What Is A Dog Whisperer

What Is A Dog Whisperer? That is the real question
A dog whisperer is somebody who has developed a high level of awareness & understanding of the mind & natural instincts of the dog species. This enables human & dog to form a deep connection free of the lots of constraints humans normally put in the way.


Because us humans & our canines are a different species they regularly encounter difficulties in communicating effectively with each other. They cannot sit down with them & have a conversation over a pleasant cup of coffee, like they would with our human friends. But what can they do? Ill get in to that soon after, but you could say that being a dog whisperer means that you have broken down these barriers of communication & have developed a very actual kind of way communication with canines. A dog whisperer realigns his/her methods of communication so that it matches up with & is relevant to canines.

Regrettably all of human-dog relationships in this world are way, lopsided affairs. It is usually us humans endlessly issuing commands or reprimanding our canines, seemingly oblivious to what our canines are actually feeling & trying to communicate to us. Look at it this way - think of a very dominant, overbearing person you have come across in your own life (in my case it was a boss I had a few years back). This person probably doesnt care much for the way you are feeling & what your thoughts are. They need to get their message across to you & tell you off when you dont reach their standards. When you do try to do or say something they fail to acknowledge your attempts or basically ignore you. How do you feel? frustrated.., helpless.. & probably much worse. I think lots of of our canines live in this type of restrictive surroundings every day. Our canines are constantly reaching out & trying to communicate with their human relatives, but somehow it seems to go unnoticed or at least misinterpreted.

The thing is our canines are continually speaking to us in their language. They communicate with us (& each other) through various means using energy, body language, scent, facial expression, the movement of ears & tail, overall posture & voice (barking, growling). As you can see, most of these signals or expressions are non verbal where is humans communicate in a chiefly verbal manner. What a dog whisperer does is acknowledge the difference between human & dog. A dog whisperer takes a step back, shuts up, observes & understands these gestures our canines continue to express to us. When you do this you cannot help but form a deep connection along with your dog as you will understand his desires & needs & therefore can reply in a manner which is appropriate to the situation, & is expected by your dog. You are communicating, your dog to you, & you to your dog - in lieu of merely issuing & enforcing an order & having your dog "do something for you".

When we are in this position of understanding our dogs its only logical that we are better placed to address their problems and shape their behavior. A dog whisperer treats a dog as a dog, not as a fluffy four legged human. They respect a dog for what it is and work with mother nature and the natural instincts of the canine species. Sadly most dogs arent afforded this same respect and level of understanding. Many well intentioned "dog lovers" smother their dogs with affection and the best of everything (toys, treats, fancy beds etc.) but this is not what dogs actually crave. A dog whisperer will provide the species specific, very real needs of the dog so they can live a fulfilling, peaceful, happy and well balanced life.

Picture this all too common scenario. You arrive home from a hard day at the office to find that your beloved dog has once again chewed up the cushions that were nicely decorating the sofa. Youre angry. In a raised voice you swear at him/her and tell him how disappointed you are. You then throw your shoe at him as you bend down to pick up the mess. As you are blowing off steam your dog is avoiding you, head down low, eyes looking up almost sheepishly, with tail firmly tucked between his hind legs.
At this point many dog owners look at their dog and say "look at the little bugger, he knows what hes done wrong, just look at how guilty he looks". This is the wrong conclusion to make. Your dog doesnt think like that (like a human) and he doesnt have a clue what you are rambling on about. He makes no connection between the chewed up cushions and your mood.

Dogs live in the present moment, so what he is picking up on and reacting to is your angry energy, raised voice and threatening body language. He may have also learned what the consequences are when you arrive home in this type of mood - he was probably waiting for the shoe to come his way! This scenario is an example of how us humans and our dogs view the very same situation from an entirely different perspective. Dog whispering is about understanding and recognizing that these differences exist, then acting accordingly.

