Cesar Millan Returns in Nat Geo’s Better Human Better Dog

Cesar Millan, the world renowned “dog whisperer,” makes his long awaited return to television on National Geographic with Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog.

In the show, Cesar sets out to match dogs to families while working to develop good behaviors in the pets in order to create a better environment for both man and his best friend.

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“We reset the way you see life with a dog and then you say, wait a minute…I can practice this without the dog. People come here because the dog misbehaves, but the one who really misbehaves is the human. If people learned to walk a dog next to them, 90% of the problems will go away.” – Cesar Millan

LATV’s Cultura Shock was invited to tour Cesar’s Dog Psychology Center tucked away in the hills of Santa Clarita. The center has many areas where animals such as dogs, alpacas, emus, donkeys, and ducks can roam around. Also, the facility is filled with art that’s dedicated to the maestro’s Mexican heritage, and of course a well-stocked tequila bar for end of the day siestas (for the curious, his favorites are Clase Azul and Don Julio 1942).

Inside the agility park, a fenced in obstacle course for the canines, Millan explains his process.

“Agility is what [dogs] do to hunt. You have to turn this hunting ability into play. If we don’t do exercise, mental stimulation, and affection that energy turns bad…so this place is to redirect the prey into play.”

Each area of the center serves a different function, all with the goal of servicing the animal’s mental well-being. Another example is the pool, not for physical therapy, stressed Cesar, but to develop trust with the dog in a setting that requires calmness.

Pools and agility courses may sound like the perfect resort for dogs where people can drop off their four-legged friends and return to their newly minted good boys; however, the center requires full-on mental rehabilitation eight hours a day, four days a week in order to be conducive for the dogs to develop better social skills. Cesar addressed this approach while explaining why dogs may be confrontational at dog parks towards one another.

“We have to learn to walk together because people at dog parks go by themselves on their own, and then they throw the dog without the exercise, without the dogs knowing each other. So it becomes more like a fighting ring than a social environment. People use the dog park like Chuck E. Cheese. Chuck E. Cheese is not a place where a kid becomes knowledgeable. Chuck E. Cheese is a place where a child practices excitement.”

The pack of dogs that followed the tour had middle-level energy (between hyper and couch-potato level) or as Millan describes, the happy-go-lucky type. To Cesar, this is the Clase Azul of dog energy levels.

They walk next to him and follow him around the center as if he’s Snow White’s tío. Cesar mentioned that his favorite type of dog to take in is a street dog, as they have already acclimated to being around others, simply coexisting together. Dogs that are in shelters or in a home all day while their owner goes off to work do not learn to socialize in the same way. Outside of Pavlovian responses, dogs have many psychological needs just like a human. When these needs are met, you probably have a dog like the ones at the Dog Psychology Center.

These are just a few examples of the wisdom Cesar imparts to his audience, and with over 25 years of experience, there’s enough to fill multiple seasons of television. Cesar has dedicated his life to helping dogs, and if you spend any amount of time around him, it’s clear that it goes far beyond behavioral training. He is on a mission to change the world.

Watch Cesar’s interview on Cultura Shock!