Barbaric? British talk show host questions Cesar Millan about beating and kicking dogs
A British talk show host – while he was quite genteel about it, at least from an American perspective — threw some hard questions at Cesar Millan last week.
Alan Titchmarsh, a UK afternoon talk show host, politely accused Millan of using old-fashioned and inhumane techniques that include punching, kicking and using shock collars on dogs.
“You punish dogs, you hit them,” Titchmarsh said. “I’ve seen you punch a dog in the throat to get it to behave and to most people, like myself, I would say that is totally unacceptable as a way of training a dog.”
“Well obviously I would respectfully disagree with that,” Millan replied. “It’s not a punch, it’s a touch.”
The “Dog Whisperer” — appearing just slightly uncomfortable at some points — responded calmly, asserting that he never punches dogs, but only touches them to redirect negative behavior.
Millan, while some in America are critical of his methods, is even more controversial in the UK, where many, including the RSPCA, view his techniques as unacceptable.
“Adverse training techniques which have been seen to be used by Cesar Millan can cause pain and fear for dogs and may worsen their behavioral problems,” the RSPCA said in a statement read on the air. “The RSPCA believes that using such techniques is unacceptable, nor are they necessary to change dog behavior for the better when other dog trainers use reward-based methods to train dogs very effectively.”
“We’ve never had so many complaints about a guest,” Titchmarsh told Millan.
More than 1,000 people joined a Twitter campaign calling for the appearance be cancelled, and a Facebook page set up by protesters attracted 1,600 followers. Animal welfare activists threatened to disrupt the show, leading to extra security staff being called in.
After the appearance, critics and supporters of Millan continued to go after each other on various Internet forums, including YouTube, where comments grew so heated they were removed and shut down.
Posted by jwoestendiek October 29th, 2012 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: alan titchmarsh, animals, barbaric, beating, british, cesar millan, cruel, dog, dog whisperer, dogs, host, inhumane, kicking, methods, pets, rspca, shock collars, talk show, techniques, television, training, uk
Comments
Comment from Madalena
Time October 29, 2012 at 11:30 am
I’ve rescued dogs in Brazil for the last thirty years and I was greatly helped by Milan’s advice in many cases. I agree with him people need to change as much as the ‘problem’ dog. I don’t understand why people criticize him so much, I would never ever mistreat any animal and I find his methods work if well applied.
Comment from Destiny Gold
Time October 29, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Leave Cesar Millan alone. Alan Titchmarsh is an idiot and should be sacked. He misrepresented Cesar and this is unacceptable. I notice ITV do not answer their emails regarding Titchmarsh complaints. The sooner that this Yorkshire idiot is removed from presenting the better. Give me Paul O’Grady anyday. Sick of the negative idiots that control the media in this country. Anything positive you condemn. Alan Titchmarsh is a narrow minded Yorkshireman. CESAR GETS RESULTS. All you do in the UK is to ban Pittbulls. Do something about the bad owners that creating aggressive dogs. The ADPT, UK continually write negative comments about Cesar they are very spiteful and aggressive. Feel sorry for the dogs that have to encounter thicko, negative trainers.
Comment from Ann Porter
Time October 29, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Alan Titchmarsh was extremely nasty to Cesar and this was born out of Jealousy. Alan is a jumped up nobody who knows nothing about dog training or how to speak to people for that matter. Cesar has achieved good results with dog rehabilitation and I wish him a long and successful career.
Comment from Patty
Time October 29, 2012 at 2:31 pm
PEOPLE, GET A GRIP AND STOP OVER REACTING! AT ANY GIVEN TIME WE CAN FIND FAULT-Especially if you look for it. In my 30+ plus years of rescuing domestic small and large animals and WILDLIFE, TRAINING, BREEDING, SHOWING GERMAN SHEPHERDS & SAME W/QUARTER HORSES & MANY BREEDS, BEHAVORIAL PATTERN CHANGES, ETC., DO YOU ALL KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN ANIMAL SHOWS AGRESSION? CAN U EVEN SEE IT HAPPEN? OR HAS IT ALREADY HAPPENED & YOU STAND & WATCH, SO YOU DON’T GET HURT! PERHAPS YOU SHOULD BECOME FAMILIAR WITH ‘FRIGHT, FLIGHT OR FIGHT’ MODES IN ALL SPECIES. IF YOU DON’T YOU WILL SURELY DO HARM & BE HARMED! ANIMALS DO NOT HAVE MENTAL ABILITY TO RATIONALIZE AS WE DO! FYI: HORSES POSESS TREMENDOUS POWER OF PERCEPTION! THAT ALONE WILL GET YOU HURT OR KILLED IF YOU HAVE NOT FIRST LEARNED TO UNDERSTAND THE ANIMAL COMPLETELY. PEOPLE, EDUCATE YOURSELVES, KNOW YOUR ANIMAL & CHOSEN BREED. PERHAPS THEN YOU’LL UNDERSTAND & TRULY LEARN WHAT SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE. THAT INCLUDES OFF HANDED COMMENTS FROM THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAIN, NOR UNDERSTAND ANIMAL BEHAVIORAL TRAITS. I’VE NEVER HAD A BAD ANIMAL! I DON’T ‘BEAT’ OR ‘BAIT’! CAN YOU NAYSAYERS MAKE THAT PROCLAMATION?
