Cesar Milan

I have had an on/off admiration for Cesar Milan.

At first, when I saw his earlier shows several years ago I was in naive awe at what he was able to achieve.

Then, the doubt set in. Mutterings and rumours on the internet about using force, and what many considered out-dated methods of training. Then there was incident that led to a legal case and a settlement out of court (never a good sign).

Then I came back to the show, and watched it again and took a different view, not least in his attitude to rescue dogs, banned breeds and puppy farms.

I also have to think about the same people who criticise his methods as often being the same people who perform curiously simple short tests to define if a dog is aggressive, and therefore should live. This was demonstrated graphically in a recent BBC Panorama episode. Here a leading dog welfare organisation decided that because a dog pulled on a lead, and maybe growled (it was inaudible to me) it was dog-aggressive and because of this, and the pressing numbers in their care it could not be kept for rehoming, but destroyed instead. I was horrified.

Cesar Milan would not accept that. Then again the comparison is by default unfair, because Cesar does not have 3,000+ dogs to deal with every year, but his attitude is that no dog is beyond help, even if it means the owners may need to change.

So, is Cesar cruel? Is it cruel to use a choke chain on a strong dominant dog? Well he very rarely uses one. He has developed his own collar that is, from what I can see, a development of the choke principle, but in a slightly different way. More often, for dogs that pull and are intent on taking their owners wherever they please he uses a rope collar (choke principle still applies) and lifts it as high as it can go under the head of the dog. This does work, instantly in controlling the movement of the dog. I have tried it myself. But the trick is to know when to do it, and when to stop doing it. If the lead is held incorrectly the dog will still pull, and the position of the collar could cause considerable suffering even injury. That is why Cesar could cause problems for viewers who attempt these techniques without actually knowing what they're doing.

Cesar has used the body flip, roll and pin to dominate aggressive dogs. For this he has been criticised. Yet I did not see the criticism levied at the BBC when on its Dog Borstal Mick did exactly the same thing. I admire Mick, and I like his style and feel his use of the flip and pin was necessary to establish first dominance, then submission and finally trust in the dog. It worked.

Then there is the back-heel. In the legal case mentioned above it was insinuated that this may have been used to such a degree that the dog in question had bruising in the thigh area. From what I see, Cesar uses a tap of the heel, more a touch and certainly not a kick. I do not like this form of physical technique, but it can work. With my Bo, who can be dog aggressive to strangers the tap on the back leg instantly clicks him out of the prey instinct. However, I choose to avoid those contacts in the first place rather than stress/excite him to the point that I would have to issue some a 'touch'.

The other 'touch' is what he calls the bite or nip, and what I call the claw, as that is what the hand looks like. I can concerned that this technique is not sufficiently explained for ordinary owners to understand. It works part of the time for Cesar, but I think only in those nervous excitable cases where the 'touch' snaps the dog from the mentality of the problem. I have tried the 'claw' and find it marginally effective. For Dolly it has no effect, but she is more confident. I have not needed to use it on Bo. For the old boy Jasper it instantly snaps him out of any barking frenzy, but that I feel is more to do with his nervous disposition. Charlie, the smallest of my wayward pack has no effect.

Finally there is the 'ssssch' command. The sound works. It works for me, although I am not consistent with it, it seems to be a calm command to control the dog and obtain attention.

So while some of what Cesar does may not sit happily with our cosy little view of the dog world, he does not give up on dogs. He rescues many and abhors abuse and violence towards dogs. You will notice also how he instills in his clients the need to remain calm with their dogs, even in the most frustrating circumstances. For this reason, I do admire what he does and continue to watch his shows. He is trying to change the way people view dogs, instilling the need to exercise and reward, to obtain respect through calm confident leadership, by setting the necessary rules, boundaries and limitations, and by trying to get people to stop buying dogs from puppy farms and by extension pet shops.

Hide the truth and keep the wolves at bay

Having written yesterday about the disgusting use of a captive bolt gun by a major animal charity to kill ten GSD I have today come across an indication that the same said charity is using its solicitors to protect its trademark. Therefore I have removed any mention of this organisation in terms of its protected trademark and have replaced it with MRCTAL, which was suggested by Robert Killick

Dog fighting again

BBC News ran a detailed story on dog fighting today. I have already put into words my intense anger at these brutal acts and I did not want to see the report but I had to. The poor Staffie they showed with its broken jaw and numerous wounds over his head gave an indication of how pathetic our system of dealing with the perpetrators will be. The law simply is not strong enough. Breeding is too easy, and with that there is no way of knowing how many dogs are out there and with whom. A license scheme which I have always opposed seems even more necessary today. My objection to such a scheme is based on how well it will be administered and upheld. With that comes lots of taxpayers money and just do not see that being a priority for any political party.

Foxes

I like foxes. I like most animals. In fact I quite possibly do not dislike any animal. I live in a town and have lived in a big city. In both cases the urban foxes has been a welcome sight, a relief to know that in some tiny slither of urban jungle there is still, a small population of these beautiful creatures seeking out a desperate existence.

Yesterday I came across one of the most disturbing images I had seen for a long time. I will not repost it here. The link for the page is here at Sky News.

It shows the depravity of some people. We come across many disturbing images in our lifetimes. I remember the time while walking my dog several years ago that I came across a suitcase by the edge of a lake. The suitcase had burst open and inside lay a long cold, wet adult Staffordshire Bull Terrier. It made me sick. Another was the awful burning incident in Birmingham a few years back. The bastards responsible have never been caught. They tied and then torched alive a Staffie. Who knows what their motivation was. Perhaps it was fun. Perhaps the dog had misbehaved and in their pathetic mind this was the suitable punishment. It is an image I wish I had never come across. It haunts me to this day. There is a website devoted to trying to find those responsible. I will not post a link here. You can search for it in google if you really wish to see those images.