| Cesar Millan | |
|---|---|
| Born | César Millán Favela August 27, 1969 Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico |
| Residence | Santa Clarita, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Dog psychologist |
| Known for | Dog Whisperer (TV series) |
| Spouse | Ilusión Millan (1994-2010; filed for divorce)[1] |
| Website | |
| CesarsWay.com | |
Cesar Millan, (born César Millán Favela; August 27, 1969) is a Mexican-born American dog trainer.[2] A self-taught expert, he is widely known for his television series The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, now in its seventh season and broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide.[3] Prior to The Dog Whisperer series, Millan focused on rehabilitating especially aggressive dogs[4] and founded the Dog Psychology Center[5] in South Los Angeles (2002–2008) — under construction in a new Los Angeles location as of late 2009.[6]
Millan's first three books, including Cesar's Way, all became New York Times best sellers, have cumulatively sold two million copies in the United States and are available in 14 other countries.[6] In 2009, in conjunction with IMG, Millan introduced a monthly magazine also titled Cesar's Way — with the Wall Street Journal reporting at that time that half of American consumers recognized Millan.[7] With Ilusión Millan, he founded the Cesar and Ilusión Millan Foundation — since re-named the Millan Foundation. He is working with Yale University to create a children's curriculum based on his work.[6]
Millan's most important tool in both his success with dogs and business has sometimes been attributed to a personal sense of balance,[6] what The New York Times called "a sort of über-balanced mien."[6]
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Born in 1969 to Felipe Millán Guillen and María Teresa Favela de Millán in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, Millan grew up working with animals on his grandfather's Sinaloa farm.[8] Because of his natural way with dogs, he was called el Perrero, "the dog boy."[8] The family later moved to Mazatlán, and there — at age 13, on their way to his judo competition and standing in front of a large statue — Millan declared to his mother he would one day be the best dog trainer in the world.[9]
Millan illegally crossed the border into the US when he was 21 years old, spoke no English and knew no one in the USA.[8][10][11][12] He first worked in a dog grooming store, working with the most aggressive dogs — later creating the Pacific Point Canine Academy and developing a following. Jada Pinkett Smith became one of Millan's first clients and supporters — when he was working as a limousine driver[3] — providing him with an English tutor for a year.[10][9] Subsequently, Millan created the Dog Psychology Center, a 2-acre (8,100 m2) facility in South Los Angeles—specializing in working with large breed dogs.[13]
Millan became a legal resident of the U.S. in 2000, became a U.S. citizen in 2009, and lives in Santa Clarita, CA. He married Ilusión Wilson Millan in 1994, with whom he had two sons, Andre (b. 1995) and Calvin (b. 2001). In June, 2010, Millan announced his divorce.[14] Ilusión Millan filed for divorce, seeking primary physical custody of the kids with visitation for Cesar, as well as spousal support.[15]
In 2002, after a profile in the Los Angeles Times, Millan worked with MPH Entertainment, Inc. developing a television pilot for the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, a reality television series that follows Millan as he works in the field of dog rehabilitation. The series premiered on September 13, 2004 on the National Geographic Channel and now airs exclusively on the Nat Geo WILD channel. The show would become National Geographic's #1 show during its first season.[16] The show is also known as Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan or The Dog Whisperer, outside the USA, and is now in its seventh season and broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide.[3]
The program demonstrates Cesar Millan's application of his philosophy that healthy, balanced dogs require strong 'pack leadership' from their owners, specifically in the form of exercise, discipline and affection (in that order),[10] with Millan demonstrating how owners can achieve and maintain a leadership role with their dogs. The program highlights Millan at work rehabilitating dogs, and is not intended as a dog training guide.[16] Each episode contains repeated warnings that viewers should not try some of the behavior modification techniques at home.[10]
Millan's book Cesar's Way debuted with the show's second season, becoming a bestseller.[17] Millan works with a broad spectrum of individuals, including celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Nicolas Cage, Will Smith and Vin Diesel.[13]
Millan's work focuses on handling a dog with what he calls "a calm-assertive energy".[6] He approaches dog behavior by teaching dog owners to understand the natural needs and responses of a dog, to understand that dogs are pack animals, to assist owners in establishing their role as calm-assertive pack leaders.[10]
Millan prioritizes fulfilling and balancing a dog's primary needs:[10] exercise, discipline and affection—in that order.[18] In other words, it is the owner's responsibility to fulfill the dog's energy level through challenging exercise; to provide clearly communicated rules, boundaries and limitations[19] for the dog's behavior; and to give the dog affection at the right time. Millan encourages owners to give affection, but to give affection when the dog is in a balanced state of mind, not when the dog is fearful, anxious, avoidant or excited — when the affection itself can reinforce imbalance. According to Millan, a common pitfall for dog owners is to give a great deal of affection with very little discipline and even less exercise.[19]
Millan emphasizes the importance of walking a dog, not only for the dog's exercise, but for the owner and dog to bond—with the dog ultimately recognizing the owner as its leader. He also encourages owners to watch their dog for subtle cues in the dog's posture, movement and facial expression—to eliminate poor behavior before it arises or escalates. And he encourages owners to understand the profound effect their own attitudes, internal emotions and physical postures have on a dog's behavior, counseling owners to hold strong posture (i.e. shoulders high and chest forward) and to project energy that is calm-assertive.[8][20]
Millan also stresses that owners identify their dog in a hierarchy of three levels:
Millan is widely known for using vocal marks, e.g., his tsch or tsst[9] sounds, while working with a dog (rather than words, especially the dog's name), and he encourages owners to create their own unique sound that works for them.[20]
Millan stresses that when meeting a new dog, making eye contact, speaking, and touching it are to be avoided, in favor of letting the dog approach on its own terms.[10]
One of Millan's many dogs, Daddy, was an American Pit Bull Terrier integral to Millan's work and his television series, Dog Whisperer.[22] Daddy was known for his calm temperament, tolerance for smaller dogs and capacity for empathy.[23] Prior to Daddy's death in February 2010 at age 16,[24] Millan selected another pit bull puppy, Junior, as Daddy's protégé — to apprentice with Daddy and learn his temperament.
