Trouble with the trainers; Stilwell versus Milan

Dog fight: The dominant attitude of American celebrity pet trainer Cesar Millan is at odds with the more gentle approach favoured by British trainer Victoria Stilwell

It has become a bitter row, and neither side is likely to roll over any time soon.

A dispute has broken out among Britain’s dog trainers over whether we should be dominating our pooches or treating them as equals.

One side insists it is fine to pin dogs to the ground in an ‘alpha roll’, while other trainers are fierce advocates of the more modern technique of ‘positive rewarding’.

They insist the more traditional method amounts to animal cruelty and can lead to increased stress for the dog - and they have launched an organisation to regulate dog trainers and stamp out the practice.

The traditionalists favour techniques espoused by Mexican-American animal behaviourist Cesar Millan, who has made a fortune from The Dog Whisperer - a TV series in which he re-trains problem dogs.

Mr Millan, whose clients include actress Scarlett Johansson and chatshow host Oprah Winfrey, says dogs should be treated as animals, not substitute children. He advocates the owner ensuring it is clear they are the ‘pack leader’.

In contrast, English dog trainer Victoria Stilwell’s TV show It’s Me Or The Dog encourages owners to think of their dogs as equals.

‘Any person can make an animal behave through force and fear,’ the 41-year-old former actress from London told The Sunday Times.

It is supporters of Mrs Stilwell’s doctrine who have created the Animal Behaviour and Training Council, with the support of animal welfare groups including the RSPCA and the Dogs Trust.

‘The aim is to standardise what is going on, because at the moment anybody can say “I know there is a leg on each corner – so I can train them”,’ said the council’s chairman, David Montgomery.

The council, to be launched next month, will regulate trainers in the UK, and those practising the ‘alpha roll’ are ‘unlikely’ to make the grade, Mr Montgomery added.

However, Colin Tennant, who has trained 10,000 dogs and chairs the Canine and Feline Behaviour Association, said: ‘It is political correctness. If you treat a dog like a human it will treat you like a dog.’

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I like stillwell ...positive is good
-.

I dont think that cos you're positive and use rewards means that you treat your dogs like "substitite babies".
There is a happy medium...which CM will never achieve

choose stillwell every time! i love her and her training methods, she actually trains them, and doesnt go on about all this "energy" malarky

Which ever you prefer I believe the idea that dog trainers should qualified and registered right.
There are too many people getting ripped off by people who call them selves trainers and have not got a clue.

Agree entirely with this post.

I'm in agreement here too.... if I'm going to pay someone to help me train my dog, I want them to have more knowledge and experience then I myself can get from owning dogs, reading books, and surfing the net.... I expect them to combine their own experience with the knowledge of well recognized training teachers and institutions... in fact I prefer my trainers to be qualified behaviorists as well....

Are neither Milan nor Stilwell qualified & registered then?

I don't see how Milan's 'methods' can even be classed as a valid way of training so I definitely prefer Stilwell. I fail to see how using positive training methods equals treating your dog like a child.

Exactly, just because I don't pin my dogs to the floor and simulate biting them doesn't mean they walk all over me! You attract more flies with honey as they say.

Dominance theory is outdated rubbish. Why is positive reinforcement seen as wishy washy?

I consider my self a balanced trainer. I use everything that works and that is fair/humane, my view of the latter is different to that of many others though.
I don't see what the council thing will achieve, just like the apdt here people who agree with it will join and others won't.

Ultimatly alot of the rubbished techniques have only been rubbished by those promoting the opposite. In the scientific community there is still alot of talk of dominance relationships and using aversives ect.

Adam