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abaugher's review against another edition
4.0
cool, maybe i can get my dog to behave better. the narrator was terrible though. he sounded like he was trying to smile the whole time, even when he shouldn't.
apochemu's review
5.0
I picked up this book because we were considering buying a dog. We decided against it, but I still finished the book because I found it so interesting and applicable to life in more ways than just dog ownership. I really like his ideas on calm assertive leadership/empowering yourself and communicating with your dog through their natural language. I also watched his show on Netflix as I was reading so it really helped to see all his ideas put in practice. When we finally decide to get a dog, I'll pick it up again.
mtbc's review against another edition
This is a good straight forward book from Ceasar Milan. I love his work and I want to get this book again and finish it once I get a dog. (I borrowed it from the library and didn't finish it before I had to take it back.)
clarks_dad's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. In all honesty I think the only part of this book really worth reading was the appendix that gives step by step instructions on how to deal with common dog problems and issues and how to adopt a calm assertive frame of mind when dealing with animals in general so that you're not acting out of frustration, but really doing your best to communicate with them on their terms. It's a helpful reminder against anthropomorphizing our closest animal companions and for creating new relationships with them on that recognizes the fact that they're dogs, not people - and it's not disrespectful or mean to treat them as such. It's just as wrong to treat a human being like a dog as it is to do the opposite. It demeans who they really are. Mr. Millan does a good job of creating activities and solutions to problems based on the evolutionary and biological developmental needs of dogs that seem to make sense and work fairly well in practice too.
Seriously though, a whole chapter on leashes and collars? Over thirty pages. -_-. Maybe it's just me, but the whole "energy" thing got a bit redundant and New Agey. I don't mean to devalue the psychological benefits of visualization or the role that attitude plays in our interactions with one another, but I have to admit that when Millan went on about transferring his energy to a dog through his eyes and his touch, he kind of lost me. I have no doubt that animals are awesome at reading body language, and I think many of his experiences and those of his success stories could be chalked up to changes in attitude and consistent application of new rules established by the owners of the dogs highlighted, but I'm no dog psychologist or zoologist.
From a reader's perspective, this book is easy to digest and well-organized. It tends toward repetition and by the end you can hear Millan's voice in your head and can easily identify which of his few catch phrases he's going to use a paragraph in advance of when he actually gets to it. In short the book (and his show) have three main points:
1. Treat dogs like dogs and not like people.
2. Establish rules, boundaries and limitations and then enforce them consistently.
3. Exercise the hell out of your dog so he has less energy to do destructive things. (Okay, there's more to this one than that, but the basic idea is there when applied to dogs that are discipline problems).
Worth it if you really love dogs or are having specific problems like bad leash behavior or over-excitement. If you've seen the show, you probably have all the answers you're going to get and I'd pass on this one.
Seriously though, a whole chapter on leashes and collars? Over thirty pages. -_-. Maybe it's just me, but the whole "energy" thing got a bit redundant and New Agey. I don't mean to devalue the psychological benefits of visualization or the role that attitude plays in our interactions with one another, but I have to admit that when Millan went on about transferring his energy to a dog through his eyes and his touch, he kind of lost me. I have no doubt that animals are awesome at reading body language, and I think many of his experiences and those of his success stories could be chalked up to changes in attitude and consistent application of new rules established by the owners of the dogs highlighted, but I'm no dog psychologist or zoologist.
From a reader's perspective, this book is easy to digest and well-organized. It tends toward repetition and by the end you can hear Millan's voice in your head and can easily identify which of his few catch phrases he's going to use a paragraph in advance of when he actually gets to it. In short the book (and his show) have three main points:
1. Treat dogs like dogs and not like people.
2. Establish rules, boundaries and limitations and then enforce them consistently.
3. Exercise the hell out of your dog so he has less energy to do destructive things. (Okay, there's more to this one than that, but the basic idea is there when applied to dogs that are discipline problems).
Worth it if you really love dogs or are having specific problems like bad leash behavior or over-excitement. If you've seen the show, you probably have all the answers you're going to get and I'd pass on this one.
ewg109's review against another edition
4.0
Cesar is amazing. This is a man that just gets life. But, I'll be honest, he completely scared me off from getting a dog. I'm not really the pack leader type.
beths0103's review against another edition
3.0
While I adore Cesar Millan, this book didn't give me any information I didn't already know from watching his show all the time. I felt more enlightened about him and his background from reading [book:Cesar's Way] than this book. Be the Pack Leader felt more like he was just regurgitating episodes of The Dog Whisperer. I also got the impression that this book was written on a very tight deadline because a) he alludes to it in the book and b) I counted 4 typos as I was reading. I know his native language isn't English, but dude, get a better editor.
lumberjill314's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't know that the author was controversial until about halfway through the book-I had never heard of his show and I got this book in a box my friend gave me when she moved away. I think that definitely allowed me to have an open mind about his training techniques, which for the most part I thought were solid! I had already used some of the techniques before, and my pup is a pretty stable, well-behaved pooch (I'm not just bragging, many people have remarked on it and I've had people terrified of dogs love my 100lb pup). As someone who also uses training at my job, I think the theory behind his technique is great for dogs! What he does in reality is separate in my mind. I see the lack of "calm assertive" in my friends and see how it escalates in their dogs which then gets redirected on mine in a negative manner. When I recommend the book they get angry. Like cesar says, you usually have to change the person first!
lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
I think Cesar Millan has a lot of great ideas about how to relate to your dog. It's about more than just controlling them, it's about getting them to trust you so that they'll do what you say. I found this really interesting and picked up a few techniques to use at home with Lou dog.