{"id":7195,"date":"2018-01-22T13:45:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T13:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=7195"},"modified":"2018-01-25T01:41:23","modified_gmt":"2018-01-25T01:41:23","slug":"cesar-millans-lessons-from-the-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/winter-2018\/cesar-millans-lessons-from-the-pack\/","title":{"rendered":"Cesar Millan\u2019s Lessons From The Pack"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/span>hen it comes to dogs, Cesar Millan<\/a> is the leader of the pack. This bestselling author and world-renowned dog behaviorist arguably proves that in his new book, Cesar Millan\u2019s Lessons From The Pack: Stories of the Dogs Who Changed My Life. Rarely has a human being better understood, better articulated, and better lived a dog\u2019s life than Millan who presents some unique new perspectives on dogs: why they behave the way they do and how they teach us.<\/p>\n

Consider the facts. Dog has always been man\u2019s best friend, but today our faithful companion has taken on more helpful roles than ever before imagined.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Jason Elias \/ Cesar\u2019s Way<\/p><\/div>\n

Well-known as guide dogs, canines are expanding their resumes with the ability to alert the onset of seizures, identify sounds for the hearing impaired, flip on light switches, remind people to take their medications, open doors, pull wheelchairs, and help relieve stress.<\/p>\n

A recent study in Sweden of more than 3.4 million people over a 12-year period reported: \u201cDogs may be beneficial in reducing cardiovascular risk in their owners by providing social support and motivation for physical activity.\u201d That our pets can actually help us to live longer is exciting news.<\/p>\n

Dogs are especially important for older adults. They not only provide companionship, but they also encourage the owners to exercise by taking long walks, to socialize by meeting people on the walks, and to keep to a schedule\u2014Fido always knows when it\u2019s time to go out and to be fed!<\/p>\n

Dogs make us laugh, giving us the best medicine in the world, and love us unconditionally. These are all great things for any age but especially for older adults.<\/p>\n

Pet owners love to brag about what they\u2019ve taught their dogs, and we marvel at the tasks that service dogs have been taught.<\/p>\n

However, what is very much overlooked is how dogs teach us.<\/p>\n

According to Millan, dogs have \u201cbecome the world\u2019s foremost experts on every type of human behavior. I am convinced that if dogs could speak our language, they would be our best psychologists, as well as our best friends and teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo Courtesy Cesar\u2019s Way<\/p><\/div>\n

About Cesar Millan<\/h3>\n

Mention dog whisperer and most people will immediately say \u201cCesar Millan.\u201d As the host of the original Emmy-nominated Dog Whisperer program, Millan is also the star of Cesar Millan\u2019s Dog Nation and hosts Cesar 911.<\/p>\n

In 1990, when Cesar Millan was 21, he crossed the border from Mexico into California. He describes his frightening experience of crossing the Rio Grande as \u201ccold, wet, hungry and far away from my parents\u201d next to the \u201ccoyote\u201d he had to pay to cross. What drove Millan to make the crossing was the dream of \u201cbecoming the best dog trainer in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

He lived on the streets of San Diego, landed a job grooming dogs, and soon gained a reputation for his calming effect on even the most difficult cases. With a few dollars in his pocket, he moved north to Los Angeles and took a job washing cars.<\/p>\n

With the money he saved, he started a freelance dog rehabilitation service, primarily offering his expertise with extreme cases. This led him to open his first Dog Psychology Center that would eventually become the 43-acre site in the Santa Clarita Valley, now including a sheep herding area, air conditioned kennels, swimming pool, obstacle course, and hiking trails. The Dog Psychology Center is a featured location in many of Millan\u2019s TV shows, including Cesar Millan\u2019s Dog Nation.<\/p>\n

In addition to coauthoring seven books, Millan has created numerous instructional DVDs and has brought his popular live shows Cesar Millan LIVE! and Once Upon a Dog to audiences around ther world. Attendees learn how to apply his extensive knowledge of dog psychology and rehabilitation techniques.<\/p>\n

In Dog Nation, he and his son Andre do more than just help people with their dogs. They also bring us on an adventure to see the many, many ways in which dogs help us to learn, to love, to laugh, and to heal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Millan\u2019s New Book<\/h3>\n

This is not a how-to training book. For that, you might grab a copy of one of Millan\u2019s other books, such as Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rather, this is Millan\u2019s philosophy on a new way of living our lives \u201cbased on the unique and insightful lessons we can learn from our dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

He divides the book into eight specific lessons that special dogs in his life have taught him. These lessons are divided into chapters, including respect, freedom, confidence, authenticity, forgiveness, wisdom, resilience, and acceptance. His premise is if you learn how dogs act and view the world, you will learn more about yourself as a person.<\/p>\n

He describes these lessons as he learned them from his beloved pit bulls, Daddy, Junior, and other celebratory members of his \u201cpack.\u201d Each lesson offers tips for your own personal self-discovery\u2014all learned from special dogs.<\/p>\n

For example, in the lesson on freedom, Millan suggests we learn what dogs always have known, \u201cFreedom comes from within. It\u2019s not a thing or a place; it\u2019s a state of being.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explains how dogs live in the moment and have no regrets about the past or the future. They couldn\u2019t care less how they look, sound, or even smell.<\/p>\n

To experience freedom, Millan says, is to \u201cfollow your passion and obey your instincts. Your passion creates the energy that fuels your accomplishments, and your instincts are the compass that guides you through life\u2019s challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

More lessons include taking a leaf from the canine files on how to develop confidence. (Master a skill. For dogs it might be retrieving. . . What is yours?)<\/p>\n

Sprinkled throughout the book are heartwarming insights from celebrities about what they\u2019ve learned from the master dog trainer, like Jerry Seinfeld, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, Wayne Brady.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a dog, you\u2019ll want one after reading the lessons that Cesar Millan suggests you might learn from your new best friend. If you do have a dog, you\u2019ll begin looking at your pet in a new light and role\u2014a teacher.<\/p>\n

Cesar Millan\u2019s Lessons From The Pack: Stories of the Dogs Who Changed My Life<\/em><\/a> by Cesar Millan \u00a9 2017 published by National Geographic Partners, hardcover.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Insightful lessons we can learn from our dogs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2018","category-winter-2018-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7195"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7275,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7195\/revisions\/7275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}