Jump to content

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Jk2q3jrklse (talk | contribs) at 04:24, 14 August 2011 (Undid revision 444747378 by Dreadstar (talk) That doesn't matter -- his position is *relevant*). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan
File:DogWhisperer.png
StarringCesar Millan
Country of originUnited States
Original languagesEnglish, Spanish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes131
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesMPH Entertainment, Inc.
Mobile Video Productions, Inc.
Original release
NetworkNational Geographic Channel
ReleaseSeptember 13, 2004 (2004-09-13) –
present

Dog Whisperer TV is a reality television series that follows Cesar Millan as he works in the field of dog rehabilitation. The series premiered on September 13, 2004 on the National Geographic Channel. It is also known as Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan or The Dog Whisperer, outside the USA, and is now in its seventh season and broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide.[1]

The program demonstrates Cesar Millan's philosophy that healthy, balanced dogs require strong 'pack leadership' from their owners, specifically in the form of exercise, discipline and affection (in that order),[2] with Millan demonstrating how owners can achieve and maintain a leadership role with their dogs. The program highlights Millan at work rehabilitating dogs, and is not intended as a dog training guide.[3]

At the debut of the sixth season of the Dog Whisperer, a New York Times article estimated an audience of 11 million American viewers each week.[4]

History

In 2002, after he was profiled in a newspaper article, Millan received offers from a number of producers, and chose to work with Sheila Emery and Kay Sumner. They teamed with MPH Entertainment, Inc. which had been involved in successful reality-based cable shows, to produce a pilot. The producers had preliminary talks with Animal Planet, but the Network would not commit beyond a single pilot episode.[5] The National Geographic Channel expressed interest in the program, ordering 26 half-hour episodes, on the proviso that MPH provide the required deficit financing.[4] Under this agreement MPH and Emery/Sumner retained copyright to the show.[4] The channel retains control of television distribution in the United States and Canada.[4] MPH and Emery/Sumner control worldwide home video and foreign sales and share that revenue with the channel, allowing them to create and market various video collections.[6] The name of the program was similar to Paul Owens' 1999 book The Dog Whisperer. Owens, a positive trainer, has distanced himself from the program and now calls himself "the original dog whisperer".[7]

The show premiered in 2004, gradually gaining audience attention by word of mouth.[4] For the first season, the series wasn’t positioned in prime time and the channel did little to promote the show.[4] However, in Season 2 it was expanded to an hour and moved to a prime time slot.[4] In 2009 the National Geographic Channel agreed with Fox to syndicate the series in the Fall of 2010, bringing it to a channel with exposure to approximately 50 million of the USA’s 120 million households.[4] A journalist for The Times questioned Cesar Millan on his motivation for producing the program, and quoted him as responding, "The goal that God and I have together is the whole world transformed through a dog."[8]

Program format

Each Dog Whisperer episode segment begins with a statement: "Do not attempt the techniques you are about to see without consulting a professional",[9] after which viewers are introduced to the difficult dog (or dogs), and their owners, through 'home movie' style footage of the dog performing the behavior its owners find problematic. Each episode contains repeated warnings that viewers should not try some of the behavior modification techniques at home.[2] A voice-over describes the situation briefly, owners tell their story, and Millan arrives, supposedly not having previously reviewed the 'audition' videos of the dogs, and without advance knowledge of the situation.[10] Millan conducts an interview as the owners describe the issues at hand. Millan usually then offers suggestions on how the owners may alter their own habits to become a 'pack leader' for their pet. He then demonstrates behavior modification techniques with the dog, and the dog's behavior is shown to be altered, usually to the astonishment of the owner. Millan frequently brings one or more of his own dogs to a training session, which Millan describes as transferring another dog's 'balanced energy'. Sometimes, the dog is taken to Millan's Dog Psychology Center where it stays with Millan's own dogs for a number of days or weeks.[11]

Reception

Jada Pinkett Smith, one of Millan's first celebrity clients and a close friend, said that he "has a gift" and that his "extraordinary spirit" is demonstrated in the way he relates to the troubled dogs on the Dog Whisperer program.[12]

In 2008, Dog Whisperer won the award for TV Best Variety or Reality Show at the 23rd Annual Imagine Awards, and also won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Animal Show that same year.[13] The show received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Reality Program in both 2006 and 2007, though it did not take the award on either occasion.[14][15] Dog Whisperer again won the 2010 People's Choice Awards in the category of Favourite Animal Show.[16]

