The more I absorb Cesar Millan’s
teachings, the more shocked I am at the aggressive barrage of insults aimed at
him at any given time. This is my response to the claim that Cesar Millan has “set dog training back 20 years”,
as noted by Dr. Nicolas Dodman, Professor and Head, Section of Animal
Behavior, Director of Behavior Clinic, Tufts University - Cummings School of
Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Dodman’s credentials are
impressive; there’s no denying that. In fact, most of the professionals with
negative things to say about Cesar have multiple degrees of higher learning
following their names. At first glance, this would seem to imply that Cesar
might actually be doing something harmful in his work with dogs, considering
that all these experts agree on as much. But after further
investigating their claims, I’ve noted that these naysayers don’t simply
disagree with Cesar’s methods. They attack him personally. One such character
is Ian Dunbar, a positive-reinforcement based dog trainer who calls himself the Anti-Cesar
Millan. There is also an entire Facebook page dedicated to Anti Cesar Millan
“fans”.
Cesar’s critics claim this is because
of their concern for dogs, but I’m not buying it. Disagreeing with someone’s
training style is one thing. But when one feels the need to attack another’s
character, there is a personal vendetta playing out. And really, this type of
emotionally charged mud slinging does nothing to create a sensible argument for
consideration. Notice that Cesar Millan does not have to drag others’ practices
through the dirt in order to justify or promote his own. Cesar’s way stands on
its own merit, and his positive influence on the world’s dogs and people speaks
for itself.
I suspect that Cesar’s doubters are
defensive, because despite the daunting nature of their educational credits and
expertise – valid though they may be - I imagine they might lack the primal,
intuitive connection with dogs that Cesar so naturally embodies. Because Cesar
has manifested his incredible Life’s Work without the preordained authority
granted by degrees of higher education, perhaps his success threatens Dr. Dunbar,
and others like him, whose perceived self-importance and prestige may be based
on their impressive titles. But then, all great revolutionaries are confronted
with the backlash of bruised Egos. Such is why the oppositional movement
attempting to discount Cesar’s methods as “inhumane” and “abusive” – though
ludicrous - comes as no surprise.
Another example of a “refuted
revolutionary” in the world of human-animal relationships, (and another great
hero of mine), is Jane Goodall. Along with fellow famed primatologists, Dianne
Fossey who studied gorillas, and Beruti Geldikas who studied orangutans, Jane
was chosen for her mission in part because of
her lack of a traditional education. At that time, animal behavior curriculum
was based on the robotic “reward/punishment” system of B.F.Skinner, who
believed that animals were not sentient, living beings, but lifeless machines
that functioned solely on a black and white, cause and effect basis. Louis
Leakey –the Father of Anthropology – specifically chose the three women
because (a) They were female, and would thus bring a different, more organic
and empathetic perception to the study of animal behavior, than what (for
example) watching lab rats push levers for cocaine could offer; and (b) Because
their minds had not yet been inundated with the accepted academic philosophy of
the times, which left their minds open to learning about the
animals’ natural state of being through untainted observation.
Given the freedom to connect with
chimpanzees instinctually and spiritually, rather than methodologically, Jane
Goodall shifted the whole world’s comprehension of what Great Apes actually
are, and who we (human beings) are in their reflection. Just as Cesar does, Ms.
Goodall faced violent opposition from people whose belief systems and schools
of thought were threatened by her work, and its implications for the future of
their field.
I believe what might truly upset
Cesar’s critics is that his methods involve something more organic, intangible,
and difficult to master than typical training methods. Cesar’s way involves
leadership based on humility and hard-won confidence, rather than systematic
control of an animal’s behavior through practicing quantifiable steps. Cesar’s
way involves his unique life experience, his particular energetic aura, his
ability to influence dogs’ behavior without the aid of food or conditioning,
and the conscious practice of Instinctual Intelligence, which he has cultivated by tapping
into his Inner Animal, using it as his primary form of education. To hone
Cesar’s methods, one must learn precisely that which cannot be taught in a
classroom. It is something that must be brought to life from within a person’s
higher consciousness.
Cesar is spearheading an inevitable
revolution. And the higher truth will overcome the weakening belief systems of
the disappearing present. Eventually, the old ways will die out, just as
useless appendages evolve out of a species over time. And as they do, the
climate will turn from one of hostile opposition, to one that enables the Whisperer within
us all to be recognized, and to thrive.
