Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan

I grew up with well-trained dogs--German shepherds--and after seeing legions of dog owners handle their charges badly, it's a treat to see Cesar Millan demonstrate the basics of dog psychology and pack leadership principles to folks who seem to know nearly nothing about handling dogs.

I particularly enjoy seeing Cesar's own pack of around 40 dogs, all rehabilitation cases, who all get along with one another. Cesar has an amazing ability to exhibit pack leadership. To see his dogs submit--rolling over, legs in the air, ears back--after a mere short "Shhh!" and a pointing of his finger...it's absolutely amazing.

You can also see more about his Dog Psychology Center by searching for Cesar Millan on the web.

I watched this few times on a DVD when I was between dogs.

Man visits family with bad dog man fixes dog & people, ho hum.

I have recently gotten a Pitbull/Chow/Sheperd mix & he was quite a handful. Yelling & the discipline you would use on a human had no effect.

He would run at you and body slam ya & then run by nipping as German Shepherds do to live stock.

After watching just a few episodes I got the gist of pack leadership & it has turned my somewhat crazy dog into a calm submissive member of our pack.

It is amazing to watch him take snarling, biting, bucking, leash crazy rotties & in a matter of minutes get them under control & save them from the pound (and death).

One of my favorites episodes had a women whose parents died within a few weeks of each other & then she suffered 4-5 miscarriages in a row. She subsequently developed a panic disorder & the dog she was trying to train as some sort of Aid Dog (that helped her with her panic attacks) began to suffer emotional problems also.

He was able to help the women get mastery of her fears & help her dog also, it was truly a tear jerking beautiful thing.

Even if your dog is wonderful I heartily recommend this show, it truly is the best thing on television.

I too was just flipping channels when I came across this show. After that I was hooked. I have been around dogs all my life. Big or small, none of them scared me, and so I never met a dog I didn't like or didn't like me back. I love this show, and think its a MUST SEE for any dog owner. This show goes beyond animal training. Its gives you insight into how a dog thinks and their world, which I never understood. The show is based on animal counseling for dogs and their owners. I love its and never miss it when its on the air!!!!!!. I have learned so much from this show, and it has helped me form a better relationship with my 2 Mini-Schnuazers.

Would you be interested in watching a program that teaches you how to project a field of "calm, assertive energy" around yourself which will not provoke, attract or engage the aggressive energies of others? Would you tune in if this program demonstrated the effectiveness of this energy projection technique by using some "others" who happen to be Pit Bulls with potentially lethal fangs?

How about a program that teaches you to let go of the negative experiences of the past so that you are no longer imprisoned by that negative energy, that teaches you to change your energy *now*, in the present moment, so that you get a completely different, positive result -- and that manages to convey all of this just by showing you scenes of sometimes scary but mostly cute and entertaining dogs interacting with their people and other dogs?

Would you like to see a live demonstration of the fact that, within the field of "calm, assertive energy" projected by an effective pack leader, any dog from his well-socialized pack can deflate the fear-based aggressive energy and behavior of a visiting, not-pack-socialized dog, just by trusting the pack leader, remaining calm, and pointedly ignoring the violent posturing of the aggressor? And would it make you go "Hmmm..." to see that the more dogs that do this, as happens in a well-socialized pack, the more quickly and effectively the potential aggressor is calmed down and integrated as a peaceful member of the pack? If any of this sounds interesting to you, then you just might be a future "Dog Whisperer" addict.

Maybe it occurs to you now, as it has to me, that some of the skills involved in being an effective pack leader could be really useful no matter how many legs a potential aggressor might have. It's true, as Cesar points out, that dogs are dogs and not people, but energy is energy, and an animal (person or dog) who projects energies on the fear/aggression wavelength will tend to evoke the same response from those around him, whether from dogs or from people. Learning to break that automatic reflex response of fear and aggression and replace it with the "calm, assertive energy" of a good pack leader would be a tremendous skill to have, and the advantage of practicing with your problematic dog would be that their reactions give you instant feedback on how well you're doing.

The producers of "The Dog Whisperer" are appropriately careful to caution viewers not to attempt the techniques shown in the program without consulting a professional, but it seems clear that the principles that Cesar demonstrates will work for anyone who learns to apply them properly. This is demonstrated over the course of every program by ordinary people of all kinds who start out as the demoralized, apparently helpless victims of the out-of-control, sometimes violent behavior of their beloved pets until Cesar teaches them that by properly controlling *their own* energy, they can become quietly effective, peace-creating pack leaders.

So you could say that this program teaches basic techniques which will bring more peace into our lives as we learn how *not* to provoke, attract or engage the aggressive energies of others and learn instead how to cultivate a non-ego-based, calm, benevolent/assertive energy which has the entire "pack's" best interests at heart. And it shows us a physically unimposing man who uses his beautifully centered energy (and knowledge of canine body language) to very effectively disarm the aggression of his large pack of potentially dangerous dogs.

We might also notice that he uses this same energy, in a gentle and good-humored way, to teach his well-meaning but misguided, doggy-whipped human clients that allowing themselves and others to be victimized by out-of-control animal instincts is not really the loving thing to do. It was fun, for example, to watch Cesar carefully catch himself midway into an eye-roll so as not to offend one client couple who had just confessed that the wife had been spending part of most nights in their guest bedroom **for six years** because if she got up during the night, her husband's jealous pet wouldn't let her get back in bed.

It seems to come as a surprise to most of Cesar's human clients that it's actually possible for them to exercise authority in a way that's not "mean", abusive, or some kind of destructive ego-trip that will crush their pet's spirit. I love it that this program is introducing people to the experience of exercising a truly benevolent form of power, the power that a good pack leader has to disarm out-of-control aggression on behalf of the well-being of all pack members, by projecting a "calm, assertive energy" which in no way undermines the loving bond they have with their animal companions.

And if it isn't enough of a recommendation that this program clearly lays out and demonstrates some simple techniques which average people can learn to use to begin to minimize aggression and cultivate more peace in their life experience, then maybe I should also mention, as others here have, that Cesar is a truly interesting, cool person and that the dogs (and the people) in this show are really just a lot of fun to watch.

This show elevates the role of television to its highest potential for intelligent, informative entertainment. Congratulations to the producers and network that continue to offer this "hall of fame" brand of television to a wide audience. Even though I don't own a dog at present, I find this show smart, touching, amusing, and vastly instructive. Cesar Millan is a charismatic modern-day hero and his love for dogs is so pure, and so productive, as to make the rest of us gaze in awe at his accomplishments. Cesar clearly identifies the source of the dog-plus-human problems and solves them with plain talk and learn-able fixes. His true leadership genius is apparent when both dog & owner are motivated to make the changes that will ultimately bring happiness to both. Ah, imagine the results if only we could find political leaders with the same insight and ability.