The Anti-Cesar Millan - part 1

[glencorgi]

Interesting read.

Debbie, who is a Dunbar fan

<http://tinyurl.com/ykj3g5>

(The photographs can be found with the original above.)

The Anti-Cesar Millan
Ian Dunbar's been succeeding for 25 years with lure-reward dog
training; how come he's been usurped by the flashy, aggressive TV
host?

Louise Rafkin

Sunday, October 15, 2006

It's late afternoon at Point Isabel, prime time at the Bay Area's
popular off-leash dog park, and the man some call the most innovative
in the field of dog training weaves unnoticed through the two- and
four-legged throngs. No one recognizes the slight, snow-haired man
dressed in Berkeley-esque traveler's clothes (well-pocketed shirt and
cargo pants) as Dr. Ian Dunbar, the man who wrote the book -- rather,
six books -- on pet dog training and the guy who developed one of the
earliest puppy-training courses in the country. Dunbar is 59, and
though he's been away from his native England for decades (since
1971), he carries the air of an English gentleman. Occasionally
British colloquialisms slip into conversation. "I was gob-smacked!"
is how he explains his recent shock over a case of dog-owner
ignorance.

With an eager border collie obsessively dropping a ball at his feet,
Dunbar scans the Point Isabel regulars. It's hard to imagine he's not
passing judgment on particular behaviors, but mostly he smiles at the
four-legged passers-by. Thirty-five years of studying dogs has not
dulled him to simple joys.

"Bay Area dogs are so cool, so friendly and polite," he says. When a
brown fluff ball approaches jauntily and sniffs his pant leg, he
genuinely gushes. "What a cute puppy!" Then an incessant barker
demands attention. "We've heard," he says firmly to the lab. "Haven't
you got anything else to say?"

Though they probably don't know it, Dunbar's training methodology has
probably influenced the pet-owner relationship of almost everyone
here at the park. He says he was the first to preach the once
revolutionary idea of training puppies off leash (formerly only those
six months and older were thought trainable) and also says he was the
first to stuff food into a Kong (the conical shaped rubber chew toy
and object of desire of most chewing-age puppies), thus saving table
legs and Italian loafers worldwide. More important, his methods and
theories have saved dogs' lives. Dog training is his passion, but
it's not simply because he finds a well-trained pet a thing of
beauty.

Training, he says, saves dogs' lives.

"Without training, the life of a puppy is predictable: chewing,
soiling the house, digging up the garden, followed by a trip to the
shelter where, if it's lucky, it gets another try," he says, wearily.
"Without training, that dog will be dead in less than a year."

There is a quiet battle being fought in dog-training circles, and
Dunbar, though he didn't pick the fight, represents one side. The
mild, very mannered Dunbar is armed with degrees and scientific
study: a veterinary degree and a Special Honors in physiology and
biochemistry from the Royal Veterinary College of London University,
a doctorate in animal behavior from the psychology department of UC
Berkeley and a decade of research on the olfactory communication,
social behavior and aggression in domestic dogs. All this, plus
decades of dog-training experience.

Impressive, yes, but his opponent in this training controversy is
backed by big business, Hollywood celebrity and, even worse, some
say, the power of charisma. Cesar Millan, a.k.a. the Dog Whisperer,
has his own television series on the National Geographic Channel and
is churning out a burgeoning enterprise of videos and books. The
subject of a recent New Yorker profile by Malcolm Gladwell, Millan is
often photographed on high-tech in-line skates, leading a pack of pit
bulls, rottweilers and German shepherds. The sexy Millan's
dog-handling credentials include an upbringing on a Mexican farm, an
"uncanny gift for communicating with dogs" and his Dog Psychology
Center in Los Angeles. There, with a pack of 50 dogs, he
rehabilitates wayward canines.

