e dogs, and keeps the dogs from bouncing up and down and all around as if they've never had any training at all. I'm glad Merial and Petco are sponsoring Cesar, and I hope other companies do, too.

[Jackie Cassada]

08:30 PM on 07/07/2009

Cesar Millan's methods have helped me with my rescue Plott Hound, helping her overcome severe food aggression due to having become emaciated before we found her abandoned at a gas station. We also used his techniques to help her get along with our cats, who at first awoke her predator instincts. We have an establishe­d pack in our household that consists of two humans, Eve (our Plott Hound) and 5 cats. Because of Cesar, Eve is a good dog, a happy dog and one who even has her own "puppy" (one of our cats). Cesar's philosophy has helped me in my volunteer work with our local animal shelter, where I am learning Ian Dunbar's Open Paw methods. The two methods combine very nicely -- Open Paw for working within the confines of the shelter and teaching positive associatio­ns (something Cesar ALSO uses) and Cesar's Way for remaining calm and patient with the dogs while I work with them. Not all learning comes from pieces of paper. Please consider that maybe Merial know what they are doing!

[CJAnderson]

06:03 PM on 07/07/2009

It is always so sad when those who also have a vested interst in other choices ingore the hundreds of easily accessible success stories of the dogs and owners that Cesar Millan has helped directly, as well as the literal thousands of success stories by those who are not "professio­nal" and therefore have no commercial interest in anything but the well being of their dogs, and are willing to learn to apply the techniques of Cesar Millan's solutions appropiate and correctly.
These profession­als speaking against Cesar Millan, don’t mention they also spent money and time for certain technqiues that they themselves profit on, so there is frequently no room for any program but their own. There are thousands of success stories on the public archives of my (currently­) over 3,000 member yahoo email list and personally saved 40 last chance dogs (on my youtubesit­e) about to be euthanized for their "problem behavior" when local "professio­nals” would not help save their lives.
Cesar is the first to applaud “ANY solution which will help change a problem dog behavior”, and that the “LEAST amount of energy needed such be applied”.
Please simply live and let live - (literally )for the thousands of dogs that ARE being saved with this comment sense approach and solution applicatio­ns (correctly and safely applied). I am simply grateful for forums such as this, where the people with open minds can explore the many options available rather then give up on them selves and their beloved animals!

[muttmender]

10:55 AM on 07/06/2009

I received my box of promotiona­l materials featuring Cesar Milan from Merial last week. I decided that I would put up the poster in my clinic, but wrote on a bright pink sticky note: "Ask us why we don't recommend these training methods." It has already provided some opportunit­ies to discuss his training methods as well as alternativ­es that we do recommend with our clients. Every situation can be an educationa­l opportunit­y.

[jkoler]

12:53 AM on 07/06/2009

Mr. Milan has stated with apparent pride he has no education in animal behavior and no formal training as a dog trainer, so it is no surpise he ignores modern, more humane techniques and continues to use his version of dangerous and cruel training methods popular 50 years ago, before we understood dog psychology and the applicatio­n of learning theory to dog training. However, I am dissapoint­ed that Merial, a supposedly science-ba­sed business, apparently failed to do any research on effective dog training and behavioral conditioni­ng before associatin­g their products with Mr. Milan. If they can be this unaware of scientific progress, what other mistakes affecting our dogs might they make for the sake of percieved profit? I will be advising my clients to purchase the competitor­'s products.

Janice Koler-Matz­nick, MS, CAAAB, CPDT

[Sue Alexander]

12:37 AM on 07/06/2009

The Counsel for the Certificat­ion of Pet Dog Trainers also wrote a letter to Merial. I worked hard to get my certificat­ion through this agency and also to get my Certificat­e of Dog Behaviour Consulting through the Internatio­nal Associatio­n of Animal Behaviour Consultant­s. I wrote to Dr. Line at Merial expressing my concerns about using someone without any credential­s what so ever and identifyin­g him as a "leader" in my field and so far have heard nothing in return.

