The Secret to Cesar Millan

How does he do it? How does Cesar walk into the room and gain the respect of dog and human? Does he have a special gift known only to him. So, what is it?

The “secret” – his presence and energy. It is what he knows. It’s a deeper knowing than the knowledge that is gained from studying but more of a real understanding combined with absolute confidence in a desired outcome. When you know that you know, you present yourself differently. You don’t second guess your actions.

Cesar walks into a room with the state of mind that he is is control. There’s no magic formula or special power in his trademark “sh” sound as he confidently corrects or diverts a dog’s attention. Most trainers/behaviorists have had the same or at least a very similar experience.  He definitely has an understanding of dogs and almost more importantly, their relationship with humans.

I have been called to training appointments and walk in to see the human moving their hand in a claw shape toward the dog’s neck as they “sh.”  The dog does nothing but look at them as if to say, “what the heck was that?”   There’s only one Cesar, and I’m confident your dog will respond to you once you have placed yourself in the role of pack leader and provided consistent structure and guidance.

Using a human comparison, if you give someone the cold shoulder, they know it without you saying a word. It’s your energy they feel – they know not to mess with you. Dogs are no different and if anything, are even more in tune with our intentions and thoughts toward them.

I speak of this in a recent article, by asking the question, what travels down your leash?

Cesar is definitely gifted and his success with the dogs he chooses to work with comes from his knowing that the dog will respect and respond accordingly.  If you can adopt and apply this thought to your training, you will see results.  It’s a bit like the saying, “fake it until you make it.”

The sooner you know your dog will respond as expected, the sooner they will!