DOG WHISPERER; My new addiction
 

:D Someone posted a thread recently that told me that I could get the program "the Dog Whisperer" on my satellite TV, and the National Geographic channel.
Well thanks to you, because I am now hooked on it!!!
I went to the website;

http://blogs5.nationalgeographic.com.../dogwhisperer/

and found the TV schedule and marked the times it comes on for the whole month!

Just for everyone's information, who is also addicted to this great training program, it is going to be on TV in a marathon for 7 hours during the daytime of Monday, Feb. 20th... Mark your calendars..

Sounds interesting I'll check into it.

Thank you! Can't wait to see it. :)

On that Marathon what time does it come on?

I have it down as:

10:00am-11:00am

and then;

noon-12:00pm-8:00pm

Oh I forgot that would be your time in Indiana....EST

I am also a Dog Whisperer addict. I have my DVR set to record the entire series. I love Ceasar Milan.

:thumbup: He is wonderful to watch help our canine friends have better balanced lives. And their owners too. He has a wonderful gift!

My husband insisted I come and watch the show the other day and they had Katrina dogs on. Now i"m hooked. I felt so terribel for not training my dogs. He makes it look so easy!

I saw that episode too. Caesar truly is gifted as a trainer. He makes it easy for anyone to understand how to get the results you want from any dog..
My heart went out to all those poor people and pets caught in Katrina. Many of them have been reunited, so we have to think positive and hope for the best for all..

Thanks for posting this.

What the first dog whisperer says about....

Paul Owens is often asked the following question:

You indicate that you are not affiliated with the National Geographic program, "The Dog Whisperer” which features Cesar Millan . I've never seen him use inappropriate or violent techniques with animals so why are you distancing yourself from him?

The following is Paul's response:

"The methods demonstrated by Mr. Millan include the use of choke collars, jerking, hitting, pinning to the ground, etc. He has stated that any method is okay to use as long as it works. He uses physical punishment and “flooding” in order to suppress a dog's behavior. Physical punishment involves applying a physical aversive to reduce the probability of the behavior continuing. “Flooding” refers to physically forcing a dog into an overwhelming situation he or she is afraid of until the dog “shuts down” or the behavior is suppressed.

Using negative methods with fearful or aggressive dogs is dangerous (as demonstrated on the program) and unnecessary. Most importantly, these methods are not the most effective in modifying problematic behaviors. And they are certainly not very easy on the dogs. Behavioral science has shown that suppressing behavior, especially through physical force or the threat of force, does nothing to bring confidence to a fearful dog or calm an aggressive dog, it only suppresses that behavior (out of fear) in that particular situation.

Most of the physical-force methods demonstrated on this program are in contrast to the positive behavior modification programs used by professional trainers around the world, including the leading veterinary schools of behavior at University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Cornell, University of California at Davis, and many others. They have found negative training to be unsafe, unnecessary and ineffective in the long run. Thirty years ago I used most of the negative methods shown on the National Geographic program and became skilled in both positive and negative training. In the past 15 years, along with other professionals and the leading animal behavioral scientists at the institutions referenced above, I have abandoned negative training, finding it to be less effective and certainly not as kind as positive training. I believe positive training is easier and more effective with even the most aggressive or fearful dog, as well as being less stressful for the human.

I recommend that you interview trainers and find out the methods he or she uses before hiring him or her. I further recommend getting referrals and watching the trainer in action. Only then can you can make an informed decision and choose for yourself the methods you will ultimately use."
__________________

Yorkie Mum.....please watch the show and judge for yourself because Caesar Millan does not use choke chains, jerking motions or hitting the dogs as Paul Owens claims. :(

I love the show. That article was the opposite of what I saw on the show

I have and I do not like what I see.
I saw a fist shoved in a dogs throat that is not ok.
Start watching the dogs not him.
Watch the lip licks, the head turns, the blinking all signs of stress.
You never have to work a dog to that level ever and it it is you better be a looking at what is happening and it it fixed.

Joy

When watching TV is the only form of education you have in the training feild the only refrence one was to if it good or not. It easy to get pulled into the dance.

When one has spend the time, the amount of effort on figuruing out the right way to train it frustrating to watch this stuff be seen as crediable, let alone acceptable.

