The Dog Whisperer Speaks

Posted on Dec 08 in About Dogs in General, Generally Speakingby Jeff K.Print

As part of our continuing education program for our staff, the men and women of Kelsey’s Dog House went to a seminar put on by Cesar Millan, a.k.a. The Dog Whisperer. The seminar was conducted on Saturday, December 6, (and overlapped with the Florida-Alabama SEC Championship football game. The things I do for our business . . .) Here are the three main points we took away from the seminar.

Cesar Millan speaks at the Cobb Energy Center, Marietta, GA.

First, Cesar is funny. I mean very funny. He remarked that he prepared for his presentation by watching the Comedy Channel a lot. He pantomimed, he told jokes, and he parodied our daily struggles to cope with misbehaving dogs. For three hours, he captivated and entertained the audience with a style and a sense of timing I had not expected. It helps that his audience was dog-crazy and ready to laugh at Cesar’s antics. This was his first and only seminar for 2008. He appeared to have spent some serious time preparing; and he must have received professional coaching on his delivery. It really showed.

Second, if you have read The Dog Whisperer books, or watched his show, there really wasn’t anything new under the sun at this seminar. On the other hand, listening to him live reinforced his core points:

1. Dogs are animals, not people. We humans assign and attribute human qualities and personality to dogs. In their world, dogs do not think in terms of personality, only status with a pack. When assigning personality to a dog, we are seeing only what we want or expect to see, not what is actually there.
2. We transmit our expectations to our dogs as energy. Energy, as Cesar calls it, is the way we project our feelings to the dog through our tone of voice, posture and expression. For example, if we walk our dog on a leash and we pass another dog coming in the opposite direction, we can actually provoke an aggressive reaction if we project our tenseness to our dog. He calls this a “conversation with a dog through the leash.” Energy is an unspoken dialogue with a dog.
3. When we interact with dogs, we typically behave in ways that serve our own bests interests, not our dogs’ best interests. Dogs are great therapy for what ails us, but we often place a burden on the dog by forcing it to respond to human problems in ways that go far beyond the capabilities of the dog.
4. Dogs are first and foremost, nose-driven. We humans, believing dogs are the same as us, expect

Cesar answers questions while holding a Yorkie.

dogs to respond to language. While we humans listen first, look second, and then maybe use our nose. Dogs lead with their nose, look second, and then listen—exactly the opposite order of our behavior. How do we greet dogs? We rush into their personal space and speak first, usually in high-pitched tones. “Hiiiii puppeeee!” Some of us think we are conforming to a dogs needs when we shove our hand towards their nose so they can check us out. Dogs can smell us coming from a long way off. Shoving our hands in their faces is an aggressive gesture and completely unnecessary.
5. Dogs can do only one thing at a time. They are not multi-taskers by any means. If a dog is fully engaged in a scent on the ground, it will completely tune out any attempt by its owner to call it over. We humans tend to get frustrated by our dog’s seemingly lack of care about our desires, and yet dogs are just doing what comes naturally.
6. Dogs are pack-oriented animals. They respect only one leader and that leader must project calm-assertive energy to maintain that respect.
7. Dogs are animals first, species second, and breed last. This means that all dogs are animals, not people. Dogs as specie mean all dogs generally do dog behavior. The variations we see in behavior are not breed specific but environmentally specific. Dogs respond to their environment, not their breed. There are well-behaved pit bulls and there are poorly behaved pit bulls. The difference is in how each pit bull is raised by its owner. Breed does influence capability, such as scenting ability, or the ability to run fast. (Jeff’s note: I do not completely agree with this. I believe a dog’s breeding influences behavior. For example: a Jack Russell Terrier will naturally want to hunt down and kill mice while a Bloodhound might enjoy having a mouse as a companion. A dog owner can train any dog to ignore its own instincts, but the natural tendency for breed-specific behavior cannot be ignored. I believe what Cesar ultimately means is dogs should not be considered victims of their breeding. All dog behavior can be modified, regardless of breed.)
8. For a dog to be a balanced animal, it must have, without exception, exercise, discipline and affection, in that order. Too often, we humans get that order mixed up. We give affection first, regardless of a dog’s behavior, then we offer exercise, though usually not enough to de-stress and relax a dog. Then we half-heartedly discipline, sometimes failing to set clear boundaries and limitations for our dog.

The bottom line from Cesar’s seminar is this, and it has been repeated by so many other dogs experts: In order to have a happy-well balanced pet, we need to treat dogs as dogs, not people. If we meet their basic needs and communicate at their level, working with their natural tendencies, we will have more satisfying and stable relationship with our dogs.

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