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Har-Vest offers benevolent control, not prongs, chokes, or "tssssts."
I dragged myself out of a warm bed to write this. Out of a warm bed on a cool fall day surrounded by my Sunday papers. Out of a warm bed surrounded by finger staining ink printed newspapers, a cup of perfect coffee and the promise of rare and savored free time for hours and hours (my fantasy come true!). I gave up all that to write this. To quote Howard Beal's rant from the movie NETWORK,
"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
The NY Times Sunday Business cover story, Whispering To Rottweilers, and to C.E.O.'s -- this 11th day of October, is on the business of dog training. And the business, according to NY Times reporter Amy Wallace, seems to rest squarely on the burly shoulders of one Cesar Millan. A man who crossed the border from Mexico with nada and is growing a viral empire ostensibly to spread his message mantra of "exercise, discipline & affection".
I will and have always given Mr. Millan credit for having what I consider excellent innate dog sense; to my eyes and surely to countless others, he exudes it well as seen through his taut t-shirts [I wonder whether his wardrobe is a reflection of his fashion sense or a creative team's belief that viewers can learn body language from modeling his postures. Having once worked in Hollywood, I believe it could go either way].
But it is his mantra and the way he communicates to his clients as seen and edited for TV that blows it. His methodologies include humiliation and force along with the all important recipe part -- a real confident person to employ these methods: Because of liability issues (remember, this is business) there needs to be a disclaimer:
What really boggled my mind, and where my real screaming fit comes to fore, is that in this very long article all about Mr. Millan's growing empire, there was but ONE paragraph about a whole movement of dog training I embrace and encourage people to try at home, out of the home, in life, based on a Benevolent Leadership role that was then turned around and in a flurry of non sensical words was completely dismissed! Aack.
Not everyone agrees with Mr. Millan's methods. "Positivist" trainers like Ian Dunbar reject that idea that a submissive dog is a happy dog. Mr. Dunbar advocates treating dogs as companions, not followers. While Mr. Millan uses his hand like a mother dog uses her mouth -- to nudge dogs to behave -- Mr. Dunbar shuns physical corrections and relies instead on treats and rewards.
"To each his own," says Mr. Millan, whose favored "tssst" sound is a correction heard around the world. "It's just that I think I know something you might not know," he says. "An open minded human can learn from anybody."
What????? What does this mean? How can we embracers of positive dog training rally our troops to produce a business savvy approach to spreading the message of positivity and benevolence? Arguments such as "not sexy enough", "boring tv" and less drama is no longer acceptable. Why can't you find a momentary or even longer pause where nothing happens and then something amazing -- an epiphany of understanding occurs -- dramatic tv? Don't you remember about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan at the well?
Surely there are people among us who can reroute the overall mindset of at least some percentage of the owners of the 65 million American dogs out there and much like Barack Obama who is given the Nobel Peace Prize as a call to action, so too can and should the future leaders of positive dog training. I'm on board, who wants to join in?
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