In February 2006, an article in the New York Times quoted Dr. Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, who said that his college had "written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years".[17] A New York Times August 2006 op-ed by Mark Derr, an author noted for his publications on dogs, criticized Dog Whisperer for its reliance on a "simplistic view of the dog's social structure". According to Derr, Millan's methodology "flies in the face of what professional animal behaviorists — either trained and certified veterinarians or ethologists — have learned about normal and abnormal behavior in dogs".[18]

Also in 2006, the American Humane Association (AHA) requested that the National Geographic Channel stop airing the program,[19] saying that training tactics shown on Dog Whisperer were inhumane, outdated and improper.[20] By November 2009, Millan had invited the American Humane Association to the set of Dog Whisperer, at which time, according to Millan, "they changed their state of mind about what is cruel".[21] The association announced in February 2010 that despite "sharp differences of view in the past" and some lingering areas of disagreement, they shared many areas of interest with Millan.[22]

AHA Board Member, Steve Dale, said in a July 2010 newspaper column that while Millan seemed to really care about dogs and believes he is "blessed with an amazingly intuitive understanding of dog behavior, exceeding that of most people," that some of the methods shown on the program were inappropriate, and had little science behind them. Dale commented, "All dog trainers evolve. My hope is that Millan is evolving and eventually will catch up with everyone else."[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Oldenburg, Ann (27 July 2006). "Pack is back: A week of 'Whisperer'". USA Today.
  2. ^ a b Patterson, John (16 May 2009). "All heel for Cesar". The Age. Australia.
  3. ^ Peters, Sharon L. (31 May 2007). "The snarls don't faze trainer". USAtoday.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Wallace, Amy (10 October 2009). "Whispering to Rottweilers, and to C.E.O.'s". The New York Times. USA. Cite error: The named reference "NYTceo" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ Milio, Jim (15 March 2006). "Dog Whisperer Real Reality TV". HighDef Magazine. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Wyatt, Edward (23 May 2006). "From the 'Dog Whisperer,' a Howl of Triumph". The New York Times. USA.
  7. ^ Sternberg, Andy (19 October 2006). "The Original Dog Whisperer". USC Annenberg Radio News.
  8. ^ Whipple, Tom (1 March 2010). "Enter the Dog Whisperer, with Stern Words for our Dogs". The Times. London.
  9. ^ "Dog Whisperer: Cesar Down Under". Hulu.com,.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  10. ^ Idelson, Karen (11 October 2008). "Masters make case at 'Dog' auditions". Variety. With the exception of situations in which the dog is potentially a threat to Millan or to the crew, he isn't told ahead of time about the situation.
  11. ^ Wyatt, Edward (May 23, 2006). "A 'Whisperer' Howl of Triumph, From the Curb Up". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  12. ^ Oh, Eunice (8 October 2009), "5 Things You Didn't Know about Cesar Millan", People Pets, retrieved 22 March 2010
  13. ^ Witzeman, Jeff (25 January 2010), "Cesar Millan: Changing The World One Dog Owner At A Time", The Huffington Post
  14. ^ Associated Press (7 July 2006), "Complete list of Emmy nominations", Pittsburg Post Gazette
  15. ^ Bruno, Mike (18 July 2007). "Emmy Nominees: The Class of 2007". Entertainment Weekly.
  16. ^ RT Staff (6 January 2010). "Awards Tour: 2010 People's Choice Awards Winners!". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 April 2006.
  17. ^ "C'mon, Pooch, Get With the Program". The New York Times, Anna Bahney, February 23, 2006. February 23, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2010. Dr. Dodman said: My college thinks it is a travesty. We've written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years.
  18. ^ Derr, Mark (August 31, 2006). "Pack of Lies". New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  19. ^ Blauvelt, R (2006). "Dog Whisperer Training Approach More Harmful Than Helpful" (pdf). 23 (3). SpokAnimal C.A.R.E.: 1–2. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ^ Torgerson, DVM, MBA, Bill (6 September 2006). "'Dog Whisperer' Training Approach More Harmful Than Helpful". AHA Press Release. Retrieved 30 Jan 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Cesar Millan talks about UK tour". BBC, 27 November 2009. 27 November 2009.
  22. ^ American Humane Association (12 February 2010). "American Humane Association Convenes Humane Dog Training Symposium". Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  23. ^ Dale, Steve (July 14, 2010). "Dog Whisperer Has His Good, and Bad Points". Tribune Media Service. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dog_Whisperer_with_Cesar_Millan&oldid=444747710"