Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan Sued For Dog Injury

[Big Dog]

Cesar Millan, known to clients of his Dog Psychology Center of Los Angeles and viewers of National Geographic Television as the Dog Whisperer, is a defendant in two lawsuits filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Read the rest of the story at this link:

Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan Sued

[Dog Training]

Incredible and disgusting. No more words needed but i am sure my dogs have a few to offer!

[Big Dog]

Please keep in mind these are only alleged acts, nothing has been proven in a court of law.

Also - none of the allegations put Cesar Millan anywhere near the dog.

If this took place at his business, some other staff member may have taken the alleged actions (or failed to as the case may be).

Of course, he is the leader of his pack and is responsible for what takes place at his Dog Psychology Center of Los Angeles, both good and bad.

I do feel horrible about what that dog may have experienced.

[Dog Training]

Yes well pointed out, but the dog is what i was thinking of when i said it is unforgiveable, not who is to blame as we don't know, just wonder why these things happen in our 'civilised' societies. Education and Penalties for those who will not learn, i hope to get involved in this subject next year. I have the ear of a few MPs (senators over here!) and i hope to push for big changes as these cases are very common for such a small island as we are.

[Big Dog]

I did not mean to imply you were concerned about anything but the unfortunate dog's welfare.

I'm trying to be sure that my statements and the tone of this place is always fair and ethical - if you read the dislaimer at the end of the news item published on the front section of the site, there was a bit of friction with his team when I tried to arrange an interview over a month ago (before this series of legal issues popped up).

I don't want that experience to color his right to fair reporting. Perhaps it's not so much a right as our own standard of ethics?

[Dog Training]

Yes very wise, of course he could be absolutely innocent, and may have been totally fooled by staff or kept in the dark, but then the opposite is also possible. So long as the real perpetrators are brough to account for their actions (which they usually aren't) that will make me smile anyway

[sacdogtrainer]

National Geographic has been quick to point out that Cesar was not present when the "alleged" incident happened.  However, it is his business and run by his employees.  As a professional dog trainer, I not only hand pick my assistants, but am responsible for training them how to handle and train dogs.  So whether Cesar Millan was present is irrelevant.  He is ultimately responsible for the actions of his employees.

While the lawsuit at this point only consists of allegations, there is significant evidence on his show that his methods are harsh and often put the dogs under a significant amount of stress, which he, himself, fails to recognize.  For me and many other professional trainers who study behavior and body language, that makes the probability that these allegations are true much more likely.

[Big Dog]

National Geographic has been quick to point out that Cesar was not present when the "alleged" incident happened.  However, it is his business and run by his employees.  As a professional dog trainer, I not only hand pick my assistants, but am responsible for training them how to handle and train dogs.  So whether Cesar Millan was present is irrelevant.  He is ultimately responsible for the actions of his employees.

While the lawsuit at this point only consists of allegations, there is significant evidence on his show that his methods are harsh and often put the dogs under a significant amount of stress, which he, himself, fails to recognize.  For me and many other professional trainers who study behavior and body language, that makes the probability that these allegations are true much more likely.

Hi ya and thanks for joining in the discussion.

As you see from my comments earlier, if what is alleged took place, as the owner of the business, I agree he is responsible.

Is there a "school of thought" that your methods subscribe to?

I'm trying to break down and organize the various master methods used to approach training.

Cesar Millan is the highest profile guy out there right now and while it has been many years, it seems to me he teaches close to the Monks of New Skete theory/approach.

Did you listen to part 1 of Tamar Geller's interview? She has a whole different approach. No choke or prong collars, less emphasis on dominating the dog, etc. I've not seen it in action but her clients seem happy.

Again, thanks for sharing your thoughts and participating with the pack!



See more Cesar Millan pictures.

