I have to share this comment in reply to “Cesar Millan vs Ian Dunbar in the New York Times” with everyone. Thank you, Wendy. I appreciate you talking about your past training life and your new one. I know that almost everyone who starts positive training is blown away with the response from the dogs. There is this moment of, “Hey, look! She’s doing what I asked her to do and on the first try! That feels so strange. I don’t have to fight her for it. I love it! I love it!” For those of you who haven’t tried positive training yet, what have you got to lose? Try it even if it’s just to try to prove all the positive dog trainers wrong. Your dogs will respond to you with great relish, they will love you for it. If you’ve been following Cesar Millan’s methods up to now expect a puzzled look of, “Really? No pain today? This is great!” from your dog. And then just expect to have a better and happier dog. Even people without a great deal of patience do great things with positive training. You get faster and better results without frustration and pain. That can help put even the most frustrated trainer’s mind at peace. Again, thank you Wendy for your candor and your help. You may have just saved a whole bunch of dogs from a death sentence.
“Dear Darcie, I’ll keep my comments brief. Although I respect Cesar for what he’s done to save unwanted dogs from shelter deaths as seen in his pack of misfits, I will never “touch” or hang choke or flood any dog ever again. I learned to train back in 1988 when I was a teen with my first dog, an American Eskimo, who was taught in this classic (abusive) Koehler method of dominating and alpha rolls and it ruined him and every other dog I applied it to. After I statrted taking in shelter & stray American Pit Bull Terriers for rehoming, I realized that the old fashioned leash correction & dominance theory methods resulted in “breaking” what little trust these dogs had left in people and most of them shut down at a certain point in training, although I was far from being what I’d consider negative energy or abusive, just “the pack leader”. Once I switched to truly positive reinforcement training in the methods of Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar, Patricia McConnell, etc, I was finally able to get the results that I wanted reliably without the side effects of anxiety and behavior regression in ALL of the pit bulls that I worked with. I no longer have to pop the leash or kick — excuse me “touch”—- my dogs on the flank when we pass other dogs on the street as demo’ed by Millan. I don’t feel that it takes any longer training-wise to work with positive methods vs punitive methods, especially when you count the time that you probably have to try another punitive method when the unwanted behavior manifests again. I am not a patient person, I have to work hard on discipling myself to be upbeat, patient and consistent to help my dogs learn to be self controlled, adoptable family members. The best part is that positive only based training has spilled over into my interactions with my teen/preteen kids and we have a much better human relationship using positive methods than using punishment. Sure, you have to fade out using treats with lure & train but I can almost guarantee that you’ll have a less anxious dog that is always thinking up ways to “please”. Clicking & treating for dog aggression has always trumped flooding in my household. Your mileage may vary, as they say. 
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Wendy
