Cesar Millan was in Singapore recently for a live show on May 2nd.
It’s always interesting how offline events can cause a spike in Internet searches. You can see the sudden spike in “Cesar Millan” searches on Google in Singapore in the graph below. Quite the all time high for the selection of dog training keyword terms I’m comparing his name to. He probably just created a new ceiling for himself :P
Interestingly enough, if you look at the generic dog training-related terms by themselves, they seem pretty stable trending downwards over time. Not really a good sign, but the bright spark here is the emergence of searches for dog trainers around 2013. While the level of searches is comparatively low, it still at least signals a segment of the population actively seeking trainers to get their dogs trained. And hopefully that helps the less-dogs-abandoned statistic.
At the same time, I’m wondering if the popularity of Cesar Millan and his Dog Whisperer show had any strong influence on persuading people that they have a need for dog trainers. I suppose it could be a confluence of factors including greater awareness of dog training as a profession and perhaps more dog trainers in the market.
Of course, any discussion regarding Cesar Millan can go one of two ways. Cesar Millan does have a huge fan base of advocates. Detractors say he is the poster boy for dominance-based training for dogs, which has the potential to lead to dogs that become anxious or low in self-confidence. (Note: Cesar Millan shows usually do come with a disclaimer to consult with a qualified dog trainer.) But let’s come away from that discussion and look at what the overmind of people searching on Google is saying.
Referencing the chart below, we can observe less interest in generic “dog training” content coinciding with increasing interest in “Cesar Millan” internationally. It looks to be levelling more by 2012-2014. So “Cesar Millan” is not exactly the equivalent of generic dog training when we make a superficial comparison of the two terms, but he has certainly done quite well marking out a dominant spot for himself in the territory of dog training and management searches.
So what happened to “positive training”? If you take away Cesar Millan, this is the view we get:
“Clicker training” not as popular as before while “Positive Reinforcement” and Operant Conditioning gain volume over time. That said, throw Cesar Millan in the mix and he shoots everyone clear out of the water.
“Cesar Millan” searches are strong internationally, with Mexico, Canada and parts of Europe being strongholds where it comes to search volumes. The lower level of “Victoria Stillwell” and “Karen Pryor” searches appear to be localised. Stillwell in the US and UK; Pryor in Canada and US.
I would hazard to say that “Cesar Millan” is a household name for people with dogs in Singapore. Heck, even my friend without a dog knows Cesar Millan. I’m not so sure if Karen Pryor and Victoria Stillwell will ring a bell with most people here.
And yet when I last checked, Google search results returned 9 million results for “cesar millan”, 12 million results for “dog whisperer”. These numbers pale when you compare to 39 million results for “positive dog training”. It’s mind boggling the amount of content we churn out for positive dog training when the term itself doesn’t even produce a bump in the search charts generated. Not in Singapore, not worldwide.
*Note: The above are superficial observations I made based on a few lines on the charts and a few select keywords. It was just something fun to do and you are free to derive your own opinions on the matter ;)
**Note 2: More about the people mentioned…
Cesar Millan is a self-taught dog trainer and TV personality widely known for his Dog Whisperer TV series on National Geographic.
The (Dog Whisperer) program demonstrates Cesar Millan’s application of his philosophy that healthy, balanced dogs require strong ‘pack leadership’ from their owners, specifically in the form of exercise, discipline and affection (in that order), 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. Each episode contains repeated warnings that viewers should not try some of the behavior modification techniques at home…
According to an article in Current Science, professional dog trainers find Millan’s methods “unscientific and inhumane.” Millan’s detractors say that what Millan calls “calm submission” is actually a state of helplessness that is the result of aversive dog-training techniques. A study in Applied Animal Behaviour Science said Millan has been influential in popularizing punitive techniques, but that bad behavior from dogs was caused by fear and anxiety, not a lack of the owner’s alpha status. A journalist from The New Yorker said that critics were responding to a “highly edited” version of his approach on television, which exaggerates the frequency and intensity that he disciplines the dogs. – wikipedia
Karen Pryor is popularly known for her work associated with clicker training. Clicker training is a method of training using a clicking device to mark when the dog exhibits a desired behaviour together with positive reinforcement by rewarding the dog for performing that behaviour.
In her 1984 book – Don’t Shoot the Dog: The New Art of Teaching and Training – Pryor explained why punishment often fails to get people to change. She described specific positive methods for changing the behaviour of husbands, children and pets. Pryor and Gary Wilkes introduced clicker training to dog trainers with a series of seminars in 1992 and 1993. The partnership ended due to philosophical differences. Wilkes used aversives as well as rewards, but Pryor’s focus was on force-free training. Pryor’s dog training materials and seminars showed how Skinner’s operant principles can be used to provide training based on positive reinforcement of good behavior. – wikipedia
Victoria Stillwell – dog trainer, author and television presenter – is an advocate of science-based dog training. Her approach is rooted in positive reinforcement techniques, rejecting traditional, dominance-based ones. She is the star of Animal Planet’s TV series – It’s me or the dog.
