Dog Whisperer With Cesar Millan
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''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'' is a
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series that featured dog trainer
Cesar Millan César Felipe Millán Favela (; ; born August 27, 1969) is a Mexican-American dog trainer. He is widely known for his Emmy-nominated television series ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'', which was produced from 2004 to 2012 and is broadcast in ...
's work with problem dogs. After nine seasons, the series finale aired on September 15, 2012. Episodes of ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'' featured guests' problem dogs, introduced through documentary-style footage and an interview with the owners. Millan offered suggestions on how the owners could become their pet's "pack leader", consistent with the theory that dogs are pack animals. He used
behavior modification Behavior modification is an early approach that used respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior. Based on methodological behaviorism, overt behavior was modified with consequences, including positive and negative reinforcement continge ...
techniques and the philosophy that exercise, discipline, and affection are required "in that order" for dogs to be healthy and balanced. The series premiered on September 13, 2004, on the
National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
in half-hour episodes and in 2005 was expanded to one hour and moved to prime time. In 2011, the series aired its seventh season broadcast in more than 80 countries worldwide. Produced by Sheila Emery and Kay Sumner in association with MPH Entertainment, Inc., the program had an estimated audience of 11 million American viewers per week. A number of entertainment-industry professionals have appeared on the program, including
Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pri ...
and
Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...
. On June 5, 2014,
Litton Entertainment The Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Syndications and Litton Entertainment) is an American media and production company based in New York City, New York as a division of the Hearst Television subsidiary of Hearst Communications, with ...
announced a family-oriented revival/spinoff of the show, ''Dog Whisperer: Family Edition'', which airs on
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
Saturday mornings as part of Litton's
One Magnificent Morning One Magnificent Morning (OMM) is an American programming block that is programmed by Hearst Media Production Group (formerly Litton Entertainment) and distributed by CBS Media Ventures, and debuted on October 4, 2014, as a replacement for the an ...
block. It began on October 4, 2014, and aired for three seasons, ending in May 2017.


Program format

''The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'' is a documentary-style reality television program centering on animal behaviorist Cesar Millan as he works to rehabilitate dogs with behavior problems ranging from excessive barking to behaviors that could leave the owners little choice but to medicate or euthanize their dogs if not corrected. Millan said in a number of interviews that the program is not a guide to training, but a demonstration of his rehabilitation techniques. Each episode begins with the statement, "Do not attempt the techniques you are about to see without consulting a professional" and repeats warnings that viewers should not attempt the behavior-modification techniques at home. Viewers are introduced to the difficult dogs and their owners through home-movie style footage of their dogs engaging in the behavior its owners find problematic. A voice-over describes the situation briefly, the owners tell their story, and Millan arrives. Program publicity states that Millan does not review the "audition" videos of the dogs and has no advance knowledge of the situation unless the dog's behavior makes it a potential danger to Millan and the crew. Millan conducts an interview as the owners describe the issues at hand. Millan then usually offers suggestions on how the owners may alter their own habits to become a "pack leader" for their pet. He goes on to demonstrate behavior modification techniques with the dog and shows his expertise at establishing dominance over the troubled canine. Millan frequently brings one or more of his own dogs to a training session, which Millan describes as transferring another dog's "balanced energy". Sometimes, the dog is taken to his Dog Psychology Center where it stays with Millan's own dogs for days or weeks. Each episode ends with a demonstration of the dog's altered behavior and the amazement of the owner. Episodes feature the owners and families whose dogs are being rehabilitated. In inviting submissions, the producers looked for a wide variety of dog problems, including unusual phobias, obsessions, fearful behavior, aggression, or other unique situations that Cesar could help transform. Producers asked owners for anything interesting or funny about their dog and requested a short video showing three instances of the problem behavior. Occasionally the program called for particular types of dogs for themed episodes, such as "spoiled rotten" dogs for ''Beverly Hills Divas''. On occasion, ''Dog Whisperer'' was taken "on the road" with episodes recorded in U.S. cities other than Los Angeles, and from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.