Comment from D Casas
Time October 29, 2012 at 10:42 pm
I don’t see Cesar as mean to the animals he trains at all. I’ve used some of them myself and they work very well. As a matter of fact I have a very funny pit bull mix that did very well with Cesar’s methods. I think these people have gone overboard with their statements.
Comment from Cyndi Steele
Time October 29, 2012 at 11:42 pm
I live in BC Canada. A lot of my friends are diehard Cesar fans. BECAUSE He has taught US so much about how to be with our dogs. I too have had many many rescued dogs and due to Cesar I have managed to overcome new dog’s issues with “biting, peeing all over, hiding, jumping up, etc,etc,etc.” In the life of a TRUE LOVER OF DOGS……..Cesar is a God. His talks and tequniques work and work well. Went to Van to see him last year…..Heading for Kamloops this year to see him on a different topic. Obviously this guy on the talk show knows NOT A FREAKEN THING ABOUT DOGS. My deaf dog has now learned sign language re: things She needed to know as a hearing dog. My rotti x aphgan was a horrid biter when he came into my life. Became My very best man and love of my life. Passed away too early due to “stupid people-breeding a very slight boned dog to a very dense muscled dog”……Ruptured disc’s was result as dog aged and grew stronger. PEOPLE COULD ONLY HOPE TO FIND A CESAR MILLAN WHO WORKS WITH PEOPLE WHO think breeding is THE BEST WHEN YOU USE THIS AND THAT BREED TO DO SO……..aurghhhhh. Cesar, you as always remain a God and for those of us Who LOVE our dogs thankyou for being there for us to learn.
Comment from Anne’n'Spencer
Time October 29, 2012 at 11:51 pm
This is why I get inclined not to associate with “dog people.” Everyone is a self-appointed expert. Everyone knows better than anyone else. No one is open to anyone else’s opinion. We are all supposed to fall over and bow at everyone’s credentials and vast funds of knowledge. There is precisely one reply in this entire thread that is offered in a courteous “here’s how I see it” tone. For everyone else, it’s “my way or the highway.”
Bah!
I’d rather take my geriatric Beagle on a walk in the dog park with the other poor, ignorant schlubs. I am about up to here with rescuers, trainers, fanciers, and everyone else with a loud mouth, poor hearing, and a heavy hand on the all-caps key. When they write my obituary, somebody can say, “She loved children and dogs, and she did what she could for them.” Oddly enough, children and dogs love me back. That is the only credential I care to lay claim to.
Comment from Alicia
Time October 30, 2012 at 6:48 am
I do not understand why you do not leave him alone. He is the only person in the whole world fighting worldwide to improve the live of dogs. He loves them and respects them and tries to imitate nature ways. You are talking from a human point of mind, disrespecting the dogs by treating them as humans. That is the real harm and it has to do with a quality that only humans have, PURE ARROGANCE. If you are questioning Cesar Millan methods your are questioning nature methods and saying you know better than nature.
Comment from smoketoomuch
Time October 30, 2012 at 9:25 am
@Anne’n'Spencer
Very well said… and seconded.
Comment from Eighteenpaws
Time October 30, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Thnx Anne and Spencer. I have never been a Cesar fan, so I just don’t watch his shows nor read his books nor give him much credit. Too much emphasis on dramatic changes in dog behavior that he supposedly accomplishes, and not enough overt human-dog connections displayed. As for me, I have always liked my dogs a little rowdy, with strong, innate personalities that don’t require the uber-alpha-master approach that Cesar practices.
