Cesar Milan: The Dog Whisperer’s Secrets to Raising a Calm, Happy & Balanced Dog

Sarah Grynberg (0:00)

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Cesar Millan is one of the world's most recognised dog behaviourists, known to millions as the dog whisperer. For decades, he has helped people understand that raising a happy, well-behaved dog isn't just about training the animal, but understanding the energy, boundaries and behaviours we bring to the relationship ourselves.

In this conversation, we talk about what to do when your dog has separation anxiety, how to respond when they don't behave, the right way to walk and feed your dog, the mistakes owners often make without realising it, and how to choose the right breed for your home, family and lifestyle.

Cesar Millan (1:18)

When the dog misbehaves, how would it know to go back to a good state of mind where you don't represent that? And the way you represent this is when you meet them, when you walk with them, and when you feed them.

Look, think about it. When people meet the Queen of England, you can see it's a ritual of silence, of calmness, of surrender. Then the Queen will bring the person in, you see? So in the animal world, when they greet a powerful one, silence, calm, wait, and then they tell you when to come in.

Sarah Grynberg (2:00)

Through my years of studying and researching the connection between human behaviour, personal growth and transformation, I have discovered the keys to unlocking greatness within others. In this podcast, I share stories and experiences from my own teachings along with conversations with inspiring guests to help you learn the simple tips, habits, practices and strategies to cultivate an extraordinary existence. My hope is that this conversation helps you understand your dog in a completely different way, because sometimes changing their behaviour begins with changing ours.

Cesar Milan, people know you as the dog whisperer, but I want to start at the beginning. How did you get into being able to know the ins and outs of not only dogs, but animals in general?

Cesar Millan (2:57)

It all goes back to Mexico, right? Because in Mexico, you grew up in a more natural lifestyle, right? It's that connection with Mother Nature, you know, the understanding of el dia de los muertos, the day of the death. Because, you know, living with an animal, you have to understand that it's life, you know, birth, life and death. And so you have to understand those three facets of life. So I grew up, you know, understanding that an animal is born, an animal live and an animal die, right? And that gave me that profoundness of having a very healthy relationship with a dog, but in a very quiet way, right? That's what they call me, the whisperer, because I don't really talk to a dog. It's more silence, it's more calmness, it's my confidence, I know when to give affection and I know when to celebrate, right? And so I grew up watching my grandfather doing it, but he was not breaking it down the way I break it down now, but I watch them, I watch them, I imitate them, just like animals do, they imitate their parents, they imitate their grandparents. And so that was the beauty, me growing up in Mexico, right? And then at the age of 10 years old, I started watching a show called Lassie and Ring Ting Ting. And that's when the idea of becoming a dog trainer began, right? Because I wanted, who trained those dogs? They're amazing, right? And so at that time, I thought the dogs really understood words.

And so at the age of 13, I told my mom, you think I could be the best dog trainer in the world? And that's when I declared what I wanted to become, right? And so my mom says, you can be whatever you want as long as I'm not a bad person, right? Because I'm from Sinaloa. So it's easy for me to become part of a cartel than the dog whisper, right? It's easier to become someone from the cartel than the dog whisper. So my mom gave me, you know, very simple directions. And I really enjoyed declaring I wanted to be the best dog trainer in the world. I didn't know I had learned anything from my grandfather. That's why I wanted to go to America and learn from Americans how to train dogs.