I am familiar with some of his work and I generally don't support that method of interacting with animals. Regardless of what some experts and hobbyists say - in any field with any kind of animal - if you've worked with animals for a long period of time, you can observed them as being alive and being aware of being alive.

And where anything is alive, there is grounds for some form of communication You do not have to coerce or "condition" any animal, if you're patient, observant and calm. In the same way, interaction with animals can be more than just conditioning.

I feel the best thing for any owner or caregiver is always to observe your animal and keep in mind that it's some form of living being, an not an object to be owned. Pay attention to it's way of communicating and try, as best, to interact with it where some kind of communication can take place.