Cesar Millan: The Dog Whisperer

Whether or not you have seen the show The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic or Animal Planet channels, you have probably heard the name Cesar Millan. Millan has become a household name for dog owners worldwide but his techniques have been criticized as being inhumane and generally controversial. But why has Cesar become so popular? There certainly are other shows featuring dog trainers but they are not as famous as Millan.

Probably the reason why viewers are so drawn to Cesar’s show is the way in which he uses rehabilitation techniques not only on the dogs he is attempting to train, but also on their owners. The majority of dog trainers focus their attention solely on the dogs, but Cesar focuses on the idea that the owner must learn how to become a “pack leader” before they can control their dogs, an idea that other trainers on television have not done before.

Despite his huge following, Millan has also received a lot of backlash in the dog training community because of his supposedly “inhumane” and “outdated” techniques. The idea of “celebrity-bashing” is highlighted in Sofia Johannsson’s article “Sometimes you wanna hate celebrities: Tabloid readers and celebrity coverage”. If Millan was simply a normal dog trainer who wasn’t famous, he would not receive the backlash he is currently getting from the community. At the same time, these people are drawing attention to him and thus helping him sell his products. For him this is a win-win situation!