Cesar's Way

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cesar's Way is a nonfiction book about dogs. Authored by Cesar Millan, the host of National Geographic Channel's Dog Whisperer reality television show, Cesar's Way was published in April of 2006 and shortly thereafter made the New York Times Bestseller list. The self-titled guide to common dog problems is part autobiography, part guide to dog psychology. As a reference for dog owners, the book focuses more on what to do than the specifics of how to do it. The basic tenets of Millan's highly successful methodology are exercise, discipline, and affection.

Contents 1 About the Author 2 Controversy 3 Results 4 External links & references

[edit] About the Author

Cesar Millan seeks to help dog owners properly fulfill the needs of man's best friend by helping them understand dog psychology. Millan's own pack of up to 50 dogs, including Rottweilers, Pit Bulls and German Shepherds, all live together harmoniously. Millan's own Dog Psychology Center is dedicated to the physical and psychological well-being of dogs of all breeds, sizes, and ages.

Millan is an honorary member of the International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP). Millan's Dog Whisperer television show is sponsored by Purina and Petco.

[edit] Controversy

While few would deny his intuitive understanding of dogs and the success of his work, Millan's methods as laid out in Cesar's Way have caused a stir among some in the dog world. The most common complaint opponents raise is that the pack leader concept Millan espouses is simplistic and dominant.

One of Millan's main precepts, that a dog who walks ahead of its handler "thinks" of himself as the pack leader, and is consequently harder to control, isn't based on real pack behavior, as exhibited by wild wolves. David Mech, of the University of Minnesota, has studied the pack behavior of wild wolves for five decades, and his studies show that no one wolf leads the pack at all times when they travel; it's more of a shared activity that depends on variables such as the type of terrain, and which wolf has grown tired from being ahead of the rest of the pack at any given time. Millan also fails to recognize that search-and-rescue dogs, drug detection dogs, police dogs, and tracking dogs, can't do their jobs properly if they don't walk ahead of their handlers at least part of the time, and in some cases all the time. And yet these are some of the best-trained and most well-behaved dogs on the planet. This is just one instance where Millan's view of "pack psychology" doesn't match the facts.

Other complaints include that Millan's methods are:

• Not always practical
• Not based on science
• Not specific enough
• Old fashioned

[edit] Results

Fans of the book are quick to recommend it to anyone who has a genuine love for dogs.

Benefits of the book as mentioned by those who have read and applied it include:

• Success in changing dog behaviour
• Techniques that work with any dog
• Techniques that work regardless of the problem
• Improved quality of life for dog owners
• A positive approach to helping dogs
• Happier dogs

[edit] External links & references

• Cesar's Way, the book
• Cesar's Dog Psychology Center