'Dog Whisperer' makes problem pooches behave

[dogs4life]

CESAR MILLAN, aka the Dog Whisperer, is the guy to call when good dogs go bad. His Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles boasts celebrity clients such as Will Smith, Nicolas Cage and Hilary Duff.
He's called a "Dr. Phil for dogs," although many viewers may quickly come to hold him in higher esteem.

His Friday night series on the National Geographic Channel takes up three or so case studies each week; if you've got a problem with your pooch, you'll likely see it addressed sooner or later.

In last week's segment, a kindhearted woman has taken in a feral German shepherd mix named Sonny. Sonny hails from humble origins — he was born in a drainpipe — and is painfully shy. If he tucked his tail any tighter, it would disappear into his nether regions.

Millan doesn't believe in hugs and cooing when treating problem dogs. They appreciate firmness and leadership, he insists. He demonstrates how to get Sonny out from under a desk, where he likes to hide.

Don't plead with him to come out "as if you're asking a favor," says Millan, a compact, energetic man with salt-and- pepper hair and a Vandyke beard. A firm pull of the leash transmits confidence and strength.

Millan demonstrates. Sonny responds beautifully. The bill, we assume, is in the mail.

Case two: A cantankerous dachshund named Cinnamon has been rescued from a violent past. His new owners, a mother and daughter, have drowned him in a sea of sympathy. The result: Cinnamon is highly aggressive, especially toward strangers and the other family dachshund, the very dapper Chocolate.

Enter Millan, who responds to the SOS call in a red Jeep with rock music blaring. Asked how they discipline Cinnamon, the owners tell Millan he is sometimes confined to the bathroom.

"A timeout?" he asks, keeping his smirk on a tight leash. The humans nod.

"Timeouts don't work in the animal world," Millan replies, echoing the belief that they don't work in the human world either. Dogs are like children, he continues. Either you rule them or they rule you.

He tells the humans to shape up and police their posture. Slack shoulders project weakness. Don't slap, hit or shout. Be firm and dogs will respect that "energy."

Pigs, as it happen, respond the same way. An upstart pug named Boo and a potbellied pig named Poppa, living with a pair of women in Los Angeles, have developed several bad habits, including bolting for freedom when the front door opens.

"Dogs and pigs both run in packs, and a pack leader never gives hugs," says Millan, who was raised on a farm.

When one of the gals sees pug and pig responding to Millan's firm voice and body language, she confesses that her general lack of firmness has been a problem in all her relationships.

Millan's intervention has changed her world. "My heart is jumping," she says.

By Dave Shiflett, BLOOMBERG NEWS