Beyond Cesar Millan: MUST READ

I'm posting a link below to an article/letter written to National Geographic several years ago. the article is very long, but it is, HANDS DOWN, the best discussion of dominance, aggression, Millan's methodology and alternatives to working with aggressive dogs. It is fabulous. I have saved it and sent it to all my foster parents.

http://beyondcesarmillan.weebly.com/marina-kviker.html

Oh Blanche, there is someone new on OzPugs (they are actually US based) who thinks Millan is all that. I will give them this link!

Aussie Witch wrote:Oh Blanche, there is someone new on OzPugs (they are actually US based) who thinks Millan is all that. I will give them this link!

I've already exchanged emails with her, Rona and I've posted this article in it's entirety on OzPugs.

Bravo! Amen! I wish more people could see this!

pugasaurus wrote:Bravo! Amen! I wish more people could see this!

Absolutely. This is THE best, most specific, most sensible explanation and delineation of the issues I've ever seen.

Yeah, went straight over to OzPugs and saw you'd been busy! I hope that person listens, it started to sound a bit dire. And thanks for posting it over there.

The thing that I hate about positive punishment programs for aggressive dogs is that it just makes the symptoms of the aggression go away, not the aggression itself. The dog is still thinking those aggressive thoughts and is still thinking about biting and if pushed enough, he/she will bite. I've had so many dogs that just "bite without warning" because they've been punished for telling the handlers they're about to bite.

Positive reinforcement methods aren't as spectacular and take longer, but they actually change the way the dog feels about whatever he or she aggresses against. And aggression is ultimately about fear, for undersocialized and traumatized dogs, the fear is obvious, but even for so-called dominant dogs, and yes, some breeds are pushier than others, the pushier dog fears loss of a resource. This I will say about dominance, so many dogs that come my way are called dominant by their owners, but they're actually afraid, dominance is the ADD of dog behavior, it's lurking around every corner. And holy moly, calling aggressive dogs "red zone dogs" was a touch of marketing genius on the part of Milan and his handlers, that's almost as overused as dominant.

I bookmarked this article as a handy reference.

Great article. THANK YOU!!! The hubby and the problem child's(Quigley)trainers and I have been having a "debate" regarding some of his quirks. this will come in handy.

Trish