by Lisa Mullinax, CPDT

Since writing The Dog Whisperer Controversy, I have received emails from fans who vehemently disagree with what I have written. In an effort to dispel many of the myths viewers have about the show, I have responded to the most common arguments below.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM HURT A DOG

The majority of the critics are not referring to physical abuse, although some of the methods used on the show could be classified as such. In the episode Fondue, Chip, Hope & JoyJoy, small dogs are lifted several feet off the ground and swung by the scruff of their neck. In Teddy, a Lab's feet are pulled off the ground by hanging him from the leash.

JonBee, muzzled, is lifted off the ground by a choke chain, a procedure known as "stringing up". Prior to this, the dog had not only shown no signs of aggression but had been attempting to avoid interaction with the star completely.

Ruby shows frequent multiple signs of stress during this episode. Shortly after this, she is offered a treat, which she does not take. Refusal of food in an otherwise healthy dog is a common sign that a dog's sympathetic nervous system has engaged, shutting down the digestive system in preparation for fight or flight.

What critics are primarily concerned with, however, is the psychological stress that dogs are placed under during the show. Many dogs that offer avoidance behaviors at the start of the show are often pushed to the point of aggression.

One disturbing example is JonBee, a Jindo who is forced to lie on his side. After a significant and dangerous struggle (during which the dog appears to have urinated), the dog finally gives up and allows himself to be rolled over. However, the dog is not relaxed. Quite the opposite. The dog exhibits all of the signs of stress listed in the previous article, and is exhibiting a phenomenon known as learned helplessness, sometimes referred to by trainers as "shut down."

Learned helplessness was originally observed by scientists who placed dogs in a box with no escape and shocked them through the floor. The dogs first tried to escape and then, exhausted and finding no exit, simply lay down on the floor, despite continued shocks. The dogs weren't enjoying the shocks more than they were in the beginning, they had simply given up.

It does not take physical injury to traumatize a dog. While some dogs can recover from traumatic experiences, others will have lasting behavioral problems as a result.

Just as in humans, chronic stress causes serious medical problems in dogs such as weakened immune systems, digestive diseases and heart disease. Acute stress can sensitize the dog to specific environments and people, creating a more negative association than before and escalating behavior problems in the long run.

So repeatedly stressing a dog does, in fact, hurt the dog.

HAVE YOU EVEN WATCHED THE SHOW?

Yes. In fact, most of the professionals who have spoken out watch the show regularly. Andrew Luescher, a Veterinary Behaviorist at Purdue University, viewed tapes of the show sent to him by National Geographic before it aired. He voiced his concerns to the producers at that time.

I regularly watch the show and download the video podcasts. I first watch it without sound, so that I can observe both the dogs' behavior and the star's actions, as well as the dog's response to the methods used. I find that the dramatic music, the announcer and the star's explanations frequently contradict what is actually happening on the screen.

YOUR ARTICLE WAS BIASED

To be clear, I am quite biased on this subject.  Just as a nutritionist would not write an article equally weighing the pros and cons of junk food, I am not compelled or obligated to present a balanced view of the show. I have, however, presented a factual argument. 

The show gives an inaccurate representation of dog behavior that ignores everything we know about animal behavior today. My bias also stems from years of personal experience, along with the combined experience of my colleagues who have personally seen the results of these types of methods used to suppress problem behaviors.  

AREN'T CRITICS JUST JEALOUS OF HIS SUCCESS?

Many of the professionals who have spoken out against the show are immensely successful in their own right. They have the respect of their colleagues, are professors at universities and popular speakers and authors. Others include professional dog trainers and behavior consultants who successfully help dogs with serious behavior problems through shelters and other non-profit organizations that are dedicated to improving the welfare of dogs and other animals.

Second, the popularity of the show has not created a loss in business for professional trainers and behavior consultants. In fact, quite the opposite. We have seen a tremendous increase in calls as owners realize that behavior problems are not something they have to live with, which is the positive influence of the show. However, at least half of the households we visit watch the show regularly and have attempted the methods on the show without success or with negative results.

If the show achieved the same level of success with humane methods based on the current and ever-expanding knowledge of science and behavior, and not on one individual's personal interpretation of behavior, most professionals would be singing the praises of the show and the star, as they are about It's Me or the Dog, which features solutions for equally problematic dogs and airs on Animal Planet.

It is not jealousy behind the protests but concern for the safety and well-being of dogs and their owners.

