Which famous dog trainers do you admire and why?

I recently bought a book on dog training by Cesar Millan and have also watched some video footage of him via youtube. He is known as 'the dog whisperer' because he can get even vicious dogs to do as he wants while staying very calm and quiet. Despite this, he got badly bitten recently but was brave enough to let the incident be shown on TV and explained how he misjudged the situation. I've found a lot of his advice very helpful but would be interested to compare his ideas on training with some alternatives.

 

I like Cesar Millan, but I can't say the same for other dog owners and trainers who's always criticized his methods. He was the reason I began learning about dog behavior and responsible dog ownership. Some people dislike the fact that his training isn't solely based on positive reinforcement, but to be honest, some trainers don't know how to control a dog situation when it gets messy.

I've seen that episode where Cesar misread the signs. I think it was cool of him to admit his mistake and correct it himself. This just shows that he is willing to accept the fact that dog behavioral science is an ongoing process of learning. I've seen all Season 1-5 episodes of the Dog Whisperer. One of the many episodes I distinctly remember is the one where he grew frustrated with two Golden Labs because of their pent up energy. He admitted that he was frustrated with them which was why he tied the leash to his waist instead of holding it.

I am also a big fan of Ian Dunbar and Victoria Stillwell. However, when it comes to books and clinical vets, I'm a Bruce Fogle fan. His books are always filled with pictures so readers get a clear idea of how such dog behaviors look like.

 

My favorite dog trainer is Cesar Millan. I love watching the Dog Whisperer, it's such a great show, I really enjoy it - and, what is the most important, I learned so much thanks to it. I'm still not the best at training dogs because I'm not firm enough but I want to improve. My Homer is very naughty and extremely cute so it's not easy though

 

I hate to bust most people bubbles, but Cesar Millan isn't all he's cracked up to be. He doesn't actually train dogs, he frightens them with pinch tactics, or chokeholds. He strains their throats quite often using their leashes almost like a noose,

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(here's a video of it from one of his episodes until the dog has been nearly strangled to the point of passing out.)​

Notice how the dog has urinated in a puddle, while laying down, this isn't something a dog will do under normal "submissive" circumstances, he's doing it out of fear and exhaustion. There is another article about it here (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201204/did-cesar-millan-have-hang-the-husky) And yet somehow people wonder why dogs get "out of control" when he's "training" them. If that isn't enough the guy actually condones electric shock collars, need I say more?

Getting back on topic, John Garcia is probably one of my most influential people I've ever seen. He's a dog trainer and emergency rescue specialist for Best Friends Dogtown, and helped rehabilitate many of the 22 Vick dogs Best Friends received (including Georgia who was so traumatized and only grew attached to John when he would sleep in her kennel on a cot with her, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/sports/football/02vickdogs.html?_r=0). He regularly sleeps in the kennels with dogs that have PTSD and special needs. Aside from doing all this, he trains and rehabilitates them, he helped place many of the Vick dogs into loving homes. Many with small children, something most news outlets reported would never happen due to the "vicious nature of pit bulls". John's a hero, not just to me but to the dogs he helps.

 

I wasn't aware of this...thank you for letting us know. Now I feel manipulated by this Cesar Milan. I really thought that he loves dogs. It's so awful. I haven't watched all the episodes yet. I would never let anyone strangle my dog like this!

 

I have seen this episode on The Dog Whisperer already. This way Millan uses the collar is nothing new.He explains on the show why he positions the collar up high like that and uses it that way. He has even developed a collar called the Illusion collar that mimics it. What I saw was an aggressive dog and Millan using the method of the collar high on the neck to keep control and out of its reach. Would I use this method? No. But, did I see him choking the dog and pinching him? I'm not sure I saw that. I saw the dog fighting against the leash for control. I do imagine the dog was stressed after this.

So, I am not convinced from this clip that Millan is doing anything abusive. And, as I said, I'd already seen the clip on the show.

I do rate Cesar Millan at the top of my list as a dog behaviorist. Most of the time what I see is him retraining the people because their behavior affects their dog so much. But, for dog training, I like Brian Kilcommons. He takes a common sense approach to dog training. Everything he does is something a person could do easily and it makes sense.

 

I've seen a lot of his shows and if the dog is fighting the trainer then of course the dog is going to get choked a bit. All dog trainers would have experienced this in one form or another. I truly do admire Cesar Millan for being honest in his programming in that he shows such clips even if he has difficulty with some dogs. That being said I do believe his methods work. Are they perfect no, but I've seen it work with my dog when the other dog trainers could not help my chow with her nipping issues. We found that being calm while interacting with her, redirecting her focus and being consistent helped our chow overcome her nipping and biting issues.

 

I do not have a specific trainer that I admired. But whoever who can trained a dog really well can be admirable enough for me as it requires a lot of patient and love for the dog.