[Dog Training]

HI again, as i am  in the UK i don't know much about this guy, but i can confirm that in the MAJORITY of cases we get MUCH better results with totally holistic methods, in fact i would go so far as to say that by NOT using these approaches, many owners have their dogs obeying them out of fear in some way, not necessarily fear of pain or anything that severe, but often fear of confusion, or fear of their owners expression of anger as they helplessly cry out their dogs name in reaction to any instances of disobedience. This is what i believe is the common cause of the now massive "Well he always does it at the club" syndrome where people's dogs are perfectly behaved at classes but awful anywhere else. This is because the trainer forces the owner to be more accurate with their emotions (not to show any is best) and more accurate with words and comments. But once out of that situation the owner is less disciplined and ignorantly believes the dog is choosing when to behave right, which of course is ridiculous as dogs are simply not that complex.
I knew an amazing woman who was born deaf and grew up with dogs. He school of thought (as she can now hear 50%) was that people make TOO MUCH NOISE, whether it is sounds, words, tuts and growls and whatever else. All i ever remember her saying to her clients was "SHUT UP, JUST BUTTON IT and watch the results" and she had amazing changes in the owners and their dogs. She basically said that unless you are giving a COMMAND which you have trained properly and clearly beforehand, just shut your mouth! I have always agreed with this, and it really does work. i have a few amazing dogs who can do tricks and obedience work without me opening my mouth, just a leading look, turn of the head, body language and a pointed finger or raised hand can do everything most owners need, and more importantly by practicing this way the sub-conscious effect on the OWNER (which is the subject of all real dog training with pet owner clients) is that they become calmer, send much fewer messages out to their dog, and the dog responds with absolute clarity of understanding and total instant obedience. Other things like Sit means sit, rather than "Sit, sit, sit, for God's sake will you SIT DOWN ROVER, GRRR" meaning sit! May sound funny but it is not an exaggeration. The best tool i EVER EVER bought to help my training of people and their dogs is a DIGITAL CAMCORDER which i set up on a tripod in the corner of the field or room and just record everything. I then play it back to the owner and they always are shocked at how many signals, often conflicting ones, which they are giving their dog, and they often have a new found respect (guilt too) for the real reasons why their dog chose to behave sometimes and sometimes not. It is nearly always down to the owners mood and emotional level. The dog picks up more of this than it does commands with the average dog owner, and this is where i believe 80% of problems can be stopped dead in their tracks. Prong collars and all that stuff i believe should be given on licence as they can cause totally irrepairable harm to dogs, but when used they can save time. However, i would never ever recommend them to a client, but between you and me, in some very very rare cases i would use them as i know i will NOT confuse the dog and fill that confusion with pain which is what 99% of users of these things do, who are usually desperate owners and not professionals with any knowledge of the canine mind. I once knew a dog who used to bark a lot, and i found out the owner stuck an anti barking collar on the dog to prevent it. My opinion? TOTAL LAZINESS which i believe qualified him to not be allowed to keep dogs. If he was not prepared to understand the reasons, or try to learn what, why and how to fix it (by spending an hour a day with the poor neglected dog would have been sufficient in this lonely dogs case) then he simply doesn't have the time to own a dog, when in fact he had three of them. Anyway, on went the electric shock collar which gave his dog some volts and pain each time he barked. Simple isn't it! Bark and pain, bark and pain, so what did the dog do, surely he stopped barking to avoid the pain? NO YOU IDIOTS (directed at manafacturers who sell them on this idea not forum members!) it didn't stop the barking, it made the dog bark more. The dog didn't bark to annoy anyone, he barked because he was AFRAID and STRESSED, well pain adds to the stress and fear and so he barked more and more and more and more until he want crazy, chewed himself all over and then jumped a fence to try to escape the pain (because he was too stressed to work out how to avoid it, by being quiet) ran across a major road and caused a pile up while being killed himself. So am i in favour of these things? NO, BUT not because they can't be effective, they CAN, but they usually are not because of the people they attract as purchasers in general, most dog trainers will try other methods first, the ones who don't are lazy and don't really know that much about dogs at all if you ask me, which you didn't i know but hey this is a forum and i have my view! They attract lazy owners who want their burger and fries, fast food results to their problem. They don't want to work to understand this animal which devotes himself to his owner regardless of their incompetence or lack of respect. They just wanna pop to the shop and buy a ready made solution which they are told will work with any dog. So, yes they can be used to great effect, i prefer not to use them as pain teaches the conscious mind, which is the short term memory bank in a dog, whereas rewards and reward association training (i.e. clicker training)  teach the sub-conscious mind and long term memory which is far more effective, not to mention humane and enjoyable for the dog. Good example of this is found with 95% of dogs in the home. When they bark and the owner shouts aggressively or smacks the dog, the barking happens the same every time, the only change in the dog is that he continues to bark but cowers immediately afterwards because he has not learned that barking is wrong (which is IMPOSSIBLE TO TEACH), he has simply learned that after he does his natural duty of alerting his pack to danger by barking, there is usually some pain forthcoming so he learns to prepare for this but does not connect it to the barking. On the other hand, if you take a dog which barks at the door too much for his owners, and you tell his owners to spend a week doing some training where they are told to wait for the door bell to ring (or get someone to do it ideally with walkie talkies!) they call the dogs name and pour some food into a bowl and lead the dog to the back garden using ONLY nice happy tones and words. After a week or two you watch that dog run to the back garden when the door bell goes. It works, not because one method is right and one is wrong, but because NEGATIVE TRAINING TEACHES THE SHORT TERM MEMORY WHICH LOSES THE INFORMATION BEFORE THE NEXT TIME IT HAPPENS! POSITIVE METHODS ARE HELD IN THE MEMORY FOR MUCH LONGER.
Just my tuppence worth from over here, and i have many satisfied clients who would vouch for what i say here.
Hope it helps someons who reads this, or more importantly, hope it helps their dog and their relationship, which should be every trainers goal IMHO!!

