CESAR MILLAN SEMINAR

Below is the article by Judy Huston about our last Cesar Millan Seminar.

Cesar Millan "The Dog Whisperer" Seminar
White Shepherd Genetics Project Fund Raiser
By Judy Huston

In late November 2004, I arranged for TIVO to be installed on our Direct TV system. My first attempt to locate interesting animal-related shows to record, especially dogs, revealed a National Geographic program called "The Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan. I was blown away by this man's ability with dogs.

After two weeks of watching and re-watching episodes that included aggressive Rotties, Pit Bulls, German Shepherds (including three white ones), small dogs, big dogs, mixed breeds, I needed to learn more. I began surfing the net and found that Cesar Millan ran the Dog Psychology Center in Los Angeles. I read from his site that he rehabilitates dogs and trains people. I learned that he is a dog behaviorist who promotes the idea of the dog as a pack animal who has one of two roles – to lead or to follow. And, the role is determined by one thing only – the energy of both the dog and the human. Cesar says, "They know who we are and what our role is 10 seconds after they meet us." Fascinating. I needed to learn more.

I contacted Cesar's office and con-nected with one of his assistants, Gayle Thompson. I wanted to find out whether he did seminars and if so, where, besides L.A. Those who know my story know that over three years ago, my White Shepherd, Kyra, survived a late-diagnosis of Lumbosacral Stenosis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease that left her with side-effects that need to be managed on an on-going basis and that prohibit travel. Fate was in my corner and I discovered that Cesar's show was going on the road and they were in the process of booking the first out-of-state events. Michigan turned out to be one of the first and we just needed to settle on the date. It was April or August so I picked April and got to work. Gayle was wonderful about answering my questions and helping us every step of the way.

I realized immediately that this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do a major fundraiser for White Shepherd Genetics Projects. Gayle said they required 150 participants. I didn't know if I could get that many people, but knew I had to try. Volunteers began offering to help right from the beginning. My friend and training partner, Cathy Sadowski, was the first person I'd shared Cesar episodes with and she volunteered to help bring him here. Cathy and Pam and Michelle Koons helped me get the initial flyers out and spread the word to the flyball community. The word was barely out when I had two more women vying for who would do the flyers and registration form. One woman did the flyers and database and the other donated beautiful tickets that some people had Cesar sign and kept for souvenirs. She later created a beautiful framed picture of Ce-sar with our white dogs that we presented to him on Sunday. Two other women explained that their background was in managing events and one became Team Leader and the other was our MC at the event.

Our own Pam and Michelle Koons volunteered to do the White Shepherd exhibit. You will see from the cover photo that their work was outstanding and exceeded my expectations, just like everything else about this seminar. I intended that the exhibit would serve two purposes. The first and most important was to bring attention to what we are doing in the purebred world and how our breed is at the forefront of responsible and ethical breeding and disclosure. Second, we placed a donation jar on the table to encourage additional donations to the project. We expect that Cesar will use this photo somewhere on his website and we already know that the Scottie rescue people from Columbus have it up on their site.

When it looked like we would reach the 150 people, I asked Gayle whether funds from participants over the required 150 could be donated back to our fund. They graciously agreed to donate back a full half of their fee. This made all the difference in the world. Now, I had the money to pay for the sound system, screen, and piping we needed to make this a professional presentation. Even with all the extras, we added $7,000 to our WS Genetics Projects funds. Our first expenditure might be the Progeny computer program that will allow us to do geneticist's pedigrees – the foundation tool of Dr. Padgett's work. Dr. Melissa Cox will help us get started with this program. George Packard, one of the founders of the Institute for Genetic Disease Control, the first open registry, is actively using Progeny and wants to use one of our White Shepherd families as an example to other breed clubs of the value of this tool. Susan Ewart has submitted all of the Braehead data for this purpose, which is ultimately for the betterment of the breed.

I plan to write in another article about the magical transformations and experiences that occurred on Sunday with the team members and their dogs at Cesar's private consultations. We are grateful to Cesar and Illusion Millan for their dedication and commitment to dogs and to the well being of their owners and for being so generous with our White Shepherd project.

When I counted the money in our donation jar, there was a $100 bill in there. Pam Koons told me that Cesar dropped it in the jar. Giving is what this man does whether it is his love and support, his expertise, his time, or his own funds. The world of dogs is ready for Cesar. I hope we in the Midwest gave him an idea of what is ahead for him and his family