Besides foreign roots, there is little these two men share, except,
as Dunbar points out, the bedrock belief that all dogs can and should
be trained. If this were a dogfight, it would be the unlikely match
between a pit bull and a border collie -- unlikely, because those who
know dogs know the border collie would simply leave. In this case,
however, those watching the fight keep pushing the smart dog back in
the ring. Top dog trainers nationwide have expressed dismay that
Millan is the current face of dog training, and most say that Dunbar
should be the one with the empire. It's a perennial conflict in
training discourse. Are results best achieved through rewarding good
behavior or punishing bad?

Millan subscribes loosely to the idea of the pack, a dogs-as-wolves
theory that had long ago fallen out of favor with many trainers.
Touting dominance by pet owners, and the dictate to create "calm
submission" in their charges, Millan says owners are essentially pack
leaders. "I teach owners how to practice exercise, discipline and
then affection, which allows dogs to be in a calm, submissive state,"
he explains when asked to clarify. "Most owners in America only
practice affection, affection, affection, which does not create a
balanced dog.

"Training," says Millan, "only teaches the dogs how to obey commands
-- sit, roll over -- it does not have anything to do with dog
psychology."

In his recent best-seller, "Cesar's Way," Millan writes that there
are only two positions in a relationship, leader or follower. "I work
with dogs all the time that are trained but not balanced." Included
in Millan's repertoire is a snappy touch that he claims mimics a
corrective response by pack leaders, "alpha rollovers" (forcibly
making a dog show its belly), and submission to being rear sniffed.

"Never heard of that," says Dunbar when asked about bottom sniffing,
but he is loath to completely discount Millan. Indeed, both trainers
advocate any techniques that are humane and work for the dogs and
the owner.

"He has nice dog skills, but from a scientific point of view, what he
says is, well ... different," says Dunbar. "Heaven forbid if anyone
else tries his methods, because a lot of what he does is not without
danger." "Don't try this at home" messages are flashed throughout the
show, and in September, the American Humane Association requested
that the National Geographic Channel stop the show immediately,
citing Millan's training tactics as "inhumane, outdated and
improper."

Writer Mark Derr, in a recent New York Times editorial, went as far
as to call Millan a "charming, one-man wrecking ball directed at 40
years of progress in understanding and shaping dog behavior."

Nicholas Dodman, program director for the Animal Behavior Clinic at
the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and
author of "Dogs Behaving Badly," goes even further. He calls Millan's
techniques "abuse." A TV producer claiming his dog was injured while
training at the Dog Psychology Center is reportedly suing Millan.

While distaste for Millan might be growing, Dunbar focuses on
discounting the myths such training ideas foster. Dogs aren't wolves,
Dunbar says, generations of evolution separate the two animals.
"Learning from wolves to interact with pet dogs makes about as much
sense as, 'I want to improve my parenting -- let's see how the chimps
do it!' "

Dunbar claims compliance, the goal of all dog training, is most often
achieved through positive training methods. His lure-reward methods
-- using treats and praise -- have an even higher rate of success if
there is puppy socialization. Indeed, puppies put Dunbar on the
dog-training track. In 1981, after buying an 8-week-old malamute,
Dunbar sought a puppy class. He cast out as far as Sacramento and
Carmel but came up with nothing. At the time, common understanding
was that dogs couldn't be trained until they were 5 or 6 months old,
but from his studies, Dunbar knew dogs were learning behaviors long
before that. Though his academic interest was in dog olfactory
research and sexuality ("dog humping," he shorthands), Dunbar soon
found himself venturing out of the ivory tower. He found that he
enjoyed educating pet owners and began developing a training program
using positive feedback, games and treats.

Sirius Dog Training, as Dunbar called it, showed proven positive
results from early off-leash training. His classes, and the resulting
video, were embraced by trainers and owners alike. Many say Sirius
spurred the demise of punitive, punishment-based training that was
the vogue after World War II. In 1993, Dunbar founded the Association
of Pet Dog Trainers whose mission is to promote better training
through education.

