Shadow and Riley videos - a defence of Cesar Millan
by Tiffany Allen
Shadow: I first hear about a dog, Shadow, who has gone after another dog before, multiple times (the other dog in the clip). I see Cesar correct (with the leash) Shadow for showing the very first indication of paying attention to the other dog. Cesar didn't wait until Shadow went after the other dog (he knew it would happen as the owners called Cesar in for that reason) but corrected him at the very first sign according to Shadow's body language (ears, tail, eyes, body). I then see Shadow retaliate by going after Cesar. Cesar is moving around CALMLY, I see no anger, frusteration, nor do I hear it in his voice. Cesar is trying to stay out of harms way as best as he can, yet he knows if he backs down, Shadow wins and learns to get his way by biting.
Yes, I do see the leash is tight but I see Cesar relax it slightly when Shadow sits, facing away from the other dog. I then see Cesar put his hand firmly on Shadow's neck, but not grabbing him nor pulling him. Cesar guides Shadow to the ground and in less than 2 seconds, Shadow is WILLINGLY laying on his side. During the initial struggle, yes it does look like Shadow's tongue is blue, however when on the ground and Shadow licks his lips, it looks pink again. If my dog were to take off to run after a squirrel across the street and ends up choking herself on the end of the leash, is it my fault because I was holding the leash or is it my dog's fault for doing something wrong? Shadow is then continueing to lay on the ground while Cesar has taken his hand away from his neck after just a few seconds. Shadow's eyes are closing, his tail is relaxed and not between his legs, his ears are relaxed and not being held down and back, he is not trying to get away from Cesar. Meanwhile Cesar is talking about how he does not come across many purely dominance cases like this one.
The owners thought Shadow was an aggressive dog. Cesar taught them the difference-many of his cases on aggression are about fear, insecurity, anxiety, hyper (lack of exercise), etc., but not many are a case of dominance. He says Shadow would not go after the other dog to hurt him/her but rather to show dominance over him/her. I have not seen that entire epside and I'm curious, have you? What do the owners say about Shadow afterwards? Usually Cesar will do a follow up a couple weeks after his initial meeting.
Riley-I did watch this entire episode before and if I'm remembering correctly, the owners report that Riley no longer has problems going up the stairs. While he was fearful of them before, he now no longer is. In my opinion, if Cesar was instilling fear in Riley by his particular methods, Riley would have become even more afraid of the stairs. After watching this clip again, I first see Cesar take Riley for a run to establish some rules (stay at his side) and develope a bond between them. During this run, Riley's tail and body is relaxed. To keep that same momentum going, Cesar goes from running outside to running up the stairs in order to keep Riley's mind moving foward. After about 2 seconds of pulling backwards, Riley climbs about 3 stairs on his own. Riley then decides he doesn't want to go up and uses his usual tactics of laying down and pulling backwards with his weight. Riley weighs 140lbs. I believe it was and had learned he could use his weight to get his way.
Yes, Cesar does use the leash to move Riley up the stairs but you'll notice he releases when Riley moves forward. Cesar also takes multiple tries of running from outside to straight up the stairs as Riley continues to pull back with his entire weight. Riley's tail never goes between his legs, which would show if he was fearful. On the second try Riley gets to the top of the stairs a couple at a time. I think this shows that he learned that even though he fought, he didn't win. At the top of the stairs, Cesar allows him to rest and then starts to go down slowly, talking about the safety of what he is doing-he can't run Riley too much or else he will get hot and can't tire him out too much or else Cesar would have to carry him (which he's not strong enough to do!) which would not allow Riley to learn how to climb on his own. On the third time, after Riley had made it to the top and then backdown again, Cesar did have to pull him about 3 feet across the tile floor where Riley then went up the stairs on his own. I believe this episode showed the time elapsed and total is was only about 4 minutes from start to finish. 4 minutes to get a dog previously afraid of the stairs to go up and down twice while not showing fear of Cesar or the stairs.
Tiffany Allen
Yes, I do see the leash is tight but I see Cesar relax it slightly when Shadow sits, facing away from the other dog. I then see Cesar put his hand firmly on Shadow's neck, but not grabbing him nor pulling him. Cesar guides Shadow to the ground and in less than 2 seconds, Shadow is WILLINGLY laying on his side. During the initial struggle, yes it does look like Shadow's tongue is blue, however when on the ground and Shadow licks his lips, it looks pink again. If my dog were to take off to run after a squirrel across the street and ends up choking herself on the end of the leash, is it my fault because I was holding the leash or is it my dog's fault for doing something wrong? Shadow is then continueing to lay on the ground while Cesar has taken his hand away from his neck after just a few seconds. Shadow's eyes are closing, his tail is relaxed and not between his legs, his ears are relaxed and not being held down and back, he is not trying to get away from Cesar. Meanwhile Cesar is talking about how he does not come across many purely dominance cases like this one.
The owners thought Shadow was an aggressive dog. Cesar taught them the difference-many of his cases on aggression are about fear, insecurity, anxiety, hyper (lack of exercise), etc., but not many are a case of dominance. He says Shadow would not go after the other dog to hurt him/her but rather to show dominance over him/her. I have not seen that entire epside and I'm curious, have you? What do the owners say about Shadow afterwards? Usually Cesar will do a follow up a couple weeks after his initial meeting.
Riley-I did watch this entire episode before and if I'm remembering correctly, the owners report that Riley no longer has problems going up the stairs. While he was fearful of them before, he now no longer is. In my opinion, if Cesar was instilling fear in Riley by his particular methods, Riley would have become even more afraid of the stairs. After watching this clip again, I first see Cesar take Riley for a run to establish some rules (stay at his side) and develope a bond between them. During this run, Riley's tail and body is relaxed. To keep that same momentum going, Cesar goes from running outside to running up the stairs in order to keep Riley's mind moving foward. After about 2 seconds of pulling backwards, Riley climbs about 3 stairs on his own. Riley then decides he doesn't want to go up and uses his usual tactics of laying down and pulling backwards with his weight. Riley weighs 140lbs. I believe it was and had learned he could use his weight to get his way.
Yes, Cesar does use the leash to move Riley up the stairs but you'll notice he releases when Riley moves forward. Cesar also takes multiple tries of running from outside to straight up the stairs as Riley continues to pull back with his entire weight. Riley's tail never goes between his legs, which would show if he was fearful. On the second try Riley gets to the top of the stairs a couple at a time. I think this shows that he learned that even though he fought, he didn't win. At the top of the stairs, Cesar allows him to rest and then starts to go down slowly, talking about the safety of what he is doing-he can't run Riley too much or else he will get hot and can't tire him out too much or else Cesar would have to carry him (which he's not strong enough to do!) which would not allow Riley to learn how to climb on his own. On the third time, after Riley had made it to the top and then backdown again, Cesar did have to pull him about 3 feet across the tile floor where Riley then went up the stairs on his own. I believe this episode showed the time elapsed and total is was only about 4 minutes from start to finish. 4 minutes to get a dog previously afraid of the stairs to go up and down twice while not showing fear of Cesar or the stairs.
Tiffany Allen
