Achieving Balance

Dogs have found themselves in an odd predicament by living with humans. In the wild, dogs don’t need humans to achieve balance. They have a pack leader, work for food, and travel with the pack. But when we bring them into our world, we need to help them achieve balance by fulfilling their needs as nature intended them to be.

Dogs are animals, and they respond to calm-assertive leadership—not emotional arguments or negotiations. If you have a dog in your life, it is important to understand how to allow him/her to live in a balanced way and achieve a healthy state of mind.

Ceasar Millan's, the Dog Whisperer, fulfillment formula is exercise, then discipline, and finally, affection. As the human pack leader, he believes you must set rules, boundaries, and limitations and always project a calm-assertive energy.

According to Ceasar when you fulfill your dog on a primal level as nature intended, you will feel in tune with your dog and connect with your dog in a deeper way. Put your dog's needs first, and take responsibility for our dog's state of mind. Only then will you experience all the love your dog has to give!

Pack Leader Basics

A dog’s mother begins training puppies from birth. She makes them wait for food; she controls when they play and how far they travel. Adult dogs need these same rules, boundaries, and limitations from you, their pack leader.

According to Cesar Millan the dog whisperer:

A pack leader does not project emotional or nervous energy, so neither should you. In the wild, the pack leader uses calm-assertive energy to influence how the dog interacts with his surroundings. She enforces these laws in a quiet way, as is the case when a mother picks up a puppy by the scruff of the neck if he strays outside the den.

Ownership of territory is very important. Dogs in the wild claim space by first asserting themselves in a calm and confident way, and then communicating this ownership through clear body language signals and eye contact. A dog who understands that you, as the pack leader, own the space in which he lives will respect your asserted authority.

Waiting is another way that pack leaders assert their position – puppies wait to eat, and adult dogs wait until the pack leader wants them to travel. Waiting is a form of psychological work for the dog. Domestication means dogs don’t need to hunt for food, but they can still work for it.

Establish your position as pack leader by asking your dog to work. Take him on a walk before you feed him. And just as you don’t give affection unless your dog is in a calm-submissive state, don’t give food until your dog acts calm and submissive. Exercise will help the dog, especially a high-energy one, to achieve this state.

In all of these ways, the pack leader in nature sets rules, boundaries, and limitations for her pack, and in doing so, nurtures her dog’s healthy state of mind.

Mastering the Walk

Have you seen Cesar Millan walk with several dogs?

Cesar says, "The dogs see me as their pack leader. This is why they follow me wherever I go."





Here are some pointers from Cesar Millan:

Position matters. Walking in front allows you to be seen as the pack leader. Conversely, if your dog controls you on the walk, he’s the pack leader. You should be the first one out the door and the first one in. Your dog should be beside or behind you during the walk.

Use a short leash. This allows you to have more control. Attaching the leash to the very top of the neck can help you more easily communicate, guide, and correct your dog. Always keep your dog's safety in mind when giving corrections.

Set aside time. Dogs, like humans, are diurnal, so taking walks in the morning is ideal. I recommend setting aside thirty minutes to a full hour. The specific needs of each dog differ.

Define exploration time. After your dog has maintained the proper state of mind, reward him by allowing him to relieve himself and sniff around. Then you need to decide when reward time is over. It should always be less than the time spent focused on the walk.

Don't punch out. When you get home, don't stop leading. Have your dog wait patiently while you put away his leash or take off your shoes.

Share food and water. By providing a meal after the walk, you have allowed your dog to "work" for food and water.

So, are you the pack leader, too?

Dogs are Dogs.....not Humans

Cesar Millan says it best when it comes to not humanizing your dog.

Here are his tips:

Find a canine solution. Often, the solution we would use for a human is totally wrong for solving a dog’s issues. For example, when a human sees a scared or nervous dog, s/he will first offer comfort and consolation. This would never happen in the animal world and can make the problem worse instead of better, because it reinforces unstable behavior.

Speak the animal language. When dogs come into our homes, they meet emotional energy for the first time. We shower them with affection and babble at them in high-pitched baby-talk, so they see us as excited energy. This is why many dogs don’t listen to their human caretakers. Their mothers never acted this way; where did that calm-assertive leadership go?

Treat your dog like a dog. We often develop a different agenda for our dogs. We want to make puppies our babies. From day one, many humans forget to fulfill and understand their dog's needs and instead project their own needs and desires on the animal.

Be the pack leader! In the absence of a clear leader, a dog, even a submissive one, will seek to fill what they see as the vacant leadership role. The dog will ignore the owner, act out, and can lead to serious behavior issues.

Imagine if your significant other mistook your needs for the needs of a chimpanzee; where would that leave you? Confused and disoriented. It’s the same for dogs. But their confusion and disorientation manifest in bad behavior such as tearing up the couch or incessant barking. If we don’t fulfill them as a species, our dogs won’t live a balanced, centered life.

Understanding and projecting a pack leader’s calm-assertive energy will create a positive and lasting connection with your dog.

Does Your Dog Jump on Guests?

How can you tell if your dog is the pack leader? It’s simple: if she jumps on you when you arrive home, she is the pack leader. If she jumps on your guests, she is making sure that these new arrivals also know she is in charge. What can you do to stop this unwanted behavior?

According to Cesar Millan:

•Establish yourself as pack leader. When a dog doesn’t have a clear pack leader, she tries to fill the vacant role, usually to disastrous results (for the owner and for the dog!) The pack leader leads by projecting a calm-assertive energy.


•Don’t shower your dog with affection when you walk through the door. This kind of attention is wonderful for a human child, but not for a dog. Remember dogs are animals, and the kindest thing you can do is to treat your dog like a dog and communicate in a way he’ll understand.


•Correct bad behavior. The dog’s mom, the ultimate pack leader, would never tolerate inappropriate activity. If she sees something she doesn’t like, she stops it by moving the puppy out of the way in a calm-assertive manner. The puppy learns an important boundary from the lesson, and her firm and unambiguous leadership balances the puppy’s submissive role in the pack.


•When your guests arrive, ask your dog to sit patiently. Your dog will follow your commands when he respects you as his pack leader. Remember, the animal pack leader doesn’t negotiate to get what he or she wants.


•You can’t be a leader only some of the time. Leadership is forever; inconsistency triggers confusion and anxiety in a dog. Animal pack leaders never waver from their leadership role, and neither should you!