In 2007, Cesar and Ilusión Millan created the Cesar and Ilusión Millan Foundation: "a national, non-profit foundation designed to aid and support the rescue, rehabilitation and placement of abused and abandoned dogs."[25] Together they have also founded the Shelter Stars program to provide education materials to new dog adopters,[6] The foundation has since been re-named the Millan Foundation.
Millan has supported other projects, including K-9 Connection, for at-risk teens;[26] Pups on Parole, a program for inmates;[27] and the Pets911 project,[28] which works to "effect social change in this country by providing a free public service that will one day ensure an environment where all animals are valued companions and have lifetime, loving homes."[29] His 2006 seminar tour donated a portion of the proceeds to the hosting rescue groups.
Millan has been featured twice on The Oprah Winfrey Show,[30][31] as well as on ABC World News Tonight (2002), CBS-TV (2001), Channel 7 News (May 2005), CNN (April 2006), Creative Arts Emmys 2006 (August 2006), Entertainment Insider (December 2004), Good Day Live (February 2005), Good Morning America With Diane Sawyer (September 2004), KTLA-TV (2002), Last Call with Carson Daly (November 2006), Martha Stewart Show (April 2006), Megan Mullally Show (November 2006), Nightline (July 2006), NBC-TV (2001), Today Show (April 2006), Tonight Show With Jay Leno (February 2005), The View (July 2006), WUSA-TV 9 News (April 2006), season 4 of the Emmy Award winning reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.
Millan guest-starred as himself in Ghost Whisperer in Season 2, Episode 18, "Children of Ghost". In the episode, Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) seeks out Millan for advice on how to help "Homer", Ghost Whisperer's Ghost Dog (from Season 1), cross over into the light.
Millan was portrayed in a tenth-season episode of the Comedy Central animated series South Park (entitled "Tsst") that aired on May 3, 2006. In the episode, Millan is hired to train Eric Cartman to behave after popular "nannies" (see Nanny 911, Super Nanny) fail to rein in his behavior.
Millan played himself in "The Finger in the Nest", the September 17, 2008, episode of Bones, helping the lead characters to determine if a location was used for dogfighting.
Millan played himself in Beethoven's Big Break which premiered in cinemas on December 30, 2008.
Millan played himself in The Back-Up Plan, which was released April 23, 2010 in theaters.
Millan made a guest appearance as a judge on Episode #3 of the 10th season of The Apprentice.
Millan made a guest appearance on the April 27, 2011 episode of "Jeopardy".[32]
In 2006, Millan's original publicists, Makeda Smith and Foster Corder, sued Millan, alleging copyright infringement, breach of contract and breach of confidential relationship[33] — later settling out of court.[34] Also in 2006, Floyd Suarez sued Millan, alleging that his dog had been injured while on a treadmill at the Dog Psychology Center,[35] — later settling out of court.[36]
Also in 2006, Jean Donaldson, the San Francisco SPCA director of The Academy for Dog Trainers, criticized Millan for physically confronting aggressive dogs and using choke chains for fearful dogs. This criticism was published by the American Humane Association, which asked National Geographic to stop airing Dog Whisperer.[37]
In February 2010 the American Humane Association announced that, despite "sharp differences of view in the past", they had invited him to participate in a symposium on humane dog training "to discuss issues of concern".[38] By November 2009, Millan had invited the American Humane Association to the set of Dog Whisperer, at which time, according to Millan, "they changed their state of mind about what is cruel".[39] The association announced in February 2010 that despite "sharp differences of view in the past" and some lingering areas of disagreement, they shared many areas of interest with Millan.[40]
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