Cesar Millan

[[File:Cesar millan (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|165px|Woof woof!]]
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'''Cesar Millan''' {{lived|1969|}} is a [[Mexican]]-[[American]] [[dog]] trainer best known for his 2004-2012 [[National Geographic Society#National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]] TV show '''''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan''''', where he helps dog owners with problematic dogs. This is a fine recipe for an infotainment show; owning a dog can be a difficult responsibility. There are two problems with this particular show, however. Firstly, Millan's methods are simplistic and outdated. Secondly, Millan supports various forms of [[woo]]; in a number of episodes he "treats" dogs with [[homeopathic]] preparations and [[acupuncture]] sessions, and he talks about people's [[aura|auras]] a number of times, and almost every episode features Millan babbling about the [[Subtle energy|energy]] people and dogs give off.

He also runs a "dog [[psychology]] center," and has written six books on dog behaviour, the first three becoming ''[[New York Times]]'' best sellers.

==Dog training methods==
Professional dog trainers have almost invariably described Millan's methods as simplistic and one-dimensional.<ref name="dominance">https://web.archive.org/web/20100908215807/http://drsophiayin.com/philosophy/dominance</ref><ref name="nyt-pooch">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE0DD1E3EF930A15751C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 C'mon, Pooch, Get With the Program]</ref><ref name="4pawsu">https://web.archive.org/web/20070109082653/http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120720085746/http://www.skepticnorth.com/2012/07/getting-skeptical-of-the-dog-whisperer/</ref>

The core of Millan's method is that dogs have three primary needs: exercise, discipline and affection (in that order) and that owners should be "calm-assertive" pack leaders. Millan traces most dog behaviour problems back to a lack of "calm-assertive energy", which is really Millan-speak for lack of discipline or dominance.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20150811003809/http://www.cesarsway.com/dog-psychology/pack-leader/how-to-be-calm-and-assertive</ref> While it's certainly true that ''some'' problems may stem from this, just like in humans, behaviour problems in dogs can have a multitude of sources. In many ways, Millan is a "one-trick dog". Millan's methods seem to be stuck in the 1980s, and are based on a number of misconceptions about dogs.<ref name="dominance"/>

Millan uses confrontational methods to assert dominance such as jabbing the dog (which he calls a "touch"), choke collars, forcibly holding the dog down, and overwhelming the animal with the thing it fears. While this is [[not as bad as]] hitting the dog, using whips or even cattle prods (which some trainers still use!), there is an almost complete lack of positive reinforcement.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20100129193051/http://www.shibashake.com/dog/cesar-millan-the-good-and-the-bad-of-the-dog-whisperer</ref>

If you're thinking "but Millan's methods ''seem'' effective enough", then consider that you're only seeing half an hour of the dog in a highly edited TV show and only see the dog over the course of a short period of time. Perhaps more important is the question whether Millan's methods are more or less effective compared to conventional methods?

Millan is [[Autodidact|self-taught]]; nothing wrong with this as such. However, as with many autodidacts, after he established his own line of reasoning, he seems rather impervious to criticism of this reasoning. So it seems to have improved little over time. At one point, Millan simply asserted, "some people don't like me. I know I'm doing good."<ref name="nyt-pooch"/> Well, that's a nice way to deflect any criticism.

Malcolm Gladwell, who spent some time with Millan and watched unedited versions of episodes, pointed out that the controversial bits of Millan's methods are only a small part of his methods.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20060614133634/http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/2006/05/the_dog_whisper.html</ref> This may very well be true, but these methods are still the focus of both the TV show as well as Millan's books; it's still spreading misinformation, and whatever Millan does off-screen changes nothing.

==See also==
*[[Natural horsemanship]]

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060710195950/http://www.cesarsway.com/ His personal site]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millan, Cesar}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Entertainers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Homeopathy]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Television]]

Categories: Authors, Entertainers, Living people, Homeopathy, Pseudoscience promoters, Alternative medicine promoters, Television