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Cesar's Way - Natural, Everday Guide To Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems

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Cesar Millan's and Melissa Jo Peltier's first collaboration is hopefully the first of many fruitful collaborations.

In this book, Millan explores how his childhood and background led him to develop his philosophy of "Exercise, Discipline, Affection" that has become his personal hallmark of excellence and enabled him to rehabilitate so many dogs with so much success--even those that other noted trainers and behaviorists had marked for euthanization.

Much of the first part of the book dwells on his childhood and upbringing in Mexico, and how his father and grandfather taught him to be a "pack leader" to the dogs on his grandfather's farm. Millan notes that on his grandfather's farm the dogs were tranquil and behaved, whereas on neighboring farms, where no such philosophies of leadership were practiced, dog fights were frequent, and to some extent, even encouraged. Horrified, he retreated into himself and became known as the "perrero" or "dog boy" for preferring dogs to humans.

At 19, realizing that his native Mexico had no opportunities for him, he decided to cross the border to the United States and was smuggled by a "coyote," chest deep through a freezing river for hours at a time, into the United States. While some may choose to condemn Millan for his illegal entry into the United States, it is worth noting that in Mexico, only the extremely wealthy have the means to enter the United States legally; Millan and his family did not have anywhere near the funds to even attempt to enter the United States legally.

As it was, he entered the United States and made his way to Los Angeles, where for the first several years he worked as a dog groomer. He quickly became so successful that clients flocked to the salon where he worked simply to have him work on their dogs; he exerted such a calming and soothing influence that even the most skittish dog would let him clip its nails, trim its whiskers, shampoo its fur, and brush its coat--without blinking an eye and with complete trust in Millan.

Having saved enough money, he decided to make his way to Hollywood to achieve his childhood dream of "becoming the most famous dog trainer in the world." However, he soon realized that his talents lay elsewhere: Millan had a natural talent for canine psychology and behaviorism, despite being uncertificated and undiploma'ed. While some may hold this lack of letters against him, if anything, his lack of formal schooling has given Millan a fierce thirst for knowledge and need to understand--a thirst often witnessed in this book. Millan seeks understanding of both the human and canine condition, which is displayed in the vignettes illustrated in the book.

Having explained his childhood and background motivations, Millan thus explains the foundations behind his philosophy of "Exercise, Discipline, Affection" and why it works as well as it does. Here, he shows more examples from his private practice as well as in-depth examples from the show.

All in all, this is a wonderful introduction to Cesar Millan's Way--as well as to the man himself. I highly recommend this book, and hope that Amazon offers the book again soon.

Cesar Millan, TV's Dog Whisperer, is a self-taught, dog behavior expert. In "Cesar's Way", he approaches dog training, or I believe more correctly, dog and human behavior, from a common sense, dog's point of view. I think he correctly points out that dogs do not set out to misbehave, they are unknowingly trained to do so by humans. Mr. Millan usually finds he has to correct human behavior first which will naturally correct the dog's behavior. Dogs are pack animals and do not understand English or any other human language. They communicate by smell, sight, hearing, animal growls and grunts and body language. By observing dogs all his life and determining that the key to a dog's behavior is there natural instinct to follow the pack leader, Mr. Millan teaches us to change a dog's behavior by becoming the pack leader and speaking in his language. "Cesar's Way" will not demonstrate how to teach your dog to sit, or to speak or to lie down; but it will teach you how to modify your dog's behavior by becoming the pack leader. I find Mr. Millan's book to be an outstanding guide for those of us who are not choosing to teach our best friend tricks, but for those of us who choose to communicate and change bad behavior in our best friend. "Cesar's Way" has the additional benefit of providing us a very insightful look into human behavior.Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems

At last a book on dogs that works and works in record time. I saw instant results in dealing with my 2 dogs. Cesar truly teaches us valuable lessons for dealing with our 4 legged friends and also with each other. Can't wait to finish the second book from Cesar I purchased.

We have distributed hundreds of this book to our adopters helping them understand how their energy, their actions, their "moods" and "temperaments" can affect their canine companions with great success.

Cesar, Melissa and all those who contributed to this book...we, in the animal welfare industry, THANK YOU...

Lives are being saved everyday as companions remain in their homes because we have a "way" to help those who truly want to try to keep their pets.

Linda R. Blakely, Director
Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary & Rescue

Very good information.. if you have a dog. The only thing i would have liked to have seen is..more individual methods for correcting a dogs behaviour, like obsessive barking, or food aggression, or things in that nature. this book covered how cesar got to be involved with what he does, and also where his love for the canine began.

