In the summer of 2014, Cesar Millan is touring through Germany. The American is known, not least through his television show, as a dog whisperer, under whose hands even difficult problem dogs immediately become pious. He uses neither violence nor visible aids, but works almost exclusively with body language and energy. The successes are obvious and the interest in his method is correspondingly great. However, Cesar Millan is also polarizing: What seems like a miracle to some people appears to be animal cruelty to others. We have summarized for you how the American dog whisperer works and what his method is based on.
Cesar Millan – who he is and what he does
Cesar Millan developed his method over the course of many years, during which he initially worked in a dog salon. He is now probably the best-known dog trainer in the world – but also one of the most controversial. In Los Angeles, he runs the “Dog Psychology Center,” a huge facility where his dog trainers resocialize and train problem dogs using his method. A gigantic media hype has now broken out around Cesar Millan himself: he has several TV formats, is a best-selling author, sells and advertises a wide variety of dog-related products and tours the world with his live program.
Be the pack leader
When it comes to Cesar Millan and his method, the words “pack leader” and “energy” are often mentioned – and in fact these are the fundamentals on which the entire method is based.
Because dogs and humans have completely different ways of communicating: Dogs only understand human words to a very limited extent – the dog’s body language, on the other hand, is not really imitable for humans; after all, it’s not just the tail that we lack , but also the facial expressions that dogs can show thanks to their ears, nose and much more.
That’s why Cesar Millan advocates communicating with your dog by radiating the right energy. You should be self-confident, calm and determined if you want your dog to perceive you as superior and well-disposed towards him – as a real pack leader. Only when a dog has a pack leader who is truly up to the task can he relax and a positive relationship between dog and owner can develop.
Because just like in a pack of dogs, the four-legged friend, even when he is in a human “pack”, always needs a solid social structure in order to feel safe and develop healthy social behavior – and that is ultimately the basis a good relationship between humans and animals.
Radiate the right energy
If you observe a pack of dogs, the trained eye often quickly recognizes which dog is the pack leader: Its posture and behavior clearly reflect this. According to Cesar Millan, this charisma is what people have to adopt if they want to give their dog the feeling of having a reliable pack leader who is up to the task.
Of course you can’t force a calm, confident appearance. A convulsive attempt is more likely to cause unrest. However, there are some tricks you can use to promote the radiance of good, safe energy:
- relax your shoulders
- breathe deeply into your stomach
- choose a slightly lower pitch than normal
- Avoid exaggerated facial expressions and gestures
Timing is key
Even if the foundations for communication and understanding between dog and owner are already laid by reliably exercising the role of pack leader and radiating the right energy, more is still required to resocialize the dog, especially with “problem dogs”.< /p>
The key here is timing: Only if the corresponding correction of the undesirable behavior occurs at exactly the right moment and with exactly the right intensity can the dog learn lessons from it.
Especially in real problem cases, a layperson is rarely able to correctly assess situations and defuse them accordingly without expert support. And if the right moment is missed, the mood can quickly change: threatening gestures can then turn into real attacks and bites in no time. That’s why the advice here is always: Do not use the methods without the help of a specialist!
Why the dog whisperer is polarizing
However, experts have always been divided when it comes to Cesar Millan and his methods: while some admire him as a dog whisperer, others complainre, his methods would not be animal friendly. What supporters interpret as a gentle correction using leg pressure, opponents see as a nasty kick that intimidates the dog.
The same goes for the technique of wearing the dog collar closer to the head than to the body in order to have better control over the dog: While some see this as a little trick with an impressive effect, others complain that the dogs would choked as a result.
If you follow the TV broadcasts of his shows, you are often left speechless because the dogs shown seem to change their entire personality in just a few seconds. What fans see as proof of his skills is seen by enemies as proof that the shows are fake – but you will probably never be able to judge who is ultimately right in front of the television screen.
Form your own opinion
No matter how much opinions differ about Cesar Millan, one thing is undisputed: he is extremely successful! Tens of people around the world follow his shows on TV, celebrities from all over the world scramble to get appointments with the American dog whisperer with their dogs. And ultimately, even the doubters have to admit that the basic idea behind the method is definitely animal-friendly, even if one can argue about how it is carried out: Because dogs need a stable pack structure in order to be able to develop compatible social behavior, even they are correct biggest critics. As with any other training method, you have to decide for yourself how much you want and can get out of the Cesar Millan method for yourself and your dog.
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