Pentland Pet Services
Cesar Millan at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, U.K. 4th March 2010
Having totally ignored all suggestions that I would find the methods of Cesar Millan, ‘The Dog Whisperer’, both entertaining and, more importantly, informative, eventually a year ago I decided to check him out.
At the end of the first episode it was as fast I could get to the nearest bookshop to buy all his books, and have been a devotee ever since.
Just to explain my initial reluctance, I am not a fan of the ‘celebrity’ type dog trainers often seen on television as I rarely agree with their philosophies, and find myself sceptical about the long-term benefits to the dog. However, as soon as I heard Cesar Millan instruct “no touch, no talk, no eye contact”, “exercise, discipline, affection”, and “calm assertive energy” I knew this was someone who knew dogs.
So, at the suggestion of Tim and Janice Hughes, for Janice and I to travel to Birmingham to see the man in person, I jumped at the chance. We arrived in Birmingham early in the afternoon, booked into our hotel and were delighted to find the venue for the evening was only a five-minute walk.
As we had gone for the VIP tickets we only had time for a quick freshen up and change before heading for the National Indoor Arena (NIA) for a four course pre-show dinner, which was absolutely splendid, and then to our seats for the start of the seminar. The place was packed to capacity and at this point I inwardly thought “please be who I think you are and not another of the celebrity trainers who delight in having wonderful dogs boost your ego”. I need not have worried.
Cesar walked on stage, greeted us in his humble way by thanking us for our interest and proceeded to impart his wisdom for the next three hours. Several dogs with ‘issues’ (those of you who know Cesar already will know it is the handler who has ‘issues’) were invited to join Cesar on stage and advised on the procedure to adopt. As expected, in Cesar’s hands the dogs immediately reacted to his energy, calmed down and did as he asked.
So to his critics, who maintain that when this happens on his show it is staged, you are wrong. He also is very entertaining and funny as he describes situations both from the human and dog’s point of view. One particular story that had us all laughing was about the lady from L.A. who, never having had a dog before and only cats, decided she needed to “save a dog”, went to the local pound, and decided on a Rottweiller. With ‘issues’.
What followed was a hilarious account from the human, dog and cat’s view of the introduction to the new home, and how it could have been handled differently. Cesar had been brought in as the dog paid no attention to the new owner, and would only follow the cat.
Towards the end of the seminar Cesar spoke about his 16 year old pit bull Daddy who died a few weeks ago. Daddy was the most wonderful dog who had been Cesar’s companion from 4 months old and had assisted in hundreds of rehabilitations proving beyond the shadow of doubt that any breed/ human relationship is the result of understanding.
A very moving film was shown in tribute to Daddy and I admit to the necessity of a tissue by the end.
We were fortunate enough to be in the group to be invited for a Question and Answer session after the seminar and enjoyed this informal time with Cesar generally hanging out with us for 30 minutes. All too soon it was over, but the long-term benefits from this seminar will affect not just myself but more importantly, will prove extremely beneficial to all the dogs that lodge and train with PPS.
In conclusion I would like to thank Tim for making all the arrangements - the timings of transport, and choice of hotel, were perfect. Thank you also to Janice for her company, and sharing this experience with me.
Anne.
March 2010
Having totally ignored all suggestions that I would find the methods of Cesar Millan, ‘The Dog Whisperer’, both entertaining and, more importantly, informative, eventually a year ago I decided to check him out.
At the end of the first episode it was as fast I could get to the nearest bookshop to buy all his books, and have been a devotee ever since.
Just to explain my initial reluctance, I am not a fan of the ‘celebrity’ type dog trainers often seen on television as I rarely agree with their philosophies, and find myself sceptical about the long-term benefits to the dog. However, as soon as I heard Cesar Millan instruct “no touch, no talk, no eye contact”, “exercise, discipline, affection”, and “calm assertive energy” I knew this was someone who knew dogs.
So, at the suggestion of Tim and Janice Hughes, for Janice and I to travel to Birmingham to see the man in person, I jumped at the chance. We arrived in Birmingham early in the afternoon, booked into our hotel and were delighted to find the venue for the evening was only a five-minute walk.
As we had gone for the VIP tickets we only had time for a quick freshen up and change before heading for the National Indoor Arena (NIA) for a four course pre-show dinner, which was absolutely splendid, and then to our seats for the start of the seminar. The place was packed to capacity and at this point I inwardly thought “please be who I think you are and not another of the celebrity trainers who delight in having wonderful dogs boost your ego”. I need not have worried.
Cesar walked on stage, greeted us in his humble way by thanking us for our interest and proceeded to impart his wisdom for the next three hours. Several dogs with ‘issues’ (those of you who know Cesar already will know it is the handler who has ‘issues’) were invited to join Cesar on stage and advised on the procedure to adopt. As expected, in Cesar’s hands the dogs immediately reacted to his energy, calmed down and did as he asked.
So to his critics, who maintain that when this happens on his show it is staged, you are wrong. He also is very entertaining and funny as he describes situations both from the human and dog’s point of view. One particular story that had us all laughing was about the lady from L.A. who, never having had a dog before and only cats, decided she needed to “save a dog”, went to the local pound, and decided on a Rottweiller. With ‘issues’.
What followed was a hilarious account from the human, dog and cat’s view of the introduction to the new home, and how it could have been handled differently. Cesar had been brought in as the dog paid no attention to the new owner, and would only follow the cat.
Towards the end of the seminar Cesar spoke about his 16 year old pit bull Daddy who died a few weeks ago. Daddy was the most wonderful dog who had been Cesar’s companion from 4 months old and had assisted in hundreds of rehabilitations proving beyond the shadow of doubt that any breed/ human relationship is the result of understanding.
A very moving film was shown in tribute to Daddy and I admit to the necessity of a tissue by the end.
We were fortunate enough to be in the group to be invited for a Question and Answer session after the seminar and enjoyed this informal time with Cesar generally hanging out with us for 30 minutes. All too soon it was over, but the long-term benefits from this seminar will affect not just myself but more importantly, will prove extremely beneficial to all the dogs that lodge and train with PPS.
In conclusion I would like to thank Tim for making all the arrangements - the timings of transport, and choice of hotel, were perfect. Thank you also to Janice for her company, and sharing this experience with me.
Anne.
March 2010