[K9 Obedience]

 Whether present or not, Cesar Millan is responsible for his employee's and as such must be held accountable. It makes me wonder as to how these so called, "dog whisperers" aquire their fame. I believe it is more down to self promotion rather than results! The story sickens me.
The previous post by, "dog training," brought to mind the words of a dog trainer at my agility club. He often promoted, "anti bark collars," to us all as a method for stopping dogs barking. It is true that when dogs go into a barking frenzy at the sound of visitors, we do tend to give conflicting signals and a whole textbook of commands in an endevour to shut them up!!!  I too am guilty of this. I have often bellowed, "Quiet, Shut up, In your beds," and "lie down" all in the same breath. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. All this achieved was bedlam, with the dogs either slinking away, but still barking, or them leaping around and barking even louder. I have taught myself to keep calm and to quietly praise, "good boy, good dogs," and follow up with the down command. As I am not showing any stress the dogs instantly stop barking and lie down. MAGIC !! No not really, just common sense. I enjoy the fact that my Doberman will protect me from harm and I realised that if I was to continue giving these confusing messages to him, when in fact, he was only, "doing his job," I would destroy his confidence and damage his natural guarding instincts.
I agree with the last post and hopefully without sounding, "sexiist" I believe that us female's do tend to use conflicting commands and body language when giving our dogs a command. We just can't keep our tongue's still..... Sometimes instead of just saying, "no or wrong," I launch into a long conversation. For example: "Shadow, will you please stop annoying me by leaping around and go and lie down in your bed." Result: Shadow just stares at me with an idiotic look on his face then continues to do what he wants. Believe me, just by saying, "Shadow, Bed," works wonders. I don't find it easy, (who does) to control my emotions when exercising control over the dogs, especially if it has been an exhausting day. We all lose our cool at some point. Sometimes I think that as long as you have established a strong bond with your dogs, they are able to ignore the waffle and pick up on the command word. In the Dobermans case this means, "Yeah, yeah, I hear what you are saying, but Hey, I will just do as I like and lets see how tough you are!!!"

  dog lover 

[Dog Training]

Nice post!! Shadow is a super dog, and you obviously have control over your emotions some of the time because he is well trained, but yes you will get even better results by using FEWER words and saying them QUIETLY and CONTROLLED without emotion. Dobes are especially sensitive to their owners mood and if you are stressed, so is the dog, its that simple. If you are calm, so will the dog be and that means he will be more focussed and trusting, therefore more inclined to follow your words obediently.
Unplugging now, back on in few days.
Love the forum

[Ms.Shepherd]

Please keep in mind these are only alleged acts, nothing has been proven in a court of law.

Also - none of the allegations put Cesar Millan anywhere near the dog.

