Now that he can dominate any canine pack that comes his way, Dog Whisperer star Cesar Millan wants to be a leader in a new group.
“I’m really looking forward to being a part of the super pack,” the world-renowned pooch professional said in a recent phone interview. “The super pack of inspirational and motivational speakers.”
Millan was speaking of Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra and Byron Katie, whom he consulted before crafting his Cesar Millan Live show, which kicks off a Canadian tour Oct. 26 in Victoria.
“I wanted to know, ‘OK, so how do you teach humans? How can I deliver my information to humans?”’ Millan said from his home in Los Angeles, where he rehabilitates dogs at his sprawling Dog Psychology Center.
Millan said he met in person with his mentors for quick tutorials, and even helped some of them with their dog problems.
He’s now aiming to be the “super pack” leader, he added jokingly.
“A silent pack leader because, you know, obviously everybody’s going to want to be a pack leader,” he continued with a laugh.
Millan brings that comical side to Cesar Millan Live through audience participation and re-enactments of potential scenarios dog owners might encounter.
The show (which is only for humans) also offers tips on training and how to avoid the everyday things that can lead to behavioural issues in dogs.
“Watching it on TV, people will say, ’Oh my God, he did it so quick.’ . . . They’re not really focusing on the energy,” said Millan, who first learned about dog psychology as a child on his grandfather’s farm in Ixpalino, Mexico.
“And so once you experience something live it touches you in a way that you can’t describe.”
Millan said the show also briefly touches on public fear over pit bulls, which was the breed of his famed dog Daddy that died earlier this year.
“He made a big difference in the world,” he said.
“He gets so many letters still today and people ask me everywhere I go, ’How’s Daddy?’ And I tell them the news and they start crying. That’s how much this dog touched people. This guy is pure love but yet he gets (discriminated against) because he’s a pit bull.”
Millan can also be seen in season 6 of the Emmy-nominated Dog Whisperer, airing Sundays on the National Geographic Channel in Canada.
Millan recently published his sixth book, Cesar’s Rules: Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog.
He has also partnered with Yale University to create a preschool and kindergarten curriculum in which children learn about instincts, emotions of empathy and compassion when it comes to dealing with dogs. The program, he said, is in 60 schools in the U.S. and by next February, will be in 1,800 schools. “This is how they learn when to give affection to the dog, how to approach a dog.”
While he considers himself a mediator in human-animal relations, dogs are also mediators for humans, he said.
“A dog breaks barriers and makes us see life in a very simplistic way and at the same time they always keep hoping and they know how to forgive. I think there’s a lot more to learn from a dog than they learn from us.”