08/21/2026
Haven’t seen a Cesar Milan episode for along time. Just watched one. I used to think he was magical with his calming effect on dogs.
Now, I see this show, with my Trainers eye, and I can’t watch it anymore! This is the narrative I see now.
Tell the parent it’s their fault due to their nervous energy.
Tell them they need to “redirect” , which means , give a correction, which means a yank using a choke collar or a swift kick. If you watch closely, you see the corrections for very brief moments. They mostly do this off camera. Then Voila…their dog is calm…amazing!
Tell the parent that their dog is calm now because of the “energy” they have transmitted through their leash.
The truth… the dog is shut down in a fearful state….not calm…Not himself, and still feels the same about the thing that’s bothering them. A temporary shut down doesn’t get to the root of their problem….their big feelings! Punishment needs to be repeated and escalated to function.
Modern training based on the Behavioural Science gets the dog to change their mind and feelings about the things they’re anxious about. ( Counter Conditioning). The dog is motivated , not from fear, but from learning to want to be around their triggers. Not…..in fear of getting kicked again!
His show is all about Parent blaming, and Punishment. He claims it’s the “energy” that fixes the behaviour because he doesn’t want to look like an animal abuser which he is!
His show does a great disservice to dogs, their parents and the dog training industry.