History

''The Dog Whisperer'' chronicles the work of Cesar Millan, a
Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
, who runs a rehabilitation facility dedicated to treating dogs with behavioral issues. Millan spent his childhood in the city of Culiacán in the state of
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
, Mexico. However, his favorite place was his grandfather's ranch where he was captivated by the wild dogs on the property. He spent so much time with the dogs that locals called him ''el perrero'', meaning "the dog boy". His fascination with dogs extended to television, and his favorite programs featured highly trained dogs such as
Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fic ...
. By his teens, Millan had decided that he wanted to be a Hollywood animal trainer, and he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked for a dog grooming store and then for a limousine company. He ran a dog-training business from a van before opening the iconic Dog Psychology Center in
South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
, where he focused on rehabilitating especially aggressive dogs. His expertise with dogs was publicized primarily by word of mouth, and Millan soon developed a clientele that included entertainment-industry professionals. Millan's first mention in the national mainstream media came in
People magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...
in December 2002 in an article describing his work with action-film director
Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
's
Jack Russell Terrier The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour. Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to oth ...
s. Millan is a self-taught dog trainer who established a reputation for working with aggressive breeds and hard-to-handle cases at a San Diego dog groomers, subsequently developing a celebrity clientele. In 2002, after he was profiled in a newspaper article, Millan received offers from a number of producers and chose to work with Sheila Emery and Kay Sumner. They teamed with MPH Entertainment, Inc., which had been involved in successful reality-based cable shows, to produce a pilot. The producers had preliminary talks with
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...
, but the network would not commit beyond a single pilot episode. The
National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
expressed interest in the program, ordering 26 half-hour episodes on the proviso that MPH provide the required deficit financing. Under this agreement MPH and Emery/Sumner retained the copyright to the show. The channel retains control of television distribution in the United States and Canada. MPH and Emery/Sumner control worldwide home video and foreign sales and share that revenue with the channel, allowing them to create and market various video collections. The name of the program was similar to Paul Owens's 1999 book ''The Dog Whisperer''. Owens, a reward-based trainer, has distanced himself from the program and now calls himself "the original dog whisperer". The show premiered in 2004, gradually gaining audience attention by word of mouth. For the first season, the series wasn't positioned in
prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
, and the channel did little to promote the show. However, in Season 2 it was expanded to an hour and moved to a prime time slot. In 2009 the National Geographic Channel agreed with
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
to syndicate the series in the fall of 2010, bringing it to a channel with exposure to approximately 50 million of the USA's 120 million households. A journalist for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' questioned Cesar Millan on his motivation for producing the program, and quoted him as responding, "The goal that God and I have together is the whole world transformed through a dog." In 2006, former
publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...
Makeda Smith filed a
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
suit A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...
which stated that, in 2001, she and her partner
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
ed Millan as "The Dog Whisperer" by conceiving, producing, and directing what they say was a pilot named "The Dog Whisperer", featuring
Tichina Arnold Tichina Rolanda Arnold (; born June 28, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child actor, appearing in supporting roles in ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986) and '' How I Got into College'' (1989) before being cast a ...
. The $5,000,000 lawsuit was settled out of court. During the program's fourth season, the show celebrated its centennial episode. The program is broadcast in more than eighty countries worldwide, where it is alternatively known as ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan'', ''Dog Whisperer'', or ''The Dog Whisperer''. At the debut of the sixth season of the ''Dog Whisperer'', a New York Times article estimated an audience of 11 million American viewers each week. In 2011, following the start of its seventh season, all repeats and future episodes were moved to
Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...
. The ninth and final season of Dog Whisperer began airing in July 2012, with Millan going on to star in the 12-part series ''Leader of the Pack'' in 2013. The following year, Millan's new series ''Cesar 911'' debuted on Nat Geo Wild, airing four seasons between March 2014 and September 2016. While not a direct continuation of ''The Dog Whisperer'', it focuses on his continuing work with troubled dogs.


Daddy

Daddy was an
American Pit Bull Terrier The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) is a dog breed recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) and the American Dog Breeders Association (ADBA), but not the American Kennel Club (AKC). It is a medium-sized, short-haired dog, of a solid build, ...
integral to Millan's work and the show. Daddy was originally owned by rapper Redman. Daddy became known for his calm temperament, tolerance for smaller dogs, and capacity for empathy. Millan employed Daddy's temperament to rehabilitate dogs, train dog owners, and serve as a role model for a breed often associated with aggressiveness. Daddy appeared frequently in episodes of the ''Dog Whisperer'', with Millan referring to him as his right-hand man. According to Millan, Daddy "never made a mistake — never, never. He's never displayed aggression or any other negative behavior. He's just always helped me." In 2009, Millan added "I have never had a dog like Daddy. I've been astounded by his intuition, consoled by his affection, and awed by his silent empathy."


Celebrity appearances

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...
, who helped Millan achieve his goal of having a television show, participated in the program's 100th episode along with other celebrity guests including
Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...
,
Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pri ...
,
Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...
and
Daisy Fuentes Daisy Fuentes (born November 17, 1966) is a Cuban-American actress, comedian, model, television host and former weather presenter. Fuentes broke barriers as MTV's first Latina VJ (signed to MTV and MTV Latin America simultaneously) and as Revlon ...
—all having worked with Millan on earlier episodes with their dogs.


Production crew

The writers of ''Dog Whisperer'', Jim Milio and
Melissa Jo Peltier Melissa Jo Peltier is a New York-based American producer and author. She produced, wrote and directed the 1994 A&E documentary mini-series '' Titanic: Death of a Dream'' and '' Titanic: The Legend Lives On'', the show ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar ...
, write that they put on their "writer-producer hats to focus, restructure, and help create a theme for the segment". This is followed by the "shaping of the show itself", writing the narrations, wraps, teasers, tags, and bumpers. They went on to say that "this is all for a show where absolutely nothing in the field (save Cesar's arrivals to the dog owner's front doors) is fabricated... what we like to call the last 'real' Reality show on television." Executive producers for MPH Entertainment are Jim Milio,
Melissa Jo Peltier Melissa Jo Peltier is a New York-based American producer and author. She produced, wrote and directed the 1994 A&E documentary mini-series '' Titanic: Death of a Dream'' and '' Titanic: The Legend Lives On'', the show ''Dog Whisperer with Cesar ...
, and Mark Hufnail. Sheila Possner-Emery and Kay Bachman-Sumner are producers. For National Geographic Channel, the executive producer is Char Serwa. Nicholas Bunker is associate producer, Christina Lublin coordinating producer and SueAnn Fincke series producer. The series is directed by SueAnn Fincke and Jim Milio. Cinematographers are Bryan Duggan and Christopher Komives. Thirty-six other crew members are involved in location management, sound recording, camera operation, music, editing, and production assistance.