The time and money I have spent on actual seminars, books, trainers and this thing I call rehab would blow your mind.

You have within the group some amazing trainers.
Willing and able to share.
I have had the privlage to chat with them.
I do not include my self in the above about amazing trainers.
Use them, listen to them, see what they do, ask for titles and get reading.
Educate yourself.
This guy will have less of a pull if you read even one of the books I have posted over the last few months.

Best of Luck training.

Joy

I am sure that the majority of the members here also have lots of training experience with their current dogs and previous dogs just as you do and "watching TV" is NOT the only form of trainng we have had.

If the TV show motivates even one person who had not before considered training their dog then it is a success for thqt reason alone.

Take myself for example, I have trained dogs all of my life. I started as a child with german shepherds and poodles and showed in obedience trials. I have used many different trainers throughout the years and have read many many books on the subject. I have seen the progression from negative and borderline absuive techniques of the 60s and 70s to the more positive, reward based training of today. I now clicker train my dogs and started that when I got a westie 6 years ago.

All five of my current dogs are service dogs and in continual training to learn new behaviors and improve on those they have learned.

I enjoy the show and feel that Caesar Millan is a good behaviorist and has saved the lives of many dogs. He is not perfect but no one is. :)

Today is the day!!
 

Who is recording it besides me?

I watch it but no need to record because there are always re-runs. Enjoy!

So how come WE'RE not on Oprah?
We're always shocked when some big TV program or series like National Geographic, or, recently, Oprah, gives air time to some Hollywood-ish dog trainer whose harsh methods and dominance-based verbiage make clicker trainers cringe.

We had a big discussion about this on the ClickerExpo e-list recently (open only to past attendees of ClickerExpo). But how do you get a story about clicker training on these shows, or indeed any TV shows? People with strong backgrounds in public relations pitched in. One excellent piece of advice came from Mikki Capparelli-Lally:

“The best way to get results is to get the producer of the show who might like the idea, to think it good enough to put on the air and fight for it during meetings on what the content of future shows should be. Check out the credits at the end of the show. Send a letter to the person named the executive producer or creative producer (not the supervising producer or associate producer, as the latter two usually are in charge of handling costs of the various shows rather than selecting content).”

And where do these shows get their ideas, anyway? Sometimes from PR firms. Sometimes from the public. But mostly, I think, from other media. If it's already been in the newspapers, or magazines, or on the radio, it's likely to show up on TV, and vice versa.

So, I think the place to begin is right in your own backyard. Want to see GOOD training get the media attention? Start with your local TV station, your local newspaper, your own city magazine.

In every city in your state there are always local news broadcasters looking for local color stories. Offer them a LITTLE story, something that can be aired in five minutes or less, something self-explanatory, a “Wow, look what they did! I'd like to try that,” kind of story. Here are a few ideas:

Clicker train a whole litter of puppies to high-five, sit in a row (to be picked up), come when called, and maybe target to the station's call letters. This is like a no-brainer, training-wise, and, especially if the puppies are very young, six weeks or so, it's unbelievably cute.
Show how clicker training saved some shelter dog's life by making it adoptable; video the dog before (shy, over-the-top pushy, whatever) and after. Or several dogs.
Clicker train a cat or two to ride in a bicycle basket, to do tricks at the vet's office, to walk on a leash, to play the piano; whatever will surprise the newscasters. Or offer to teach their cats to give a high five.
Clicker train a group of dogs to retrieve a hotdog, then have a contest on camera.
Show some very elderly people clicker training little household behaviors and cute tricks that make their dogs better companions.
What's your zoo doing? Maybe they'll want TV exposure, too, for their benign husbandry training systems. How DO you take a blood sample from a rhinoceros? With a clicker, of course!
When you get on the air, you have a chance to promote your training classes, your local shelter, and of course clicker training in general. And if you don't want people calling you to find out more, the station can refer them to www.clickertraining.com for basic info.

Good pieces get picked up by other network stations, and sometimes get syndicated and shown over and over. Papers get ideas from TV and TV from the newspapers. When the media start talking to each other about clicker training stories, that's when the big guys start coming around. We can do it, I think. And at home is the place to begin.

forgot to add the above is a quote from Karen Pyor's site