Article on different thoughts on dog training - Cesar Millan or Victoria Stillwell

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

This is an interesting article

 

http://www.pawnation.com/2010/08/09/cesar-millan-or-victoria-stillw...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I just read this. I think both of them have animal magic and charisma. And for each of them, what they do works.

[sandy b]

I agree with Nancy. And I do enjoy watching their shows and have learned from each of them.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I don't fully agree with either of them. I think they both go to extremes. That said, I do still watch them on occasion, and I can usually get something out of it.

[Kathie and the gang]

I like them both, and use what works for me and my dogs. I don't approach any trainer has the end all to be all, I just know that they all (generally) have something to teach me.

[Adina P]

Articles that compare these two individuals frustrate me. For the most part they position Victoria Stillwell as the icon of 'modern' and 'positive training' and they position Cesar Millan as some icon of 'the other side' which is always inaccurately equated with "dominance theory."

Frankly, articles such as these are full of red herrings, strawman arguments, and false dichotomies. Any training that works HAS to be positive...even if the philosophy allows for corrections. You can't train a dog purely with punitive measures. I don't think any trainer worth his kibble would argue that.

But many would argue that purely positive (where no corrections are used) is not the only effective way to train.

Modern positive training philosophy goes on and on about how their methods and techniques are the only 'scientific' ones simply because there exists a behavioral science discipline. But my understanding of Science is that in a scientific experiment something is hypothesized, tried, and then evaluated for results/effectiveness. Refuting "dominance theory" has nothing to do with whether other training methods actually WORK. And indeed they do because dogs continue to be trained effectively, win obedience titles and more thanks to many other kinds of training besides the reward-only variety.

I have NO problem with reward-only training...but to say that science has proven that others don't work or that dominance theory has ANYTHING to do with whether the other methods work....OR....that Cesar is a proper rep for balanced trainers the world over...well that is just making all sorts of leaps and jumps into incorrect info.

[Becky and Bella]

Frankly, I think that you need to blend both sides in order to get the desired results. Cesar millan concentrates on the attitude that you need when dealing with your dogs. Leave anger, frustration, and thoughts of what other people think of you behind. You need to remain calm and confident, not blaming or taking offense to what your dog does or does not do. He also points out the main problem which many dog owners forget ... you need to WALK your dog and give it mental/physical stimulation as much as possible. Once you learn this, Victoria's positive traing techniques become a breeze.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Well said, Becky