Reception


Critical reception

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
gave the series a mostly positive review, calling it "a pleasure to watch."


Reception by the animal behavior community

In February 2006, an article in the ''New York Times'' quoted Dr. Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at
Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
's
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine of Tufts University is a graduate school of veterinary medicine, located in North Grafton, Massachusetts. The Cummings School is the only college of veterinary medicine in New England. The school is also ...
, said that his college had "written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years". A ''New York Times'' August 2006
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
by Mark Derr, an author noted for his publications on dogs, criticized ''Dog Whisperer'' for its reliance on a "simplistic view of the dog's social structure". According to Derr, Millan's methodology "flies in the face of what professional animal behaviorists—either trained and certified veterinarians or ethologists—have learned about normal and abnormal behavior in dogs". Millan's theory of dominance in domestic dogs has been described as flawed. Also in 2006, the American Humane Association (AHA) requested that the National Geographic Channel stop airing the program, saying that training tactics shown on ''Dog Whisperer'' were inhumane, outdated and improper. 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". 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. Debra Horwitz, president of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, said the major benefits of ''The Dog Whisperer'' are that it makes owners aware that they are not alone in the problems they have with their pets, and that it provides good advice on the need for dogs to exercise and have rules. Horwitz added the show also has the major drawback of attributing behavior problems to dominance when the dog may be misbehaving because it is fearful or anxious. Pet columnist Steve Dale said in a July 2010 newspaper column that while he believed Millan was "blessed with an amazingly intuitive understanding of dog behavior", some of the methods shown on the program, particularly those related to dominance, were inappropriate and not substantiated by science. The
Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...
Genesis Award The Genesis Awards are awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by the HSUS ...
Committee presented Milan with a 2008 Special Commendation for his work in rehabilitating animals. Dr.
Sophia Yin Sophia Yin (February 5, 1966 – September 28, 2014 in Davis, California) was a veterinarian, applied animal behaviorist, author and lecturer. She was a pioneer in the use of positive reinforcement for training dogs, and was widely recognized a ...
, a veterinarian, researcher and animal behaviorist, wrote articles and spoke about Cesar Millan's television show and methods, calling Cesar Millan's methods "based on the erroneous understanding of dominance and the need to use force or coercions icas the first-line of training for all problems". She did, however, point out in the same sentence that "there are some good recommendations and lessons one can learn from it and other shows", and went on to list them. In some countries in Europe, the TV show has a warning label text before it starts, for example in Sweden the warning before the show reads: "Note that several methods or techniques in this show could count as illegal animal abuse violations in Swedish law, check the laws carefully before using anything shown in this program", and Sweden has had national debates over Millan's techniques and whether they should be shown or not.


Ratings

''Dog Whisperer'' premiered in 2004 as a half-hour program but subsequently became first in the National Geographic channel ratings and was expanded to a
prime-time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
, one hour format. In 2007, the network renewed its most popular series to that date with an unprecedented 35 episodes in which Millan travelled the show to U.S. cities like New York and Miami. In 2008, the show in its 100th episode had grown from an estimated 100,000 households per episodes per household to an estimated 1,000,000 people per episode. By 2010 ''Dog Whisperer'' had been National Geographic's top-rated series for six years.


Awards

In 2005 and again in 2007, Millan was awarded the ''Michael Landon Award for Inspiration to Youth Through Television''. The show received
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominations for Outstanding Reality Program in both 2006 and 2007, though it did not take the award on either occasion. In 2008, ''Dog Whisperer'' won ''TV Best Variety or Reality Show'' at the 23rd Annual
Imagen Foundation Awards The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or person ...
, and also won the ''People's Choice Award for Favorite Animal Show'' that same year. ''Dog Whisperer'' again won the
People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
in the category of Favorite Animal Show in 2010. In 2010, the show was nominated for the
Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...
for ''Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs'' but did not take the awards.


See also

* ''
It's Me or the Dog ''It's Me or the Dog'' is an English television program featuring dog trainer Victoria Stilwell who addresses canine behavioral problems (which are often shown putting a strain on interpersonal relationships), teaches responsible dog ownership an ...
''


References


External links


''Dog Whisperer'' official website

Cesar Millan official website
*
IMDb Episode List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dog Whisperer, The National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Television shows about dogs Dog training and behavior Dogs in popular culture 2004 American television series debuts 2000s American reality television series 2010s American reality television series English-language television shows 2012 American television series endings