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On Television |
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Dog Whisperer  CESAR MILLAN does a little dog-walking with some friends. |
Millan thinks it's the people who really need training
By DONNA J. PLESH
of TheColumnists.com
Cesar Millan goes
to the dogs — literally.
Known to millions of dog aficionados as The Dog Whisperer from
his years on television, helping people with troubling dog problems,
Millan does not label himself a dog “trainer.”
His motto is: “I rehabilitate dogs. I train people.”
That’s what happens when he goes to the homes of people
who contact him to solve their “dog problem.”
So far this season on his National Geographic Wild series “Dog
Whisperer with Cesar Millan” (airing at 8 p.m. Saturdays),
the Mexican-born Millan has helped calm a bulldog with a major
mean streak, turned a hyperactive young bulldog into a perfectly
behaved mascot at a dog-friendly cafE and helped an Australian
Shepherd overcome her fear of men in uniform before her owner
comes home from an overseas deployment.
Last Saturday (Feb. 11) marked the show’s 150th episode.
But let’s get down to the bare bones of Cesar’s Way
(which is also the title of one of his books, his magazine and
his website) and what his main focus is for the series this year.
“Season eight is more focused on human — making
a human understand how he plays the role in the instability [of
the dog],” Millan said in an interview. “Let
me give you an example. Dogs in our country [Mexico] are
skinny, but they don’t have psychological problems. Dogs
in America are nice and chunky and they have psychological problems.
It’s not the dog. It’s how the dog is being treated.
It’s how the dog is being fulfilled. The human prioritized
the needs in the wrong way, in my opinion. The [right]
formula is exercise, discipline and affection. My clients do
affection, affection and affection. And once a week they do exercise
— or once a month. And when they discipline the dog they
do it out of frustration or anger. ‘Sit. Sit. You are embarrassing
me. Sit down. Remember what Cesar said.’ So this is my client
not realizing how they are talking to their dogs. It’s not
what you say, it’s how you say it,” said Millan.
So what does a dog need? According to Millan it’s “exercise,
discipline, affection; body, mind, heart. It creates trust, respect
and loyalty. It really focuses on honesty, integrity, and loyalty
— the fundaments of any relationship. Dogs in America have
three beds, four beds with their name on it. They have birthday
parties. They go see Santa Claus. It doesn’t mean the dog
listens to humans. People come to me and say, ‘My dog is
very smart, very intelligent, Cesar, but he doesn’t come
when I call him.’ So that’s their perception,”
he said.
Millan also feels humans make mistakes when it comes to bringing
home a rescue dog or puppy.
“First mistake is compatibility, energy-wise. Most people
can’t deal with a high-level energy dog. [There are]
four levels of energy: low, medium, high and very high. High,
very high, those are the working types. Low and medium, those
are pet quality. But most of the people focus on the past of
the dog so they feel sorry for the dog. So the adoption is more
emotional than logical. The dog senses that the human is in a
weak state so the dog takes control of the situation. My clients
are dog lovers, but they’re not knowledgeable dog lovers.
Most of my clients want the dog to fulfill their needs. It’s
all about the human now. That’s how they are working against
Mother Nature because they’re not going to focus on fulfilling
the needs of the dog,” he said.
Millan, who has traveled to 211 counties in four countries to
work with more than 450 dogs, is also a published author of several
books and DVDs on rehabilitating dogs and their people. He also
runs a dog psychology center in Los Angeles County. In addition,
his TV series has been nominated for Emmy awards in the reality
show category, and it has picked up a People’s Choice Award
for Favorite Animal Show.
With all his success and fame, for Cesar Millan, it really is
just about the dogs.
“You can’t buy integrity in the animal world. My clients nowadays are billionaires. My clients are Harvard graduates, but they can’t walk a Chihuahua. So no matter how smart you are in the human world, if you understand who you are in the animal world it allows you to have conversation with nature. And that’s pretty much the bottom line. Life is simple. We make it complicated,” he added.
©2012 by Donna J. Plesh. This column first posted Feb. 13, 2012.
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