Cesar Millan: The King of Analogies

I am rewatching early seasons of the Dog Whisperer. Cesar Millan is an astonishing role model to me. He isn't really all that alpha (with people), but like Mike Rowe, he has the ability to immediately find a place for himself in hierarchies--to the point where the people he is helping will risk their egos by emulating Cesar without feeling combative. 

With dogs, Cesar Millan exhibits no hesitation at taking a dominant position. Various dog experts argue about whether pack-dominance is truly how dogs behave in the wild. Whatever. It's how they behave in homes and parks because their owners don't take responsibility for them.

Bob and Charlie wait for dinner.

I say this as someone who loves big dogs but doesn't own one (although I could in my current home) since I know I don't have the discipline to be a good owner. If I am going to treat my dog like a cuddly toy, I don't deserve to have one. I have applied some of Cesar's techniques to my cats, and they have worked!

The aspect of Millan's behavior/teaching/personality that impresses me the most is his calm, especially his continued calm even when dogs get aggressive or a certain approach doesn't immediately work. He doesn't

blame the dog. He doesn't get frustrated. He doesn't give up. He starts over. He asks his people, such as Todd, to bring the dog back. 

In this post, I want to praise Millan's gift for analogies. When he walks into a home, he finds a point of comparison between his instructions and the household to inspire clients. If the client is a coach, he uses a coach analogy. If the client is an actor, he uses acting analogies. 

He does this in live performances too, by the way. And he does it during conversations when it is clearly not scripted. It doesn't surprise me that he already knows something about the clients before he starts. He claims (in early episodes) not to do background research on clients, and I believe him. But the way episodes are filmed and cut means that Cesar is there for at least part of the time when the camera crew is filming the family "alone." 

It doesn't matter. Things like television editing don't upset me. It is obvious that outside of any narration or scripting, Cesar thinks in terms of analogies. And I would guess that this ability is what got him where he ended up. He started out as a dog walker, "four hours in Runyon Canyon" (no wonder the people who hired Cesar loved him so much--he really gave those dogs a work-out!). He made contact with celebrities. He got support to do his show. 

And behind all of this is a guy who keeps looking, searching, pondering for what will work in certain situations. 

In an episode at a dog park, he compares the humans' territorial behavior to regulars claiming a chair in Starbucks. 

In another episode, he encourages a woman to be more assertive by walking like Cleopatra. 

To another woman with a bad dating history, he points out that "you can't rehabilitate unstable men with affection."  Or dogs.

In one episode where a wife and husband claim that their retriever likes to "show off," Cesar says, "Well, this is L.A." 

He is naturally funny. Watch him in live performances; he has the gift of a mimic. He generates laughter with relatable jokes followed by physical imitation. He does it unconsciously in the early episodes. He seems to have become more comfortable with this ability over time. 

Cesar Millan is one of the few celebrities where I might put his poster on my wall! Okay, I haven't because I'm not really a celebrity fan girl (Cesar and Nimoy are just about it). But Cesar qualifies.