'If you'd have told me 10 years ago that one day I'd leash a turtle and a hyperactive dog together to calm the dog down, I wouldn't have believed you. But those are the kind of solutions animals have taught me to use. It's all about energy and instinct," said Mexican-American canine trainer Cesar Millan.
Millan, 46, became interested in dogs when he was just a boy. The inspiration he got from watching American TV shows and seeing working dogs on his grandfather's farm motivated him to move to the US when he was 21.
"That was eye-opening because in the US, unlike Mexico, everybody spoils their dogs, which is the worst thing you can do," said Millan.
Now, as an avid dog whisperer with more than 20 years experience, Millan focuses on rehabilitating dogs and training people. To him, it's not just about keeping a dog as man's best friend, but also for man to be the best of friends to their dogs.
Aside from hosting multiple TV shows and caring for Hollywood celebrities' dogs, he also runs the Cesar Millan Foundation, an organisation that rescues and rehabilitate dogs, as well as educates owners.
Millan also operates the Dog Psychology Centre in Santa Clarita Valley, Los Angeles. There, he uses a variety of animals — from horses, chickens, to llamas — to help rehabilitate troubled canines. He believes that animals communicate with energy, so they can all communicate with one another, regardless of species.
The New York Times best-selling author and TV personality will be in Bangkok next month as part of his Asian tour.
Tell us more about your dog rehabilitation programme.
Rehabilitation is just bringing something, dog or human, back to its natural state. A dog's natural state is to live in harmony with nature, know its place in the pack, and follow the leaders. To fix the problem, I look at the dog's behaviour to see what's out of balance. Is the dog nervous, fearful, or aggressive?
I also look at the energy of the dog's human pack, to see how they're causing that imbalance — because, unless a dog has actual physical problems with its brain, the humans are always the source. Then it's a matter of training the people what to do in order to eliminate that unbalanced state in the dog.
How can human behaviours affect animal behaviour?
Dogs reflect our energy, so if we're over-excited or anxious or angry, the dog will respond to that. But the one human behaviour I see that has the biggest effect on dogs is people unintentionally rewarding unwanted behaviour. For example, if you have a dog that gets excited and jumps on you when you get home and you react to that by talking to the dog, even if you're saying 'No, get down.' that's not what the dog is hearing. The dog understands that she gets your attention when she jumps on you, so the behaviour continues. In that situation, if you don't want your dog to jump on you, the proper response is to just ignore her completely until she calms down. This will teach her that she doesn't get your attention until she is calm.
Why do you support 'no-kill' as part of the Cesar Millan Foundation? What is the significance of this project?
There are 600 million abandoned and unwanted dogs in the world and far too often our solution to the problem is to just kill them. In an ideal world, there would be no unwanted dogs, or dogs that wind up in shelters would never face the risk of being put down. That's why the other part of supporting no-kill is my promotion of spaying and neutering dogs. We need to reduce the unwanted population first by not creating so many puppies. In some places, this has worked spectacularly. For example, in Germany, they've reduced the number of unwanted dogs so much that their shelters actually have the room to take in dogs from other countries.
What is the easiest and hardest things for humans to do in building relationships with dogs?
For humans, I think the easiest part is bonding with the dog. We've bred dogs to be cute, and we respond to that. The hardest part, though, is understanding that affection is not a dog's primary need. They need exercise and discipline first. This will bring them to a calm, submissive state where your attention and affection become the rewards for good behaviour.
What is the most important thing we could do for the betterment of dogs and other animals?
First, we need to honour nature by respecting the animal in the dog, mainly by letting dogs be dogs and not by trying to treat them like little humans. And, of course, we have to treat dogs humanely by honouring our own commitment to them. Adopting a dog is for the life of the dog, no matter what. It's a promise we make to not just give them food, water and exercise, but also a safe and comfortable place to live. We also promise to fix any misbehaviour instead of deciding to get rid of the dog.
Meet Cesar Millan at "VetzPetzAntinol presents Cesar Millan Live — Love your Dogs Tour" on June 3 at the Royal Paragon Hall. Tickets are available from www.thaiticketmajor.com or call 02-262-3838. Visit www.cesarmillanlive.com. Want your dog to be a part of Millan's Bangkok tour? Register for casting at www.cesarsway.com/asiatourcasting.