This book is mostly about Cesar, not about how to train dogs. he gives some basic advice that is vague at best. I found about a dog psychologist named Patricia McConell through my vet and highly recommend her books, they offer more of an overview on how to proactively train your dog and make it a family member.

This is clearly one of the best dog books I've ever read. I not only learned alot regarding dog psycology but also about myself. Now it's just a matter of unlearning the wrong way of doing things for the past 50 years. It is a great addition to my library and I know I will be referring to it for years to come.

Cesar is GREAT, It is a very good book. I love the way Cesar explains things.

What a breath of fresh air this book is to me!

Cesar's TV show amazed me how the dog owners always blame their dog for having all sorts of "human behavior" type problems. Then Cesar rehabilitates the dog from the sick behavior of the owners only to find they are unable to change their ways.

EXAMPLE: One woman had a hyperactive miniature pinscher that was totally out of control. She never exercised the dog, let alone trained him. Cesar took the dog rollerblading and it came home all happy & tired. The woman wanted to "give doggie a cookie to show how happy mommy is..." and Cesar said - "No! The dog knows how you feel by your energy". But the woman insisted that she had to show doggie how much she loved it by giving a cookie.

At the end of the show Cesar did an update on the woman with that miniature pinscher. She had it put to sleep. Euthanized. Killed. Destroyed. This episode epitomizes the difficulty of Cesar's message; he is delivering uncomfortable information that people don't want to hear.

Most dog lovers, Cesar warns, get angry with him. Like the woman who loved her "little doggie baby" so much she had it killed - people have lost touch with nature to a frightening degree. As a result millions of dogs are destroyed every year.

If you are not a moron, if you respect the spirit in a dog and are in touch with your connection to Mother Nature you'll nod in resonance with Cesar. He's not only a master of martial arts; he's a master of the connection with nature.

When I grew up in the 1950s a dog was "man's best friend". Then life grew crazy and Americans made dogs into mere accessories they could treat like dolls. Today almost all dogs are yakking annoyances whose owners yell the dog's name in various inflections of anger and negativity as if that was how to command it.

Given the obsession with possessions, consumption, and endless yakking on cell phones only about 1 dog owner in 100 will ever reach the bar Cesar sets in this book. Many will criticize him - I've heard that from two professional trainers - but very few will really understand Cesar's simple but powerful message.

Cesar's Way works if you are willing to change yourself. How do I know that? Because my German Shepherd (raised Cesar's Way) is a joy to behold; Tyler accompanies me to Home Depot, Costco, etc. where endless crowds of children of all ages compliment him -and yes, approach him the wrong way (Cesar explains this in his book) but he lets them all touch his lovely face. We're talking a 130 pound full blood wolf looking dog here. He is friendly to other dogs, children and cats. He only barks when I allow it.

But God help you if you ever lay a hand on me in anger. My dog knows all about protecting me without being taught- because of the essential nature Cesar explains brilliantly in this book. All I have to do is make the "Sssstt!" sound and my German Shepherd snaps his attention to me. A smile, nod, playful "Unh-uh", or hand signal and he immediately obeys. Our relationship is like remote control by telepathy and mutual respect.

Cesar is right - I never have to tell my dog "how much daddy loves you..." with a cookie. Tyler senses my energy. He keeps me emotionally balanced just as Cesar predicts. That is what dogs can do for humans - connect us with Mother Nature.

Thank you Cesar Millan! You are a magnificent soul! God bless you and your family. Bravo!

Cesar Millan, who admits to being an illegal alien, is undoubtedly a tremendous dog handler. I can find no fault with his dog rehabilitation techniques or the training of those silly uptight dog owners who usually ask for his help. But certain lines in the book get under my skin, like in Chapter 6 where he says he never saw a dog in the "red zone" until he came to the USA (he obviously never got around much). In Chapter 9 he said only human beings are responsible for pollution of the earth (never heard of volcanoes, earth quakes, asteroids, or UV rays I guess), later revising that to only human beings outside of the third world - read: industrialized nations like the USA. Also, only those human beings in the third world are truly in touch and get along well with their animals, whereas in "civilization", like the USA, humans have pets only for selfish reasons, thus explaining why dogs here are so misbehaved. Anyone who has ever been to to a third world country and seen the generally appalling condition of their dogs would have to disagree.

I think these remarks are totally unnecessary and detract from an otherwise excellent book about dog psychology. I would ask Cesar this: Why did you (and why do thousands of your fellow countrymen and others around the world continue to find a way to) immigrate to this country, legally or otherwise? Then, finding it to be so objectionable, why did you stay?