Cesar Salad

Cesar Millan, the eponymous Dog Whisperer, takes a tough love approach to dog training. Perhaps too tough. One of Millan's clients, a TV producer, has sued.

The National Geographic Channel, which airs "The Dog Whisperer" on Fridays at 8 p.m., stands up for its star Cesar, cash cow.

Millan's methods seem heroic and balletic to Malcolm Gladwell who wrote a profile in the New Yorker (May 22). Gladwell finds Millan's tipping point, which is the trainer's extreme grace under pressure when soothing those savage beasts that bite and steal. Millan blames human troubles for dog problems. Read this interview with Gladwell in which he talks glowingly about Millan.

As might have been expected, Gladwell received a hefty amount of nips for his profile elevating Millan to pop angel cult status and bestowing unto the dog trainer unearthly powers. Gladwell disseminates and dissects the criticism on his blog.

A tail from the dark side is this op-ed by a dog expert decrying Millan and his punitive methods. The author argues the cult of Cesar has bombed dog behavioral training back to the stone age.

And the Dog Whisperer's "walk 'em 'til they roll belly-up" methods are ripe for satire, as seen in this recent episode of Comedy Central's "South Park," when Cartman's exasperated mother hires Millan to train her psycho son. Millan and mom put the brash butterball on a leash and beat down his evil spirits.

When all is said and done, read "Et Tu Cesar?" and find out what Dog Lady thinks of Millan.

Posted by Dog Lady at September 21, 2006 11:58 AM