I read a wonderfully inspiring journalistic article the other day thanks to a posting on DWAA. Louise Rafkin wrote a lovely piece back in October for the San Francisco Chronicle outlining some of the differences between the charismatic Cesar Millan with his domineering training methods and the ever humble Dr. Ian Dunbar.
Dr. Ian Dunbar, the man who wrote the book — rather, six books — on pet dog
training and the guy who developed one of the earliest puppy-training courses in
the country.
Dr. Dunbar in his quiet, modest way, is a firm believer that all pups and dogs need to be trained. It’s the method of training between these two men that differs so greatly. It’s a shame there is such a media machine behind Mr. Millan because his archaic methods, that many positive dog trainers have worked so hard to dispel, are again being embraced by the unsuspecting general population of dog guardians.
As Rafkin so aptly states:
Besides foreign roots, there is little these two men share, except, as Dunbar
points out, the bedrock belief that all dogs can and should be trained. If this
were a dogfight, it would be the unlikely match between a pit bull and a border
collie — unlikely, because those who know dogs know the border collie would
simply leave. In this case, however, those watching the fight keep pushing the
smart dog back in the ring. Top dog trainers nationwide have expressed dismay
that Millan is the current face of dog training, and most say that Dunbar should
be the one with the empire. It’s a perennial conflict in training discourse. Are
results best achieved through rewarding good behavior or punishing bad?
One of the strongest points made in her article is worthy of note:
While distaste for Millan might be growing, Dunbar focuses on discounting the
myths such training ideas foster. Dogs aren’t wolves, Dunbar says, generations
of evolution separate the two animals. “Learning from wolves to interact with
pet dogs makes about as much sense as, ‘I want to improve my parenting — let’s
see how the chimps do it!’”
I would never embrace any of Millan’s training methods, when there are much more humane and ‘do no harm’ alternatives — that work. Please read the rest of her article and see what you think.
After that, check out websites such as Clicker Solutions for a much more desirable and effective method of training. Here is a list of training articles that will keep both you and your dog happy and ensure s/he is well trained to boot!
I’ll close with the sensible words of author/biologist Dr Ray Coppinger who said the following in reference to dominance methods (alpha rolling for example) of training:
“I cannot think of many learning situations where I want my learning dogs
responding with fear and lack of motion. I never want my animals to be thinking
social hierarchy. Once they do, they will be spending their time trying to
figure out how to move up in the hierarchy.” — Dr. Ray Coppinger.
Further reading on dominance (research based) in dog training:
The Macho Myth by Dr. Ian Dunbar, PhD, BVetMed, MRCVS
Hi Diane, I know this is an old post, but I just read it. I’m not a big fan of the cookie man, although I do love Milano cookies. Neither am I a fan of Ian Dunbar, regardless of whether he’s a nice man or not. For a well schooled individual to be teaching that wolves have no more in common with dogs, than children do with chimpanzees. Is really a terrible analogy, that would more likely sound like it came from cookie himself, ( which he also says by the way, the wolf and dog thing). As opposed to a man of science ( Dunbar).
Science teaches us, that only the same species of animals can propagate and have fertile offspring. Which dogs and wolves are capable of ( Wolf dogs). And humans and chimpanzees are not.
You advocate supplementing our dogs feed with meat, or exclusively raw diets. You should make your readers aware of why, this type of feed is beneficial for our dogs. It’s beneficial because grain based feed is inappropriate for carnivores and predators.
Our dogs are not the domesticated animals we think they are. And for dog trainers, behaviorists and vets. Who do not have first hand knowledge of a given species, to blindly follow the teachings of others, who lack first hand knowledge. Is definitely not the best way for us to approach any subject, that we may show an interest in.
For a little bit more info, please visit
Your dog domesticated or
Breed behavior analysis
Thank you
P.s. You have a great site ,on the topics of animal health.
Okay, so this is an older post but I don’t understand the article or the response. Cesar does not advocate beating a dog into submission. Rather becoming a quiet, calm dominate owner. Ian Dunbar also advocates becoming a pack leader, through fairly close methods.
Either way, both are about taking control and training your dog, not having your dog train you. Neither one advocates physical dominance nor do they say that the pack leader is the aggressor. So, with that…again…I don’t understand this article.
However, neat site with lots of information! thanks!
I’m sorry you don’t understand the article or the response. I suppose this is part of the reason there are so many followers of Milan. Milan’s methods are not all about becoming a “calm, dominate owner” — the pairing of those two concepts (calm + dominate) are themselves a hint to the contradiction. I’m not here to beat the ideas over people’s heads … simply to present them and have individuals look more deeply and understand. Thank you for your comments.