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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