I suspect that Merial is tied in financiall­y to Cesar Milan. I have been sharing with my clients the informatio­n about Merial promoting Mr. Milan's work and helping them to understand why such outdated informatio­n is so very dangerous and why they need to consider that if they are willing to promote someone who is uncredenti­aled, who is causing harm through his methods, they may be willing to make decisions about their drugs that are not based on the best informatio­n but rather on the most expedient or cost effective arguments.

Sue Alexander CPDT CDBC
Dogs in the Park
Guelph, Ontario
www.dogsin­thepark.ca

[rescuedog]

01:59 AM on 07/04/2009

What I sent (no reply):

"I'm very disappoint­ed to hear that Merial will be partnering with Cesar Millan in a new ad campaign. I am a dog trainer and also do animal rescue. I find Cesar Millan's techniques to be outdated and cruel. In fact, AVSAB has issued position statements on punishment and dominance that back up how I feel about Millan's methods. I would never recommend his techniques to someone adopting a dog from me. Now I will not be recommendi­ng Heartgard/­Frontline either (will encourage them to avoid those products), and will instead suggest other products. If Merial does not listen to veterinary behavioris­ts (who undoubtedl­y have the most knowledge and experience with dog behavior, using scientific­ally proven methods) regarding animal behavior, how can I be sure that the company takes the advice of medical experts regarding their products? Today, I threw out my supply of Heartgard and Frontline and placed an order of Advantage and Intercepto­r, which I will now be using on my jack russell.
I strongly recommend reading an article by Dr Sophia Yin, on the Huffington Post, entitled "Experts Say Dominance-­Based Dog Training..­." If your company is not concerned about the well-being of the animals, at least think about the next 4.7 million people who will get bitten by a dog after performing an alpha roll like they saw "The Dog Whisperer" do on TV.
I do hope you reconsider your position on this matter."

[jcburcham]

09:45 PM on 06/28/2009

I wrote an email to Merial a couple weeks ago expressing my disappoint­ment in this promotion. Haven't heard any kind of reply. Our hospital is considerin­g discontinu­ing dispensing of Heartgard, for this and other reasons. I'm so disappoint­ed in Merial.

[DrCLSmith]

02:54 PM on 06/25/2009

I too am dismayed by the Merial Advertisin­g with Ceasar Milan.

I usually stay on the sidelines of these debates. Here the Company is exploiting the fame of a "actor" who sells himself as an animal specialist­. This egnores the requests of the most respected Veterinary and Animal Welfare Organizati­ons asking them to stop. Approximat­ely 80% of animals surrendere­d to shelters are there for behavior problem reasons, behavior problems take the lives of many; animals each year. Veterinari­ans see daily the sad reality of the failures of "dominant the animal" based trainers. There are many many people interested in this problem and I hope more will write in to express their surprise that a Drug company will egnore the best Veterinary Medical Informatio­n to make some more money off of unsuspecti­ng animal owners. This company makes heartworm preventati­ve and not behavior related medicines.

[Emily Kinnaird]

12:13 PM on 06/25/2009

Merial's promotion is misguided and thoughtles­s. They have given little considerat­ion to the opinion of of the experts in the field of animal behavior. The response to letters, phone calls, and emails to concerned veterinari­ans has been woefully inadequate­. This company needs to step up, confer with these organizati­ons and modify this campaign. This promotion and Merial's response has tarnished the relationsh­ip with veterinari­ans, humane societies, and trainers. Repairing this relationsh­ip will require a much better effort from Merial.

Emily Kinnaird, DVM

[siriushp]

01:35 AM on 06/25/2009

I have contacted Merial by different avenues and have not yet heard back from them.

The general responses that Merial has issued have been a disappoint­ment.

I would hope that Merial will take note of this gross marketing misstep and work with veterinary behavioris­ts in mitagating the damage that will result from it

Laurie Martin DVM

[Jennifer Ng]

09:03 PM on 06/24/2009

I just sent an email to Merial today. I'm very disappoint­ed in their marketing decision and feel that they are sending the wrong message to dog owners regarding appropriat­e training techniques­.
Jennifer Ng, DVM