Cesar Millan Quotes

Americans are very big about loving the dog first, so when you tell them you have to set rules and limitations, a lot of people believe it's going to hurt their feelings. They're actually looking for you to be the pack leader.

Owners lavish love on their pets, which is why so many go from non-aggressive pups to being out of control when they're older. People just don't realise their dog must respect them as leader of the pack.

It's natural canine behavior to chew on all sorts of things, roll in other animals' droppings, hump and fight other dogs, menace anything that invades the home. All these behaviors can be curbed, but that takes a lot of work. Trainers say it requires nearly 2,000 repetitions of a behavior for a dog to completely absorb it.

Though each trainer believes his or her method is best, I don't think it matters which method the pet owner adopts so long as that owner finds a capable mentor and sticks with the training. Eventually you will learn to see your dog, and when that happens, the richness of your and your dog's lives will tell you what to do next.

People say I train dogs, but in many ways I train people.

You don't train a dog in a training hall, jerking his neck or even giving him food treats. You train him using life rewards.

Aggression is not a breed thing. It's a state of mind, and it comes from how the human is with the dog. There are four levels of energy, regardless of the breed: low, medium, high, very high. The idea is to get a dog in your same level or lower than you.

It is the job of the dog trainer to summon the dog's genetics, not to impose man's will over dog's.

Any dog can be aggressive; it's basically the way they're raised.

Training a dog, to me, is on a par with learning to dance with my wife or teaching my son to ski. These are fun things we do together. If anyone even talks about dominating the dog or hurting him or fighting him or punishing him, don't go there.

When I'm training a dog, I develop a relationship with that dog. He's my buddy, and I want to make training fun.

It is very easy to forget how much of a pain training is when you have a dog for so long, but trust me, it's not as easy and quick as we all hope.

Owners sometimes think their dogs have already suffered so much that they couldn't possibly inflict any more criticism. Yet it's that very firm, effective training that would make those dogs happier and more secure.

You really do learn every day with every dog; they are all so unique and different. But if you're patient and you understand where they're coming from, and if you are consistent, they will be fine. They teach you to give your full attention.

Do not wave stick when trying to catch dog.

I live with an 18-month-old Jack Russell named Chicken. He moved in about 15 months ago, and it was very hard at first because I work a lot and he doesn't.

People - and dogs - are dying to be trained.

Following rules is, of course, the reason the dog is man's best friend is because the dog follows rules, and they actually do experiments on that, is that how well certain breeds of dogs follow rules, and how much they internalize them. And so many hierarchical animals, obviously they follow rules.

I think I'm good at training dogs, but none of my dogs agree with me on that.

You have to train a dog to think.

Dogs have found themselves in an odd predicament by living with humans. In the wild, dogs don't need humans to achieve balance. They have a pack leader, work for food and travel with the pack. When we bring them into our world, we need to help them achieve balance by fulfilling their needs as nature intended. This takes exercise and discipline before affection, and always maintaining your calm, assertive pack leadership.

Most owners are at length able to teach themselves to obey their dog.

Dogs like to obey. It gives them security.

Like children, dogs want discipline and are most secure when they have rules to live by. The happiest dogs are those with gentle masters who quietly but firmly demand respect.

Any dog, you put him in the corner, no matter if they're vicious or not, they're going to bite back.