Three Things Dogs Can Teach Us about Being a Better Person

In Cesar Millan’s new show Leader of the Pack, dogs that are considered “unadoptable” are matched with the right people to help them adapt, thrive and become wonderful companions. This means finding the right human for the job. After all, you can’t help who you fall in love with; there has to be chemistry and a match. Once you match-make, the work begins.

Helping a dog become the right companion also means understanding that dogs are not people. Dogs interact differently with their world than people do. Neither the dog’s way nor the person’s way of seeing the world is better, it’s just different. Perhaps that is one of the reasons people and dogs get along so famously. We have so much to learn from one another. In fact, there are many things that people can learn from their dogs about being a better human. Here are just three of them:

1)      Live in the Present
Dogs embrace the moment in a way people often forget to do. We get wrapped up in the minutia of work, chores and errands. Sometimes we are so deep in our head that the things we enjoy the most pass us right by. We are too busy thinking about the things that must be done tomorrow and should have been done yesterday. Dogs live in the moment. This means that even an “unadoptable” dog can overcome trauma and embrace a new life. A pat on the head, a kind word or a new toy is a wonderful thing. The sudden appearance of a squirrel is rarely overlooked. The possibility of a snack is always a reason to a pause and hope. What are you missing by not focusing on the present?

2)      Pay Close Attention to Others

Dogs watch us closely, monitoring our body language and our expressions. They gauge the tone of our voice. Sometimes our dogs know we are upset before we know it ourselves. Suddenly you find a paw on your knee and you know you’ve got a friend. Being completely present in the relationships of those you love means paying attention. How often do we miss that our spouse has had a bad day? Or that our best friend is more upset than she is letting on? Are you watching your loved ones closely so you can give them a kind word and a hug when they need it?

3)      Put Your Faith in Actions

We often believe people will do things or change just because they say they will. Or perhaps we trust no one, cutting ourselves out of possible friendships because others have wronged us. We believe that people will be exactly who we want or believe them to be. A well-adjusted dog doesn’t focus on what’s in your head, he simply believes in your actions. A dog’s friendships are based on the trust that is built in every day interactions. If you are trustworthy in your actions a dog, even a dog with a rough history, will eventually trust you. And once you have that trust, you have a loyalty like no other. How much stronger would our relationships be if we focused on our own actions and the actions of others?

There are so many things that dogs can teach us about living a better life. Dogs in rescue situations have so much to share as well! In this week’s episode of Leader of the Pack: A Friend for Amigo, viewers meet Amigo, a greyhound that is looking for a home where he can become well-adjusted and be loved. Tune in Saturday February 9 at 10 PM to watch Amigo’s journey to find his dream home. What do you think your dogs have taught you about being a better person?


  1. calmassertive
    February 7, 2013, 2:44 pm

    Sadly, Cesar’s new Leader Of The Pack program is a real disappointment. Nat Geo replaced its all-time-highest-rated show, Dog Whisperer, with a knock-off of a show called Who Gets The Dog, wherein two families get to be disappointed they can’t keep a dog they bond with. While the reality portions of the show are informative, the scripted parts of the show are actually quite insulting to the viewer. Watching the families posing together, listening to Cesar give his speeches to the families, seeing Cesar give a product-placement basket to the ‘winner’, having to wade thru long tedious bio’s of the ‘candidates’, etc, all detract from what viewers want to see, namely Cesar working with dogs and their people. The money spent bringing families from all corners of Europe, including having a film crew record them at home, would be so much better spent actually helping dogs, the purported goal of the show. How many dogs could be rescued with all that wasted cash? As an avid Dog Whisperer follower I hate to admit I actually turn this new show off after a few minutes because it’s so bad. The producers took a winning formula, broke it, then adopted a prior losing formula in its place. What was once an uplifting inspirational reality show has been replaced with a formulaic scripted game show downer. Bummer.

  2. Ronit
    Santa Barbara, CA
    March 1, 2013, 11:53 pm

    I love Cesar, but the Leader of The Pack show is a little painful to watch as it’s based on competition. That is so disappointing compared to the Dog Whisperer show which is based on nothing but LOVE! I can only think this decision was made for the ratings. What a shame!