The return to dominance training such as Millan's, Dunbar says, is a
disservice to dogs more than anything else. Though Millan gets
results, Dunbar notes that most people don't have Millan's strength
or skill, and even fewer keep dozens of dogs. "I teach methods that a
supervised 4-year-old can use," Dunbar says. Having been called as a
witness in high-profile Bay Area bite trials -- he was one of a team
who evaluated one of the dogs involved in the deadly attack on Diane
Whipple in 2001 -- he is all too familiar with the violent underbelly
of dog aggression. Fear, he underscores, doesn't train a reliable
dog.

[glencorgi]

Claudia Kawczynska, editor of Bark magazine, is one of Dunbar's many
fans. "It's irritating to see Millan treated as the expert. Ian is an
animal behaviorist with decades of experience," she says, "He should
be where Millan is." Kawczynska likens the Millan cult of personality
and popularity to the anti-science, anti-academic sentiment she sees
prevalent in American culture and politics. "Millan lived on a farm,
so what? He's good looking, but he's not smart about dogs. It seems
people don't want their experts to be educated."

Dunbar refuses to comment on whether his lack of profile is due to
his weighty credentials, though a Millan fan on Gladwell's blog says
the backlash against the Dog Whisperer is "because Malcolm had
written about the unschooled Millan rather than a string of PhDs that
the average person has never heard of -- and never will."

Jean Donaldson, director of dog training at the SFSPCA and author of
"Culture Clash," a book about the human-dog relationship, views the
history of dog training in pre- and post-Dunbar eras. "Ian is the
man," she says. "He revolutionized the field." She, too, thinks
Millan is tapping into something deeper in the current culture -- and
his machismo is only part of it. "It's a backlash against political
correctness," she says. "People are angry and life is frustrating and
[when] someone tells them it's all about dominating something smaller
and weaker? They'll go for that."

"Dunbar puts training in the owner's hands," says Aishe Berger,
co-owner of SF Puppy Prep, a puppy day care facility that promotes
Dunbar's theory of early socialization. "His methods are based on
science and learning theory, not the kind of 'magic' touted by the
gurulike Millan."

But if the magic works, who wouldn't want magic?

There's the catch: Since Millan's program has gained popularity,
Donaldson reports, the SPCA has been flooded with calls from confused
and frustrated owners who want her to decipher -- and give them the
scoop -- on Millan's "mysterious pinch."

Dr. Patricia McConnell, author of "For the Love of a Dog:
Understanding Emotion in Your Best Friend" and the animal behaviorist
on Animal Planet's "Petline," goes as far as to say that Millan has
put dog training back 20 years. "Dunbar is a world authority," she
says, "and he should be the one with the celebrity."

Dunbar doesn't argue with that. Though he hosted five years of a TV
training show in England, "Dogs With Dunbar," Hollywood never bit on
it, or on his other ideas, several of which are tinged with the odor
of ever-popular reality TV. "Shelter Dog Makeover" ("We'd groom them,
train them and find them a new home!") and "Train That Dog" (trainers
compete to train a dog to do various tricks and obedience trials in
the least amount of time) were two he thought most promising. Dunbar
says Animal Planet mucky-mucks said they turned tail at his foreign
accent, but he doubts that was the real truth. After all, the channel
vaulted to popularity with hosts from Down Under.

As for books, of which he has sold hundreds of thousands, his first
experience in publishing colored his view of New York representation.
Dozens of publishers turned his first book down, but the one who
finally came through soured him to New York publishing. He bemoans
the editing that was done on his work, and the publishing experience
itself disappointed him. The numbers of books sold, he said, never
really added up to what was reported -- and what he knew himself had
moved.

Some local experts lament Dunbar's failure to go mainstream, citing
his unwillingness to lose control over every aspect of his work,
including editing.

