Several readers have suggested I consult Cesar Millan’s book or TV show to solve Cosmo’s stormy weather issues. I don’t know what he has to say about thunder-phobia and he may be 100% right, but I’m a bit skeptical of him. I heard the Dog Whisperer on NPR’s Diane Rehm show a couple months ago talking a lot of new agey junk about his “energy” and “vibrations” being the key to his success with dogs. Now, don’t get me wrong, I agree that most dog problems are created by their owners and that behavioral change often starts with the human not the canine (“You can say that again!” – Cosmo). But lots of dog professionals make that point. He seemed to be taking things to the next level by rambling on about channeling his energy and the like. And then a caller (or emailer, I can’t remember) asked “The Dog Whisperer” why he never mentions that he uses shock collars on the dogs in his show and at his dog school. Millan didn’t deny it. Instead he came across as quite vexed that anyone would point this out. After all, shock collars are a bit less touchy-feely than his schtick implies, even though the use of “energy” is involved in both. After some frumfering about how he would inform viewers in a future program how to “properly” use shock collars on dogs he went back to all his karma blather.
Cosmo is not a new age dog and I will look for answers elsewhere.