Stilwell is a passionate advocate for positive reinforcement training methods that enhance a dog’s ability to learn while increasing confidence, resulting in a healthy, well-adjusted pet. She is a vocal opponent of punitive, dominance-based training techniques which often result in ‘quick fixes’ but ultimately cause more long-term harm than good while damaging the owner-dog relationship. – positively.com
More readings
– The dog training methods which leave your pet stressed
– A quick summary of the various dog training methods through time
OhMelvin
This is crazy and crazy interesting! Agree that the CM debate is heated, I can’t tell you how many times I hear someone making the ‘chhhhhhh’ noise and worry.
weliveinaflat
I thought the “chh” sound is interesting in that it is at least pretty neutral sounding. It’s kind of hard to add intonation to that versus a “no”, which can come out sounding full of threat. That said it is a negative marker, rather than a positive one. I have observed people using at e.g. at the dog run rather ineffectively. Dog just ignore them anyway :P
I guess at the end of the day we can only trust that most people love their dogs and may experiment but will not really perform actions that will harm/terrorise the dog. Shelters go a long way to help educate. Like most, I did watch a fair bit of CM when we were contemplating adopting a dog. But our shelter contact did share that they were not too comfortable with some of the CM content. That got me wondering, and with Donna’s thunder phobia also driving to me to look for solutions, I eventually found positive training to be most effective with Donna. ;)
OhMelvin
I should have shared more! You are right, that noise is likely softer than ‘no’. I think the cringe part is that in the states, when someone makes that noise it is usually followed by an action that they saw on the show – like jerking the dog or using your foot to ‘tap’ his backside, or using your hand to replicate a ‘dog correction like that mother would with her mouth’. Part of my personal issue with that method is that the dog almost always seems frightened. Anyway, just wanted to clarify it’s not just the noise part!
weliveinaflat
Thanks for taking the time to clarify!
It helps me to understand better why same webpages from the western world have such strong reaction to Cesar Milan. :) I would feel bad too if the dog appeared frightened and the heavy-handed approach is continued anyway. I wish these people would just open their eyes and see that if the dog is already past the fear threshold it’s just not going to respond positively no matter how you push it.
The funniest scene I ever saw was a couple trying to train their Shiba Inu puppy. If the shiba puppy did not execute the desired behaviour, they make it lie flat on the ground. The thing is the shiba inu puppy didn’t appear frightened, it just complied and lay on the ground like it’s a something it was used to that the humans will make it do from time to time. Essentially, all they did was train the dog to consistently be comfortable with lying on its side periodically! I see the puppy rather often on walks, and its still happily jumping around on its lead like a flying dragon while the owner tells him “no” :P
On the other hand, the worst scene I saw was an old man take a dog on a walk with a cane with his hand and whipping the dog with it. That dog is another flying dragon that paid no heed to the cane and persisted in jumping around oblivious to the cane hitting him! I have to say though that it is common over here for kids to be hit with a cane when they are naughty, so I don’t think the cane on the dog thing has anything to do with CM.
Perhaps there are just many stubborn dogs around here, I dunno. Can’t really judge since Donna is a sweet, un-stubborn dog :P
Kali
His “chh” sound is really only that, neutral /sounding/, not neutral in his use. CM combines it with and conditions it to aversives (jerking on a leash, choking the dog, alpha rolling…). So to me it’s actually equally bad or worse than a threatening “no”, because it really is a threat.
weliveinaflat
I have to agree with you on that.
Kyla
We Scotties are the worst students in training class.
weliveinaflat
You may glad to know that you are not the worstest worst. It seems The Afghan Hound has a claim to that – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs#Lowest_Degree_of_Working.2FObedience_Intelligence
In fact, you’re not even in the top 10 of dumb dogs! Shocking, isn’t it?
Kyla
It has nothing to do with intelligence. It’s Scottie Stubbornness.
ThatJenK
That’s very interesting!
I honestly would’ve thought with the onset of TV trainers becoming more famous that searches for dog trainers or dog training would increase, showing people are more provoked to see professional help, but instead the searches for generic dog training stays fairly flat. That’s kind of disappointing.
weliveinaflat
This is kind of a superficial analysis. I do wonder if the long tail of individual searches for named trainers/training companies can be aggregated, we would see a more positive picture ;) … but that really depends on the dog training culture in the country too.
The view for Canada is slightly different from the worldwide view. “Dog training” still trend downwards, but the fixation with CM is quite muted here compared to the rest of the world ;P
In case you can’t see the embedded graph, you can also see it on the Google trends page here.
ThatJenK
Gah! So the graph won’t show and the link doesn’t work :(
weliveinaflat
Strange, I can see it just fine. Here’s a screenshot :)
ThatJenK
Thanks! I wonder if those two odd Cesar spikes coincide with a tour or something? Interesting.
weliveinaflat
It’s a mix bag. Some of the headlines around those peaks:
– french headline so I don’t really understand but something about CM bringing his pitbull to Ontario
– Dog behaviour expert Cesar Milan coming to Halifax
– Cesar Millan, dog whisperer, gets a new lease on life
2browndawgs
Very interesting although it is hard to take Wikipedia descriptions seriously since they often contain bias based on who is writing them. :) I am not at all surprised by those search results. Although the pet industry is big money, the online presence is fairly small.
weliveinaflat
You will unfortunately likely have to question the quality of content here for a while yet :P
If I knew all these stuff I would write them myself rather than quote them from somewhere else. As it is the writing is a part of the learning.
The search stuff is something I’m good at. The additional notes about the people gives whoever a starting point (I don’t have time to do in depth research about each and every one of them for this post unfortunately). but its better than a bunch of unidentifiable names and since you know the source, you can decide how much to trust it ;) I have to trust that people can research and make up their own opinions as you do.
I have a reading list – published articles, books – but it takes some time so when I get to the relevant material I’ll come back and correct any inaccuracies. At least, I hope I will have the time to do so.
Looking at market reports the pet industry will only get bigger, particularly in our part of the world. Whoever is online will be first in the game, its just a matter of whether they are aggressive enough to push and persist. First players always have more of an advantage since they’re there before it all gets to cluttered.