Cesar Millan today is known as the Dog Whisperer. Millan is known for his skills with dogs in America and around the world. Millan is extraordinary to watch because he is able to understand and calm the most aggressive and insecure dog and teach humans how to be a calm leader for their pets.
Being the Dog Whisperer comes with much responsibility that Millan takes seriously. Millan understands that not every dog lover will recognize his technique but that doesn’t stop him from touring around the world and sharing his animal wisdom with the world.
Cesar Millan can be seen as a man having a job anyone can dream of having but being the Dog Whisperer wasn’t handed to him. His job is not easy and can come along with drama and unexpected life events but if an immigrant from Mexico can be the Dog Whisperer so can anyone be whatever they aspire to be.
1. Millan’s Has a Skill Like No Other
There are not many people who wake up and decide that they want to create a career out of dog walking, dog psychology, and even just dogs in general. Of course, we have breeders, trainers, and animal behaviorists but to make it an end goal in your life to becoming the go-to guy for training, rehabilitating, and rehoming dogs there has only been one man who has achieved this and that’s Cesar Millan.
Millan created this field and opened doors to make although his skills seem to be a natural instinct of his, Millan himself explains in different episodes of his shows, tours, and books that his grandfather is who taught him the basic skills and knowledge Millan eventually honed to be the Dog Whisperer that he is today.
2. Millan Declares His Dream
Growing up with his grandfather in Culiacán, the Mexican state of Sinaloa, and watching American television shows such as Lassie and Rin Tin Tin, Millan decided that as soon as he could he would leave to America to shoot for his dream of being the best dog trainer in the world.
After you make a declaration like that it can only be taken seriously with some huge actions. Millan’s family had to take Cesar’s word seriously after he left his hometown to immigrate to the United States, illegally, but boldly.
3. Millan is Self-taught in Los Angeles
Millan made put in Los Angeles in 1992 and with little known English, he worked several small jobs as a car washer, dog groomer, and eventually a dog walker. If you’re going to walk Dogs, Los Angeles is the place to be. While Los Angeles had many rich dog owners Millan was also surrounded by drug abusers, graffiti-covered buildings, and an overall poor energy.
Paying dues while watching the lavish lifestyle living of Hollywood celebrities, socialites, and politicians was hard and it would take determination to be able to connect with Hollywood elite. Not only was Millan a hard worker he also became a husband to Illusion Millan and fathered two children Andre Millan (born 1995), and Calvin Millan (born 2001).
4. Millan’s California Reputation
After years of completing small jobs, Millan had become a husband and father and has now gained a reputation being able to control the worst dogs in Los Angeles neighborhoods.
His reputation as an avid dog handler was established with the help of many people. In Cesar’s Way, Milan thanks, many people who have helped him get to where he is today. In his book, he gives thanks to Jada Pinkett Smith, Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Phil McGraw and he also gives thanks to the women who ran a grooming parlor in San Diego that hired him when he first got to California.
5. Millan Opens the Dog Psychology Center
It was then in 1998, that Millan was then able to open his Dog Psychology Center of Los Angeles, his first training facility. With the Dog Psychology center (DPC) he was able to attract more of the Hollywood elites dogs for correction and training. On Millan’s website, Cesarsway.com, Millan states that he had more time to train and challenge his pack of dogs. He’d remember the time he took a pack of Rottweilers off leash to a meat market and would give them raw meat to hold onto while heading back to the DPC. It was quite a sight!
The DPC today is now in the hills of Santa Clarita where there are not too many humans. It is a safe haven for dogs and other animals that Millan works with. the goal for Millan is to have the DPC transform into a shelter that can hold a pack of 700 and teach children and other dog trainers his technique and even how to farmland like how he was taught in Mexico.
6. Millan is now the Dog Whisperer
Many know Millan as the host of National Geographic’s “Dog Whisperer” which began in 2004. He was offered by producers two years after he opened the DPC to have his own television show because of Millan’s growing popularity.
With hard work, the Dog Whisperer was successful and to prove that the Dog Whisperer was nominated for an Emmy in 2007. Millan became a national phenomenon because of his work with troubled dogs and many were amazed that he was so easily able to correct and rehabilitate dogs.
7. Hard Times for Millan in 2010
True Cesar Millan fans know of Millan’s love for his lead dog, Daddy, who was owned by rapper Redman until he was given to Millan. Fans have also watched Millan’s wife, Illusion, assist him in many Dog Whisperer episodes. When Millan’s wife, Illusion, filed for divorce after a 16-year marriage, Millan was also faced with the challenge of losing his 16-year-old dog, Daddy in 2010.
Daddy would not be forgotten and his lineage still lives on through Junior, Daddy’s protege who helps Millan diagnose dogs.
Millan’s divorce was in fact hard hitting to Millan’s life. In “Cesar Millan: The Real Story”, Millan’s documentary, he shares that being a father and provider was his identity and he believed he was the leader of his pack at home. Millan took his divorce as a failure on his part to his wife and children and this began a dark time for Millan.
8. Millan’s Suicide Attempt
Though divorce, Millan had learned that he did not make as much money as he thought he did and did not own as much as he believed. Millan had shared in the documentary he owned more tour t-shirts than anything. His divorce had led him into a state of depression and had led to an attempt at suicide.
Thankfully, his overdose on pills did not succeed to take his life as he was found and taken to the hospital quickly. Millan shared his attempted suicide story later through his documentaries and books. Today Millan is healthy and continues on spending time with his sons, Junior, and Millan’s now fiance, Jahida Dar.
9. Millan’s Cesar 911, Touring, and Books
Millan not only has the Dog Psychology Centers and the Dog Whisperer to be proud of. Millan has written many books, like Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog, Mastering Leadership DVD’s, Cesar Millan Viva Las Vegas Show, world tours, Cesar 911, Leader of the Pack, and various dog products designed and backed by Millan himself.
10. Millan, a Success, Entrepreneur, and Inspiration.
As a young man in Mexico, whose dream was to be the best dog trainer in Hollywood many will agree that Millan has reached his life dreams and is an inspiration to anyone that believes that with hard work and determination you can be anything you want to be.
Whether you’re an immigrant, know little English, or have a strange dream to others, Millan is a testimony to anyone who may feel they have been born with the short end of the stick. You can truly overcome any challenge with a focus on your goals and love for what you do.
Yessenia is a compelling and innovative program and operations manager who uses her 5+ years of experience in operations management and graphic design to determine small business needs in the areas of inventory costs, labor expenses, P&L, COGs, marketing, and graphic design to create and manage profitable plans for small businesses and individual projects. She is the Owner and Founder of Tru.Works.
thanks!