He was born in Culiacan, Mexico, and grew up with no access to modern technology until he was a teenager. After his family purchased their first TV, his favorite shows were Lassie and The Adventure of Rin Tin Tin. Inspired by them, he decided to become a dog trainer after moving to California. After the first contact with the dogs there, Cesar thought it would be more beneficial to become a dog rehabilitator instead of a dog trainer. That is where his story starts. After 1994 when he came to the attention of Will Smith and Jada Prinkett Smith, he started to become famous. The natural step of making a TV series came easily and, in 2004, The Dog Whisperer aired for the first time on the Nat Geo Channel.
The TV series fully demonstrates the effectiveness of Cesar Millan´s idea that “pack leadership” is required in order to have a balanced and healthy dog. Pack leadership should be performed in the form of exercises, correction and affection. Millan emphasizes the importance of this specific order, as he claims it to be the most effective. The show clearly states that it is by no means a training guide, but rather a way to rehabilitate dogs with problems.
The Dog Whisperer first aired on September 13, 2004, in a series of half an hour episodes for a total of 26. After its commercial success it was expanded to an hour and moved to a prime time slot, beginning with Season 2. Since 2009 National Geographic agreed to join forces with Fox thus bringing the show to a channel with an audience of about 50 million households, almost half of the total households in the USA. This goes to show how incredibly successful Millan´s show has become. At the beginning of the 6th season, a New York Times article estimated it had about 11 million viewers per week, each week.
The Dog Whisperer has brought the most attention on Cesar Millan, but he is active in various other ways. He wrote 3 books, all of which became best sellers, and he is involved in philanthropic activities, through his foundation focused on helping and supporting dogs, as well as aiming for the rehabilitation and placement of abused and abandoned dogs.
His way of doing things has also sparked criticism, leading some to say that he actually set back dog training considerably. However, in 2010, he was invited by the AHA to participate in a conference about humane dog training. Moreover, thousands of viewers appreciate him, judging from his impressive collection of awards.
Regardless of what others might say, with professional handling, the amazing things you see on the Dog Whisperer can become your reality - the choice is entirely yours.
