Blog

Ask Dog Lady

by Julie Walker
Wednesday Sep 3, 2014

Advice on Pets, Life, Love

By Monica Collins

Dear Dog Lady,

I work in advertising and marketing and Cesar Millan, the so-called Dog Whisperer intrigued me. This dog trainer had best-selling books, a hit TV show on National Geographic cable channel, and he starred in a profile in the New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell. A cartoon Cesar doppelganger even showed up on an episode of "South Park" training the obnoxious Cartman. Millan became an American idol and his only obvious talent was hissing at badly behaved dogs. I never was able to figure out what made him so popular but now he seems to have vanished. Do you know what happened to Millan?

-Avery

Dear Avery,

Cesar Millan's mantra, about staying calm, cool and collected with your dog, came packaged with marketing machismo and a scary underhanded snap and hiss for any dog that didn't behave. Any episode of the "Dog Whisperer" carried a prominent warning not to attempt any of Millan's training methods on your own. This warning must have degraded the brand.

Yet, one Millan rule seemed abundantly sane: Walk the dog at least 90 minutes a day. Millan encouraged the use of a treadmill if you couldn't spend a lot of precious hours walking the dog. The treadmill technique proved there were many holes in Millan's methods. At least, he got the exercise piece right.

Millan went through a very rough patch after his white-hot celebrity cooled. He got divorced, became estranged from his children, lost his favorite dog, his money and his TV show. Now, claiming to be a different cat, he has a new TV series, "Cesar 911," on the National Geographic WILD channel. He also travels the country giving lectures about dog behavior and training. His books and DVDs are available for sale on his site, www.cesarsway.com.


Dear Dog Lady,

I love dogs, but I find my affection for animals is being compromised. Last weekend I had a disturbing incident on the beach. While walking alone at the surf line, I was suddenly brought up short by the sight of a Bernese mountain dog hurtling toward me with its teeth bared.  Luckily the dog was on a flexible leash and the owner pulled the animal back just a foot or so from me.  The owners proceeded to admonish the dog with coos and pet talk with no regard to me at all.  Ultimately one of the owners gave me a nod and a "sorry, sir." Then, he went on his way pointing a finger at the dog and scolding it.  I find the owners' indifference to me disgusting.  How should I have handled this situation? Should I report this incident to the police?

-Lou

Dear Lou,

Scary. A Bernese mountain dog is basically an Alp in dog's clothing. The sight of a big Bernese galloping toward you, with incisors unsheathed, must not have been pretty. You had every right to expect abject apologies from the owners. No wonder you were outraged when they minimized the episode by clucking at their rascal.

You could have yelled at them, but that would have wasted energy. Clearly, these people weren't sensitive to the seriousness of the shoreline encounter. Reporting the incident to the police would be folly since there was neither physical injury nor flagrant flouting of the law. After all, they had their dog on a leash.

Basically, you handled things perfectly because you wrote "Ask Dog Lady" for finger-wagging justice.


Dear Dog Lady,

Why do dogs pee on people? My mom's dog peed on my leg one day at the lake. I was just standing by the fire pit and he came over. When I was petting his head, I realized my leg was getting wet. Until then, I thought the dog and I were getting along really well. Also, when I took my dog Atka to the puppy park the other day, a gorgeous malamute ran over to us and played with my dog for a bit. He walked over to me with tail wagging and sidled up to me for a pat. All of a sudden he lifted his leg and peed on me.  Why do they do that? It's very annoying.

-Chrissy

Dear Chrissy,

They do that because you're vertical. They mistake you for a tree or a fire hydrant or a utility pole. They also pee on you because they like you. You must smell inviting to dogs with an urge to leave their mark on the world. They think, "Ooh, here's a receptive so-and-so" before lifting their legs and spurting. Or, "I would like to own this receptive so-and-so forever so I shall leave my mark and claim it."

Do you get it? Dogs pee on you because they're dogs. They pee on everything if you let them. And that's an important distinction. The dogs that sprayed on you have not been taught otherwise. Their owners should have been more vigilant and responsible about their behavior.

Go to www.askdoglady.com to read more columns, listen to radio segments and watch episodes of "Ask Dog Lady," the TV show.

Comments

Add New Comment

Comments on Facebook