[glencorgi]

For himself, Dunbar has almost given up on the megamedia, though he
says he could name 20 excellent and attractive trainers who could
make a show fly. He's got other ideas. One groups experts from many
fields -- a psychologist, a puppy trainer, a hostage negotiator and a
grandmother with the wisdom of life experience -- who would be
presented with a problem such as a husband who won't come home from
the bar after work. Each expert would devise a plan and the favorite
would be implemented on the show.

"All training is negotiation," Dunbar says, "whether you're training
dogs or spouses." Indeed, a recent article in the New York Times
titled "What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage" hit a nerve when
the author, Amy Sutherland, who writes on exotic animal training,
admitted using training techniques on her partner. Dunbar agrees with
Sutherland's premise that training is training is training. "You can
instill fear in your kids and get them to mind, but they won't
function better in the world and your relationship will suffer
greatly," he adds.

"Problems that need correcting are the thin end of the wedge," he
says, "with dogs and people." It doesn't take much, he claims. A
smile, a kind word. "You don't have to give M&M's all the time.
People -- and dogs -- are dying to be trained."

Dunbar has a 23-year-old son, Jamie, a wooden dory river guide, with
his first wife, Mimi, and says his family configuration is "very
Berkeley" -- both his current wife (and former dog-sitter), Kelly
Gorman, and his ex-wife are on friendly terms. Gorman, also a trainer
and a founder of Open Paw, an international humane animal education
program for pet owners and shelters, has done a good job of training
him, he reports. Currently in the midst of giving up his much-loved
cigars, Dunbar muses that Gorman is actually the better trainer of
the pair. Two of the couple's three dogs are hers: Dune, an American
bulldog, and Ollie, a rescue from Chicago Heights Humane Society. The
third, Claude, a 110-pound rottweiler-coon-hound mix from the SFSPCA,
is what Dunbar calls a "special needs" case. "We train him one day,
and the next day we start over again. He's more than not bright."

Despite a lack of publicity, Dunbar's recent talk on dog aggression
at a local bookstore brought out a full house of fans, many with pen
and paper at the ready. With little sign of any training controversy,
there is, however, evidence of Dunbar's status as local cult leader
by the standing-room-only crowd. During his hourlong lecture, Dunbar
explained the physiology of dog aggression in a way that showcased
his British humor. He easily charmed the audience with jokes and
witticisms; his dog impersonations, including a rear view,
full-bottom wiggle, kept the audience enthralled and grinning. Though
every move he made was carefully watched and met with nods of
knowingness, at times he looked a tad silly. He giggled, he gushed
and he panted. Having just returned from Tokyo, he contorted his face
in an impersonation of a Japanese dachshund. Could an American TV
audience have embraced this kind of goofiness?

At the end of the hour, Dunbar had to leave to get ready for yet
another seminar, this time in the Midwest, one of the few left to
which he has committed. With 850 full-day seminars behind him, Dunbar
is winding down touring. He's considering living in southern France
or traveling for pleasure, one of his passions. He's passing his
baton to others who will no doubt continue the struggle over
dog-training particulars. But without Dunbar's engagements to drive
the sales of his training guides and videos, it's easy to imagine
that flashier, more commercial materials will easily eat up his
market. Whether those will reflect his ideas -- or Millan's -- it's
hard to say.

At least half the audience still has questions for the expert, but
despite raised hands, Dunbar uses the last minute to reiterate his
training philosophy. "We need to thank our dogs for being good," he
says, launching into a wrap-up more spiritual than practical. "Every
morning I give thanks for waking up -- the alternative is not so
good. Too often, we forget to be thankful." Clearly, he's from
Berkeley, not Hollywood.

[Chip's Mom]

Debbie:

Thanks for posting. It was an interesting read and I am going to look for one of his books. I had not heard of him before. I sometimes wonder about Cesar Milan's tactics. I am one of those reward and gentle handling type of people. Some things I agree with and others I don't but I don't watch his show very often either.