HE TELLS PEOPLE NOT TO TREAT DOGS LIKE HUMANS

Well, there's nothing wrong with that ...except if the alternative is to treat dogs like wolves...not based on actual wolf behavior, but an inaccurate interpretation of such. Ambiguous terms like "pack leader" are supposed to refer to the way canine animals act in a pack. Except the explanations and recommendations on the show have very little to do with the way actual wolves behave in an actual pack. So, treating a dog's behavior with false theories of wolf pack behavior is no better than treating a dog like a human and could have the same problematic outcome.

One problem with the punishment-based methods used on the show is that they assume the dog will learn what it is doing is "wrong," thereby attributing dogs with the humanlike ability to determine right from wrong. Until dogs form the capability to speak and tell us what they are thinking at any given moment, assuming that dogs are driven by their conscience is anthropomorphic - using human explanations for dog behaviors.

Don't treat your dog like a human, but don't treat them like fake wolves, either. Look to existing, factual information about dog behavior, all of which shows that the theories of the past don't hold up to how dogs and wolves actually behave.

BUT HE DOESN'T TRAIN DOGS, HE REHABILITATES THEM

While training for obedience and changing problem behaviors are not the same thing, they are not entirely separate, either. Successfully training a dog requires an understanding of how dogs learn and what motivates them to repeat behaviors. That understanding is also critical in being able to change behavior.

As for training, dogs that lack a basic foundation of obedience are harder to control and less responsive to their owners, which can make behavior modification (or rehabilitation) much more difficult.

One of the things I frequently observe about the show is that, while the dogs may not be reacting to whatever triggers the behavior (other dogs, people, skateboards, etc.), they are also not responding to the owner. Instead, the tight leash and frequency of jerks on the leash suggest that the dog would not be quite as "calm-submissive" if the owner were to drop the leash.

It is hard to imagine how one can rehabilitate a dog without a basic knowledge of how dogs learn or why they would want to skip this important step that encourages cooperation and puts the owner in a "leadership" position.

DO YOU THINK THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO TRAIN A DOG?

Not at all. However, what few people realize is that many of the top positive trainers (including "clicker trainers") started as traditional trainers 20-30 years ago and switched to reward-based methods after realizing the benefits in training for obedience, competition and behavior modification. So not only are they aware that there is more than one way, they have extensive experience using a variety of methods, including the compulsive methods used on the show. They also have extensive experience with the backlash that can occur after using such methods. On the other hand, there are few trainers who still use traditional methods today who crossed over from reward-based methods.

Yes, there is more than one way to train a dog. I think what owners should ask themselves is why choose to start with a method that could stress or hurt the dog without trying less aversive methods first.

Additional Reading
Traditional Training Methods

WOULD YOU RATHER EUTHANIZE THOSE DOGS?

Given the extensive number of books written by positive trainers on how to change serious behavior problems, including aggression, not to mention the ongoing seminars and conferences regarding how to change aggressive behavior, it is clear that positive trainers, including myself, do not immediately choose euthanasia over modifying the behavior.

If a dog owner receives a recommendation to euthanize their dog for behavior problems, we strongly advise seeking a second opinion to remove any doubts. Any professional who recommends euthanasia via phone or email should immediately be disregarded, as a verbal or written description of a behavior problem is not enough to determine whether or not a dog's life should be ended.

BUT IT WORKS/IT WORKED ON MY DOG(S)

I have not seen much in the way of changed behavior on the show. I do, however, see dogs with suppressed behaviors; dogs walking on very tight leashes, dogs that are stiff and immobile after being rolled onto their sides by force, dogs that are in almost every case restrained or shut down in some form or another. If the dog is unable to perform without being restrained by a tight leash or otherwise, the behavior has not been changed, it has been suppressed.

If the show's methods helped you and your dog and have not created additional behavior problems, then I can understand why it would be difficult to see the harm. However, in comparison to the limited number of dogs the average owner will own in their lifetime, professional trainers and behaviorists who speak out against these methods see thousands of dogs that develop significant behavior problems as a direct result of punitive methods.

One must also define "work." What I frequently hear is something along these lines:

"It worked on my dog. Every time he does [enter behavior], I just give him a correction and tell him "Tsssht" and he stops."

"Every time he barks" indicates that the dog is still repeating the behavior. The idea behind behavior modification is not that the dog simply stops the behavior momentarily, but that the behavior changes so that the dog's reaction in that environment is different, like looking at you instead of barking. Suppression of a behavior is not changing the behavior, itself. If the owner has to continually repeat the "correction" the behavior isn't changing.