If this took place at his business, some other staff member may have taken the alleged actions (or failed to as the case may be).

Of course, he is the leader of his pack and is responsible for what takes place at his Dog Psychology Center of Los Angeles, both good and bad.

I do feel horrible about what that dog may have experienced.

No body really knows what happened yet, do they?  When someone makes it big like Cesar Millan has, sometimes people exagerate incidents or flat out make stuff up to either bring them down or get their piece of fame and/or money.  It's an unfortunatel fact of life people get jealous and greedy.  I am taking a wait and see attitude until we know all the facts.  People tend to react very emotionally as I do when I hear about animals getting hurt but what evidence to we have the dog was really hurt other than allegations made in a lawsuit.  You don't need any evidence to file a law suit .  That producer with the lab could have filed it for nothing or for a very minor injurty to see if Cesar would settle with him rather than face embarrassement and had to follow through with the threat.  Lots of things don't add up, so for now I am with holding any judgement.

[Dog Training]

Hi, yes i would agree with that point of view.
A few years ago there was a very prominent dog trick trainer. everyone i met at training shows, seminars or things like that used to spread rumours of this person using sticks, beating the dogs and lots more horrible stories. Trouble is, someone i knew was a good friend of this person and had known them years and they said that the person would never ever do such things, and i totally believed them. Sometimes people in the spot light are envied so much that people just love putting them down. The dog training arena seems to me to be very prone to bitchiness and jealousy. Its silly, but its true and there are a great many people who know a little, promote themselves as trainers or similar, and prefer to use nasty tales of other more succesful people to promote themselves than to just prove they are as good or better themselves.
I don't know Cesar, have never met the person and never will, so i really will never know whether any individual guilt is present and therefore my personal opinion will stay as yours, unknown. The only thing i would say is that if someone worked for me and they mistreated any dog, EVER, i would take it very personally on myself and would feel i had failed in my analysis of that person's abilities and temperament. If this is the case with this story, i am sure Cesar will probably do the same if he is a genuine dog lover, which as far as i know is true until i hear otherwise. Hopefully a thorough investigation will find out the truth and ANYONE mistreating dogs in this way SHOULD be punished and removed from dealing with dogs ever again.

[K9 Obedience]

I don't know if any forum members, "across the water" have heard of Mary Rae. She is a dog trainer who does heelwork to music as well as competition obedience. For many years now, she has fascinated thousands of spectators at Crufts, with wonderful displays of heelwork to music. As in this case, rumours started to fly around that she only got her dogs to perform by beating them. This is absolute crap, for anyone that has seen her perform would know that you just cannot get the invisable bond she has with her dogs by mistreating them. In fact Mary is a very quiet, shy person and only got into the public limelight, through someone practically begging her to put on a show local to her training club. She rarely appears in public, even though she could make millions by doing so. She has never followed up her success at Crufts with television productions and the such like. Sometimes she writes the odd article for dog magazines, to explain her techniques, yet still the rumours follow her. The competitive spirit is rampant in all show rings, and I believe such rumours are a result of intense envy from a small bunch of people. She does not need to defend herself, for one only has to look at her dogs to see the wonderful rapport she has with them. Lets hope the truth comes to light in the case of Ceaser Milan.

  dog lover.

[Dog Training]

Yes she is another, she has Border Collies, and that is one breed which is so easy to spot whether they are mistreated as they are so sensitive. I have seen and met her (at Crufts several years ago) and her dogs had the perfect gaze up at her, ready and wishing to work some more, this is not the sign of a mistreated dog, more of a dog which is trained using positive techniques causing the dog to WANT to work rather than fearing the consequences if it refuses. The best approach brings out the best resullts, and if anybody has seen her demos, they will know what i mean, very impressive and well worthy of her reputation with most knowledgeable dog trainers as being a successful trainer herself.
Having said all that, i must confess that through my own personal experience i can guarantee there are some very very harsh yet famous trainers out there who do lie about their true methods, and hide the fact that they are too negative and punitive with their dogs. I can see it in the dogs immediately but i have actually seen their harsh treatment in action too, however these people are definitely more and more in a minority and i think they are slowly being weeded out either by public or by other trainers.