First, I think you might want to reconsider Cesar and his techniques. As you say, his approach is not new, but it does run somewhat counter to the positive reinforcement techniques advocated by many dog trainers these days.

30 years ago, when I got my first dog, one of the books I thought most helpful was the first from the famous Monks of New Skete (HOW TO BE YOUR DOG’S BEST FRIEND). It was there that I first learned that as the human, it’s up t you to figure out how to communicate with the dog in a way the dog understands.

The monks never used the phrase “pack leader”, but I would say Cesar is adhering to the same basic principles I learned from the monks those many years ago.

Second, dog parks are a relatively new phenomenon, and many of us humans still don’t have a good grasp of dog behavior in settings where dogs are able to run free amongst each other. That is, most of us have some basic understanding of house training, teaching basic obedience, but the notion of understanding dog behavior in these social settings is something new for most of us. Many dog book authors are beginning to realize this and are starting to churn out books on the topic:

https://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DTB918

Third, for better or worse, humans have a long memory. But one of the useful things I’ve learned from Cesar is that dogs don’t — or at least it is fairly easy to dislodge old (and sometimes bad) behaviors and experiences with a few simple techniques. Dogs seem content to live in the “here and now”, and if you create a new “reality” for them, they readily embrace it. If only it were so simple for us humans……………..

I apologize if my comments seem preachy — I don’t mean to be. And I certainly understand how traumatic an incident such as you experienced can be. But I do think it might be very helpful if you would take Millan more seriously, as a means of reevaluating how you might present yourself to a pack of dogs who don’t know one another, and then projecting your expectations as a “pack leader” on what behaviors are acceptable, and which are not.

Stacey Derbinshire