Do aversive methods work? By the laws of operant conditioning, positive punishment and negative reinforcement do work. However, what the average viewer sees on the show is not changed behavior, with a few exceptions. What the average viewer sees on the show is suppressed behavior. Just because the dog is not barking, lunging or growling does not mean that it is rehabilitated.

SO WHAT IF HE DOESN'T HAVE A FORMAL EDUCATION? / HE ACTUALLY WORKS WITH DOGS AND DOESN'T JUST STUDY THEM IN A LAB.

There are a lot of professional trainers and behavior consultants who do not have a formal education or advanced degrees. However, these trainers do educate themselves and continue their education, staying abreast of the latest in dog training and behavior.

While it may be true that the scientists who work in laboratories studying behavior do not always work with problem dogs, the information that they provide about dog behavior, including aggression, is invaluable to those of us who do work with problem dogs every day.

Ignoring over a century of research about animal behavior and learning only furthers the ignorance of dog owners, the leading cause of behavior problems in dogs.

DO YOU THINK PEOPLE SHOULD TREAT THEIR DOGS LIKE CHILDREN?

Dogs and children are not the same. However, responsible parenting involves providing required nutrition, education, and consistent rules and boundaries without the use of physical violence, all principles which are also consistent with raising a healthy, well-mannered dog. So if more people raised dogs as they are expected to raise children, there should be fewer problems, not more.

In fact, in 1992, The Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science published a study1 of more than 700 dog owners which tried to determine whether or not anthropomorphic attitudes or activities were related to problem behaviors:

"....dogs whose owners interacted with them in an anthropomorphic manner, 'spoiled' them in certain ways, or did not provide obedience training were no more likely to engage in behaviors considered a problem by the owner than were dogs not viewed anthropomorphically, 'spoiled' by their owner, or given obedience training."

Dogs do not develop behavior problems simply because people view them and/or treat them as child-substitutes. Many other factors such as genetics, early socialization (or lack thereof), and trauma all contribute to behavior problems in dogs.

POSITIVE METHODS/COOKIES DON'T WORK ON "RED ZONE" DOGS

This common myth stems from a lack of understanding of stress in dogs. When a dog is in a situation where the sympathetic nervous system is engaged (fight or flight), the digestive system shuts down to divert all energy to the muscles for survival. This is what is known as the animal being over-threshold. So, if one tries to feed a dog treats while they are over-threshold, the dog will not eat. This means that the owner or trainer has moved too quickly into an environment in which the dog is already reacting and unable to learn.

Experienced professionals understand the importance of keeping a dog under-threshold, which involves exposing the dog to the person, dog or object that triggers the problem behavior. This allows trainers to use positive methods to change the dog's association in that scenario.

To use positive methods effectively to change behavior, one needs a basic understanding of how dogs learn. If they lack that understanding, they won't be successful. However, when one is unsuccessful with positive methods, there is no change in behavior, for better or for worse. When one is unsuccessful with punishment-based methods, there can be an escalation in the problem behavior which can be difficult for the dog owner to overcome.

CONCLUSION

Aggression and other behavior problems are not a mystery. We now understand what triggers aggressive behavior and how to change it and no longer need to rely on ambiguous interpretations of a few individuals. That knowledge continues to grow as scientific discoveries and further research provide a greater look into behavior, whether in dogs, wolves or humans.

When it comes to working with dogs, the alternative to aversive is not permissive. Modern trainers and behaviorists have extolled the benefits of exercise and boundaries for well over a decade. These common-sense guidelines to raising a dog are not the basis of the criticism of the show. It is the dangerous methods and the misinformation about dog behavior that has caused so many professionals to speak out.

1. Voith, V.L., Wright, l.C. and Danneman, P.l., 1992. Is there a relationship between canine behavior problems and spoiling activities, anthropomorphism, and obedience training? Appl. Anim. Behav.Sci., 34: 263-272.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING
	IT'S ME OR THE DOG on Animal Planet If you want to see a show about changing problem behaviors in dogs that focuses on positive methods, watch this entertaining show on Animal Planet!Victoria Stillwell does not cut dog owners any slack and shows them how to change their behavior while at the same time changing their dog's behavior. We give this show a big 4 Paws up!
	THE LANGUAGE OF DOGS DVD   If you would like to learn how to spot the signs of stress that professionals see on the show (and in other dogs with behavior problems), we highly recommend this 2 DVD set which also includes some very impressive footage of aggressive dogs.
RECOMMENDED READING
	CULTURE CLASH - Jean Donaldson Considered a staple in every dog trainer's library, Culture Clash breaks down the myths about training and behavior and explains how dogs learn in clear, straightforward language.
Visit the 4Paws University Bookstore for other recommended titles