As some of you have heard and read, I had the recent pleasure and privilege of spending a couple of days with the world’s number 1 Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan. One of the main highlights was getting to meet and see the relationship between Cesar and his new sidekick Junior, a 2.5 year old Blue Pit Bull.

It was great seeing the man and his dog in action in crowds of people and on stage. It was interesting to watch what I experience with my sidekick Ceez, a 14 month old Rottweiler. That you have to be the Calm Assertive Pack Leader to your dog 24/7, seven days a week and 365 days a year. You have to constantly maintain and project the leadership qualities of patience, persistence and compassion toward your dog when you are raising him.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to bring my sidekick Ceez with me on my trip due to the lengthy travel times, quarantine efforts and value for time and money that I didn’t feel were worth the short time that I was spending in the US. However, it was amazing to see the growth and resemblance of the energy, balance and state of Junior to what I have with Ceez. This was a great reward to view and proof in the pudding that even two dogs, two different breeds, two different ages, two different continents both being raised and following the same teachings and philosophies dictated by Mother Nature in raising a balanced dog, both have the same calm submissive balanced dog energy.

I recently came across an article from Cesar’s Way newsletter that did a profile on Junior and it was remarkable evidence to see how the two dogs both have to go through the same learning curves and the same guidance and leadership during their periods of growth. Here are some of those comparisons and similarities:

Both Junior and Ceez are not Daddy, the world famous Pit Bull ambassador, however, all three dogs were not born as these amazing things that you see in real life and on TV. Daddy originally was a shy timid young dog, but with the help of the pack, Cesar’s guidance and trust between Man and Dog, he did develop the amazing traits that is so well known for. So just like the late Daddy, Ceez and Junior are sharing his spirit by stepping up to the plate and accepting their calling of being ambassadors of their respective powerful breeds and dog companions, by participating in shows, tours, speaking engagements and workshops, and bringing calm and balance to the dogs that Cesar rehabilitates at his center and me at mine.

Both Ceez and Junior play a major role in life as they are the models of a calm balanced dog when out in public and both in the home private life. When members of the public see these dogs they are amazed and pushed into a direction of changing their paradigms that the breed of the dog does not dictate it’s destiny.

Both dogs had to grow through common mis-conceptions that people think of dogs. Junior was recently in a photo shoot with cats and Ceez is comfortable with cats but still has that nature of wanting to play with them.

Now what about other animals? Junior has transitioned from a rambunctious puppy that loved to horse around to a “mostly settled” adolescent dog whose great friend is a horse! “It’s true – we have a horse on the ranch and Junior loves to follow him around,” Cesar said. “But he learned the hard way not to sniff the horse’s back legs.” (source: Cesar’s Way) Ceez also had to learn about horses. Around the corner there is a ranch that has stables and horses which I often take Ceez and the dogs to for a walk. At first Ceez was super curious and not sure how to handle the horses but after quick intervention and guidance from me he quickly learned to respect them. Just yesterday I was out answering some questions to the public at the park and I took my eyes off Ceez and then saw him migrating off into the distance and following two horses that were walking and forming a pack with them. I was first scared and concerned and then filled with amazement and joy.

The moral of this experience and important to remember is that with any dog, you constantly need to be the leader and project guidance through exercise, discipline and then affection with full 100% focus and commitment. As all dogs go through an adolescent stage and will be mostly settled. What does mostly settled mean?  It vital to note that every breed sooner or later starts listening to their genetics. Even though blue pit bulls were bred for show purposes and not for fighting, and Rottweilers were bred for protection and herding, they still have that small side of them that wants to fight. As Cesar said about Junior and I have experience and know with Ceez, they tried to listen to that side of them, and even though they knows that’s not what they are meant to do, occasionally they need to re-learn the lesson, just like teenage children.

On the profile article of Junior Cesar said:
On a recent television shoot for an upcoming segment on the CBS morning show, Junior got into a little scrabble with Rottweiler Salomon, who tried to take Junior’s ball from him.“It was a learning experience – raising a dog and having those moments is normal. Even Daddy has his moments as an adolescent” Cesar said. “Sometimes it takes them four to five years before they become 100 percent settled. That doesn’t mean they are not balanced; it means they are still learning their rules, boundaries, and limitations.” (Source: Cesar’s Way)

This same type of learning experience I had to and still overcome with Ceez, where he sometimes randomly launches at men at a launching mechanism. It hasn’t occurred now for many months but it was an effort of many months of persistence to guide and re-learn one’s dog. So never give up and understand that the growth process between you and your dog is never ending, just like children.

So let’s rate the progress of Junior and Ceez so far and join us by testing your growing dog’s to the scenarios below:

• Ceez and Junior with Kids? Done and perfect
• Ceez and Junior with cats and horses? Super
• Ceez and Junior with adolescent and adult dogs? Done
• Ceez and Junior with helping to evaluate unstable dogs? Doing very very well
• Ceez and Junior with senior dogs? Junior is doing superb with with surrendering, Ceez respects their space but will still want to attempt to play with them but then loses interest when they show no interest.
  (facts regarding Junior’s profile was sourced from Cesar’s Way).

I hope that this article has filled you with some hope, inspiration and guidance that behind the camera’s, public appearances and travels these dogs held tendencies or traits that you may see in your dog, but with Calm Assertive leadership from a Pack Leader like yourself, you can nurture and grow your dog into a well balanced role model and dog ambassador.

J