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A Dog Whisperer Fiasco in South Africa

If you havent already heard about this story on the news Im sure you will soon. Im a little surprised it isnt popping up on more blogs. The video is disturbing but thankfully available as there can be no question of how the dog actually behaved since the "whisperer" in question tried to blame the child for stepping on the dog. Here is the original story:

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/2011/07/17/dog-mauls-girl-4-in-mall

And one trainers take on it:

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2011/07/africas-dog-whisperers-dog-attacks-4-year-old-girl-at-mall/?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150316047254134_18622004_10150316235874134#f17cceccedf04

I agree with the trainers comments that no dog is simply "cured" of aggression. So much of it is about context for the dog. Like I said before, aggression is complicated. There are many types and therefore different ways to address it. It may be that this dog had completely different issues before. Aggression with other dogs perhaps. One wonders if he took away the dogs communication of growling a warning with that silly "shhht" sound. Either way the handler (self proclaimed shaman/whisperer/whatever) made his biggest mistake by NOT keeping his eye on the dog, especially since the dog was in a public place. Clearly the dog targets the little girl when she left her table the first time. And certainly a service dog would need to be ok with people/children/other dogs running past them in close proximity. The little girl did nothing wrong.
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This is also a disturbing look at service dogs who arent properly trained. I see and hear of FAR to many people using service dog vests just so they can bring their dogs with them everywhere. We have a client at our clinic who passes his golden off as one so he can fly in the cabin. Sadly there is no one to turn him in to for this!! He has a "note from his doctor" that allows it as he has bragged to us. The dog has NO basic training that I can see. Thankfully it is at least a friendly dog. We used to have another client with a small dog they said was a service dog as well. He was on medication for seizures. Not sure how that works exactly since the dog wasnt medically fit. They switched vets so I no longer have to see them thankfully. I also had someone want to work with me with a dog that had severe dog to dog aggression who wanted to use him as a service dog. She was already taking him in public in a vest! While she actually had a need for a service dog, he wasnt appropriate for the work. I shudder to imagine the damage he could have done to a REAL service dog! (because one assumes a service dog is ok with other dogs a real service dog might get to close to him in a store for instance) Sadly I have more stories than this on the subject. While there IS a hefty fine for passing off an untrained and uncertified dog as a service dog, there isnt anyone to turn these people in to. So the threat of the fine isnt really much of a deterant.
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It is one of those things that gets under my skin because people are taking advantage of something because they feel like it. Heaven forbid they ever really need a service dog someday. (And catch a clue, if your dog is acting like an idiot in public people will KNOW it probably isnt a real service dog!) Note to business owners, you CAN ask a poorly behaved service dog and their handler to leave your business IF the dog is actually causing a problem. (Barking at other customers, lunging at other dogs, urinating on items in your store, and the like.)
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Sadly I must admit when I see a dog in a service dog vest these days, unless the persons disability is apparent, I am suspicious of it. Is it real or a fake for the owners whims? Ignorance is bliss I suppose. I wish there was some sort of governing body to address the issues of fake service dogs. If it were regulated, and I know that would come with its own set of problems, at least there would be a way to keep it from happening as much as it does. At least one hopes.
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It is an awful story. Thankfully the girl will be ok tho possibly afraid of dogs the rest of her life. Oh and the "Whisperer"? He is a Harvard graduate of a business program, and a self taught "Whisperer". Another example of why you should be careful who you are hiring to train your dogs. Slick websites and good marketing doesnt always mean the trainer is someone who really understands dog behavior. Anyone can hang a "I am a dog trainer/shaman/whisperer/whatever shingle and take your money for services rendered. Do yourself a favor and ask a few questions about how qualified they actually are before you hire them.
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I am so sick of this whisperering bunk. How many times do we have to point out why this "alpha pack method theory" is flawed? (FMI on that check out this link: http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm ) And how sad that the term "whisperer" was hijacked from Paul Owens who happened to be a positive method trainer. (http://www.dogwhispererdvd.com/index.shtml)
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Enough of my rant, what are your thoughts on the subject?

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