EXCLUSIVE: Cesar Millan Shares the Best Way to Celebrate National Puppy Day, Training Tips, & How the Halo Collar Works

For over 20 years, celebrity dog trainer Cesar Millan has graced our television screens, starring in several shows like, “Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan,” “Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog,” and “Cesar 911.” In each of the series, Millan shares his expertise as a dog behavior authority to help pet parents be better leaders for their canine companions. 

We had the pleasure of speaking to Millan about National Puppy Day and his GPS dog fence, Halo Collar, which just launched its latest model - Halo Collar 4, which now fits dogs of all sizes. In addition, Millan shared quite a few helpful tips about training your dog through calmness and exercise. 

Cesar Millan Recommends Taking Your Dog on an Early Walk on National Puppy Day 

Photo Credit: Cesar Millan

While speaking to Woof Republic, Millan shared his recommendation for how best to celebrate National Puppy Day, which is observed on March 23. 

Millan said dog owners should take their furry friends for a walk “early in the morning.” He explained that dogs “are daytime” creatures. 

“I know that for a lot of people, ‘I don't wanna wake up at five.’ We're talking about celebration. So celebration is the fresh air, the sunrise. Because [dogs] are connected to nature,” said Millan. 

In addition, he said, “The way to celebrate in a few words is to be natural, simple, profound.” He stated that dogs, because of their natural state, “have to walk.” 

“There is true earth activity for an animal, for a dog to walk. And then there is love. So love is the simple part. So natural, simple, profound. When do we love them? After a good walk. With good structure,” said Millan. 

Cesar Millan Recommends Training Through Calmness 

Photo Credit: Cesar Millan

During his interview with Woof Republic, Millan shared invaluable training tips. He explained that dog owners should remain calm, as opposed to being excited, when interacting with their canine. He stated it is important to focus on “silence, calmness, confidence” as you train your dog. 

“Dog people do a lot of excitement and so the dog lives in this excited world. So that dog is not gonna have a lot of friends because in the animal world, excitement is not harmony,” said Millan. “So no cat would like to meet an excited puppy. But if that puppy is respectful, they don't mind.” 

He also said if your dog will “not be able to listen because you represent excitement.”

“In order for a dog to listen … you need to be in a calm, surrendered state,” said Millan. 

Millan, the author of “How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond,” also said that animal owners should refrain from doing “human psychology on a dog.” In addition, he said dog owners should give their dogs an adequate amount of exercise to ensure they are using up their energy. In addition, he said dog owners need to establish “rules” and “limitations.” According to Millan, without proper boundaries and walks, a dog can become aggressive. 

“When you don't have exercise and you don't have things to do with your mind, you get confused. 'cause what are you gonna do with this energy? Because you're gonna get bored. You're gonna get frustrated,” explained Millan. “So frustration and boredom leads you to confusion. Then confusion, too many days of being confused leads you to unhappiness. Too many days of unhappiness leads you to chaos. So that's when we will see fight, flight, avoidance. That's when we will seek aggression. It all started by confusion. Because the dog says ‘Why do I have this much energy? The human keeps giving me energy. It gives me food, but it doesn't give me an outlet.’ So you need to drain physical energy.” 

He also asserted that dogs aren’t “born with problems” or “born aggressive.” He said, however, that some breeds like Rottweilers and Pitbulls, are “born powerful.”

“It's your job to redirect the power into something good, grounding it, and centering it around the dog instead of the human,” said Millan. 

In addition, Millan said “We can never blame a dog for bad behavior” because “there is no knowledge behind instinct.” 

“It's a reaction. They don't have the rational capability as humans have,” continued Millan. 

Millan also said it is important to give your dog love and affection. He stated, however, that “love is one thing, knowledge is another thing.”

“You have to be a knowledgeable dog lover. Not just a dog lover. Because that's why a lot of dogs end up in the shelter. Dog lovers send them there,” said Millan.

Cesar Millan Spoke About Halo Collar 

Photo Credit: Cesar Millan

Millan, a founding partner of Halo Collar, shared how the GPS dog fence can help pup owners “achieve the three activities that you should do with the dog,” which are “follow, play, [and] explore.” 

The dog needs to learn to follow you. So you can then reward him with play and explore. So play is what most people understand about throwing the ball or the dog playing with another dog. Explore is when a dog detaches himself away from you,” said Millan. “Explore is the nose is in the ground, and he's looking around, but if he doesn't have a rule boundary limitation. He's gonna take off. He’s not gonna come back when you call him. Or he's gonna eat things that you don't want him to eat.” 

According to the product’s website, the Halo collar “monitors your dog’s location and provides feedback to guide them to safety.”

“Once the dog understands the boundaries, then you can just put ‘I want my dog to be a hundred feet away from me.’ The Halo will keep him inside the bubble,” continued Millan. 

He then likened the Halo Collar to “a blessing.”

“I'm from Mexico, so every time I leave, my mom blesses me. What she wants is the protection. Yes. No matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing. Obviously I have to follow the rules [and] limitations, so the blessing works better,” said Millan. 

He then explained that the Halo Collar “accelerate[s] the freedom that everybody's looking for and not to feel fear” when out with their dog.

“Because that's what blocks a lot of people from experiencing play [and] explore. Fear of what can happen, right? So they end up not doing it,” said Millan. “So it frees the dog so he can be free and it frees the human from fear. Because now technology is helping you to be accurate, to be consistent, to be precise”

“Cesar Millan: Better Human Better Dog” can be streamed on Hulu and Disney+.