Friday, June 27, 2014

A Rebuttal to Cesar Millan's Critics

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.


Thursday, June 12, 2014

Shedding the Weight

The obesity crisis is a heavy burden for both human and canine populations to bear. Research into how best to tackle the problem is emerging from scientists in varying disciplines. Currently, the American Kennel Club's Canine Health Foundation is funding a study called The Reciprocal Impact of a Healthy and Active Lifestyle on the Physical and Mental Well-Being of Dogs and Their Owners: Physical Activity and Walking (PAW).

The study's abstract reads: While it is well established that an active lifestyle and healthy diet can control obesity, there is a paucity of research that has considered the full spectrum of human-dog interactions that contribute to the physical and mental health of a dog and its owner. It is likely that a dog's health, behavior, and overall well-being are affected by their owner's lifestyle, including their social interactions and activity level. Dr. Richards believes that in the absence of an active and interactive lifestyle, physical stress, psychological stress and behavior problems likely occur in dogs. Dr. Richards believes that this, in turn, contributes to the documented 47% of owners who report surrender of their dog to an animal shelter because of behavior problems. Dr. Richards will conduct a novel three-month dog walking intervention, with a follow-up at three months and six months post intervention. She believes that increased dog walking will improve the health, behavior, and psychological well-being of dogs and their owners. The results of this study would provide general recommendations for new dog owners, as well as contribute to the standard of care for dogs maintained in laboratories and shelters.

Dr. Richards, Ph.D., RN, is an assistant professor at Purdue School of Nursing. She and her team are part of a growing community of researchers looking at the mutual benefits of exercise shared between people and their dogs. The focal point of Dr. Richards’ work, is that while a person’s unhealthy lifestyle choices affects his or her dog negatively, one’s healthy lifestyle choices can also mean increased wellbeing for one’s pets. She seems to believe – and I couldn’t agree more -- that to combat obesity in both people and dogs, we must look only as far as the human-canine companion bond, and how to use it in turning a counterproductive feedback loop into a productive one.

Dr. Richards’ current study, The Reciprocal Impact of a Healthy and Active Lifestyle on the Physical and Mental Well-Being of Dogs and Their Owners, builds on her previous work, including the studies: Dog ownership and physical activity: a review of the evidence, and Development and psychometric testing of the Dogs And WalkinG Survey, which examines the use of an instrument to track “the individual and interpersonal correlates of dog walking”.

Dr. Richards’ research adds to the growing evidence that dogs – as exercise partners – provide the kind of emotional and social support that keeps people motivated in their practice of getting and staying fit. Other studies similar to hers are the PPET Study (People and Pets Exercising Together) out of the Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Wellness Institute in Chicago, where researchers charted the difference in weight loss over a year-long period between individuals exercising (walking) with a dog, versus those going it alone. And the Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound project, out of the Research Center on Human Animal Interaction (ReCHAI), at the University of Missouri, Columbia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. In this program, overweight participants walk shelter dogs for the benefits that exercise provides for all. These studies’ common goal is to prove that there is great potential in the human-canine bond for enhanced quality of life, physical fitness, psychological, social and emotional health.

These articles will be of great use to me as I develop my Master's thesis project at Bergin University of Canine Studies (formerly the Assistance Dog Institute), which is to create a fitness-related assistance dog. Dr. Richards’ studies, and others like hers, are helping pave the way for my own unique contribution to the service dog world. And for this, I could not be more thrilled or grateful.