[Jane Austen]

Some of us who have use methods advocated by Caesar Milan will tell you that it has proven to work for us. But we can also pick and choose how much to incorporate in our daily interaction with our "loved ones". I never liked the way Caesar said not to talk and reward a dog for good behavior. I talk to Duchess all the time while I am walking her down the street. She smiles when I say "Good Girl". He says she won't understand that. I disagree!
Thank you Debbie for making us aware of this other trainer, Ian Dunbar. I will look for his books and see what I can use from his tecniques.

[Dillydoodle]

It really is an interesting read. I think that there are pros and cons to all training methods. I personally take the bits and pieces that i have learned about dog training and tried different approaches to see what worked on my dog. I do like cesar millan and think this methods work. - however, unlike Cesar I do give a ton of affection and I do praise for GOOD behavior all the time...not just correcting the problem behavior.

The center i take Dillon to for obedience training is one that believes in the positive reinforcement etc- much of what they teach -especially in all the lower level obedience classes ( until we hit the competition obedience level) was all about rewarding correct behaviors, which is wonderful and i subscribe to that 100%- however the clicker or bridge words and constant treats have become the issue for me. See, i now have a corgi who can heel perfectly, using handsignals or verbal commands, he can do figure 8s, stand for exam, long sit, long stay, fronts, finishes, recalls and can do them perfectly- we could go get our CD title, but there is one problem...when the treat bag is off and he knows there will be no cookie for his work, he is DONE. he will do it once nicely and then when he gets nothing but excited GOOD BOY from me, but no treat, he looks for something better, like a dog to play with, someone elses dropped cookie and doesn't work cleanly after that. I went to the trainer of this class for a two hour personal training session, and got a bunch of suggestions but nothing works as well as the cookie. At the center, no one there really believe in corrections - only saying no and then redirecting them... what does NO mean to a dog if there is no leash correction or something showing them that the behavior is not wanted? I do a leash correction or a snap and shh and point like cesar to get their attention and show i dont a behavior.

Needless to say, some of cesars methods shown on TV are really dangerous for the layman to try- but for TV they look for the worst and most extreme cases of dogs who are for the most part not anythng like our loving sweet and more balanced dogs - Many of the dogs are at the point where they will end up being put to sleep if not handled. It is often hard for us to see these aggressive looking manuvers as we think of our sweet dogs. I dont know about any of you, but i watch the show, and I think, GOD i could never handle a dog like that - how can everyone live in harmony with THAT dog, and then i think that the owners have created this and are IDIOTS and shouldnt have a dog...
Anyone who makes their living off of dog training in a non cesar method will be unhappy with cesar as he is in the spot light now and is taking away from their living- you will have two sides to any controversial topic. I take from all methods and use what works for me and throw away the rest.
Emilie

[LittlePonzo]

I never realized there was that whole debate going on. I do really enjoy watching Cesar and do use some of his techniques. The ones I use and like, work. I do praise Ponzo and snuggle him way more than I discipline, but then again, he's not the very much alpha, either. However, we never talked to him in the morning before he went potty. After he did it was all treats and hugs, though. I guess it's just like anything....pick and choose until you find a good combo for your situation. Thanks for showing us some different ideas than we are used to.

[Chip's Mom]

Emilie:

I had to smile when I read your post. I think that is typical corgi. In the CorgiAid book I bought at the picnic, they talk about training a german shepherd versus a corgi. Anyway, with the corgi, when he was asked to do something, he said "I will but you better have a cookie" Typical corgi. Chip had stopped coming in the house when he was called and he knows the come command and normally has been good at it. Anyway, last night I took Chip and treats outside and would call him sporadically to come to me and always gave him a treat when he responded. This morning when I called him in the house, he came both times and both times got his cookies and told he was a good boy.

[tandemgal]

removed by T-Gal

[Chip's Mom]

T-Gal

That corgi-aid book is a real enjoyable read and you learn so much about corgis. I find myself picking it up off and on and rereading the articles and smile because they are talking about my lil Chipster.