Comment from Hanna
Time October 30, 2012 at 4:44 pm
jesus, this is just plain nuts. I”m definitely what you’d call an animal rights activist (volunteer for Animal Protection Trust, lead my own animal welfare projects, create petitios) and I run my own dog shelter so I come into contact with many dogs, some of them very hard to handle (food-, dog-, people-, fear -aggression, you name it). I’ve been using some Cesar techniques for over a year and (with the right perosnality) the work wonders. Only uninformed, hysterical people can call the techniques cruel or barbaric, not only is Cesar one of the few people who TRULY respect dogs and their needs but he has never promoted beating or kicking (actually warns against it in many episodes), the touch needs to be firm and decisive but it’s NOT a punch or a kick. personally, i think that even if it hurt a bit for a split second, isn’t it worth snapping the dog out of his fixation and making him attentive or even submissive? with many tough dogs, if you do this properly just once, you don’t need to do it again, the dog immediately understands, accepts you as a pack-leader and it really makes them more balanced – suddenly, they’re able to function in situations they could not, they can make friends among people and dogs…it really is like having a new, happy dog, i’ve experienced it so many times that I simply can’t prove Cesar wrong even if I wanted to. and yes, like somebody said here, look at his own dogs – does any of them look stressed out or fearful??? Quite the contrary, they’re confident, friendly, balanced – who of the critics can refute that?? Does any of the dogs he helped in the show look psychologically damaged??? NO way. He makes happy and balanced dogs out of confused, out-of-control, aggressive, fearful and whatever dogs and from what I’ve seen in his episodes (I’ve wathed ALL OF THEM), the dogs look much happier after he’s met them then ever before which is corroborated by their owners. If the critics can’t tell a happy dog from a psychologically damamaged one, it’s their problem. Or, why don’t they listen to the dog owners corroborating the change for the better in their dogs? or do they thik they’re all making it up? C’mon, that’s too far fetched. So what the f.ck is everybody’s problem? Again, I think it’s just those frigging, hysterical “dog lovers” who think the only acceptable way to treat a dog is to give them treats for nothing and let them sleep on your bed whenever they feel like it. I’d gladly lend them some of our shelter pitbulls and see how well THEIR techniques would work on them. if only people knew what they were talking about
Comment from Anonymous
Time October 30, 2012 at 10:36 pm
mi perro siempre esta lamiendo el piso
Comment from ernestduane19
Time November 2, 2012 at 5:00 am
I don’t think the host really watches Cesar’s show…. 1st He says he saw Cesar punching a dog in the throat? PUNCH is done with a close fist and i never saw Cesar using a close fist on a dog unless Cesar is letting the dog bite his hands, Cesar uses his fingers in correcting a behavior…. 2nd Cesar never reccomended a spike collar in any episode, he only uses what is already there when he arrives that means the owner is the one who uses the spike collar… there are even several episodes that Cesar replaced a Prong Collar with a Loop leash and said “Prong Collar at that time would only agitate the dog”…
Comment from Yatti420
Time November 5, 2012 at 2:42 am
I thought I’d tell you a story from when I was 8 years old and relate it to Cesar’s theory/technique..
About 16 years ago I was at my aunts house and met her semi-problematic male shitzue (Casey). She had a few spots in the house where she didn’t want Casey to follow her etc.. I wasn’t sure how to train any animal at this time..
I was young and naive.. To be honest I don’t remember what made me attempt the touch method.. Possibly because it produced almost instantaneous results.. I doubt I entered the house as the pack leader but certainly left as one..
The results were immediate and I assume I took over role of pack leader (temporarily). I could sit in the middle of any banned room with Casey at the door.. If dog was invited in it’s rewarded with affection/treats etc.. If dog invites itself in it would get a light touch immediately returning it to the edge of the door in a submissive position.. Did this probably 50 times and the dog always waited for permission afterwards..
I remember this vividly because as a child you just don’t forget that type of success.. An animal you just met and have almost full control of – It’s the true connection that people miss with their animals these days.. It felt good and oddly natural.. I wasn’t hurting the dog at all.. Dog was never mad at me.. He was mad at himself for breaking my rules howver..
The downside is rather simple.. Cesar is right when he says attitude/emotion/energy is everything.. Animals pick up on that instantly.. This is how your animals know your having a bad day.. They feel it..
Three days later Casey was given a pig ear probably 3 times the size of his mouth.. He want ballistic over it and the ear became his property. Needless 2 say 3 grown adults were attempting for over 2 hours to get this pig ear away from a shitzue (not the biggest dog).. That night I had zero impact as everyone ended up being stressed.. Had I had more confidence in the techniques (at the time there was nobody even attempting to train dogs this way) at the time I probably would of ended up getting that ear aswell knowing what I do now..
The video presented above is just ridiculous.. Cesar got sideswiped.. You can tell from his facial reactions.. I’ve only ever seen him like that on TV once before when an owner refused to commit to change and he became frustrated and took off for a bit (if I remember the episode correctly).. I’d like to see a round table with Cesar and other so called dog experts quoted here..
Comment from imonetoremember
Time November 16, 2012 at 6:53 am
Alan Titchmarsh what an SOB! He didn’t watch any videos and if he did he was playing to the drama of Cesar’s critics.
Nobody that does so much good, should ever have to endure such a hostile interview. I felt really bad for Cesar because he shouldn’t have to answer to people that have negatively twisted what he does to gain attention for themselves.
Punching and kicking? Give me a break! Watch the Dog Whisperer show for once and you’ll see what a misinformed jackass you are, Alan!
Comment from Lelane
Time October 29, 2012 at 9:09 am
Oh, for Pete’s Sake. They are dogs, and don’t break each time they are ‘touched’! I have worked with dogs for 15 years, I don’t agree with all his methods, but he does more good than harm. The fluff-bunny approach to dog training is a new expression of training, and in No Way Faultless.
People should calm down, and maybe go have a look at how their dinner was treated from first breath to last. Then sweat the small stuff!