Perfecting the Cesar Millan ….tchzzzzzzzzpft!
by Pets
There was that sound again, a combination of a “pzt” and a “zpft.” Is that a sound? Or may be it’s a “tch!” You probably hear it a lot too. It’s the sound dog trainer Cesar Millan, of “The Dog Whisperer” television show on National Geographic channel makes when working with a dog. Millan emits the odd, not found in nature sound, when he apparently is trying to tell a dog, “oops too far, back off, wrong choice.”
I have started hearing the sound in classes, dog parks and in private sessions with clients….ugg. People are tching-zpfting-pzting their dogs constantly. People use it as nothing more than a way to be a nag to their dog. It’s not just a “one time will do ya” but constantly—nag-tzcht-nag. If I were a dog, I’d start tuning it out. And that’s what happens. THEN, people get angry at their dog and say the sound louder, accompanied with a nagging scruff of the dog’s neck. But hey, that guy on the television show does so it, it must work!
So it goes with the one size fits all approach to dog training and the use of “tczpt!” It masks intellectual laziness in developing a relationship with our dogs.
The problem with the overuse of the “tzcht” approach is it only tells the dog what NOT to do. How about instead teaching our dogs what to do? Oh, that’s right. That would take classes, diligence, consistency, and figuring out what makes our dog tick.
Warning: Some naughty language, but you get the picture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYbkLVcXWNo
Sue McGuire 
Hang on yo your hat, Sue. Milan’s fans are like Sarah Palin’s cool-aid drinking followers. Do not speak ill of their idol. Sad to say, my criticisms of Ceasar Milan’s techniques have cost me a couple of friendships, politely though I stated my opinions. I believe he has ignored the progress made in human/canine understanding during the past 30+ years by those dedicated animal behaviorists such as you. His program is also edited to produce a solution to the problem he is confronted with within the program’s time frame. I guess that’s normal for a television program. I recently so a link to his program at The Dog Star Daily where he literally choked a wolf-dog into submission. The animal’s eyes were rolling backwards, his tongue turned blue, and he lay in his own urine while Milan crowed about his dominance over the abused wolf-dog. Intervention is needed at National Geographic and Milan needs to attend a humane dog training school.
by c.m.
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by Perfecting the Cesar Millan .tchzzzzzzzzpft! - Pet Corner - The … | BETTER LIFE FOR PETS
I think people like Millan because what he does on his show works—on the show. The irritating tsk-tsk he makes is replacing what could be much better communication with our canine friends. No sooner did I blog that when this past weekend in a class, I heard it twice! In a puppy class! Puppies! Ug.
by Pets
well, it all depends on the dog-owner relationship as well. try not to be a hater b/c someone made it famous with some what outdated techniques. Sort of like Suze Orman and her “don’t spend what you don’t have” life – restate the obvious and you can make millions. There are many dogs I’ve trained that will not respond to the good treat-Yes commands – I know many of the dogs would be put down if there were not harsher consequences for them on mistakes – not just treats and love on good behavior. Yes, they are dogs that may not survive in a real “pack” but most humans don’t think about that when they get a dog. I don’t agree with a choke hold, but then again, Cesar has stopped most of that as well as he matures his training. The danger of Cesar is that no body sees the hours of training that go into each episode so we try it at home. They only show the success stories on his show – not where he almost loses an arm or the dog never listens!
by h.f.
Cookie pushing can backfire, compulsive training can backfire for some; a mix of the two, may work on others. Perhaps what is more worrisome is people tend to take Cesar’s practices on the television and apply them to their dog, irregardless of THAT dog. I actually think Cesar’s tchzzzzpft is a good mid-line correction. Positive training does not mean there is not room for correcting behavior but more importantly, better management to prevent dogs from doing what they ought not do and train alternative behaviors.
by Pets